Karyopharm Therapeutics raised close to $50 million just a few months ago to continue developing its lead cancer drug. Now it’s turning to Wall Street to help with the effort. Karyopharm filed a Form S-1 with the SEC late Friday outlining plans to raise up to $80 million through an IPO, hoping to capitalize on … Continue reading “Karyopharm Enters IPO Queue, Plots up to $80M Raise For Cancer Drug”
Category: National
How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders
The call came at 1:15 pm this past Friday, as I was driving home from a client meeting. “Mr. Overstreet?” questioned the voice on the other end of the line. “I’m calling from Governor Brown’s office. We wanted you to be the first to know that the Governor signed your bill into law.” And just … Continue reading “How We Overturned the Retroactive Tax on Startup Founders”
Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs
If you’re a tenured biomedical researcher at a university today, and you have a big idea for what could be a new drug or diagnostic test, you can do a couple things. Hand it off to someone else at a startup, keep your day job, dabble as an advisor for a couple hours a week … Continue reading “Harvard’s Verdine Blazing Trail for Scientific Entrepreneurs”
Houston Startup Hopes to Create Tech Cluster, Rebuild Neighborhood
When Gaurav Khandelwal opened the doors to Start Houston last year, its neighbors included a carpet outlet warehouse, food-distribution companies, and an industrial tool supplier. The gritty environs of warehouses and out-of-service railroad tracks in the optimistically named “EaDo” neighborhood—presumably hipper than “East of Downtown”—are not the sort you usually associate with a hotbed of … Continue reading “Houston Startup Hopes to Create Tech Cluster, Rebuild Neighborhood”
9 Takeaways from Boston’s Life Science Disruptors
Building a biotech is (really) hard. But if you’re doing to do it, be yourself. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Wear sneakers if you feel like it. Near-death experiences happen to everyone along the way—embrace them and learn. And if your initial hunch is that the company’s founding idea is insane, it’s probably worth pursuing. … Continue reading “9 Takeaways from Boston’s Life Science Disruptors”
Twitter’s Purchase of Crashlytics & Bluefin Labs: Prices Confirmed
In Twitter’s IPO filing, one of the interesting nuggets has to do with the acquisition prices of Boston-area startups Bluefin Labs and Crashlytics. Or rather, what Twitter is saying about those prices (and what it’s not saying). I have confirmed with two sources who have knowledge of the deals that the values I originally reported … Continue reading “Twitter’s Purchase of Crashlytics & Bluefin Labs: Prices Confirmed”
Ford Acquires Ferndale-based Software Developer Livio
This week, Ford announced it has acquired Livio, a Ferndale, MI-based company that creates tools and software to enable in-vehicle connectivity. What Ford was no doubt interested in is the Livio Connect API, which allows smartphone apps to connect with vehicle hardware systems. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Livio’s acquisition also signals … Continue reading “Ford Acquires Ferndale-based Software Developer Livio”
Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks
The economic downturn and subsequent market volatility have made risk into a four-letter word. Employees, in particular, are growing increasingly risk-averse, afraid of layoffs and the prospect of extended unemployment. Many of them opt to be cautious rather than brave, to stick to the status quo, and to keep their heads down, rather than challenge … Continue reading “Four Reasons to Encourage Employees to Take Smart Risks”
The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative
In 1920, the San Francisco Bulletin, which was then one of the city’s major newspapers, published a poem by George Sterling, a figure in the city’s Bohemian arts circles. It read in part: The winds of the Future wait At the iron walls of her Gate, And the western ocean breaks in thunder, And the … Continue reading “The Winds of the Future: 5 Ways San Francisco Stays Innovative”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Moderna, Inotek, Roche, & More
Two pharmaceutical giants shook up the Tri-State area this week, while one of the Boston area’s most radical biotechs got another big vote of confidence. Those details and much more below: —Cambridge, MA-based Moderna Therapeutics turned heads in the biotech world when it got a $240 million up front check from AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]) earlier … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Moderna, Inotek, Roche, & More”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Fate, Ligand, BioNano, and More
The fate of Fate Therapeutics’ IPO has stirred speculation that the IPO window for life sciences companies may be closing. Forward Ventures’ Standish Fleming also offered some thoughts on biotech IPOs, and we have the rest of San Diego’s life sciences news here. —San Diego’s Fate Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FATE]]) made its debut as a public … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Fate, Ligand, BioNano, and More”
Wave of Capital for Ed-Tech Startups Kairos, LearnBIG, Actively Learn
It looks like an opportune moment for education technology entrepreneurs in Seattle. A trio of local startups has raised a combined $6 million in recent weeks to work on various aspects of e-learning. Kairos 4, headed by Kristen Hamilton, most recently entrepreneur-in-residence at Seattle venture capital firm Maveron, has raised more than $4.3 million, according … Continue reading “Wave of Capital for Ed-Tech Startups Kairos, LearnBIG, Actively Learn”
Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9
Drugs don’t just roll out of anybody’s lab by next Tuesday, and then keep popping out on some exponential curve. The biotech industry depends on investors who are willing to speculate on hot ideas in science, and wait years to see a payoff that may never come. That notion, which has been with the industry … Continue reading “Join Xconomy for Profiles in Biotech Perseverance in SF Dec. 9”
IBM Grabs Push Notification Developer Xtify for Mobile Marketing Tech
Adding another tool to its already extensive belt, IBM announced Thursday that it’s acquired Xtify, a New York-based developer of mobile messaging software. Xtify’s software is used by organizations to send personalized offers and messages via mobile devices to the public with the goal of boosting sales and increasing brand loyalty. Terms of the deal … Continue reading “IBM Grabs Push Notification Developer Xtify for Mobile Marketing Tech”
Sanitas Introduces Online Program for Population Health Management
Sanitas, a San Diego health IT startup operating a social networking system for the chronically ill, is rolling out free online program today that is intended to help ordinary people predict their future health risks. The system, called Family Healthware, uses personal and family health histories to identify a user’s genetic predisposition to chronic health … Continue reading “Sanitas Introduces Online Program for Population Health Management”
What Is Quora? Seven Answers from Adam D’Angelo and Marc Bodnick
The next time you’re sitting alone with your laptop or smartphone and you have a few minutes free, don’t waste it browsing Facebook photos, watching cat videos on YouTube, or reading cartoons (though xkcd is fine). Instead, do a search at the Q&A site Quora, find a topic that you know something about, and write … Continue reading “What Is Quora? Seven Answers from Adam D’Angelo and Marc Bodnick”
Capital Factory Founder Sets up Syndicate to Fund E-mail Startups
Ambiguities around the new regulations for crowdfunding and general solicitation for startups aren’t preventing Joshua Baer, founder of the Capital Factory in Austin, from starting his own syndicate on AngelList, the top website for young companies seeking early investment. “This fits right between angels and VC firms,” he says. “We’re living in a time of … Continue reading “Capital Factory Founder Sets up Syndicate to Fund E-mail Startups”
Growth and Branding Ideas from Birchbox, Batali, Chevy, Qualcomm
It is not often that startups, big companies, and a celebrity chef come together to talk growth strategies, but that was the scene at the annual Executive Marketing Summit at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. Offering tips on brand development—and how to choose the best tomatoes each season—television personality and chef Mario Batali … Continue reading “Growth and Branding Ideas from Birchbox, Batali, Chevy, Qualcomm”
Boston Roundup: Pursway, Logentries, Paydiant, Healthrageous
Updated 4 pm Some fundraising, customer announcement, and shutdown news from Boston-area startups in several different sectors: —Pursway, a marketing software company, has raised $7.2 million in new investment to expand its product and sales teams. The company moved from Israel to the Boston area in 2010, raising a $6 million Series A investment from … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Pursway, Logentries, Paydiant, Healthrageous”
Merck, J&J Back Stanford Student Incubator as Farm Team
A veteran biotechnology reporter once complained privately that covering the industry was like watching grass grow—companies seemed to inch by slow degrees toward products and profits, sustained by a dwindling stream of funding. For an antidote to that dreary picture, consider the swift developments at StartX Med, a life sciences accelerator program founded by Stanford … Continue reading “Merck, J&J Back Stanford Student Incubator as Farm Team”
The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time
[This post was co-authored by Sean Harper, Amgen’s executive vice president of R&D.] People in the tech industry often like to say that we overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate the longer-term value. The human genome project is a superb example of this truism. Overpromise was indeed rampant during the interval around … Continue reading “The Human Genome Project Wasn’t Overhyped. The Payoff Just Took Time”
With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off
After raising $30 million in a Series B round of venture funding announced last week, 3D Robotics is ready to really get its drone business off the ground. The four-year-old startup, based in San Diego (headquarters and engineering), Berkeley, CA, (business and sales), and Tijuana (manufacturing), designs and manufactures aircraft that use open source software … Continue reading “With $30M in Tank, UAV Maker 3D Robotics Gets Ready for Take-Off”
BioNano Genomics Raises $10M from Venture Investors
San Diego’s BioNano Genomics said today it has raised $10 million in venture financing to continue commercializing its long-strand gene sequencing technology in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The startup, which licensed its technology from Princeton University a decade ago and moved to San Diego in 2011, says three of its existing investors, Domain … Continue reading “BioNano Genomics Raises $10M from Venture Investors”
Seattle Roundup: Amazon Hiring; AdReady Acquired; Paper + Moleskine & More
Seattle tech news this week includes Amazon’s seasonal hiring binge, the acquisition of AdReady, a Paper-Moleskine partnership, and funding for BuddyTV.com. Read on for more details. —If the government shutdown continues through the holidays, laid-off federal employees could apply for one of the 70,000-plus full-time seasonal openings Amazon.com plans to fill this year. The Seattle … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Amazon Hiring; AdReady Acquired; Paper + Moleskine & More”
Big Rounds for Ping Identity, SolidFire Top Colorado Q3 Tech Stories
The summer of 2013 was full of good news for technology companies in Colorado, with two raising very large VC rounds to finance their progress toward possible IPOs, one sizeable exit for a mobile game developer, and lots of promising signs for startups in Boulder and Denver. Ping Identity IPO Bound. People in Colorado’s startup … Continue reading “Big Rounds for Ping Identity, SolidFire Top Colorado Q3 Tech Stories”
Who Knew? Fun Facts About Southeast Michigan’s Innovators
When people ask me for a “fun fact” about my life, I usually tell them some version of the story of how a friend and I stalked Canadian film director Guy Maddin all the way to Winnipeg, an incident that wound up as a chapter in Maddin’s book. I’m not the only one with amusing … Continue reading “Who Knew? Fun Facts About Southeast Michigan’s Innovators”
Apperian Founder Goldman on Joining Great Hill to Do Mobile Rollups
Any time a founder leaves a startup, it makes news. That’s why we were interested to hear that Apperian founder Chuck Goldman has joined Great Hill Partners as an executive-in-residence (see news brief here). Goldman, a former Apple executive who helped launch the original iPhone, started Boston-based Apperian in 2009 and led the company from … Continue reading “Apperian Founder Goldman on Joining Great Hill to Do Mobile Rollups”
Haul Brings In Mark Cuban’s “Shark Tank” Startups as First Customers
A Dallas Internet startup has signed on one of Texas’s most high-profile entrepreneurs as one of its clients. Haul, a sort of talent management agency that connects shopping haulers—typically young women who model clothes or demonstrate products in homemade YouTube videos—with advertisers and retailers in an online marketplace, is working with the Mark Cuban Companies, … Continue reading “Haul Brings In Mark Cuban’s “Shark Tank” Startups as First Customers”
Beyond NFC: Tagstand’s Triggers Make Your Smartphone Smarter
What if you could pay your subway fare or buy a pack of gum at the newsstand just by waving your phone over a pad? Wireless manufacturers have spent years experimenting with a short-range radio standard, Near Field Communications (NFC), that allows just this—and Sony’s version of the technology has been in use in Japan … Continue reading “Beyond NFC: Tagstand’s Triggers Make Your Smartphone Smarter”
Moderna Snags $25M DARPA Grant to Fight Pandemics With mRNA Drugs
One of the wilder ideas in biotechnology just got a vote of confidence from the people who gave the world the Internet. Cambridge, MA-based Moderna Therapeutics is announcing later today it has snagged a grant worth as much as $24.6 million over the next five years from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The … Continue reading “Moderna Snags $25M DARPA Grant to Fight Pandemics With mRNA Drugs”
Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing
In his Life Sci VC blog, Bruce Booth recently wrote “Biotech is back with a vengeance in this IPO window.” It’s an accurate snapshot of the market, but the good times he describes accrue to money and sweat equity already long in the ground. In a business with a 10- to 15-year product development cycle, … Continue reading “Seeing Beyond the IPO Window Dressing”
NJ’s Pain is NY’s Gain as Roche Christens Manhattan Collaboration Hub
When Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche decided to shut down its Nutley, NJ, research facility last year, it took a few thousand jobs and eight decades of history along with it. But as it turns out, Roche hasn’t abandoned the East Coast altogether—it just moved back into Manhattan, which it called home before its move to … Continue reading “NJ’s Pain is NY’s Gain as Roche Christens Manhattan Collaboration Hub”
Foundry Group to Invest $2.5M in AngelList Startups, Seeks Partners
While many investors and entrepreneurs debate the effects of crowdfunding and general solicitation for startups, the Foundry Group is taking action. Today, the Boulder-based venture firm announced plans to invest $2.5 million over the next 15 months in companies raising money on AngelList, the top website for young companies seeking early investment. The project is … Continue reading “Foundry Group to Invest $2.5M in AngelList Startups, Seeks Partners”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download
Microsoft Research, the central research arm of that tech giant of the northwest, was founded in September 1991. This is the prehistory. With the recent stepping down of Rick Rashid—the head of the organization since its inception, who took a new job at Microsoft in July—I have decided to post the memo that gave birth … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—Analysis and Download”
The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today
How many great corporate organizations were created with the words, “Once upon a time?” Not many, I’ll wager. Yet that is exactly how Microsoft Research, one of the world’s biggest and most prestigious corporate research institutions, came to life back in 1991. “Once upon a time,” former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold wrote to Bill Gates … Continue reading “The Memo That Spawned Microsoft Research—and Its Lessons for Today”
Sutro Aims to Deliver Anti-Tumor “Warheads” More Precisely
One of the big-tent biotechnology conferences opening this month focuses on a drug strategy that could be dubbed the targeted chemical warfare approach to cancer treatment. The much-watched developers of a new drug class called antibody-drug conjugates will convene at World ADC San Francisco 2013 on Oct. 14 to swap insights about the growing number … Continue reading “Sutro Aims to Deliver Anti-Tumor “Warheads” More Precisely”
The End of Personal Computers
Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot about the idea that we are witnessing “the end of personal computers,” the “post-PC era,” or, as Microsoft would have it, the “PC-plus era.” The difference in terminology is telling, revealing the intense commercial competition and staggering financial stakes that underlie this transition. For those who have been in … Continue reading “The End of Personal Computers”
A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context
A wild and wacky wireless September it was. In one of the most frenzied months in the history of nearly any tech sector, we saw the following developments dominate the headlines: Verizon bought out Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion. In a week, this financing went from “can they do it” to being … Continue reading “A Wild September for Wireless: Putting it in Context”
Leaf Adds $20M as Payments Sector Heats Up
Deals are starting to fly in the battle over small-business payment processing. Cambridge, MA-based Leaf, a startup that sells point-of-sale systems built around Android-based tablets, says it has raised a $20 million investment round. The investor is Heartland Payment Systems, a national merchant payments provider. The investment is significant for Leaf, which had previously raised … Continue reading “Leaf Adds $20M as Payments Sector Heats Up”
Nirvanix, San Diego Cloud Storage Services Provider, is Shutting Down
San Diego’s Nirvanix is headed to a new state of being, but it’s not transcendent. The 15-year-old cloud storage services provider is winding down its business, according to a notice posted on the company’s website over the weekend. Nirvanix had positioned itself as an alternative to Amazon Web Services, the big gorilla in cloud storage services. … Continue reading “Nirvanix, San Diego Cloud Storage Services Provider, is Shutting Down”
San Francisco’s Vista Equity Agrees to Pay $1B for Active Network
San Francisco-based Vista Equity Partners, which is managing more than $7 billion in software-related investments, has been doing a lot of shopping in San Diego this year. After paying approximately $1 billion in May to acquire San Diego-based Websense, a public Web security company, and $800 million in August to buy San Diego-based Qualcomm’s Omnitracs … Continue reading “San Francisco’s Vista Equity Agrees to Pay $1B for Active Network”
Xconomy Boston’s Top 10 Stories from Q3 2013: Editor’s Picks
Herpes, PowerBars, and IPOs. Apple, Amazon, and acoustics. What more can you ask? Well, we’ve seen them all around town in the past three months. It’s the end of the third quarter, and with that, I’d like to highlight my 10 favorite Xconomy Boston stories from the period. They are a mix of company profiles, … Continue reading “Xconomy Boston’s Top 10 Stories from Q3 2013: Editor’s Picks”
Foodjunky Aims to Take the Pain Out of Ordering Lunch for Meetings
I have so much lunch-ordering shame. Should some poor soul offer to pick up lunch for me, I have to write my order down in such ridiculous detail—veggie sandwich, no sprouts, no cucumbers, light onions, extra banana peppers; if they have vinegar and oil, ask for lots of vinegar but just a splash of oil—that … Continue reading “Foodjunky Aims to Take the Pain Out of Ordering Lunch for Meetings”
Texas Cleantech Startup Acquires Chicago Rival, Boosts Energy Marketplace
Choose Energy, a suburban Dallas online energy marketplace, has acquired a Midwest competitor. The cleantech startup, which is based in Plano, TX, announced Monday that it had purchased Power2Switch, another online energy marketplace based in Chicago that had recently expanded its operations into New Jersey, Texas, Ohio, and New York. “We will now be able … Continue reading “Texas Cleantech Startup Acquires Chicago Rival, Boosts Energy Marketplace”
Inotek Snares $21M, Stares Down Aerie in Glaucoma Drug Race
Aerie Pharmaceuticals jumped into the IPO queue a few weeks ago to fund a push for a group of glaucoma drugs. But Lexington, MA-based Inotek Pharmaceuticals is showing Aerie isn’t the only small, privately held company looking to break into one of the biggest markets for prescription eye drugs. Inotek has just raised a total … Continue reading “Inotek Snares $21M, Stares Down Aerie in Glaucoma Drug Race”
Eniac Ventures Opens Its Pockets Wider for Mobile With Second Fund
Four-year-old Eniac Ventures in New York, which also has a general partner in San Francisco, plans to get hip deep in mobile technology with a new $12.9 million fund announced late last week. At least seven startups have already received backing from the new fund, which is six times larger than Eniac’s first. The venture … Continue reading “Eniac Ventures Opens Its Pockets Wider for Mobile With Second Fund”
An Xconomy Slideshow: Moving the Conversation Forward in San Diego
Since the day we were founded in Cambridge, MA, a little more than six years ago, Xconomy has held an annual reception in every city where we have established an outpost to provide business news coverage of the people and ideas that give rise to innovation. It’s our way of thanking the local tech leaders … Continue reading “An Xconomy Slideshow: Moving the Conversation Forward in San Diego”
The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?
Bureaucracy is one of the dirty words in business. Nobody wants to publicly admit their company is bogged down with too many layers of management, or needs a dozen committees to sign off on every little decision. For a couple years now, I’ve been hearing entrepreneurs complain about suffocating bureaucracy in pharma. So I started … Continue reading “The Pharma Bureaucracy Index: Who’s Nimble, and Who’s Sloooowww?”
San Diego Startup OvaPal Gets Angel Ovation for Ovulation Tracker
A San Diego startup that developed a wearable wireless sensor that enables a woman to track her ovulation cycle and optimize the odds of pregnancy was declared the grand-prize winner last night at the San Diego Tech Coast Angels Quick Pitch competition. As the overall winner, OvaPal co-founder and CEO Giovanna Scheidler (pictured above), also … Continue reading “San Diego Startup OvaPal Gets Angel Ovation for Ovulation Tracker”
Blueprint Health Reflects, Rolls Out Latest Crew of Grads at Demo Day
Before introducing their latest batch of startups to a packed room of investors, Blueprint Health co-founders Mat Farkash and Brad Weinberg stepped back a bit to talk about where the healthcare IT accelerator has come over the past few years. “It’s kind of weird to think back [to] about three years ago, [when] Mat sent … Continue reading “Blueprint Health Reflects, Rolls Out Latest Crew of Grads at Demo Day”