The Grandmont Rosedale neighborhood on the west side of Detroit has long been an oasis of stability in a sometimes turbulent city. Originally created in the 1920s as a neighborhood for middle managers who worked for Ford, people who buy houses in the neighborhood tend to stay for decades. It’s diverse and well-kept, and watched … Continue reading “Incubator Brings Startup Services, Co-Working to Grandmont Rosedale”
Category: National
Thync Adds Brain Electrodes to the Mix in Mobile Health Wearables
Khosla Ventures has been staking out a notable claim in the mobile health field by investing in companies that track physical activity, vital signs, social interactions, eye functioning, and even the chemicals released in a user’s breath. Now, another one of the VC firm’s companies is hoping to take things a little further. Rather than … Continue reading “Thync Adds Brain Electrodes to the Mix in Mobile Health Wearables”
Azuqua Raises $5M for Business Process Creation in the Cloud
With cloud services proliferating, Seattle startup Azuqua has raised $5 million from Ignition Partners to help businesses create processes that integrate multiple software-as-a-service applications. The company says its Web-based software allows integration among more than 40 cloud services, helping business users do things like track negative comments on Twitter and automatically send an alert to … Continue reading “Azuqua Raises $5M for Business Process Creation in the Cloud”
What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech
These are incredibly exciting times in biomedical research. Though the biopharmaceutical industry is in flux, prospects for a greater understanding of the disease process, and the development of new treatments, has never been brighter. Gilead Sciences’s new hepatitis C drug sofosbuvir (Sovaldi) will actually cure most patients of their infections, and replaces treatments that were … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 3): Working Together to Revitalize Biotech”
After Going Dark, GMZ Energy Plots a Comeback on Waste Heat
GMZ Energy made a bet on solar energy and lost. Now, its fortunes lie in convincing industrial companies to put its power-producing devices into their products. The Waltham, MA-based company traces its roots back to the labs of MIT and Boston College where researchers developed ways to improve the performance of thermoelectrics—materials that produce electricity … Continue reading “After Going Dark, GMZ Energy Plots a Comeback on Waste Heat”
As Virus Spreads to U.S., Tekmira CEO Answers Ebola Questions
Two weeks after Tekmira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TKMR]]) announced that its experimental drug was being used to treat Ebola patients, CEO Mark Murray said today that developing the drug has been like swimming in “shark infested waters” but gave no updates about the patients or about future use of the drug. It was the first of … Continue reading “As Virus Spreads to U.S., Tekmira CEO Answers Ebola Questions”
Drive Capital Reveals Previously Secret $12M Investment in Comply365
Drive Capital has been hush-hush about the identity of its second Wisconsin startup investment. The mystery was solved today when Beloit-based mobile enterprise software company Comply365 announced it received $12 million from the Columbus, OH-based venture capital fund. Drive, founded by two former Sequoia Capital partners who moved to Ohio and launched a $250 million … Continue reading “Drive Capital Reveals Previously Secret $12M Investment in Comply365”
Texas Medical Center Makes Pitch to Boost Houston Biotech Startups
The Texas Medical Center is slated this week to unveil its new life sciences accelerator, to be housed in a former Nabisco cookie factory near its main Houston campus. The accelerator is part of a larger effort by the medical center, which is considered one of the world’s largest, to play a more active role … Continue reading “Texas Medical Center Makes Pitch to Boost Houston Biotech Startups”
Catch Google “Big Picture” Data Leader Viégas at The Tech Agenda
The big idea behind our next big innovation conference, the Tech Agenda 2015, is deceptively simple. Get a bunch of smart people who are building the future of their industries. Separate the brilliant from the bogus, and find out what’s really driving change in technology, business, and society. Wrap it all up with bold predictions for what you should pay attention to—or … Continue reading “Catch Google “Big Picture” Data Leader Viégas at The Tech Agenda”
Food Tech Startup Pantry Labs Taps RFID for Smart Vending Machine
Anybody who has searched for dinner in a vending machine at work or in a hospital knows how unappealing the typical choices of candy bars and snack foods can be. Using hyped-then-forgotten RFID technology, Pantry Labs has developed a smart refrigerator that makes fresh food available to consumers who can’t get to a restaurant or … Continue reading “Food Tech Startup Pantry Labs Taps RFID for Smart Vending Machine”
So Far, Little Proof That Digital Health Is Healthy. Does It Matter?
Digital health is popular among investors, there’s no doubt. But is it good for us? Products such as fitness wristbands and online wellness coaching are generating buzz, and as a techno-skeptic I often roll my eyes at the trendy accessories and general assumption that life is easier online. Meanwhile, the funding keeps rolling in. Through … Continue reading “So Far, Little Proof That Digital Health Is Healthy. Does It Matter?”
U-M Tech Transfer Racks Up Another Record-Breaking Year
The University of Michigan’s technology transfer office says it had another record-breaking year: More inventions, more patents, more licensing revenue, and more startups created than the previous year. “There’s no one single factor,” says Ken Nisbet, the school’s tech transfer director. “Having a large amount of research translates into a lot of good ideas. Also … Continue reading “U-M Tech Transfer Racks Up Another Record-Breaking Year”
Madison’s Solomo Technology Wins $100K Steve Case Investment
[Corrected 10/8/14, 10:41 a.m. See below.] Solomo Technology founder and CEO Liz Eversoll walked away with a $100,000 investment from AOL co-founder Steve Case after she won yesterday’s startup pitch competition in Madison, WI. The event was part of the “Rise of the Rest Road Trip” highlighting emerging startup clusters in the Midwest. Eversoll also … Continue reading “Madison’s Solomo Technology Wins $100K Steve Case Investment”
Smart-Bug Maker Synlogic Nabs $5M From Gates Foundation
Synlogic, one of the newer biotech startups to come out of Cambridge, MA, already strung together nearly $30 million when it announced its launch in July. Now it’s topping off that round with some financial support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help tackle some of the world’s bigger health problems. Synlogic says … Continue reading “Smart-Bug Maker Synlogic Nabs $5M From Gates Foundation”
SolidFire Lands $82 Million to Expand Flash Memory in Data Centers
It’s not every day a four-year-old startup in Colorado—or anywhere, really—raises an $82 million funding round, but Boulder-based data storage startup SolidFire has done just that. SolidFire develops all-flash storage systems for enterprise customers and cloud-services providers. Clients include eBay, PayPal, and CenturyLink. The round, which is a Series D, brings the total raised by … Continue reading “SolidFire Lands $82 Million to Expand Flash Memory in Data Centers”
Orphan Drug From Scioderm Aims to Treat Rare Skin Disease
For children with epidermolysis bullosa, the debate about whether to pull off Band-Aids quickly or peel them back slowly does not apply. From head to toe, special bandages cover skin so fragile that anything but the most slow and careful removal can rip open a wound worse than the one the dressing was protecting. Brett … Continue reading “Orphan Drug From Scioderm Aims to Treat Rare Skin Disease”
EatStreet Tacks $4M Onto Series B Round, Continues Rapid Expansion
One of the year’s biggest capital raises by a Wisconsin startup just got bigger. Madison-based EatStreet announced today that it has tacked on $4 million to its $6 million Series B round announced in April. The new investors in the expanded Series B round are 4490 Ventures and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), … Continue reading “EatStreet Tacks $4M Onto Series B Round, Continues Rapid Expansion”
What Seattle Needs (Part 2): Dealing With Amgen’s Upcoming Departure
Reality bites: Amgen’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMGN]]) decision to leave Washington state is a serious blow to our local bioscience ecosystem. Those who think that all of those people who got laid off (or choose not to relocate) will be able to find biopharma jobs here in Seattle are kidding themselves. Our community is not large and … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 2): Dealing With Amgen’s Upcoming Departure”
Companies Work to Make Virtual Reality Appealing Beyond Gamers
[Corrected 10/7/2014, 11:47 a.m. See below.] Virtual reality has enormous potential in gaming and beyond, but it has to be presented to wider audiences in an accessible way. I saw several examples of companies doing just that at a VR event in Seattle last week. The event at Paul Allen’s Living Computer Museum also highlighted … Continue reading “Companies Work to Make Virtual Reality Appealing Beyond Gamers”
Texas Ebola Patient Gets Chimerix Drug, Clinical Trials Planned
Chimerix’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CMRX]]) lead antiviral drug candidate, which has already shown efficacy treating infections in transplant patients, is being called upon as an emergency Ebola treatment even as the company ramps up to test the drug in humans. The Durham, NC company said today its drug brincidofovir has been made available for treating Ebola, in … Continue reading “Texas Ebola Patient Gets Chimerix Drug, Clinical Trials Planned”
Austin Biotech Savara Nets $10M to Develop Cystic Fibrosis Drug
Savara Pharmaceuticals has raised $10 million in a bridge loan to further evaluate its drug candidate for cystic fibrosis. The therapy, called AeroVanc, is designed to be the first inhaled antibiotic to address methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, lung infections in people with CF. The drug is currently in a double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 clinical … Continue reading “Austin Biotech Savara Nets $10M to Develop Cystic Fibrosis Drug”
Zayo Group Sets IPO Range, Could Raise $232M
Zayo Group Holdings, a Boulder-based telecom infrastructure company, has set the price range for its upcoming initial public offering. The company and some of its previous investors are looking to sell a combined 28.9 million shares of stock, priced between $21 and $24 per share, according to a statement released this morning and its updated … Continue reading “Zayo Group Sets IPO Range, Could Raise $232M”
LumiFi App Brings Curated Mood Lighting to the Connected Home Scene
In the mind of Beatrice Witzgall, fumbling through the dark to turn on the lights will someday be a memory—if people starting using smartphones to control illumination. “I think the light switch is going to die out,” she says. Her New York-based startup, LumiFi, has developed an app that lets users turn on and alter … Continue reading “LumiFi App Brings Curated Mood Lighting to the Connected Home Scene”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Atlas, Visterra, & More
The oft-trodden path for a startup biotech is to aim for either a buyout or an IPO—or at minimum, a partnership with a big pharmaceutical company—before dealing with the hefty price tag of a Phase 3 study. One local biotech, however, took on the risk of bucking that trend—and succeeded. That story and much more … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Intarcia, Atlas, Visterra, & More”
Grove Labs Builds a High-Tech Indoor Gardening Box
If you’re into locally grown organic food and it’s January in Boston, your options are pretty limited. Startup Grove Labs wants to bring the farm to you, using technology to make indoor gardening more productive. The Somerville, MA-based company recently began testing prototypes of its “groves,” or indoor growing boxes, and is currently working on … Continue reading “Grove Labs Builds a High-Tech Indoor Gardening Box”
University of California Incubators Eager to Scout Startups, Co-Investors for UC Ventures
Fledgling companies at the 20 or so incubators clustered around UC Berkeley, UCSF, and other University of California campuses are well-placed to benefit from the new $250 million venture fund the university system plans to set up next year. But leaders at the incubators say they also plan to be on the giving side, helping … Continue reading “University of California Incubators Eager to Scout Startups, Co-Investors for UC Ventures”
Taking a Hachette to Amazon in the Market for Dead Trees
There’s a strange battle going on right now. Weird enough to fit into the science fiction and fantasy section of your local bookstore, but with enough intrigue to make for a good thriller. One of the big five traditional New York publishing houses, Hachette, is mired in a guerrilla campaign against mega online retailer Amazon. … Continue reading “Taking a Hachette to Amazon in the Market for Dead Trees”
What Seattle Needs (Part 1): “Semi-Successful” Biotech Companies
I know what you’re thinking: that’s a pretty strange headline. Why would a city want to attract or build companies that are only “semi-successful?” Wouldn’t it want companies that are flourishing or expanding rapidly? Actually, here in Seattle, we don’t. Semi-successful companies are exactly what we need here as the river of economic change washes … Continue reading “What Seattle Needs (Part 1): “Semi-Successful” Biotech Companies”
Big Sale, Equity Rounds, Surprises Make Headlines in 3rd Quarter
This summer was an eventful three months for Colorado’s technology industry. A major European media company bought a controlling stake of a leading adtech startup, two flagship tech companies raised late-stage equity rounds, and NASA might have dashed the state’s dream of becoming the hub for the next generation of space flight. Here’s a quick … Continue reading “Big Sale, Equity Rounds, Surprises Make Headlines in 3rd Quarter”
Roundup: Pristine, Xeris, Silvercar Raise Funds, SafeNight Debuts
Here is the latest innovation news from Texas. —AdBm Technologies, an underwater noise abatement technology company in Austin, TX, raised $1.3 million in a Series A round, the company reported Thursday. AdBm says its system uses encapsulated air bubbles tuned to specific frequencies and in special configurations to capture and mitigate noise generated in, for … Continue reading “Roundup: Pristine, Xeris, Silvercar Raise Funds, SafeNight Debuts”
Innovation Hub: Niche Social Networks
When most people think of social networks, they think of Facebook. But apart from Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth, which has 1.3 billion active users at last count, we’re seeing a rise in niche-based online communities, tailored to our personal or professional interests. Gina Bianchini is an expert on building custom social networks. She started Ning with … Continue reading “Innovation Hub: Niche Social Networks”
NEI Embeds at Co-Working Spaces to Better Connect with Entrepreneurs
A well-funded nonprofit that gives grants to Detroit-area entrepreneurs plans to station some of its staff members in the region’s co-working offices, hoping that an “in the trenches” perspective will help it better understand what startup founders need to succeed. “It’s more effective and it gives us more flexibility,” says Jim Boyle, spokesman for the … Continue reading “NEI Embeds at Co-Working Spaces to Better Connect with Entrepreneurs”
Why This Tesla Motors Co-founder Loves Electric Garbage Trucks
Ian Wright designed what may be one of the coolest street-legal cars of all time: the electric X1 looked like a Formula 1 racecar and went from zero to 60 in a breathtaking 2.9 seconds. Now, though, all Wright wants to talk about is trucks, especially the workaday delivery trucks and garbage trucks that ply city … Continue reading “Why This Tesla Motors Co-founder Loves Electric Garbage Trucks”
Inside eBay, Decide.com Team Leads Seller Insights, Startup Outreach
I’m in the market for a new refrigerator. A little more than a year ago, I would have turned to Decide.com, the Seattle startup that crunched review and pricing data from the Web to help shoppers know what and when to buy. It was acquired by eBay in September of last year and this extremely … Continue reading “Inside eBay, Decide.com Team Leads Seller Insights, Startup Outreach”
Leveling Information Silos in the Workplace
Today’s mobile device technology has made it possible for both professionals and consumers to have nearly all of the information they need right at their fingertips. Moreover, the types of information now available to them are limitless—it could be work e-mail, travel itineraries, social media updates, or even the answer to that trivia question that’s … Continue reading “Leveling Information Silos in the Workplace”
After Alibaba: Marissa Mayer on Yahoo’s Evolving Content Strategy
A renewed focus on content continues to be a big part of Yahoo’s game plan. On Thursday, CEO Marissa Mayer visited New York and gave a little look at what her company is up to now that e-commerce giant Alibaba is public. Yahoo sold about $8 billion worth of shares in the Chinese company but … Continue reading “After Alibaba: Marissa Mayer on Yahoo’s Evolving Content Strategy”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Ambit, Zogenix, Aethlon, and More
Assessing the extent of long-term brain damage from concussions in football and other impact sports can be difficult (to say the least) if the only way to determine whether an individual is suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is by autopsy. So it’s interesting when a little-known life sciences company like San Diego’s Aethlon Medical starts … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Ambit, Zogenix, Aethlon, and More”
Colorado Tech Companies Rank High on Outside’s Best Workplace List
Thirteen Colorado-based tech companies can take a bow after earning a spot on Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work List. Of course, the celebration might have to wait until after their employees get back from mountain biking, rock climbing, or hiking. The tech companies are among the slew of Colorado firms that earned coveted spots … Continue reading “Colorado Tech Companies Rank High on Outside’s Best Workplace List”
Need More Business Engagement on the Social Web? Qzzr Has It Covered
Josh Little likes to call himself a “qwizard.” He’s a former teacher and serial entrepreneur who has spent his career building a better mousetrap, so to speak, when it comes to training, marketing, and sales. Now, with his latest venture, called Qzzr, Little has found a new way to engage customers and generate sales leads: … Continue reading “Need More Business Engagement on the Social Web? Qzzr Has It Covered”
Atlas Venture Splits: A Sharp Change in Less Than 18 Months
Since closing its ninth fund in mid-2013, Boston-area venture capital firm Atlas Venture has seen big changes in its personnel roster and scored some notable returns on its investments. Today, the firm announced even bigger news: It’s splitting its life sciences and IT business, sending the tech investors off to form a new, still-unnamed fund sometime next year. … Continue reading “Atlas Venture Splits: A Sharp Change in Less Than 18 Months”
“Downstream Solar” Heats up, Consolidates with Pure Energies Buy
Power company NRG Energy acquired startup Pure Energies today to accelerate its push into residential solar, a sign of how software is becoming increasingly important to the solar industry. Princeton, NJ-based NRG Energy today announced it bought Toronto-based Pure Energies for an undisclosed price to get access to its Web-based system for determining whether a … Continue reading ““Downstream Solar” Heats up, Consolidates with Pure Energies Buy”
The Second Xconomy Boston Healthcare Summit: Request An Invitation
A lot has happened in healthcare over the past year. For starters, Healthcare.gov, the federal website for buying insurance under the Affordable Care Act, has gone up, crashed and burned, and been resurrected. For many, so has the possibility of affordable healthcare for the masses. For many others, not so much. Meanwhile, though, digital health … Continue reading “The Second Xconomy Boston Healthcare Summit: Request An Invitation”
From Silicon Valley to Romania, WI Water Accelerator a Diverse Mix
The Water Council has pulled together a broad coalition of well-established Wisconsin corporations that touch water in some way, from water meters to water heaters to water sanitation. Now, the seven-year-old Milwaukee organization is continuing its increased focus on nurturing water tech startups, an emphasis that picked up steam last year with a pilot accelerator … Continue reading “From Silicon Valley to Romania, WI Water Accelerator a Diverse Mix”
Sourcewater Builds an eBay for Recycling Fracking Water
Entrepreneur Josh Adler was attending a lecture on fracking at MIT’s Sloan School of Management when the magnitude of the domestic oil and gas boom hit him. Like many Americans, he had no idea that fracking had exploded—there’s on the order of 20 times more drilling with fracking—in just the last six years. “I just … Continue reading “Sourcewater Builds an eBay for Recycling Fracking Water”
Wayfair Raises $319M in Quiet IPO Market, Leads Way Nationally
[Updated, 4:30pm. See below] Twelve years in the making, Boston e-commerce company Wayfair will be publicly traded as of today. The online retailer of furniture and home goods priced its initial public offering at $29 a share (above the projected range of $25-28) and sold 11 million shares, bringing in $319 million. Wayfair is valued … Continue reading “Wayfair Raises $319M in Quiet IPO Market, Leads Way Nationally”
Twitter Bankrolls MIT Research with $10M, Wide-Open Data Access
MIT is mining its close connections with the technology industry to build a new research lab that hopes to harness social media for the public good. Twitter says it’s committing $10 million to sponsor social-media research at the renowned university and giving it access to the two most coveted streams of Twitter data: its “firehose” of real-time tweets and the entire archive of every … Continue reading “Twitter Bankrolls MIT Research with $10M, Wide-Open Data Access”
Colorado Springs Entrepreneurs Trying to Restart Local Tech Industry
Something is happening down in Colorado Springs, a city of 440,000 that sprawls between Pikes Peak on the west and Air Force bases on the east. Entrepreneurs are trying to create an environment that will help startups grow, which could add a new element to the city’s economy and might even revive a once-flourishing tech … Continue reading “Colorado Springs Entrepreneurs Trying to Restart Local Tech Industry”
Circle’s Bitcoin Service is Free—But Someone’s Gotta Pay
If bitcoin goes mainstream, companies like Circle Internet Financial will probably lead the way. The Boston-based startup isn’t banking on techno-libertarian visions of a unregulated financial system. Instead, Circle is hoping to bring the emerging digital currency trend to everyday consumers by giving it the familiar feel of online banking, complete with trusted-middleman protections. The … Continue reading “Circle’s Bitcoin Service is Free—But Someone’s Gotta Pay”
App Judges Relationships, Green Beret Tackles Trucking at ERA Demo Day
Featuring an eclectic mix of ideas, on Tuesday the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator held a demo day in New York for its latest class of 10 graduates. The slideshow above offers a taste of each startup’s plans—which ranged from professional services to perfume ordering—but a couple of their ideas caught my attention. Traansmission, presented by CEO … Continue reading “App Judges Relationships, Green Beret Tackles Trucking at ERA Demo Day”
Soon a Spinout, PayPal Faces Threats From Stripe, Big Mobile Players
PayPal was a startup trailblazer of online payments back when it was acquired by eBay in 2002. Now the digital payments giant is slated to operate again as an independent company next year under a spinoff plan eBay announced Tuesday. But after a dozen years under the eBay umbrella, the new PayPal will emerge into … Continue reading “Soon a Spinout, PayPal Faces Threats From Stripe, Big Mobile Players”