David Schenkein is a kid from Queens. An underdog. The kid who barely eked his way into medical school. The one who had to work day and night as a young doctor to keep up with those who went to the glitzy Ivy League schools. That same kid from Queens ended up running the cancer … Continue reading “David Schenkein, Cancer Doc Turned CEO, Aims to Build New Genentech”
Category: National
Akamai: Indonesia Top Source of Internet Attacks; DDoS Reports Jump
Malicious hackers have a new favorite country. Indonesia was the source of the most Internet attack traffic in the second quarter of 2013, pushing China out of the top spot in the quarterly “State of the Internet” report from Akamai (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]). The Cambridge, MA-based company, which handles about a third of global Internet traffic, … Continue reading “Akamai: Indonesia Top Source of Internet Attacks; DDoS Reports Jump”
CounterTack Adds $12M Series B to Stop IT Attacks at the Front Door
It’s an immutable law of the Internet: if you’ve got a valuable network, someone’s going to attack. The tricky part is how to defend yourself. The way Neal Creighton sees it, the IT industry has not spent nearly enough time watching the “endpoints”—servers and individual computers—that can serve as a front door for malicious hackers. … Continue reading “CounterTack Adds $12M Series B to Stop IT Attacks at the Front Door”
Two California Startups Create BitDazzle to Take Bitcoin Mainstream
Cashie Commerce, a San Diego startup that provides a purchasing platform for online merchants, has partnered with San Francisco-based Coinbase to create BitDazzle, a new online marketplace that accepts the digital currency Bitcoin. The move comes just weeks after the feds shut down the illicit trafficking website Silk Road—where all transactions were conducted using Bitcoins—and … Continue reading “Two California Startups Create BitDazzle to Take Bitcoin Mainstream”
“60 Minutes” Missed Big Opportunity to Highlight Detroit’s Entrepreneurs
The venerable television news magazine 60 Minutes began Sunday’s broadcast with a piece called “Detroit On the Edge.” I’ve been a fan of 60 Minutes for decades, and I was looking forward to the segment even as its title made me wary. If there was one journalistic outlet I expected to present a fresh, balanced … Continue reading ““60 Minutes” Missed Big Opportunity to Highlight Detroit’s Entrepreneurs”
JOBS Act Fallout: Do New Rules Mean Don’t Talk Money on Demo Day?
What started off as the usual demo day for the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator in New York quickly showed how the JOBS Act’s new rules on fundraising have clamped down the way startups pitch—or have they? Over and over, the audience at last month’s ERA demo day was told the companies on stage were not seeking funding, … Continue reading “JOBS Act Fallout: Do New Rules Mean Don’t Talk Money on Demo Day?”
Researcher Probes Science to Building a “Bio-Artificial” Heart
Most of our organs contain enough stem cells to repair and regenerate themselves after injuries. But not the heart, that most central of muscles. And finding a way to compensate for that fact has become a life’s mission for Doris Taylor, a new arrival at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston. Taylor is a pioneer … Continue reading “Researcher Probes Science to Building a “Bio-Artificial” Heart”
Gout Drug’s Sales Flop Lands Savient Pharma in Chapter 11
Three years ago, Savient Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SVNT]]) was riding an FDA-approved gout drug to a stock price in the $20s. Now, its best hope to avoid an outright liquidation is a bankruptcy sale. Bridgewater, NJ-based Savient completed its precipitous plunge today. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which corporate entities often use to either … Continue reading “Gout Drug’s Sales Flop Lands Savient Pharma in Chapter 11”
LaunchAngels Hopes to Consolidate Crowdfunding for Startup Investors
Crowdfunding for startups is starting to attract more professional investment managers. LaunchAngels, a Boston-based fund for individual investors, is seeking its first $1 million pool of cash to invest in early stage and growing companies. The company is a spinoff of Big Idea Group, a Bedford, NH-based business consulting firm. It’s being headed by CEO … Continue reading “LaunchAngels Hopes to Consolidate Crowdfunding for Startup Investors”
1366 Technologies Raises $15M for New Solar-Power Wafer Factory
The future is looking brighter for one Massachusetts cleantech startup. 1366 Technologies, which makes silicon wafers used in solar-power cells, has raised $15 million to help build a full-size factory with output starting at about 60 million wafers per year. That’s enough to generate about 250 megawatts of solar electricity, which 1366 says is adequate … Continue reading “1366 Technologies Raises $15M for New Solar-Power Wafer Factory”
PureTech Ventures, JDRF Team Up to Form Type 1 Diabetes Startup Creator
Disease foundations often give money to startups working on treatments that might help the people they advocate for. But it’s not too often you’ll see a nonprofit foundation join with a venture firm to create their own company, as JDRF and PureTech Ventures are doing today. Boston-based PureTech has secured a $5 million investment from … Continue reading “PureTech Ventures, JDRF Team Up to Form Type 1 Diabetes Startup Creator”
Denver’s Lessons for Helping Evolving Startup Communities “Suck Less”
Editor’s Note: At a panel at Denver Startup Week discussing what lessons could be learned from the event, Foundry Group managing director and “Startup Communities” author Brad Feld said local entrepreneurs and community leaders should understand “what Denver sucks at.” That comment inspired this e-mail Q-and-A, which is relevant to anyone trying to build a … Continue reading “Denver’s Lessons for Helping Evolving Startup Communities “Suck Less””
App Discovery Is Still Broken; MyPad Offers a Social Solution
It’s one of the strangest contrasts in today’s tech world. Mobile hardware keeps advancing screamingly fast, with each new smartphone model made obsolete by a faster, cooler successor within months. And the number of mobile apps keeps multiplying—it’s surpassed 1 million in the Google Play store and is approaching that number in Apple’s iTunes App … Continue reading “App Discovery Is Still Broken; MyPad Offers a Social Solution”
The $100M Club: Where the Major League Life Sciences Companies Are
[Updated: 1:15 pm PT 11/10/13] People love to rank U.S. biotech clusters. Most of these reports are full of data on venture financing, patents, jobs, and NIH funding. But many are riddled with flawed and biased methodology, and are usually designed to push a political agenda. These rankings, which many people take at face value, … Continue reading “The $100M Club: Where the Major League Life Sciences Companies Are”
Chevron To Invest $90 Million in Fund to Support Energy Startups
Chevron Technology Ventures has rolled out a new $90 million venture capital fund to invest in new technologies in the oil and gas business. The fund, which is its fifth and is called CTV Fund V, will fund early to mid-stage startups innovating in ways that would improve Chevron’s business performance or create new opportunities … Continue reading “Chevron To Invest $90 Million in Fund to Support Energy Startups”
Boston Roundup: NextView, Sample6, Nuance, Intelligent.ly, Aereo
A fine selection of venture capitalists and startups raising money, acquisitions, new offices, and court victories in this end-of-the-week collection of news from around the Boston-area innovation scene: —NextView Ventures, an early stage VC firm, is raising its second fund. Paperwork filed with the SEC offers no clues about the fund’s size or investors, but … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: NextView, Sample6, Nuance, Intelligent.ly, Aereo”
Seattle Roundup: Nuance+Varolii, Amazon+TenMarks, Funding for Comr.se
It was a busy week in tech M&A locally. Nuance Communications is buying Seattle-based Varolii; Amazon.com steps up its education game with the acquisition of TenMarks; and Add3 has acquired Amplify Interactive to strengthen its search marketing business. Also, 9Mile Labs graduate Comr.se has raised $781,000. The details: —Nuance Communications is bolstering its outbound customer … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Nuance+Varolii, Amazon+TenMarks, Funding for Comr.se”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Verdine, Ariad, Karyopharm, & More
Though the public markets have recently been cozying up to biotech, in the form of a string of successful IPOs, one company offered a reminder this week that investors’ love for the sector is anything but unconditional. That and the rest of the life sciences news around the East Coast below: —Greg Verdine made big … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Verdine, Ariad, Karyopharm, & More”
Here’s How Yummly, the Foodie’s Google, Could Conquer the Kitchen
If you wanted to build a central information hub for the kitchen—connecting consumers with recipe ideas, ingredient lists, shopping assistance, and cooking instructions—you’d probably break the problem down into a few steps. First you’d build the world’s most powerful recipe search engine. Then you’d add filters to help people discover dishes they like, and avoid … Continue reading “Here’s How Yummly, the Foodie’s Google, Could Conquer the Kitchen”
New Search Engine Seeks to Help Colorado Companies Find Freelancers
Life can be tough for freelancers, even in industries where they’re in demand, like software development. Even the best freelancers need to keep tabs on who’s hiring and reach out to potential new clients. The process doesn’t work that well for companies looking to hire people, either. Vetting unknown candidates is one challenge. So is … Continue reading “New Search Engine Seeks to Help Colorado Companies Find Freelancers”
Google X Display Head: Smartphones, Tablets, Apps are “Mind-Numbing”
Millions of consumers may be drooling over the latest versions of their favorite smartphones and tablets, amazed by the sharp displays, powerful cameras, and panoply of applications. But deep inside Google’s experimental hardware unit, where people work on crazy-sounding ideas like driverless cars and balloon-lofted wireless networks, all of that electronics-store stuff is starting to … Continue reading “Google X Display Head: Smartphones, Tablets, Apps are “Mind-Numbing””
Cover Brings an Uber-Style Answer to Splitting Bills at Restaurants
Dining with friends at a restaurant can be a hassle when it comes time to sort out who ordered the shepherd’s pie, but an app from New York-based Cover lets people instantly split the bill, pay, and go. The app launched at the beginning of the month after a year-long private beta in the city, … Continue reading “Cover Brings an Uber-Style Answer to Splitting Bills at Restaurants”
Gilead Climbs on More Good News for Cancer Drug From Seattle
The most lucrative drug to ever come from Seattle is etanercept (Enbrel) for autoimmune diseases. The most famous drug from Seattle is tadalafil (Cialis) for erectile dysfunction. Now the Seattle biotech cluster can start taking credit for one of the world’s best cancer drugs in development. Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]), the Foster City, CA-based biotech … Continue reading “Gilead Climbs on More Good News for Cancer Drug From Seattle”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Ligand, and More
The IPO market for life sciences startups in San Diego and elsewhere remains hot, and diabetes device maker Tandem Diabetes Care joined the local parade of IPOs. We’ve got the overview, along with a wrap-up of the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news. —San Diego-based Tandem Diabetes Care filed for a $100 million IPO, … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Tandem Diabetes, Ligand, and More”
Amazon Aims to Attract More Startups to Its Cloud With AWS Activate
Already viewed as a top cloud computing platform for technology startups, Amazon Web Services is trying to bring more entrepreneurs into its fold with a program of promotional credits, training, and forums geared for nascent businesses. “Startups will forever be a very important customer segment of AWS,” says Amazon CTO Werner Vogels in a blog … Continue reading “Amazon Aims to Attract More Startups to Its Cloud With AWS Activate”
Steve Case on Lessons for Entrepreneurs and HS Seniors
It was a totally packed house last night, with more than 200 people crammed into the cool new theater and networking space at the Cambridge Innovation Center’s Venture Café here in Cambridge, MA. The person of interest for the invitation-only crowd: AOL founder-turned-venture capitalist Steve Case. Case, of course, is one of the best-known entrepreneurs … Continue reading “Steve Case on Lessons for Entrepreneurs and HS Seniors”
Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High
Venture deal activity hit a 12-year high during the third quarter, and big VC investments in Uber, Kymeta, and Flipboard helped push venture funding for U.S. mobile startups over $1 billion for the first time, according to a report today from CB Insights. The New York financial data firm says the 857 venture deals nationwide … Continue reading “Venture Goes Mobile as 3rd Quarter Deal Activity Hits 12-Year High”
Achates Power Refuels with $35M for Cleaner, Fuel-Efficient Engine
San Diego’s Achates Power says today it has raised $35.2 million in a Series C round of venture financing to advance its opposed-piston engine, saying its cleaner and more fuel-efficient design is gaining traction throughout the automotive industry. Although details about the company’s work with automakers remains under wraps, Achates CEO David Johnson says the … Continue reading “Achates Power Refuels with $35M for Cleaner, Fuel-Efficient Engine”
CEOs of Qumulo, Socrata to Speak at Big Insight Event Nov. 19
Big data has captured the attention and checkbooks of investors. In the last year, Seattle-area companies building big data platforms, tools, and applications have raised north of $100 million from venture capitalists. Add Tableau Software’s IPO, and the area’s companies in this space have landed investment of close to $300 million in the last 12 … Continue reading “CEOs of Qumulo, Socrata to Speak at Big Insight Event Nov. 19”
Michigan Cyber Range Offers Hands-On Cyber Security Training
According to the office of Governor Rick Snyder, Michigan is a national leader in cyber security. State officials say they have long emphasized protecting the state’s computer systems and networks, and they’ve established something called the Michigan Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MI-ISAC) to address the state’s digital infrastructure coordination and cyber security readiness. Thanks … Continue reading “Michigan Cyber Range Offers Hands-On Cyber Security Training”
Myomo Continues Comeback, Adds $2M to Boost Robotic Arm Brace
Myomo, a medical-device startup whose robotic braces act like “power steering for your arm,” has buttoned up a venture round as it continues an intriguing corporate comeback story. The newest round of financing—$2 million from individual angels and venture firm Mountain Group Capital—is the final piece of a $7 million investment the company started collecting … Continue reading “Myomo Continues Comeback, Adds $2M to Boost Robotic Arm Brace”
GroupMe Co-Founder Steve Martocci’s New Project for Music: Splice
Splice may still be in private beta, but the music creation and sharing software for musicians already has quite the pedigree. On Wednesday, the New York-based startup co-founded by Steve Martocci announced it has raised $2.75 million led by Union Square Ventures. Other participants in the funding round include Lerer Ventures, True Ventures, First Round … Continue reading “GroupMe Co-Founder Steve Martocci’s New Project for Music: Splice”
A Teletherapy Startup Works to Remove Barriers to Mental Health Care
Is the digital age sending the old therapist’s couch the way of the reference librarian, the CD, and the travel agent? Could be: several recent studies have found that therapy via the Internet is just as effective as face-to-face treatment. In 2012, a Veterans Affairs study found that teletherapy reduced patients’ psychiatric hospital admissions by … Continue reading “A Teletherapy Startup Works to Remove Barriers to Mental Health Care”
Ariad Halts Leukemia Drug Trials Due to Safety Concerns, Shares Plummet
Ariad Pharmaceuticals’ (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) plans to go head to head with imatinib (Gleevec) just went up in smoke. In a big setback for the Cambridge, MA-based biotech, Ariad said Wednesday that it has halted its ongoing clinical trials of ponatinib (Iclusig), including a key study testing the drug as a frontline treatment for patients with … Continue reading “Ariad Halts Leukemia Drug Trials Due to Safety Concerns, Shares Plummet”
Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes
It’s time to stop pretending that people are DVDs. It’s time to get rid of employee non-competes. A DVD is a simple piece of plastic that only has value because someone (often a company) filled it with useful information, like a movie or a computer program. A blank DVD isn’t very valuable, but a DVD … Continue reading “Startups Thrive on Competition, Not Non-Competes”
Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship”
Conventional wisdom says the techniques that help today’s technology startups get to market fast—or, just as likely, fail fast, freeing the founders to start over—don’t work in the life sciences. Rapid product iteration based on agile software development methods; continuous business-model adjustments using customer feedback; cloud outsourcing to increase capital efficiency—all these strategies are seen … Continue reading “Steve Blank’s UCSF Class Tests “Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship””
Insulin Pump Maker Tandem Diabetes Plans to Raise $100M Through IPO
Joining a procession of life sciences IPOs, San Diego’s Tandem Diabetes Care has registered to raise about $100 million through an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq market under ticker symbol TNDM. Tandem Diabetes, founded in 2006 to develop an innovative insulin pump designed … Continue reading “Insulin Pump Maker Tandem Diabetes Plans to Raise $100M Through IPO”
TV Ad Intelligence Startup iSpot.tv Raises $5M from Madrona, TL
Bellevue, WA-based iSpot.tv, which tracks television advertising in real time, has raised $5 million from Madrona Venture Group and TL Ventures, and is bringing new ad data to market. The company aims to fill what iSpot.tv founder and CEO Sean Muller calls “a gap between what information advertisers and TV networks need and what is … Continue reading “TV Ad Intelligence Startup iSpot.tv Raises $5M from Madrona, TL”
SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M
Add Confio Software, a Boulder-based developer of database performance management software, to the list of Colorado tech companies making substantial exits this year. SolarWinds (NYSE: [[ticker:SWI]]), an Austin, TX-based company that develops IT management software, bought Confio for $103 million in a cash deal that closed Monday. SolarWinds president and CEO Kevin Thompson said during … Continue reading “SolarWinds Breezes into Colorado, Acquires Confio Software for $103M”
Going Big and Bad: Custom PC Makers Build Hot Rods for 4K Gaming
Sleek and slim maybe the way of the tablet world, but a niche of custom computer makers sees the market for big supercharged PCs growing as a new breed of high-end gaming content emerges. These monolithic, bespoke machines can top 27 inches in height, are loaded with multiple graphics processors, sport bright liquid coolant tubing, … Continue reading “Going Big and Bad: Custom PC Makers Build Hot Rods for 4K Gaming”
UC Berkeley Pioneers an Online Master’s Degree in Data Science
Applications are streaming into UC Berkeley’s School of Information from hopeful students across the globe who are yearning to get that coveted letter telling them they got in—so now they can stay home. Berkeley’s “I School” has created its second masters degree program, the Master of Information and Data Science. But unlike its older Master … Continue reading “UC Berkeley Pioneers an Online Master’s Degree in Data Science”
Zulily Files for $100M IPO to Fuel Mom-Focused Flash Sales
One of Seattle’s biggest startup success stories is headed for Wall Street. Zulily, the fast-growing moms-and-kids apparel e-commerce company, has publicly filed for an initial public offering that could be worth up to $100 million. Founded in 2009 by Blue Nile veterans Mark Vadon and Darrell Cavens, the company specializes in selling merchandise to moms … Continue reading “Zulily Files for $100M IPO to Fuel Mom-Focused Flash Sales”
Swirl Finds $8M from Hearst for Bluetooth Beacons and Mobile Ads
With millions of shoppers carrying around ever more powerful smartphones, it’s probably inevitable that savvy retailers will start pumping coupons, deals, and other enticements directly to the screens in our pockets and purses. But truly intelligent in-store digital ads, especially ones tied to your location in the aisles, aren’t quite here yet—even though plenty of … Continue reading “Swirl Finds $8M from Hearst for Bluetooth Beacons and Mobile Ads”
Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate
Residents of Washington State are currently being buried in an avalanche of ads regarding a citizen’s initiative that would require the labeling of genetically engineered foods sold in grocery stores. Estimates for the percentage of items that contain genetically engineered ingredients in a grocery store range from 60 percent to 70 percent (most of those … Continue reading “Science: The Missing Ingredient in the GMO Food Labeling Debate”
Detroit Bus Company Pivots to Serve Youth, Relocates to Historic Factory
The Detroit Bus Company, a transit startup founded by Andy Didorosi in 2012 to try and solve some of Detroit’s myriad public transportation issues, announced last week that it has consolidated its operations. It has moved from a depot in Ferndale, MI, and office in downtown Detroit to a historic factory in Hamtramck. (Though Hamtramck … Continue reading “Detroit Bus Company Pivots to Serve Youth, Relocates to Historic Factory”
Rally Software’s IPO Set to Provide $1.3M for Colorado Nonprofits
An idea planted more than a decade ago is days away from bearing fruit, as Rally Software Development’s initial public offering is about to yield about $1.3 million for Colorado nonprofits. Rally (NYSE: [[ticker:RALY]]), a software development company based in Boulder, CO, donated 1 percent of the company’s founding equity to local nonprofits, and that … Continue reading “Rally Software’s IPO Set to Provide $1.3M for Colorado Nonprofits”
Boston’s Life Science Disruptors: The Photos
They came. We saw. They disrupted. On Friday, I recapped our latest biotech event, “Boston’s Life Science Disruptors,” with some key takeaways from the stars of the show: Genocea Biosciences, Moderna Therapeutics, and Bluebird Bio (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BLUE]]). Today, as promised, I’ve circled back with a slideshow look at the festivities, including shots of the speakers, … Continue reading “Boston’s Life Science Disruptors: The Photos”
San Diego’s PharmAkea Raises Capital, Forms Alliance with Celgene
San Diego-based PharmAkea Therapeutics, founded last year by key scientists from Amira Pharmaceuticals, said it has raised $10 million in Series A funding from San Francisco’s Bay City Capital. PharmAkea, founded by John Hutchinson, Jilly Evans, and Kevin Holme, also secured a $35 million commitment from Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) as part of a three-year collaboration … Continue reading “San Diego’s PharmAkea Raises Capital, Forms Alliance with Celgene”
Wearable Comms from Filip Technologies to Get U.S. Entry With AT&T
[Updated 10/7/13 2:13 pm. See below.] Thanks to an agreement announced today with AT&T in Dallas, Filip Technologies got a little closer to bringing its wearable communicators for kids to the U.S. The smartwatch-like devices have yet to be released, but are designed to be personal locators and phones that parents can use to keep … Continue reading “Wearable Comms from Filip Technologies to Get U.S. Entry With AT&T”
Tax Revolt by California Entrepreneurs Ends in Victory
Taxes aren’t usually the stuff of high drama. But a story that began last year when a California state appeals court unexpectedly struck down an old tax incentive for small-business investors—and that unfolded, in part, here in the pages of Xconomy—has, after numerous twists and turns, reached its end. On Friday California Governor Jerry Brown … Continue reading “Tax Revolt by California Entrepreneurs Ends in Victory”