Updated 10:20 am Eastern Here are a few recent financing deals, including some on the stealthy and secretive side, from around the region: —Highland Capital Partners and General Catalyst have put $12 million into a stealthy new enterprise IT startup called ClearSky Data. The news comes via Scott Kirsner at Boston.com, who spoke with founders … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: ClearSky Data, Backupify, Flashnotes, OnCorps, & More”
Category: National
Daytona with Robots & Railguns: Hands-On with Anki Drive
Back in November, I profiled Anki, the San Francisco startup developing AI-driven robots for consumers. Their first product is Anki Drive, a $200 racing game where iPhone-equipped players can take command of agile little cars that zip around on a vinyl racetrack. The object isn’t to win a race, but to gain points by disabling … Continue reading “Daytona with Robots & Railguns: Hands-On with Anki Drive”
Wisconsin Startup Growth Driving More Coworking Spaces
[Updated 10:35 am] For the entrepreneur or remote employee itching to get out of the home office or corner coffee shop, the coworking space phenomenon of the past decade has provided a welcome alternative. These open, often collaborative offices have been growing in number across the country, and that’s the case in Wisconsin as well. … Continue reading “Wisconsin Startup Growth Driving More Coworking Spaces”
Seattle Roundup: Remitly, PlaceFull, Kymeta, UIEvolution, Ador
Time to catch up on a handful of Seattle-area technology news, including new funds for Remitly and Placeful, a partnership between Kymeta and UIEvolution, and an acquisition of Ador, formerly known as Lockerz. The details: —Remitly, the Seattle startup working to reinvent international money transfers, has raised a $5.5 million Series A funding round led … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Remitly, PlaceFull, Kymeta, UIEvolution, Ador”
Austin’s Volusion, WP Engine, and Main Street Hub Raise New Funds
Three business-to-business e-commerce companies in Austin, TX, said that they had raised a total of $64 million Tuesday. —Volusion, which helps retailers create online stores, secured $35 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. The money will be used to further develop the company’s software platform for small and medium-sized businesses. It will also … Continue reading “Austin’s Volusion, WP Engine, and Main Street Hub Raise New Funds”
SF’s Mission Bay Is the New Digital Health Hub, Says Rock Health
It’s been a big week for Rock Health, the San Francisco-based startup accelerator and seed fund for digital health companies. On Sunday, just as the annual JP Morgan Healthcare Conference was about to get underway, Rock Health co-hosted the health IT sector’s largest annual awards ceremony, the “Top 50 in Digital Health.” (The awards are … Continue reading “SF’s Mission Bay Is the New Digital Health Hub, Says Rock Health”
MakerBot Went Big (and Small) at CES with New Lines of 3D Printers
To hear Bre Pettis tell it at the press conference he held at International CES, new territory has opened up for MakerBot Industries. Last week, the CEO and co-founder of the Brooklyn-based company introduced three new desktop 3D printers at the tech tradeshow. Hardware may be what MakerBot is known for, but the company also … Continue reading “MakerBot Went Big (and Small) at CES with New Lines of 3D Printers”
Murfie Shows Promise as an Online CD Market—With Some Catches
Back in the old days, when music was imprisoned on CDs, you might be able to pick up a few extra bucks by hauling your discs to the local music store and trying to sell back the albums that you didn’t listen to anymore. It was kind of like a low-stakes pawn shop: they didn’t … Continue reading “Murfie Shows Promise as an Online CD Market—With Some Catches”
Moderna Spins Out mRNA Cancer Drugs Into New Company, Onkaido
So much money has flowed into Moderna Therapeutics, it was only a matter of time before the company started spending real dough. Cambridge, MA-based Moderna, which is developing a new class of messenger RNA molecules as therapies, says it’s investing $20 million to spin out a new company called Onkaido Therapeutics. The new shop will … Continue reading “Moderna Spins Out mRNA Cancer Drugs Into New Company, Onkaido”
Do Pivots Matter?
In late 2013 Cowboy Ventures did an analysis of U.S.-based tech companies started in the last 10 years, now valued at $1 billion. They found 39 of these companies. They called them the “Unicorn Club.” The article summarized 10 key learnings from the Unicorn club. Surprisingly, one of the “learnings” said that “the “big pivot” … Continue reading “Do Pivots Matter?”
UTest Adds $43M for App Testing, Gets Ready for Future as Applause
Some Boston-area tech startups are no longer startups. Take uTest, the Framingham, MA-based software company that just closed $43 million in Series E funding led by Goldman Sachs. The new money brings uTest’s total raised to about $80 million. Its previous investors include QuestMark Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Longworth Venture Partners, Mass Ventures, and Egan-Managed … Continue reading “UTest Adds $43M for App Testing, Gets Ready for Future as Applause”
ProNAI Therapeutics Raises $12M Series C Round
Plymouth, MI-based biotech company ProNAI Therapeutics announced yesterday that it has secured a $12 million Series C round. The round was led by the Wisconsin-based Capital Midwest Fund and includes new and existing investors. ProNAi, which was formed around technology developed at Wayne State University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, aims to “quiet” … Continue reading “ProNAI Therapeutics Raises $12M Series C Round”
Welcome to Zappos-Style Health Innovation
Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s effort to revitalize downtown Las Vegas includes last month’s launch of a new clinic, run by Iora Health and spearheaded by physician Zubin Damania. Stanford-trained, Damania also happens to rap by the name of ZDoggMD. So it’s no wonder the project has drawn attention. But there’s another unusual aspect to this … Continue reading “Welcome to Zappos-Style Health Innovation”
Juno Therapeutics Adds Jeff Bezos, Venrock to $145M Venture Deal
[Correction: 5:45 pm PT 1/14/14] Seattle-based Juno Therapeutics is already one of the richest biotech startups in industry history, and today it got even richer. The company said today it expanded its Series A venture financing to the jaw-dropping sum of $145 million. Bezos Expeditions, the investment vehicle for Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, joined the … Continue reading “Juno Therapeutics Adds Jeff Bezos, Venrock to $145M Venture Deal”
ZyngaVille Has New Resident: Digital Health Startup Practice Fusion
From all outward signs, Practice Fusion is one of the fastest-growing technology startups in San Francisco, and Zynga is one of the fastest-shrinking. Now the two companies’ shifting fortunes are taking concrete form. Practice Fusion, which has 300 employees and recently raised $85 million in Series D funding, announced plans today to take over office … Continue reading “ZyngaVille Has New Resident: Digital Health Startup Practice Fusion”
Biodesix Secures $26M in New Funds to Market Cancer Treatment Test
Biodesix, a Boulder, CO-based molecular diagnostics company, has been busy on the financing front, announcing today it has raised an additional $6.1 million from investors in an equity sale. The company also secured a $20 million debt facility last week. Biodesix is developing VeriStrat, a test that can be used during the treatment of advanced … Continue reading “Biodesix Secures $26M in New Funds to Market Cancer Treatment Test”
Moderna, Living a Charmed Life, Pulls in Another $125M From Alexion
It’s just another day at the office for Moderna Therapeutics. Ho hum, it secured another $125 million. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, which is seeking to create a new class of therapies around messenger RNA molecules, said today it has pulled in a $100 million up-front cash payment from Cheshire, CT-based Alexion Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALXN]]). … Continue reading “Moderna, Living a Charmed Life, Pulls in Another $125M From Alexion”
TechTown Starts 2014 With $2.5M Renovation, New Co-Working Space
More changes are afoot at TechTown as the startup accelerator streamlines its mission and prepares to anchor neighborhood construction that could make North Midtown a serious hub of innovation. Most striking to visitors is the $2.5 million renovation that TechTown completed in late November. The space has been transformed from a drab, nondescript office to … Continue reading “TechTown Starts 2014 With $2.5M Renovation, New Co-Working Space”
JCI Sells Rest of Auto Electronics Unit to Visteon for $265M
Johnson Controls said Monday it will sell the remainder of its automotive electronics business for $265 million to Visteon, a global automotive supplier with offices in Michigan, China, and the United Kingdom. The deal marks the completion of a significant piece of Johnson Controls’ strategic shift. In the past year, the company has focused on … Continue reading “JCI Sells Rest of Auto Electronics Unit to Visteon for $265M”
Inside Tony Hsieh’s Quiet Plan to Bankroll Hardware Startups
When Jen McCabe joined smartphone robot startup Romotive, the crew was still in its frantic post-Kickstarter afterglow—a flood of pre-orders, an apartment full of parts, nonstop sessions of assembling and shipping products. Soon enough, though, the manic energy gave way to some cold realities. Even with relatively cheap components, cloud-based software, and enthusiastic crowdfunders, building … Continue reading “Inside Tony Hsieh’s Quiet Plan to Bankroll Hardware Startups”
Alkermes Nabs $250M It Doesn’t Need, But Could Fend Off Barbarians
Alkermes doesn’t want to be the little fish that ends up getting swallowed by a big fish someday, like so many other biotechs. Today it has raised another $250 million so that it can be more aggressive, and maybe even more acquisitive, when it wants to be. The Dublin, Ireland and Waltham, MA-based biotech company … Continue reading “Alkermes Nabs $250M It Doesn’t Need, But Could Fend Off Barbarians”
Madison Vaccines Closes $8M Series A Round for Prostate Treatment
Madison Vaccines has closed an $8 million Series A financing round that will fund development of two DNA vaccines intended to fight prostate cancer, the University of Wisconsin-Madison spinoff announced Monday. The round was led by Madison-based Venture Investors, joined by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Madison-based Venture … Continue reading “Madison Vaccines Closes $8M Series A Round for Prostate Treatment”
Milwaukee Water Tech Startups: 3 Themes to Watch
If Milwaukee is going to successfully evolve from a 20th century “Rust Belt” city into a high-growth economy, it will need innovative companies in diverse sectors that play to the region’s strengths. One key sector that has received plenty of local attention and resources the past several years is water. It’s an industry that I … Continue reading “Milwaukee Water Tech Startups: 3 Themes to Watch”
Rock Health Honors “Top 50” Digital Health Entrepreneurs
Who are the entrepreneurs pushing hardest for technology advances that will connect patients with better healthcare? They’re people like Sean Duffy, who’s using the Web to help people make behavioral changes that could head off Type 2 diabetes at his startup Omada Health, and Joanne Rohde, whose company Axial Exchange is building systems that help … Continue reading “Rock Health Honors “Top 50” Digital Health Entrepreneurs”
SNUPI Technologies Raises $7.5M from WRF, Madrona to Take Wally to Market
SNUPI Technologies, the Seattle startup commercializing sensor networks and home health monitoring services, has raised a $7.5 million Series A to commercialize its first product, WallyHome. The investment round was led by Washington Research Foundation Capital, joined by Madrona Venture Group, the Seattle firm that led the company’s $1.7 million seed funding round in December … Continue reading “SNUPI Technologies Raises $7.5M from WRF, Madrona to Take Wally to Market”
What Biotech Pros Will Be Chirping About at JP Morgan This Week
Somebody always has to announce a monster acquisition, or gee-whiz biotech/pharma partnership, on the eve of the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. Everyone wants to be the center of attention at the annual biotech investing and networking frenzy. With a full business week to get ready, biotech executives and all their PR handlers … Continue reading “What Biotech Pros Will Be Chirping About at JP Morgan This Week”
Alnylam Wheels, Deals, and Gets $700M Investment From Genzyme
A few years ago, Genzyme struck a deal with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) to grab some rights to an RNA interference drug program for a rare disease called transthyretin amyloidosis. Clearly, Genzyme liked what it saw, because it’s now ready to write a massive $700 million check to the Cambridge, MA-based company to significantly expand … Continue reading “Alnylam Wheels, Deals, and Gets $700M Investment From Genzyme”
Roundup: Capital Royalty, Rebellion, Aeglea, PeopleAnswers
New funding and an acquisition round out the news this week for Xconomy Texas: Houston-based Capital Royalty announced Friday it had agreed to provide Biodesix up to $20 million through a structured debt financing. The Boulder, CO-based biotech company will use the money for ongoing development and marketing of VeriStrat, a serum protein test that … Continue reading “Roundup: Capital Royalty, Rebellion, Aeglea, PeopleAnswers”
Mile High Roundup: New Tech Gets Healthy, CU Contest Kicks Off
Welcome to the Mile High Roundup, a look at some of the interesting things that have happened this week in the tech scene in Boulder, Denver, and around Colorado. In this edition, healthcare startups take over New Tech, Colorado’s own space shuttle gets some European friends, and the University of Colorado Boulder’s New Venture Challenge … Continue reading “Mile High Roundup: New Tech Gets Healthy, CU Contest Kicks Off”
Sports Apps, ‘Telemedicine’ for Business Among DreamIt Startups
DreamIt Ventures kicks off its second Austin program today with a slate of nine startups—some coming to the Texas capital from as far as Bangalore and Sweden. The international entrepreneurs will join their stateside peers for a 12-week accelerator program that includes a dedicated mentor matched to each startup’s niche. The DreamIt program invests $25,000 … Continue reading “Sports Apps, ‘Telemedicine’ for Business Among DreamIt Startups”
What Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer Did and Did Not Say in Her CES Keynote
Where is Yahoo going? Does the company have a killer plan to hush its critics? Those were the main questions I wanted CEO Marissa Mayer to answer in her first-ever keynote address at International CES. She took the stage at this week’s big technology trade show in Las Vegas, giving a carefully planned talk on … Continue reading “What Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer Did and Did Not Say in Her CES Keynote”
Tal Medical Gets NIMH Backing for Fast-Acting Depression Therapy
If you’re suffering from depression, then going to a doctor’s office, sticking your head into a magnetic coil and getting your brain electronically stimulated might not seem all that appetizing. But what if the antidepressants you’ve been prescribed haven’t helped—and that new procedure, in a half hour or less, just might? That’s the kind of … Continue reading “Tal Medical Gets NIMH Backing for Fast-Acting Depression Therapy”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Gerngross, Akili, Intercept, & More
The (entire) biotech world is preparing to descend on San Francisco next week for the annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare bonanza. No surprise, then, that a flood of news hit the wires just before everyone headed to the airport. Those stories, and a few Xconomy specials below, recap a frenzied few days in biotech: —You may … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Gerngross, Akili, Intercept, & More”
How I Learned to Stay Organized with Evernote, Post-its & Foamcore
I like to think I’m a fairly organized person. I have to be. I’ve got stories to edit and events to plan. I write 5,000 to 10,000 words a week. Some 200 to 300 new e-mail messages hit my inbox every day, all requiring some kind of action. And I have a lot of cool … Continue reading “How I Learned to Stay Organized with Evernote, Post-its & Foamcore”
Milwaukee, Chicago VCs Bullish on Wisconsin Startups
The amount of startup activity in Wisconsin over the past few years, particularly forming new funding sources and supporting tech startups, has venture capitalists from Milwaukee and Chicago cautiously bullish about the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. That was the consensus from a Thursday panel discussion between VCs hosted by the Wisconsin Technology Council’s Wisconsin Innovation Network … Continue reading “Milwaukee, Chicago VCs Bullish on Wisconsin Startups”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Receptos, Auspex, Avelas, and More
Amid the flurry of announcements leading up to next week’s JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, you might have missed some significant funding deals coming out of San Diego’s life sciences sector. Here are the highlights, along with my wrap-up of other news. —San Diego’s Auspex Pharmaceuticals said it has raised $35 million in … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Receptos, Auspex, Avelas, and More”
EPA Taps Stemina to Screen Drugs for Possible Birth Defects
Stemina Biomarker Discovery has won a $10.6 million contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to screen drugs and chemicals for their potential effects on unborn fetuses. The Madison, WI, company announced the five-year agreement on Thursday. It’s part of the EPA’s ToxCast initiative begun in 2007, which uses automated screening processes to expose living … Continue reading “EPA Taps Stemina to Screen Drugs for Possible Birth Defects”
Space Flight Launched Today Includes CU Studies of Antibiotics, Ants
An experiment designed at the University of Colorado at Boulder, testing the effect of microgravity on antibiotics, blasted off into space today. CU scientists believe the mission could help solve how bacteria develop drug resistance, a danger to astronauts and Earth-dwellers alike. The flight is bound for the International Space Station, and the experiment—along with … Continue reading “Space Flight Launched Today Includes CU Studies of Antibiotics, Ants”
Menlo’s Rich Sheridan on Building an Intentionally Joyful Workplace
In his new book, “Joy, Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love,” Rich Sheridan, founder and CEO of the Ann Arbor-based software company Menlo Innovations, writes about the first time he fell in love. “I was only a freshman in high school, but a singular moment changed the course of my life,” he writes. … Continue reading “Menlo’s Rich Sheridan on Building an Intentionally Joyful Workplace”
Akili, Pfizer, and the Rise of Videogame Brain Therapies
The idea that playing video games can affect your brain has been around for a while. Now a startup and a big drug company are setting up a clinical trial to answer a specific question—namely, whether a video game can predict which players are at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. Akili Interactive Labs, based in … Continue reading “Akili, Pfizer, and the Rise of Videogame Brain Therapies”
Intercept Shares Skyrocket After Liver Drug Nails Mid-Stage Study
Those that invested in the Intercept Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ICPT]]) IPO last year are likely dancing in the streets today. The New York-based biotech’s shares soared more than 230 percent—from a $72.39 Wednesday close to $239.02—in pre-market trading. Investors are clamoring into the stock after Intercept announced that it stopped a mid-stage clinical trial early because … Continue reading “Intercept Shares Skyrocket After Liver Drug Nails Mid-Stage Study”
Sangamo, Biogen Team up to Make Drugs For Blood Disorders
Sangamo Biosciences has found a second big player willing to place a bet on its zinc finger technology: Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]). Richmond, CA-based Sangamo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGMO]]) and Biogen have struck a deal to co-develop a group of drugs to treat hemoglobinopathies, inherited blood diseases—like beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease—that come either from … Continue reading “Sangamo, Biogen Team up to Make Drugs For Blood Disorders”
Zymeworks Nabs $15M, Adds Lilly Partnership, in Antibody Drug Quest
Ali Tehrani wants to prove that he didn’t just get lucky three years ago when his company, Vancouver, BC-based Zymeworks, struck a partnership with Merck. So today Zymeworks is announcing it has found one more Big Pharma partner, raised another $15 million, and has continued to work with Merck even through its recent R&D shake-up. … Continue reading “Zymeworks Nabs $15M, Adds Lilly Partnership, in Antibody Drug Quest”
With New Funding, Avelas Moves Closer to Color-Coded Cancer Map
San Diego’s Avelas Biosciences says today it has closed on $6.85 million in Series B financing to advance the use of fluorescing peptides that can be used during breast cancer surgery to illuminate cancerous tissue. The new round brings the startup’s total funding to about $14 million since 2009, when Avelas was founded by Roger … Continue reading “With New Funding, Avelas Moves Closer to Color-Coded Cancer Map”
Tillman Gerngross, the Scientist Turned Scientific Businessman
Tillman Gerngross came to Dartmouth College 15 years ago desperate for a new start. A biochemical engineer in his mid 30s, he’d just watched seven prime career years go by with little but wasted time, a narrow set of skills, and a few tough life lessons to show for it. As it turns out, it … Continue reading “Tillman Gerngross, the Scientist Turned Scientific Businessman”
MedTech Inventor Tackles Surgical Scarring With ZipLine Closures
There’s a straight line from Amir Belson’s boyhood dreams to ZipLine, a startup exploring new ways for patients to heal after surgery. When Belson was six or seven, he started bringing his inventions to his father. At age nine, the Israeli youngster showed his dad a detailed drawing of an airplane that had turboprops on … Continue reading “MedTech Inventor Tackles Surgical Scarring With ZipLine Closures”
U.S. Biomedical Research at a Precipice
[Editor’s Note: this post was co-authored by Justin Chakma, Dr. Reshma Jagsi, and Stephen M. Sammut.] Since 1950, U.S. government funding has supported research underlying 84 percent of Nobel Prizes awarded in Medicine & Physiology. These scientific breakthroughs have resulted in new medicines and created significant economic value. For example, the discovery of gene silencing, … Continue reading “U.S. Biomedical Research at a Precipice”
Noah Technologies Aims to Keep Basement Floodwaters At Bay
It’s a homeowner’s nightmare version of the old tree-falling-in-a-forest conundrum: What happens if a pipe bursts in a bathroom and nobody’s home to hear the water sensor alarm? Sharper minds can sort out the philosophical question of whether a sound is made in this scenario, but the real-world result is clear: a flooded building with … Continue reading “Noah Technologies Aims to Keep Basement Floodwaters At Bay”
Flexion Files for IPO, Seeks $86M to Develop Osteoarthritis Drugs
(Corrected, 2/12/14 at 12:11 pm ET) Flexion Therapeutics today became the latest biotech to jump into the IPO queue, looking to public investors to help bankroll the development of its osteoarthritis drugs. The Burlington, MA-based company filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday, outlining plans to raise as much as … Continue reading “Flexion Files for IPO, Seeks $86M to Develop Osteoarthritis Drugs”
Talk Among Yourselves: A Washington State Carbon Tax Outlook
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee got Republicans and Democrats to talk in 2013 about proposals to meet the state’s carbon emissions reduction goals. Expect more talk, but little action in 2014. Olympia watchers do see prospects for movement on a few smaller issues important to the Washington clean technology and energy sectors, and technology companies broadly. … Continue reading “Talk Among Yourselves: A Washington State Carbon Tax Outlook”