If there’s a high-risk, high-reward startup in town, it’s Joule Unlimited. The Bedford, MA-based company got started in 2007, has raised more than $160 million in total funding, and is trying to reinvent the fuel and chemical industries from the ground up. Or, more accurately, from the sun down. Now the company is going through … Continue reading “Joule Swaps CEOs, Raises $50M More for Renewable Fuels”
Category: National
Expect Labs Anticipates a Day when the Computer Is Always Listening
Today’s computers are like distracted middle-school students: you practically have to scream at them to get their attention. To tell a search engine you want a news article, you have to type a few words into the search on your phone or laptop. To tell Siri or Google Now that you need a map or … Continue reading “Expect Labs Anticipates a Day when the Computer Is Always Listening”
Seismic Raises $4.5M to Expand Content Management Technology
Seismic, a content management startup based in Encinitas, CA, has raised $4.5 million in a Series A round to build out its cloud-based platform, which pulls live data from various sources for use in charts, reports, graphics, other types of electronic documents. The technology enables users to easily update their sales and marketing content. In … Continue reading “Seismic Raises $4.5M to Expand Content Management Technology”
Adimab Teams Up With Celgene, Innovent, in Latest Partnership Deals
Adimab turned a corner in July when two big drugmakers agreed to license the technology surrounding its yeast-based process for discovering antibodies, and bring it in-house. While the Lebanon, NH-based company isn’t duplicating those results today, it is bringing two new names into its growing list of partners who have agreed to at least “kick … Continue reading “Adimab Teams Up With Celgene, Innovent, in Latest Partnership Deals”
Mobile Shopping Startup Snapette Snapped Up by PriceGrabber
After ping-ponging around the country on a thoroughly contemporary startup journey, mobile shopping startup Snapette has been acquired by veteran e-commerce company PriceGrabber, giving the Los Angeles-based parent company a shot of mobile-tech DNA. Terms of the deal between the two private companies were not disclosed, but it sounds like a happy enough ending for … Continue reading “Mobile Shopping Startup Snapette Snapped Up by PriceGrabber”
Sequenom Discloses 75 Layoffs as Part of Cost-Cutting Reorganization
San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]), which specializes in molecular diagnostics and genetic analysis, plans to lay off 75 employees, or nearly 13 percent of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting plan, according to a regulatory filing today. Most of the employees being terminated were notified today, although voluntary and involuntary layoffs began July 1. … Continue reading “Sequenom Discloses 75 Layoffs as Part of Cost-Cutting Reorganization”
Regado Biosciences Downsizes IPO, Seeks $42M
Apparently not everyone is having success pitching a biotech IPO to investors these days. Basking Ridge, NJ-based Regado Biosciences, the startup developing a two-pronged anticoagulant to be used in coronary procedures, is slashing the price of its IPO considerably. Regado initially aimed to raise $75 million by offering investors 5 million shares at between $14 … Continue reading “Regado Biosciences Downsizes IPO, Seeks $42M”
Zayo to Acquire Minnesota-based Access Communications in $40M Deal
Zayo Group, a rapidly growing telecommunications company headquartered in Boulder, CO, has signed a definitive agreement to buy Access Communications and its 1,200-mile fiber optic network in the Minneapolis-St. Paul region, the company announced Monday. The acquisition price was $40 million, but it could be adjusted, Zayo said. Zayo is paying for Access with cash … Continue reading “Zayo to Acquire Minnesota-based Access Communications in $40M Deal”
With NYeC’s Help, Mana Health Revs Up Big Apple Patient Portal
Mana Health has spent the past year successfully pitching its user-friendly patient portal to various healthcare constituencies in New York. Now, with the backing of an Oracle executive and a key New York non-profit, it has to find a way to turn that product into the foundation of a successful business. The New York City-based … Continue reading “With NYeC’s Help, Mana Health Revs Up Big Apple Patient Portal”
Need a Good Mechanic? Fill Up on Recommendations at RepairPal
As the amount of time that drivers hold onto their cars increases, so does the need for repairs. Back in 1930, the average lifespan of a car was 6.75 years; today’s owners are keeping their vehicles for almost twice as long: an average of 11.4 years. And that extended relationship means that the importance of … Continue reading “Need a Good Mechanic? Fill Up on Recommendations at RepairPal”
Industry, Vioby, & Voice Dream: Three Mobile Entrepreneur Stories
Mobile technology is becoming a redundant term—almost everything is mobile these days—but the classification is still useful. It helps organize trends and themes that otherwise cut across swaths of different industries. Consider the wide range of mobile entrepreneurs in the Boston area. There are well-established mini-clusters around mobile advertising, marketing, and enterprise apps. There’s a … Continue reading “Industry, Vioby, & Voice Dream: Three Mobile Entrepreneur Stories”
Ann Arbor’s Kontextual Helps Build Transparent, Metric-Driven Companies
Kurt Skifstad was serving as the entrepreneur-in-residence at RPM Ventures when an angel investor brought a new enterprise technology platform called Kontextual to Skifstad’s attention and asked for his input on whether he thought it was a worthwhile investment. “What [Kontextual] had was really interesting, but not ready to go to market,” he explains. Skifstad … Continue reading “Ann Arbor’s Kontextual Helps Build Transparent, Metric-Driven Companies”
Zillow Makes $50M Acquisition Move on StreetEasy, Plans Stock Offer
[Updated 8/19/13 7:00 pm. See below.] On Monday, Seattle-based real estate marketplace Zillow (NASDAQ: [[ticker:Z]]) announced it inked a $50 million cash deal to acquire residential real estate website StreetEasy, based in New York. Also this morning, Zillow revealed plans for a public offering of 2.5 million shares of its Class A common stock, along with … Continue reading “Zillow Makes $50M Acquisition Move on StreetEasy, Plans Stock Offer”
Rice’s OwlSpark Accelerator Debuts First Class of Startups
The inaugural class of Rice University’s OwlSpark accelerator made its debut last week. A group of nine companies comprised the new accelerator’s class when it formed last May, including three composed of undergrads, three of graduate students, and three that are staffed by alumni. They range from IT-based analytical companies aiming to help customers make … Continue reading “Rice’s OwlSpark Accelerator Debuts First Class of Startups”
$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech
Jama Software, which helps companies manage complex projects, is raising $13 million from Trinity Ventures and Madrona Venture Group in the latest sign that the Portland, OR technology industry is hitting its stride. Oregon startups—most of which are concentrated in the Rose City—are having one of their best years in terms of fundraising since before … Continue reading “$13M for Jama From Trinity, Madrona Shows Strength of Portland Tech”
Technology to Assess Neurons Gives New Life to San Diego’s Afraxis
San Diego’s Afraxis, which ceased to exist in January after the neuroscience startup licensed its entire library of drug compounds to Roche’s Genentech, has sprung back to life with proprietary technology that was not part of the $187.5 million deal. Afraxis developed the technology to help assess the effectiveness of potential drug compounds in disorders … Continue reading “Technology to Assess Neurons Gives New Life to San Diego’s Afraxis”
Who Should Biotech Pros Follow on Twitter? An Update for 2013
[Updated: 12:07 pm PT] Twitter is where the biotech industry comes to trade news, analysis, and gossip every day. This has been true for a couple years. The 140-character blogging platform just keeps gaining strength every day as more people join, more people figure out how they can contribute in a meaningful way, and more … Continue reading “Who Should Biotech Pros Follow on Twitter? An Update for 2013”
RichRelevance Goes Shopping for Data Analytics Platform, Buys Precog
After two years of trying to “go broad” with predictive data analytics, Precog has been bought by a company that wants it to “go deep.” RichRelevance announced earlier this week that it bought Precog, a Boulder, CO-based startup, for an undisclosed amount. RichRelevance specializes in personalized e-commerce software, and the San Francisco-based company works with … Continue reading “RichRelevance Goes Shopping for Data Analytics Platform, Buys Precog”
Boston Deals: ShopAdvisor, Evolv, Christensen, CareCloud
A few startups—some more secretive than others—and a notable business professor’s private investment fund are in this roundup of deal news to round out your week: —ShopAdvisor, which adds e-commerce functions to publishers’ digital ads, has raised about $5 million in venture funding. The Maynard, MA-based company, which had previously raised about $2 million, said last year … Continue reading “Boston Deals: ShopAdvisor, Evolv, Christensen, CareCloud”
Denver Startup Week 2013 Schedule Features 125 Events, Seth Godin
Talk about rapidly scaling the size of a new startup. Denver Startup Week is back for its second year, and organizers released the event’s schedule Thursday. It’s pretty big, with more than 125 events scheduled around Denver, most of them happening downtown. The event, which runs Sept. 16-21, is Denver’s chance to showcase the tech … Continue reading “Denver Startup Week 2013 Schedule Features 125 Events, Seth Godin”
Biotech VCs, Stung by Startup Returns, Elbow into Royalty Financing
The new landscape for venture capital investing does not seem to leave much room for classic company formation. Investor after investor has shut down or moved beyond startups into what seem like greener pastures. So it should come as no surprise that at least a few VC firms are now expanding into the royalty space, … Continue reading “Biotech VCs, Stung by Startup Returns, Elbow into Royalty Financing”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Epizyme, Rodin, Ophthotech, & More
The action-packed summer in biotech slowed down a bit on the East Coast this week, but we’ve still got all your required biotech reading—including the real key to pulling off a successful IPO—below: —Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) could’ve ended up as acquisition fodder for Big Pharma, but instead it inked a partnership with Summit, … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Epizyme, Rodin, Ophthotech, & More”
High-Speed Rail or Hyperloop? Let’s Try Both, and Reward the Winner
It’s been a bumpy week for high-speed rail advocates in California. On Sunday, the Los Angeles Times published a story saying that groundbreaking on the first section of the “bullet train” route linking L.A. and San Francisco will likely slip into 2014—more than two years behind schedule. Then on Monday, aerospace and automotive mogul Elon … Continue reading “High-Speed Rail or Hyperloop? Let’s Try Both, and Reward the Winner”
Spira’s High-Tech Running Shoes Get Big Break on “Duck Dynasty”
This might have to be called crowdfunding on steroids: A West Texas startup will today have its product featured in a special on-air segment in between the broadcast of the A&E network’s “Duck Dynasty,” one of America’s most popular TV shows. Spira Footwear, which has patented what it calls WaveSpring technology, will introduce a new … Continue reading “Spira’s High-Tech Running Shoes Get Big Break on “Duck Dynasty””
Ophthotech Eyes $85M IPO With Late-Stage Clinical Trial in Sight
Fresh off a big financing round in May, Ophthotech is looking for more cash to run a big late-stage clinical trial for its eye drug, which it hopes to market as Fovista. And like a horde of other biotechs of late, it’s tapping the public markets to get it. The New York-based biotech has filed … Continue reading “Ophthotech Eyes $85M IPO With Late-Stage Clinical Trial in Sight”
Dream Chaser Spacecraft Rolls Through Runway Test, Faces New Hurdles
The spaceship being built in Colorado continues to make progress here on Earth, although NASA announced today it will have to clear a few more hurdles before reaching space. Sierra Nevada Corp. is designing and building the Dream Chaser spacecraft, which is a privately developed vehicle NASA could use to ferry up to seven astronauts … Continue reading “Dream Chaser Spacecraft Rolls Through Runway Test, Faces New Hurdles”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Fate, Arcturus, and More
Amid favorable market conditions for the life sciences industry, another San Diego biotech has filed to go public. We have details, along with other local developments over the past week. —San Diego’s Fate Therapeutics revealed plans to raise as much as $69 million through an IPO. Fate Therapeutics, founded to develop stem cell technology, is … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Vical, Fate, Arcturus, and More”
Dallas Startup Haul Links Retailers to YouTube Marketers
Celebrity endorsements are a tried-and-true method for brands to get exposure. But, thanks to technology, even everyday Joes and Janes can become important ambassadors to retailers, and get paid to do it. This marketing force is known as “haulers,” named for the shopping hauls that they show off on homemade YouTube videos. The queen bees … Continue reading “Dallas Startup Haul Links Retailers to YouTube Marketers”
Agero, Pride of Medford, Sells Texas Business to SiriusXM for $530M
An interesting automotive deal today involves people and companies in at least three states. Medford, MA-based Agero is selling off its connected-vehicle business, based mostly in Irving, TX, to radio broadcaster Sirius XM, based in New York City. The price tag is $530 million in cash, and the deal is expected to close in the … Continue reading “Agero, Pride of Medford, Sells Texas Business to SiriusXM for $530M”
Talking TechTown’s Reboot, Detroit’s Robustness With Charlie Moret
Charlie Moret, the TechTown business incubator’s new managing director of technology-based entrepreneurship, says he’s a lifelong “intrapreneur.” His passion has always been innovating, but he’s often been doing it from inside a broader organization. That’s a major reason why, when given the opportunity to reboot TechTown’s programs and take them back to their high-technology roots, … Continue reading “Talking TechTown’s Reboot, Detroit’s Robustness With Charlie Moret”
Solazyme Bets on Cosmetics Now, But Still Sees Biofuel Future
For a long time—even as recently as 2011, the year it went public—Solazyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SZYM]]) described itself as a renewable biofuels company. The South San Francisco firm said it wanted to use its secret, heavily engineered strain of microalgae to convert feedstocks like sugarcane into oils inside huge industrial fermentation vats. It boasted of producing … Continue reading “Solazyme Bets on Cosmetics Now, But Still Sees Biofuel Future”
IBM Back on the Prowl in MA, Snaps Up Trusteer in Security
IBM is making a major new investment in cybersecurity, involving a Boston- and Tel Aviv-based startup. Big Blue (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) said today it is acquiring Trusteer, a software company that specializes in protecting organizations against data breaches and financial fraud. Terms of the deal weren’t given, although one report (sourced from Israel) pegs the price … Continue reading “IBM Back on the Prowl in MA, Snaps Up Trusteer in Security”
Birchbox Now Sees More than One-Quarter of Its Business from E-commerce
More consumers are picking up full-size products through the Birchbox Shop portal, according to information announced Thursday by the New York-based “discovery retailer.” Birchbox ships monthly product samples to its subscribers and today pulled the curtain back a tiny bit on its progress in general e-commerce. The company says sales of full-size products now comprise … Continue reading “Birchbox Now Sees More than One-Quarter of Its Business from E-commerce”
Epizyme Execs Share the Secret to a Successful IPO: PowerBars
The IPO that set the biotech world afire hit the Nasdaq in May, but it really began way back in April 2012. Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPZM]]) had already spent five years building itself brick by brick when it faced the decision that looms for every startup biotech: whether to groom itself for a sale … Continue reading “Epizyme Execs Share the Secret to a Successful IPO: PowerBars”
Hutch’s “Project Violet” Taps Crowd, Seeks $20M for Drug Discovery
Many scientists are dreaming these days about using crowdfunding to raise money for their projects, through platforms like Kickstarter. Usually the scientists seek to raise a few thousand bucks in the name of a fairly incremental advancement in our understanding of biology. Jim Olson and his team at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center are … Continue reading “Hutch’s “Project Violet” Taps Crowd, Seeks $20M for Drug Discovery”
Fate Therapeutics Joins Biotech IPO Conga Line, Reaching for $69M
San Diego-based Fate Therapeutics, the company that made a big splash a few years ago when it rounded up some big-name scientists with aspirations to do big things with stem cells, is the latest biotech startup to fix its gaze on IPO riches. The company filed an initial public offering prospectus today with the Securities … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Joins Biotech IPO Conga Line, Reaching for $69M”
Clearpath Updates its “TurboTax for Immigration Paperwork” Platform
While politicians trade verbal jabs over immigration reform, a New York company has unveiled a new version of its software that simplifies paperwork—and may whittle down some costs—for filing immigration documents. Alan Samuels, the CEO of Clearpath, says his company has been working on a new design and multi-language platform that presents such government forms … Continue reading “Clearpath Updates its “TurboTax for Immigration Paperwork” Platform”
Orbotix Rolls Out Next-Gen Sphero, Considers Possible New Directions
The ball, reinvented, has itself been reinvented—and that means changes could be on the horizon for Orbotix, the Boulder, CO, startup that took the ball and put a robot inside it. Orbotix this morning launched Sphero 2.0, the next generation of the Sphero robotic ball that’s controlled by iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. Sphero … Continue reading “Orbotix Rolls Out Next-Gen Sphero, Considers Possible New Directions”
Wayne State University Breaks Ground on Advanced Technology Education Center
Late last month, Wayne State University broke ground on a new Advanced Technology Education Center (ATEC) in Warren, MI. It’s one of three new facilities Wayne State has planned in Macomb County. The 40,000-square-foot facility will offer programs focused primarily on engineering, computer science, supply chain management, and advanced manufacturing complementary to industries already located … Continue reading “Wayne State University Breaks Ground on Advanced Technology Education Center”
Zui Founders Unveil Team Group, Offering Startup Services and Funding
[Corrected 8/14/13, 11:45 am spelling of partner Tom Broadhead.] It wasn’t long after San Diego Web entrepreneurs Cliff Boro and Tom Broadhead sold their kid-friendly Internet startup Zui (founded as KidZui) to Saban Brands of Los Angeles that the wheels began turning. The Zui deal was announced last September. By January, the business partners were … Continue reading “Zui Founders Unveil Team Group, Offering Startup Services and Funding”
Sage Taps Former Shire Exec to Lead CNS Drugs Into Clinical Trials
Third Rock Ventures has spent close to two years refining the strategy for startup Sage Therapeutics. Now it’s found the management team to execute it. Cambridge, MA-based Sage announced today that Jeffrey Jonas, the former head of Shire’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPG]]) regenerative medicine unit, has been named its new CEO, taking over for Kevin Starr, the … Continue reading “Sage Taps Former Shire Exec to Lead CNS Drugs Into Clinical Trials”
Placed Service Would Prove Mobile Ads Get Customers in the Door
A mobile advertisement offering 10 percent off of lunch at a fast food restaurant is more likely to drive customers to the store than a banner ad for a burger displayed on the Web. That’s the promise of mobile advertising—an $8.9 billion global business last year, growing at a rapid clip—and the behavior Seattle startup … Continue reading “Placed Service Would Prove Mobile Ads Get Customers in the Door”
Localeur Lists ‘Manly Sh*t’ in Houston, SF’s ‘Best Places to Om’
Travel suggestions on the Web abound, but one Austin, TX, startup says it can provide tourists with the inside scoop on a destination through a selected group of residents themselves. Localeur—think “local” plus “connoisseur”—has focused on what co-founder and CEO Joah Spearman calls experiences rather than reviews. “Reviews are very good for products—‘You should go … Continue reading “Localeur Lists ‘Manly Sh*t’ in Houston, SF’s ‘Best Places to Om’”
New State “Technology Tax” Is Really a Tax on Innovation
Over the course of its history, Massachusetts has been regarded as a hub of innovation and a leader in developing new technologies that improve the quality of life for people around the globe. Alexander Graham Bell, Guglielmo Marconi, and Amar Bose are three giants of innovation with Massachusetts roots whose brilliance and technological advancements shaped … Continue reading “New State “Technology Tax” Is Really a Tax on Innovation”
Survey: VCs Less Confident in Global Markets, Look to Home Turf
Private-market investors tend to be an optimistic bunch, at least in public—it comes with the territory when you’re betting on unknown or unproven companies and their founders. But a new survey of market confidence from the National Venture Capital Association shows a pretty dour outlook in several cases from VC, private equity, and growth equity … Continue reading “Survey: VCs Less Confident in Global Markets, Look to Home Turf”
End of an Era: Jumptap Bought by Millennial Media for $200M+
Call them the Big Five, and please fill in the blank: Third Screen Media, Enpocket, Quattro Wireless, Where, …? The fifth spot belongs to Jumptap, the Boston-based mobile advertising company that is being acquired by rival Millennial Media (NYSE: [[ticker:MM]]), based in Baltimore. Those four previous Boston-area mobile-ad companies were acquired in the past several … Continue reading “End of an Era: Jumptap Bought by Millennial Media for $200M+”
SomaLogic Partners with Agilent to Distribute Proteomic Technology
SomaLogic and Agilent Technologies announced Monday they have formed a partnership to install SomaLogic’s protein biomarker discovery platform at research centers around the country. The Boulder, CO-based biotech is developing diagnostic tests that use protein biomarkers to identify illnesses. The tests are based on the idea that diseases create telltale proteins as they develop and … Continue reading “SomaLogic Partners with Agilent to Distribute Proteomic Technology”
Gates Foundation Lures Biotech VC to Work on Global Health Startups
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has people with big Rolodexes that extend into high levels of government, philanthropy, public health, and Big Pharma. Now the organization has hired someone to open doors to biotech entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Bob More, a former partner with Frazier Healthcare Ventures and Domain Associates, recently joined the Gates … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Lures Biotech VC to Work on Global Health Startups”
Kyriba Raises $18.2M to Grow Services for Corporate Finance Clients
Kyriba, a cloud-based provider of cash-management software for multi-national corporations and other customers, says today it has raised $18.2 million in a Series B round of financing that will be used to enhance its technology and fuel further growth. A new investor, Daher Capital, led the round, and was joined by existing investors Bred Banque … Continue reading “Kyriba Raises $18.2M to Grow Services for Corporate Finance Clients”
Proteins of Tomorrow? Soy, Peas, Crickets, and Mealworms
More than half of the protein in the American diet comes from meat. So where do the animals we dine upon get their protein? Mostly, they make it from corn and grasses—but they’re not very good at it. A cow needs 20,000 kilocalories of corn to make just 2,000 kilocalories of beef. It would short-circuit … Continue reading “Proteins of Tomorrow? Soy, Peas, Crickets, and Mealworms”