Category: National

Hush Begins Crowdfunding to Produce Noise-Masking “Smart Earplugs”

Hush, a San Diego startup that has developed “smart earbuds” to minimize the distractions of a noisy world, is beginning a crowdfunding campaign today that would enable the year-old company to produce as many as 10,000 units by spring. Founded by three UC San Diego engineering students (all named Daniel), Hush has set a goal … Continue reading “Hush Begins Crowdfunding to Produce Noise-Masking “Smart Earplugs””

Jane Says: Julep CEO on Leadership, Growing Pains, Community, Family

Jane Park, co-founder and CEO of Seattle beauty brand Julep, is trying to build “the most transparent and collaborative company” in any category, not just in the massive beauty products industry where Julep is differentiating itself by forming deep relationships with customers online and in person. Park, who leads 240 employees and has raised $56 … Continue reading “Jane Says: Julep CEO on Leadership, Growing Pains, Community, Family”

Servier Inks $1B Deal for Intarcia’s Implantable Diabetes Device

It’s been a big year for Intarcia Therapeutics. The Boston- and Hayward, CA-based firm raised a massive round of private financing for its experimental drug/device combo treatment for Type 2 diabetes, and then followed that up with some encouraging data in late-stage clinical trials. Now, with that product, ITCA 650, potentially just a few years … Continue reading “Servier Inks $1B Deal for Intarcia’s Implantable Diabetes Device”

Next-Gen Network Monitoring: The Missing Piece of the Security Puzzle

If 2014 has taught us anything, it’s that IT security is falling behind the threats against which it is supposed to protect, and the gap is widening quickly. From data breaches at major retailers to serious zero-day vulnerabilities such as Heartbleed and Shellshock, the events of the last 12 months have caused everyone with an … Continue reading “Next-Gen Network Monitoring: The Missing Piece of the Security Puzzle”

With Wires and Electrodes, Tara Bio Builds a Heart on a Chip

It’s been pretty clear for some time that there’s a big need to improve the efficiency of drug R&D. By industry’s count, drugs cost over $1 billion to develop, and most of them fail. A big reason why is the preclinical studies in petri dishes and animals don’t accurately predict how a drug will behave … Continue reading “With Wires and Electrodes, Tara Bio Builds a Heart on a Chip”

HealthMyne Put the Band Back Together to Unite Medical Images & Data

Some startups are born out of an epiphany or an accident by a brilliant (or lucky) entrepreneur. Other companies’ origin stories are not as sexy, and instead center on a group of smart people putting their heads together to calculate where market winds are blowing and how to get there first. Madison, WI-based HealthMyne falls … Continue reading “HealthMyne Put the Band Back Together to Unite Medical Images & Data”

San Diego Deals Roundup: On-Ramp, Scoperta, Proximal Data

There’s been a flurry of deals among San Diego’s tech startups in recent weeks, perhaps reflecting an effort to get financing and other transactions secured before the holidays—and while market conditions remain good. In addition to funding rounds raised recently by Mogl and the cleantech company Noble Environmental Technologies, other noteworthy tech deals include: —San … Continue reading “San Diego Deals Roundup: On-Ramp, Scoperta, Proximal Data”

Lowering the Cost of Failure in Biopharmaceuticals

In any business, projects fail, but in biopharmaceuticals, the consequences of failure are especially damaging. Projects in the industry tend to be long and expensive—from clinical trials to regulatory approvals to commercial application. At any point in the process, obstacles can derail a project. Failure is most certainly an option, and for companies with many … Continue reading “Lowering the Cost of Failure in Biopharmaceuticals”

New and Old Models in Grocery Delivery, and Guilt About Good Jobs

I’m not really the kind of person who wants to use a grocery-delivery service. I’m glad they’re available, especially for people who might have trouble navigating the aisles of their local supermarket. But while I’m able-bodied, I figure I should really be able to drag myself to the store and buy my own groceries. Then … Continue reading “New and Old Models in Grocery Delivery, and Guilt About Good Jobs”

Sales-Tax Software Seller Avalara Adds $100M from Warburg Pincus

Tax compliance doesn’t sound like the kind of sexy business that makes headlines and gets deep-pocketed investors excited. It’s a different story when you’re talking about software that can sift through thousands of overlapping government sales-tax districts around the world. When the idea of paying sales taxes on most online purchases in the U.S. seems like it could become a reality, that story … Continue reading “Sales-Tax Software Seller Avalara Adds $100M from Warburg Pincus”

As Huge Bills Loom, Immunotherapy Pioneer Dendreon Enters Bankruptcy

After 22 years, one groundbreaking cancer treatment, and even more ups and downs than the volatile biotech industry would consider normal, Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has filed for bankruptcy. The company and its prostate-cancer treatment sipuleucel-T (Provenge) could be sold, or it could emerge from bankruptcy court with completely new ownership. From a reading of … Continue reading “As Huge Bills Loom, Immunotherapy Pioneer Dendreon Enters Bankruptcy”

AppDirect Buys Y Combinator Grad Leftronic for Data Dashboards

AppDirect, whose technology helps run online marketplaces where companies such as Staples and Samsung sell Web-based services, said today it has acquired San Francisco-based data visualization company Leftronic. No price was disclosed for the purchase of Leftronic, which provides data dashboards on which businesses can monitor their progress. A 2010 graduate of Y Combinator’s venture … Continue reading “AppDirect Buys Y Combinator Grad Leftronic for Data Dashboards”

Stemina’s Autism Blood Test Shows Early Promise, Has Lots to Prove

In the latest attempt to find a better method for diagnosing autism, researchers at Madison, WI-based Stemina Biomarker Discovery and the University of California-Davis’ Mind Institute published study results Friday of an early-stage, blood-based test that they say identified autistic children with 81 percent accuracy. The study, published in PLOS One, tested blood samples taken … Continue reading “Stemina’s Autism Blood Test Shows Early Promise, Has Lots to Prove”

StreetShares: Social Lending By and For Military Veterans

We hear a lot of platitudes this time of year about supporting our troops and being thankful for the sacrifices of U.S. veterans. It’s an easy thing to say. Less easy is actually putting your money where your mouth is, but now, thanks to the StreetShares social lending platform, you can—in the form of investing … Continue reading “StreetShares: Social Lending By and For Military Veterans”

Smart Sprinkler Maker Rachio Working With Nest, Raising Seed Round

It’s not exactly the season for lawn watering in Denver, but that doesn’t mean Rachio, a local maker of smart sprinklers, is taking a rest. Far from it. Rachio recently released a new version of its app that allows users to control home irrigation systems with smartphones and tablets. The app is a key component … Continue reading “Smart Sprinkler Maker Rachio Working With Nest, Raising Seed Round”

From Bluetooth Gloves to Teaching Robots: Gadgets at Expand NY

For folks who want free hands while operating mobile devices, the team at Easier to Use hopes the GoGlove will be the right fit. I met Easier to Use co-founder Ben Harris over the weekend at Engadget Expand New York, a technology show held at the Javits Center. GoGlove is equipped to remotely control Bluetooth-enabled devices such … Continue reading “From Bluetooth Gloves to Teaching Robots: Gadgets at Expand NY”

The Commons’ Student Entrepreneurs Dive Into Startup Projects

Milwaukee’s latest startup accelerator is off and running. The Commons put 16 university student teams on a track toward launching a startup or solving a corporate challenge at its kickoff event, a 48-hour planning and mentoring session culminating in project pitches to a packed room in Walker’s Point. “I think that what I’m most excited … Continue reading “The Commons’ Student Entrepreneurs Dive Into Startup Projects”

UT Food Lab Finalists: Robotic Chefs, Edible Insects, Virtual Farmers Market

Even the most fundamental of human endeavor, say, eating, can benefit from innovation. That’s the spirit behind the Food Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, an initiative that seeks to take an entrepreneurial look at how we grow, distribute, and eat food. “We’re bringing people to the table who normally don’t get together: … Continue reading “UT Food Lab Finalists: Robotic Chefs, Edible Insects, Virtual Farmers Market”

DMI Diagnostic Device Wins Grand Prize in Nokia Sensing XPrize

The XPrize Foundation returned to San Diego today to announce that a team led by Eugene Y. Chan of the DNA Medicine Institute (DMI) in Cambridge, MA, is the winner of the second $525,000 grand prize in the Nokia Sensing XPrize Challenge. X Prize founder and chairman Peter Diamandis and Nokia CTO Henry Tirri announced … Continue reading “DMI Diagnostic Device Wins Grand Prize in Nokia Sensing XPrize”

Xconomy Healthcare Summit Nov. 18: Last Chance to Request Invite

Health is a function of genetics, the environment, and what we do with our lives. Everyone knows that. But increasingly the tools are being developed to take more control of all of the above, dramatically affecting what is possible in living longer and healthier lives, even in the face of a previously debilitating illness. Getting … Continue reading “Xconomy Healthcare Summit Nov. 18: Last Chance to Request Invite”

New Ag-Biotech Initiative Plants Seeds for Startups

Agriculture is rarely the first thing that comes to mind when people talk about North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park. Medicine and technology have defined its 7,000 acres for most of its 55 years; anchor tenants such as GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) and IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) still keep a steady Park presence. But lately, bioagriculture companies are … Continue reading “New Ag-Biotech Initiative Plants Seeds for Startups”

Sage’s Drug For Rare Epilepsy Shows Promise in Small Study

Sage Therapeutics isn’t the company its founders originally intended. Third Rock Ventures started Sage in 2011 to develop drugs for big neurological disorders such as schizophrenia and traumatic brain injury. Along the way, however, the Cambridge, MA-based company decided to focus on rare neurological disorders that could be moved quickly through the clinic. That switch … Continue reading “Sage’s Drug For Rare Epilepsy Shows Promise in Small Study”

NV Bots Bets on Schools for Sales of Cloud-Connected 3D Printer

AJ Perez is a young startup executive who thinks about the long term. As the CEO of New Valence Robotics (NVBots), he’s targeting the company’s 3D printers at schools—not known as big spenders on emerging technology—with an eye towards the next generation of designers. It’s an unconventional approach, but it could help the year-old company … Continue reading “NV Bots Bets on Schools for Sales of Cloud-Connected 3D Printer”

Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals

If you work in academia or in Big Pharma, you likely have easy access to the world’s scientific literature. Outside of these places, however, obtaining affordable access to the latest scientific journals is much more problematic. This includes scientists at all but the largest biopharma companies, doctors and other health care professionals, and people wanting … Continue reading “Beg, Borrow, or Steal: Accessing Unaffordable Science Journals”

What Early Looks From ASH Tell Us About Cancer Immunotherapy

[Note: Ben Fidler contributed to this report.] Immunotherapy is one of the most promising new ways to fight cancer, and we’ve followed it closely for some time. One of its main proving grounds is in blood-borne cancers, because some of the immunotherapy methods are, at least for now, easier to target in that direction. That’s … Continue reading “What Early Looks From ASH Tell Us About Cancer Immunotherapy”

Austin Investor Sees Opportunity in City’s Cognitive Computing Niche

Manoj Saxena spent seven years at IBM Watson’s Austin headquarters leading its cognitive computing efforts. Now, at the helm of the Austin branch of The Entrepreneurs’ Fund, he hopes to use that expertise to help startups in an emerging realm of technology. “The goal with Austin is to create a hub of cognitive computing companies,” … Continue reading “Austin Investor Sees Opportunity in City’s Cognitive Computing Niche”

Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Announces Winners

Yesterday, the winners of the annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition were announced after a two-day competition in downtown Detroit. At stake was more than $1 million in cash prizes, plus awards of services, staffing, and software. Accelerate Michigan winners are companies to keep an eye on, as they’re usually considered among Michigan’s most promising startups to … Continue reading “Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Announces Winners”

How a Big Company Can Run Fast, Like a Startup

What does the word “startup” mean to you? Many words can come to mind: new, exciting, experimental, small, lean, agile, fast. To me, “startup” mostly makes me think of “agile” and “fast.” In an early stage startup, everybody is focused on the same thing. People are passionate, enthusiastic, hungry for an opportunity to change the … Continue reading “How a Big Company Can Run Fast, Like a Startup”

Aereo Cuts Back New York & Boston Staff, Says It’s Not Shutting Down

Still trying to tread water in a hostile sea, streaming television service Aereo is slashing away much of its staff, further casting its future as a company in doubt. In a brief statement sent to Xconomy, the New York-based startup, which halted its service in the summer, confirmed it is letting employees go, but has … Continue reading “Aereo Cuts Back New York & Boston Staff, Says It’s Not Shutting Down”

Highspot Lands $9.6M to Improve Sales, Marketing Content

Salespeople in large companies may have hundreds of thousands of individual pieces of marketing content to choose from when pitching a customer. Highspot, a Seattle startup announcing a $9.6 million Series A funding round, wants to help them pick the best one. The investment is being led by Madrona Venture Group and will help the … Continue reading “Highspot Lands $9.6M to Improve Sales, Marketing Content”

Techstars Seattle Demo Day: New Companies, Pitching Models, Leader

Techstars, the international network of startup accelerators, marks its fifth year in Seattle with some significant changes coming in how it presents its companies to investors, and in its local leadership. Another 10 promising startups completed the three-month, intensive business development and mentorship program Thursday, giving short, polished pitches to an audience of hundreds of … Continue reading “Techstars Seattle Demo Day: New Companies, Pitching Models, Leader”

Rice Consortium Helped Spark Biotech Researchers’ Inner Entrepreneur

Operations at the Houston Area Translational Research Consortium, or HATRC, are winding down for closure in June, but, in its two years of existence, the biotech initiative helped to overcome a roadblock in life sciences commercialization that lingered for decades. So says Cindy Farach-Carson, vice president of translational bioscience at Rice University and scientific director … Continue reading “Rice Consortium Helped Spark Biotech Researchers’ Inner Entrepreneur”

PopTech Rebels Rage Against the Tech Machine, From Within

The coastal town of Camden, Maine, is a beautiful setting in late October, even in a Nor’easter. The drive takes three and a half hours from Boston—a little longer in the pouring rain—but once you get there, it feels very far from the daily rat race. The Camden Opera House, built in 1894, is the … Continue reading “PopTech Rebels Rage Against the Tech Machine, From Within”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Nevro, Coherus, Xenon, Rock Health, Etc.

The first week of November has brought the first taste of winter to much of the U.S., plenty of sunshine to California, and a flurry of IPOs. There have been three so far on the West Coast, the main story of what’s been a slow week otherwise. The pace will pick up today and tomorrow … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Nevro, Coherus, Xenon, Rock Health, Etc.”

Roundup: Hacker Fellows, Cleantech Open, Seelio, MLSIC, More

Here’s a look at news from around Michigan’s innovation community: —Invest Detroit and Grand Circus, part tech school and part community center, are seeking applicants for a new Hacker Fellows program, which places software developers in jobs at Michigan start-ups. Graduating seniors with computer-related degrees from accredited universities will be selected for a six-week session … Continue reading “Roundup: Hacker Fellows, Cleantech Open, Seelio, MLSIC, More”

Envisage Deal Lets Noble Environmental Expand Ecor Production

In a move intended to boost the production of its Ecor-brand sustainable building materials, San Diego’s Noble Environmental Technologies (NET) has received an influx of capital from Envisage Equity, a private equity firm based in Newport Beach, CA. The funding is part of a strategic partnership that NET and Envisage disclosed last week. The partners … Continue reading “Envisage Deal Lets Noble Environmental Expand Ecor Production”

Struggling Aegerion Diversifies With Fat Disease Drug

Aegerion Pharmaceuticals has been in the news for all the wrong reasons of late. The launch of its rare disease drug, lomitapide (Juxtapid), has stalled. The company is worth less than a third of what it was last year. Today the Cambridge, MA-based company is trying to turn the conversation elsewhere—to an FDA-approved rare disease … Continue reading “Struggling Aegerion Diversifies With Fat Disease Drug”

WIP, Wisconsin’s Most Active Angel Group, Adds New Investors

[Updated 11/6/14, 11:08 a.m. See below.] Wisconsin’s most active angel investor group could get even busier, thanks to an influx of new members. Madison-based Wisconsin Investment Partners (WIP) added 18 new members in the past few months, primarily via a recruitment dinner held in the summer, co-manager Andy Shrago says. “We thought we’d be doing … Continue reading “WIP, Wisconsin’s Most Active Angel Group, Adds New Investors”

How States Can Build a Cleantech Funding Pipeline

Research universities across the country regularly turn out science and technology that could be kernels for jobs-creating businesses. But many of those ideas have trouble finding bankers or venture investors willing to finance the slow, expensive development of a new company based on science. Massachusetts has developed one response to the problem of funding hard … Continue reading “How States Can Build a Cleantech Funding Pipeline”

Seattle Techstars Grad Shippable Gets $8M for Better Software Tests

A year ago, Avi Cavale, co-founder of Shippable, was on stage at Techstars Seattle Demo Day, pitching his company’s solution for software development and testing headaches. Thursday, as another crop of Techstars Seattle company founders prepare to go before investors, Shippable is announcing an $8 million Series A funding round, along with a fast-growing user … Continue reading “Seattle Techstars Grad Shippable Gets $8M for Better Software Tests”

Math Toy Tiggly Counts Emerges, Demos at New York Tech Meetup

A dose of physical play can help kids learn, Tiggly CEO Phyl Georgiou says. In our rush to digitize everything, from books to games, he believes connections to the real world remain important. “There’s a question about how kids use their time,” Georgiou says. “They’re busier and use digital devices more and more. Those two … Continue reading “Math Toy Tiggly Counts Emerges, Demos at New York Tech Meetup”

How to Replace a Nuke Plant? One Utility Leans on Energy Storage

Energy storage technology from a few California startups will help fill a gap left by the closing of the San Onofre nuclear power plant in southern California. It’s a sign of the dramatic changes happening in some pockets of the U.S. electric grid. Southern California Edison today detailed how it intends to generate enough power … Continue reading “How to Replace a Nuke Plant? One Utility Leans on Energy Storage”

Sujal Patel Reflects on Isilon Legacy, Seattle’s Storage Leadership

Four years ago this month, technology giant EMC announced the $2.25 billion acquisition of Isilon Systems, a homegrown Seattle company that helped bolster the region’s standing as a center of data storage innovation. Isilon Systems’ legacy today is in EMC’s continuing large presence in Seattle; two well-funded startup companies, Qumulo and Igneous Systems, working on … Continue reading “Sujal Patel Reflects on Isilon Legacy, Seattle’s Storage Leadership”

Nixie’s $500K Winner: Flying Camera, Safety Tool or Medieval Pigeon?

[Updated 11/5/14, 2:07 pm. See below] Imagine you’re given a box containing some wires, some propellers, a lens, some plastic, some flexible straps, and a new Intel chip a bit bigger than a postage stamp. What would you make? The co-founders of Los Altos, CA-based Nixie assembled these ingredients to invent a wristband camera that … Continue reading “Nixie’s $500K Winner: Flying Camera, Safety Tool or Medieval Pigeon?”

RetroSense Closer to Clinical Trials After Orphan Drug Designation

Recent action by the FDA has Ann Arbor, MI-based RetroSense Therapeutics looking to possible clinical trials next year for a gene therapy that could help people see better. The key ruling came last week when regulators granted orphan drug status to RST-001, which RetroSense is developing to restore vision for people affected by retinitis pigmentosa. … Continue reading “RetroSense Closer to Clinical Trials After Orphan Drug Designation”

Inotek, Chasing Aerie in Glaucoma, Sets Sights on IPO

Aerie Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AERI]]) has parlayed the potential of a new type of glaucoma drug into a publicly-traded company currently worth more than half a billion dollars. Inotek Pharmaceuticals is eyeing the same market, and now wants Wall Street’s help to go head to head with its Bedminster, NJ-based rival. Inotek filed for an IPO … Continue reading “Inotek, Chasing Aerie in Glaucoma, Sets Sights on IPO”

Formlabs Grows, Counts Millions in Sales Despite Patent Lawsuit

Patent lawsuits from a deep-pocketed competitor can crush a young company before it really gets going. But at the bustling headquarters of 3D printer startup Formlabs, you’d never know the past two years have been spent fighting accusations that its flagship product is a brazenly illegal knock-off. The company now employs about 90 people, and … Continue reading “Formlabs Grows, Counts Millions in Sales Despite Patent Lawsuit”

In Short Order, Indi Convinces Insurers To Cover Its Lung Test

One year after launching its first product, Seattle’s Integrated Diagnostics has secured insurance coverage from several healthcare groups, including UnitedHealthCare (NYSE: [[ticker:UNH]]). The biotech firm, which goes by the shortened name “Indi,” said today that United and six preferred provider organizations (PPOs) covering more than 200 million people, will reimburse for the Xpresys Lung test, … Continue reading “In Short Order, Indi Convinces Insurers To Cover Its Lung Test”