Yesterday’s CES Unveiled New York show gave a glimpse of flashy gadgets, familiar and new, with local startup Canary chirping among them. I ran into Adam Sager, Canary’s CEO, at this preamble to January’s annual International CES. He said Canary is busy prepping for next spring’s release of its home-monitoring device. It can be hard … Continue reading “Canary’s Adam Sager Eager to Connect Home Security to Smartphones”
Category: National
Boombotix App Coaxes Synchronized Sound from Bluetooth Speakers
It’s no surprise, in this era of personal technology, that more and more people want to fill the air around them with sound from personalized audio systems like the Jambox from Jawbone or the Boombot Rex from Boombotix—devices that stream music from smartphone playlists over Bluetooth. But what if several members of a group all … Continue reading “Boombotix App Coaxes Synchronized Sound from Bluetooth Speakers”
Ezoic Raises $5.6M to Introduce Multivariate Testing for Web Masses
Ezoic, a three-year-old startup that provides automated Web analysis to optimize the layout of its customers’ websites to maximize their ad revenue, is stepping into the light today, saying it has closed a $5.6 million Series A round of venture financing. The London venture firm Balderton Capital led the round, which was joined by another … Continue reading “Ezoic Raises $5.6M to Introduce Multivariate Testing for Web Masses”
FlightCar Opens in LA—Hear CEO at Xconomy’s Hardtech Event 12/9
[Updated 12:10 pm] Rujul Zaparde and his friends weren’t purposely looking to unlock a legendarily tough business challenge when they founded FlightCar, a venture-backed startup that offers cheap parking for travelers who rent their wheels to someone else. “We really thought this was a cool idea, and we really wanted to test this out,” Zaparde … Continue reading “FlightCar Opens in LA—Hear CEO at Xconomy’s Hardtech Event 12/9”
J&J Joins With Evotec to Hunt for Early Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease
Big pharmaceutical companies are taking lessons from the disappointing performance of experimental drugs aimed at one of the most obvious targets in Alzheimer’s disease—the deposits of a protein called beta-amyloid that appear in the brain when the disabling neurodegenerative disorder is clearly established. New Brunswick, NJ-based Johnson & Johnson and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly both saw … Continue reading “J&J Joins With Evotec to Hunt for Early Causes of Alzheimer’s Disease”
Brian Shin Raises $4.5M for Mustbin, Looks to Mobilize Your Personal Data
Brian Shin has a good friend who lost everything in Hurricane Sandy. Unfortunately for him, Mustbin did not exist yet. If it did, Shin says, his friend could have at least made digital copies of his most precious papers such as passports, insurance forms, taxes, contracts, and photos. “His life would be so much better,” … Continue reading “Brian Shin Raises $4.5M for Mustbin, Looks to Mobilize Your Personal Data”
How Did Your Biotech Company Get Out of a Jam? Join Us Dec. 9 in SF
Any biotech company that that wants to last more than a few years has been tested a time or two, and has a story to tell about a near-death experience. How did it plan to stay afloat through the inevitable stormy seas? When the company truly found itself in a bind, how did it get … Continue reading “How Did Your Biotech Company Get Out of a Jam? Join Us Dec. 9 in SF”
Arena’s Expanded Marketing Deal with Eisai Has Broad Implications
Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) rode a wave of investor enthusiasm after the San Diego company said last week it has expanded its commercialization agreement with the Japanese drug giant Eisai to cover most of the world. The news sent Arena’s stock soaring Friday (gaining over 17 percent to close at $4.79 a share) and again … Continue reading “Arena’s Expanded Marketing Deal with Eisai Has Broad Implications”
Former LineRate and NexGen CEOs Talk Exits and Trade War Stories
Before getting in, you should think about how you’re going to get out. That was the message of last week’s Colorado Capital Conference, an event run by the Rockies Venture Club. While the event featured the usual startup pitches and networking, the focus of this year’s keynotes were planning and executing exits. That’s a fitting … Continue reading “Former LineRate and NexGen CEOs Talk Exits and Trade War Stories”
Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle
Seattle seems to be adding to its big data assets by the day. Today, it’s a $37.8 million grant to the University of Washington and two other elite institutions to strengthen data-driven science. This effort and others like it promise to help attract and train the sought-after data scientists driving the next generation of discovery … Continue reading “Discount Ends Today: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle”
Reconsider and Revalue: Fostering Community Impact Through “Locavesting”
The biggest news in the investment world right now is perhaps Twitter’s stunningly successful initial public stock offering last Thursday, which left the company valued at approximately $24 billion. Some pundits, however, see Twitter’s IPO as another indication that we’re poised at the edge of a tech bubble similar to the one that decimated Silicon … Continue reading “Reconsider and Revalue: Fostering Community Impact Through “Locavesting””
Boston Roundup: Formlabs, Yesware, Globoforce, Shuttersong
Catching up after the long weekend, here’s a bit of Boston-area tech business spanning lawsuits, acquisitions, IPOs, and small fundraising rounds: —It looks like Somerville, MA-based Formlabs, a 3D printing startup that recently raised $19 million, hasn’t quite shed a lingering patent lawsuit. South Carolina-based 3D Systems filed to dismiss its patent lawsuit against Formlabs … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Formlabs, Yesware, Globoforce, Shuttersong”
Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists
Scientists in nearly every field are confronting the blessing and the curse of big data. New scientific instruments and simulations such as the Large Hadron Collider and the cabled ocean observatory in the northeastern Pacific promise more and better observations of places and phenomena that were difficult or impossible to access before. Sociologists and economists … Continue reading “Big Data Grant from Moore, Sloan Aims to Make Pi-Shaped Scientists”
Dendreon Cuts 150 Jobs, As Prostate Cancer Drug Sales Decline
Dendreon once had 2,000 employees at its peak, less than three years ago. Its stock was once over $40 a share. Analysts once predicted its prostate cancer drug would rake in billions in sales every year, with no generic competition in sight. Today, it’s down to 820 employees, its stock is under $3, and it’s … Continue reading “Dendreon Cuts 150 Jobs, As Prostate Cancer Drug Sales Decline”
Dallas’s Naya Ventures Targets Investments in Telecom Startups
Dayakar Puskoor wants you to know that North Texas’s telecom scene is not dead yet. More than a decade after the region’s telecommunications industry busted, leading to company closures and layoffs numbering around 100,000, Puskoor hopes to be part of its resurrection. The software engineer turned entrepreneur and investor believes so much in the region’s … Continue reading “Dallas’s Naya Ventures Targets Investments in Telecom Startups”
Healthcare Gets Personal: George Church to Keynote Our Dec. 12 Event
Say what you want about Obamacare, aka the Affordable Care Act. Innovation is coming fast to healthcare—and it’s increasingly bringing the power of technology right down to the individual. Whether it’s super-crunching your genome, the latest fitness apps or wearables, or new therapeutic games (yes, games that make you healthier), an array of advances are … Continue reading “Healthcare Gets Personal: George Church to Keynote Our Dec. 12 Event”
Ayah Bdeir of LittleBits to Bring Inventiveness to Hardtech Revolution
The thump and rhythm of music creation will soon be within reach for users of littleBits. At last Friday’s press preview for the Engadget Expand tech show, littleBits CEO Ayah Bdeir made a whole lot of noise. Actually, it was more like well-controlled electronic wave tones and dope beats. After her time on stage, Bdeir … Continue reading “Ayah Bdeir of LittleBits to Bring Inventiveness to Hardtech Revolution”
Sarepta Shares Crumble As FDA Calls New Drug Application “Premature”
The question of whether Sarepta Therapeutics could file for FDA approval of its Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy drug based on a tiny, yet promising set of data from a mid-stage clinical trial has been one of the biggest biotech questions of the year. The FDA provided the answer today, and it wasn’t the one the Cambridge, … Continue reading “Sarepta Shares Crumble As FDA Calls New Drug Application “Premature””
Curious Offers Online Learning Without the Commitment of MOOCs
Before co-founding lifelong learning platform Curious, CEO Justin Kitch was hanging out at home with his kids, taking some time off. He had sold his first company, Homestead.com, to Intuit in 2007, and after a few years there, he was ready to spend some time at home. So he started doing as much as he … Continue reading “Curious Offers Online Learning Without the Commitment of MOOCs”
Austin’s Pivot3 Taps Board Chairman, Tech Vet, As New CEO
Ron Nash, the newly appointed CEO for Austin’s Pivot3, brings with him a particularly intimate familiarity with the data storage company’s operations: He has been its chairman of the board. “We’re making the transition between startup and being a small company,” he says. “This is a time when the company should have a breakout period.” … Continue reading “Austin’s Pivot3 Taps Board Chairman, Tech Vet, As New CEO”
Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World
I’m ready to confess that I’ve been basking in a particular drug-induced fantasy for a number of years. It’s a different type than we usual read about, and I suspect it’s shared by a fair number of other folks who work in biopharma. We dream of the day when a medicine we created begins to … Continue reading “Time to Come Clean: Why A High-Tech Guy Envies the Low-Tech World”
New Roomba Is Key to iRobot’s Home of the Future—and Its Business
The godfather of commercial robotics, Bedford, MA-based iRobot, has a brand new Roomba coming out today. What could possibly be exciting about a new robot vacuum cleaner? You probably know the Roomba has been around for many years (since 2002). You may also know that its parent, iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]), has sold 10 million home … Continue reading “New Roomba Is Key to iRobot’s Home of the Future—and Its Business”
Zalicus Pain Drug Flops in Two Key Clinical Studies
Zalicus has been waiting for years to see if its reformulation work on a failed pain drug would lead to success in clinical trials. Unfortunately for the Cambridge, MA-based company, it’s just meant more of the same disappointing results. Zalicus said today that its experimental pain drug, Z160, missed its mark in two mid-stage clinical … Continue reading “Zalicus Pain Drug Flops in Two Key Clinical Studies”
Una Ryan to Spearhead New Bay Area BioEconomy Initiative
Una Ryan spent much of her biotech career doing what she could to build organizations in Boston. Now she’s going to do what she can to connect various pieces of the biotech puzzle at a new nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area BioEconomy Initiative is the new group with Ryan as … Continue reading “Una Ryan to Spearhead New Bay Area BioEconomy Initiative”
How Alkermes Survived a Brush With Death
Most every biotech company with some mileage has had at least one near-death experience. Maybe the key experiment failed, or a dangerous side effect emerged late in the game. Maybe a rich competitor decided to squash the little guy with a frivolous intellectual property lawsuit. Maybe a key partner bailed for whatever reason. Maybe the … Continue reading “How Alkermes Survived a Brush With Death”
Zalicus Awaits Day of Reckoning, Braces For Key Pain Drug Results
Like any biotech about to release data from a key trial, Zalicus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZLCS]]) is at a crossroads. Imminently, Cambridge, MA-based Zalicus will publish the top-line numbers from two mid-stage clinical trials of an experimental pain drug called Z160. The stakes are big for Zalicus, because this is its best shot to show investors—or a … Continue reading “Zalicus Awaits Day of Reckoning, Braces For Key Pain Drug Results”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Santarus, Cytori, IPOs, and More
This was a big week for life sciences news in San Diego. A very big week. So without further ado: —Salix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SLXP]]) of Raleigh, NC, said it’s buying San Diego-based Santarus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTS]]) in a deal valued at $2.6 billion. Santarus, founded in 1996, has built up a diverse portfolio of drugs for … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Santarus, Cytori, IPOs, and More”
MVCA Celebrates Year’s Top Deals, Names New Board Chair
The Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) held its annual awards dinner this week to honor the year’s most important deals and VCs. During the dinner, the MVCA also named Jim Adox of Venture Investors as its new board chair. Carrie Jones, executive director of the MVCA, says that 2013 was a good year for Michigan’s … Continue reading “MVCA Celebrates Year’s Top Deals, Names New Board Chair”
Techstars Austin Launches Tech Startups in First Texas Demo Day
Let’s be upfront about disclosure. I have been attending Techstars Demo Days since 2008, and have always been impressed with the accelerator’s ability to take talented teams and convert them into investment-worthy businesses. In 2011, the Mercury Fund, where I am a partner, joined with a few others to create a fund to provide $100,000 … Continue reading “Techstars Austin Launches Tech Startups in First Texas Demo Day”
Apple’s Weakness: Customer Loyalty Has Its Limits
If you’re ever forced to read a public company’s annual report, turn first to the “risk factors” section, which is always the most entertaining. This is where companies are required to disclose all of the things that could go terribly wrong with their businesses. It’s a Wall Street version of Edward Gorey’s Gashlycrumb Tinies (“A … Continue reading “Apple’s Weakness: Customer Loyalty Has Its Limits”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Arno, Accelerate LI, Immunogen, & More
Abstracts for next month’s annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology began pouring in Thursday, but plenty more happened along the East Coast before investors began combing through those market-moving clinical trial summaries. Those stories below: —Why are Opko Health (NYSE: [[ticker:OPK]]) and the founder of private equity firm TPG Capital circling Flemington, NJ-based … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Arno, Accelerate LI, Immunogen, & More”
LevelUp’s Latest Fundraise Intended to Get It to “Break-Even”
We’ve got an answer about the latest fundraising round for LevelUp, the Boston-based mobile payments startup with a history of twists and turns–and big venture backing. In late September, LevelUp quietly filed SEC paperwork for a $7.5 million equity investment round. That came on top of the startup’s existing $41 million venture pot, but was … Continue reading “LevelUp’s Latest Fundraise Intended to Get It to “Break-Even””
Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19
From the latest on in-home sensors to next-generation big data platforms to Internet-scale data-centric applications to the future of artificial intelligence, we’ve got the data-to-insight pipeline covered at Xconomy’s Nov. 19 forum, Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle. The full agenda for this half-day event is locked in and now available here. You … Continue reading “Agenda: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data in Seattle on Nov. 19”
Bristol-Myers Cuts Clinical Team at ZymoGenetics Seattle Site
[Update: 2:50 pm PT] Bristol-Myers Squibb has laid off as many as 20 people in its clinical development/operations group at ZymoGenetics in Seattle as part of a companywide R&D restructuring, Xconomy has learned. New York-based Bristol-Myers acquired ZymoGenetics for about $885 million in October 2010, and pledged a few months later to retain the remaining … Continue reading “Bristol-Myers Cuts Clinical Team at ZymoGenetics Seattle Site”
Axe Falls on Ariad’s Workforce After Cancer Drug Blowup
It wasn’t long ago that Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) was building a massive new headquarters in Cambridge, MA, to help roll out its first FDA-approved cancer drug, ponatinib (Iclusig). Just a few months later, it’s on the defensive, cutting almost half of its workforce. Ariad announced plans today to cut 160 jobs, about 40 percent … Continue reading “Axe Falls on Ariad’s Workforce After Cancer Drug Blowup”
Hip to Be Cubed: Modular Robotics Raises More Than $56K Via Kickstarter
Add another name to the list of well-funded startups turning to Kickstarter to build an audience and gain exposure for new product launches. Modular Robotics is a Boulder, CO-based startup that builds robotic construction kits. On Thursday, ModRobotics began a Kickstarter campaign for MOSS, its second product. The target is to raise $100,000 within 34 … Continue reading “Hip to Be Cubed: Modular Robotics Raises More Than $56K Via Kickstarter”
New Austin Fund to Focus on Early Stage Technology Startups Locally
Silverton Partners, an Austin venture capital firm, announced today it has launched a new $75 million fund. The fund, which is the firm’s fourth, will focus on making early-stage seed investments in technology companies in the Austin area. It’s a market that is especially attractive to Silverton’s group of investors, many of whom are repeat … Continue reading “New Austin Fund to Focus on Early Stage Technology Startups Locally”
Agenda Live for D2: The Future of Data and Devices, Nov. 21 Forum
Wolfram, Pentland, Chang, Hirschtick, Lynch, Rae. Big Data, Connected Devices, the Cloud, Security, Analytics. They are all part of a fantastic lineup of people and topics on tap for D2: The Future of Data and Devices, Xconomy’s half-day forum that will take place in downtown Boston on the afternoon of November 21. And now the … Continue reading “Agenda Live for D2: The Future of Data and Devices, Nov. 21 Forum”
Mobile Marketing Tech Player Appboy, Kevin Ryan’s Zola Nab Funding
A pair of funding deals hit New York this week in mobile marketing technology and online wedding gifting. On Wednesday, mobile relationship manager Appboy said it raised $7.6 million in a Series A round led by Icon Venture Partners. Other investors in the round included IDG Ventures, Blumberg Capital, T5 Capital, Bullpen Capital, Accelerator Ventures, … Continue reading “Mobile Marketing Tech Player Appboy, Kevin Ryan’s Zola Nab Funding”
Boston Roundup: Facebook, Sold, Rethink Robotics, RallyPoint
Hey look, a story that has nothing to do with the Twitter IPO! How unusual. Instead, we’ve got a few news tidbits about tech companies big and small opening offices, getting acquired, and raising money: —Facebook, infamously started in the Boston area before decamping to California, is finally publicly acknowledging that it’s set up an … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Facebook, Sold, Rethink Robotics, RallyPoint”
Building Biotechs to Last: See Bonnie Anderson, Dan Bradbury & More
For a few years, “virtual” biotech companies with a single asset and a handful of employees and contractors were the rage. The idea was to get a small team to work together a few years, hit some milestone, and flip it to Big Pharma. This year, in what looks like the second-biggest crop of biotech … Continue reading “Building Biotechs to Last: See Bonnie Anderson, Dan Bradbury & More”
Topspin Joins With Accelerate LI to Back Local Biotech Startups
When Accelerate Long Island came together in late 2011, its plan was to start up 10 local life sciences and tech companies with the help of about $1.25 million. Unfortunately, that’s peanuts in the biotech world—which is why it’s called on the area’s biggest VC firm to help. Accelerate LI, the broad non-profit organization looking … Continue reading “Topspin Joins With Accelerate LI to Back Local Biotech Startups”
Indi Looks to Show Bang for the Buck With New Lung Cancer Blood Test
[Updated: 11 am PT] People with a history of smoking, and people who are getting up there in age, have an increased risk of lung cancer. That’s been known a long time. But only recently have doctors seen hard data that says routine screening tests for ‘high-risk’ patients, which attempts to spot lung tumors early, … Continue reading “Indi Looks to Show Bang for the Buck With New Lung Cancer Blood Test”
Surviving Exponential Growth: Lessons from Network Solutions
At the beginning of 1995, there were only about 71,000 domain names in the entire world, and a grand total of about 16 million Internet users. This was the year that Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), then based in San Diego, acquired Network Solutions—a small technology company in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC. … Continue reading “Surviving Exponential Growth: Lessons from Network Solutions”
LabDoor Sorts the Healthy Nutraceuticals from the Hype
If a dietary supplement is on the store shelf, it must be safe and effective, right? Surely, somebody has tested whether the manufacturer’s claims are accurate? If only that were true. Take the case of Airborne, a mix of vitamins, herbs, and minerals introduced in the early 1990s. Available in effervescent-tablet and powder form, it’s … Continue reading “LabDoor Sorts the Healthy Nutraceuticals from the Hype”
MyGoToNumber: Exceptional CEO Makes App For Everyday People
MyGoToNumber co-founder and CEO Paul A. Turner III was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, to American parents, but he grew up in Detroit—and, as he recalls, most of its suburbs. “I’ve lived just about everywhere in Oakland County,” he says. “I never went to the same school district for more than two years.” He was … Continue reading “MyGoToNumber: Exceptional CEO Makes App For Everyday People”
2nd Watch Raises $23M to Expand AWS Cloud Migration Business
2nd Watch just scored $23 million to help large businesses, which are shifting their IT functions to the cloud in droves, move to Amazon Web Services. The company, headquartered in Liberty Lake, just east of Spokane, WA, brought on new investor Columbia Capital for the round. Madrona Venture Group, which invested $4.2 million late last … Continue reading “2nd Watch Raises $23M to Expand AWS Cloud Migration Business”
Zimmerman, Hippeau, Casalena Talk Avoiding Bad Hires at First Growth
Values, principles, and attitude can do a lot to shape a company’s image. For tiny startups, though, it can be easy to skip the process of developing a company culture—and that may hurt them later. A panel at Tuesday’s First Growth Venture Network forum discussed the ways companies, big and small, change when culture comes … Continue reading “Zimmerman, Hippeau, Casalena Talk Avoiding Bad Hires at First Growth”
Big Insight from CEOs of Context Relevant, Seeq at Upcoming Forum
Two Seattle-based big data startups illustrate the range of opportunities for companies helping people extract valuable insight from their data. We’re happy to announce that Context Relevant CEO Stephen Purpura and Seeq CEO Steve Sliwa are joining our already packed lineup of speakers for the Nov. 19 Xconomy Forum: Big Insight—Making Sense of Big Data … Continue reading “Big Insight from CEOs of Context Relevant, Seeq at Upcoming Forum”
LevelUp, Mass. AG Coakley Take Aim at “Patent Trolls”
LevelUp, a Boston-based mobile payments startup bankrolled by Google Ventures, is joining with the attorney general of Massachusetts to scold the people behind frivolous patent lawsuits and join growing calls for changes to U.S. intellectual property laws. Seth Priebatsch, LevelUp’s CEO, noted that his young company has been sued over patents four times so far … Continue reading “LevelUp, Mass. AG Coakley Take Aim at “Patent Trolls””