UpTo, the Detroit-based startup that launched a social calendar app last year, announced last week that is has completed a $2 million Series A round and has pivoted to add new features as well as a business-to-business component. “UpTo is now a full calendar with social networking instead of the other way around,” says founder … Continue reading “Detroit’s UpTo Pivots, Completes a $2 Million Series A Round”
Category: National
Salient Stills Sold to Audio-Tech Firm DAC
Here’s some interesting consolidation in the market for law-enforcement and security software, involving an MIT spin-out. Boston-based Salient Stills, which helps authorities capture and clean up still images from video feeds, has been purchased by Digital Audio Corp. of Durham, NC. The two private companies didn’t disclose terms of the deal. As you might guess … Continue reading “Salient Stills Sold to Audio-Tech Firm DAC”
State Officials, Entrepreneurs Sell Michigan to National Media
On Friday, MLive reported that Xconomist Mike Finney, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Detroit Venture Partners‘ Jake Cohen, and Rick DeVos, heir to the Amway fortune and founder of Start Garden, traveled to New York City to sell the story of Michigan’s comeback to reporters from national outlets such as the … Continue reading “State Officials, Entrepreneurs Sell Michigan to National Media”
Trendspotting: Platform Ecosystems
For big enterprise services companies, the hot new trend is having a cloud-hosted platform for third-party applications. These platforms give app developers the resources they need to build, launch, promote, and integrate their apps with other businesses. This not only creates a bundle of exceptional business tools but it also creates a hotbed of savvy … Continue reading “Trendspotting: Platform Ecosystems”
Sangamo in Race to Replace Chronic Drug Treatment with Gene Therapies
The Foster City, CA-based biopharmaceutical giant Gilead (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GILD]]) reaps about $8 billion a year from its daily drug regimens that keep the HIV virus in check. Gilead’s Bay area neighbor, San Rafael, CA-based BioMarin Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BMRN]]), earns nearly half a billion dollars annually from its pioneering drugs for rare disorders that would otherwise … Continue reading “Sangamo in Race to Replace Chronic Drug Treatment with Gene Therapies”
Why I Won’t Cheer If Onyx Pharma Is Sold for Megabucks
Sometime in the coming weeks, South San Francisco-based Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONXX]]) will probably be acquired by some big drugmaker for more than $10 billion. Shareholders will count their profits. Analysts will applaud. Financial media will speculate about whether this deal will spark more acquisitions in the biotech industry. But I won’t be cheering. I’ll … Continue reading “Why I Won’t Cheer If Onyx Pharma Is Sold for Megabucks”
Amar Bose, Legendary MIT Acoustician, Dead at 83
I was sad to learn today that Amar Bose, the founder of Bose Corporation and an iconic figure at MIT, has passed away. He was 83. Bose founded the company that bears his name in 1964, when he was a young professor at MIT. His research interests included acoustics, sound perception, electronics, nonlinear systems, communications, … Continue reading “Amar Bose, Legendary MIT Acoustician, Dead at 83”
Mile High Roundup: A Big Biofuel Moves In and New Energy for Wind
Welcome to the Mile High Roundup, a fortnightly review and recap of some of the interesting things that have happened over the past two weeks in the tech scene in Boulder, Denver, and around Colorado. It’s no secret tons of cool stuff is happening around the state, and this is a chance to catch up. … Continue reading “Mile High Roundup: A Big Biofuel Moves In and New Energy for Wind”
Say What? 12 Moments of Nonsense in Microsoft’s Reorganization Memo
Microsoft’s attempt to radically shake up its corporate structure, getting rid of warring divisions and uniting the company behind a common “devices and services” mission, has dominated tech-industry news this week. And you can read the details yourself, straight from the CEO’s mouth, in the all-staff memo that the company posted online. It can be … Continue reading “Say What? 12 Moments of Nonsense in Microsoft’s Reorganization Memo”
New Incentive Deal with Chinese City Brightens Ascent Solar’s Future
Maybe it’s an example of the old saying “if you can’t beat them, join them.” Ascent Solar Technologies, a Colorado-based designer and maker of thin-film photovoltaic technology, announced this week it has entered into an agreement with the Chinese city of Suqian that could lead to a total of $500 million in investments that would … Continue reading “New Incentive Deal with Chinese City Brightens Ascent Solar’s Future”
Texas Roundup: Appconomy, Bellicum, and Datafiniti
This week brings us news of three Texas startups raising money, progressing on cancer research, and settling into a new home. Money, money, money: Austin’s Appconomy closed this week on a bridge loan of just under $3 million. Appconomy provides mobile marketing and e-commerce platforms for Chinese retailers. The new money will help fund its … Continue reading “Texas Roundup: Appconomy, Bellicum, and Datafiniti”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Celgene, Dunsire, Forma, & More
[Updated, 9:30 am ET] What summer vacation? Biotech was booming on the East Coast this week. Big partnerships, clinical trial results, R&D days, and new executive hires were all announced. We’ve got those details and much more below: —Over the past few years, Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]) has formed early-stage partnerships with innovative biotechs … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Celgene, Dunsire, Forma, & More”
10 New Productivity Tricks for Your Old iPhone
As you can probably tell from my calendar (pictured in the first photo above), I’m jetting off to Michigan today for a week’s vacation with my family. For me, vacation is a time to put aside my gadgets—or at least, turn off my e-mail—and focus on sun, sailing, and cervezas. But for everyone who has … Continue reading “10 New Productivity Tricks for Your Old iPhone”
Michigan eLibrary Offers Free Online Resources for Entrepreneurs
As the recession continues to recede in Michigan and entrepreneurial culture takes root, businesses now have a new set of free tools to help create a competitive advantage. The State Library of Michigan; Gale, the Farmington Hills, MI-based publisher of research and reference resources that is part of Cengage Learning; and CIVICTechnologies, an analytics and market … Continue reading “Michigan eLibrary Offers Free Online Resources for Entrepreneurs”
SEC Comes Calling For Aveo As FDA Panel Fallout Continues
The Aveo Oncology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVEO]]) saga took yet another turn today as the Securities and Exchange Commission has come knocking at the cancer drug maker’s door. According to regulatory filings, the SEC has subpoenaed the Cambridge, MA-based biotech—the latest domino to fall since the company’s disastrous results before an FDA panel on May 2. The … Continue reading “SEC Comes Calling For Aveo As FDA Panel Fallout Continues”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Conatus, ViaCyte, Organovo, and More
Much of the activity among San Diego’s life sciences companies seemed to focus on raising capital and striking partnership deals. We’ve got it all wrapped up here. —San Diego-based Conatus Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing novel compounds to treat liver disease, was one of 10 companies that set terms for their IPO this week. The eight-year-old … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Conatus, ViaCyte, Organovo, and More”
Shapeways CEO: 3D Printing Can Fully Disrupt Views on Manufacturing
Inside the Manhattan headquarters of 3D printing service Shapeways, engineers plug away at rows of workstations, the crisp clackety-clack of a table tennis match is underway in the break room, and CEO Peter Weijmarshausen sees a revolution building across his industry. “3D printing can completely disrupt the way we think about manufacturing,” he says. “We … Continue reading “Shapeways CEO: 3D Printing Can Fully Disrupt Views on Manufacturing”
Seattle, Microsoft Target Energy Savings for Buildings in Pilot Project
The operators of four Seattle buildings hope new data-gathering and analysis software, based on Microsoft’s cloud computing platform and being tested in a city pilot project, will help identify significant energy savings opportunities. The city is running the High-Performance Buildings Pilot Project as part of a long-term effort to advance the cleantech industry locally. A … Continue reading “Seattle, Microsoft Target Energy Savings for Buildings in Pilot Project”
Microsoft’s Reboot: Rashid, DelBene, Mundie Reassigned or Retiring
[Updated 3:20 pm with detail] The world of Microsoft watchers knew it was coming: a major reorganization of the company around CEO Steve Ballmer’s vision of a more unified “devices and services” business. Today, we got the details from Ballmer himself, through his all-staff memo and a New York Times interview. It’s a dramatic makeover. … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Reboot: Rashid, DelBene, Mundie Reassigned or Retiring”
Esri Adds GIS to Business Intelligence, Promotes “Location Analytics”
This week marks the 33rd annual users conference for Esri, a leading provider of mapping software and geospatial information systems (GIS). In Internet time, that should qualify the privately held company for elder statesman status. The Redlands, CA-based software developer (founded in 1969 as Environmental Systems Research Institute) currently holds an estimated 40 percent or … Continue reading “Esri Adds GIS to Business Intelligence, Promotes “Location Analytics””
Alnylam Shares Boom on Early Data For Subcutaneous RNA Drug
Shortly before kicking off its R&D day, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) got a boost from investors this morning that were thrilled that it just might be able to deliver RNA-based drugs with an injection right under the skin. Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam released results from an early-stage clinical trial of ALN-TTRsc, a subcutaneous form of the … Continue reading “Alnylam Shares Boom on Early Data For Subcutaneous RNA Drug”
UT “WaterChip,” Plus a Startup, Could Make Desalination More Efficient
Millions of people die each year worldwide from a lack of fresh water. Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have an innovation that could help prevent that—and they’re working with a startup to bring the technology to market. The “WaterChip” creates a small electrical field that removes salts from seawater using a technique … Continue reading “UT “WaterChip,” Plus a Startup, Could Make Desalination More Efficient”
A Top Tech City, But Austin Needs More STEM Workers
When President Barack Obama decided to use Austin, TX, as a platform to discuss the United States’ future in technology this May, it came as no surprise to those who call Austin’s technology sector home. Over the past decade, Austin has branched out beyond its Silicon Hills moniker to become the world’s preferred innovation destination. … Continue reading “A Top Tech City, But Austin Needs More STEM Workers”
Seven Questions for the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association
You may never have heard of the Consumer Electronics Association, but you’ve definitely heard of its most famous annual event: the huge Consumer Electronics Show, or International CES. The four-day extravaganza draws more than 150,000 attendees to Las Vegas each January to see keynote talks by top industry CEOs and exhibits from 3,000 companies. Interestingly, … Continue reading “Seven Questions for the CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association”
LSINW Roundup: Alder, Omeros, Adaptive and Women to Watch
The weather is great in Seattle, the tourists are here. It must be time to invite folks in for a biotech conference. The local biotech community came together yesterday at the Washington State Convention Center for its biggest annual gathering, Life Science Innovation Northwest. Steve Burrill came and gave his usual healthcare world overview talk … Continue reading “LSINW Roundup: Alder, Omeros, Adaptive and Women to Watch”
Dunsire Returns to Action to Tackle CNS Disorders With EnVivo
Deborah Dunsire rose to prominence in the biotech industry by leading Millennium Pharmaceuticals through its ascension as an oncology powerhouse. Now, she’s taking a stab at a whole new field—central nervous system (CNS) disorders. EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, a Fidelity Biosciences-backed, Watertown, MA-based biotech startup targeting CNS diseases, is announcing today that Dunsire is grabbing the reins … Continue reading “Dunsire Returns to Action to Tackle CNS Disorders With EnVivo”
Is Crowdfunding The Future For Biomedical Research?
Microryza.com (not the catchiest of names) is a crowdfunding platform for research that raises money over the Internet from individuals who are willing to donate small amounts to fund a specific project. The average donation according to Microryza is $92. In return for a 5 percent cut of funds raised and a 3 percent credit … Continue reading “Is Crowdfunding The Future For Biomedical Research?”
Trusting Your Partners: A Chat With Celgene’s George Golumbeski
It’s no secret that biotech IPOs, for the first time in at least 10 years, are suddenly white hot. Companies with sparse evidence from clinical trials, or those with drugs that have failed such trials, are finding success raising cash from public investors. But take a look at some of the best performing biotech IPOs … Continue reading “Trusting Your Partners: A Chat With Celgene’s George Golumbeski”
Boston Roundup: Volition, Tivli, Lantos, Aereo, Swartz
A fresh investment fund, innovation in TV, more cash for hearing tech, and some courtroom maneuvers in this midweek collection of Boston-area headlines: —Volition Capital has raised $80 million for a second investment fund that could reach $150 million, according to this SEC filing. The Boston-based firm, as noted by the Boston Business Journal, is … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Volition, Tivli, Lantos, Aereo, Swartz”
NIH Award Will Help Phrixus Pharmaceuticals Advance to Clinical Trials
University of Michigan spinoff Phrixus Pharmaceuticals has won an award from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that will help the company advance to clinical trials for Carmeseal-MD, its developmental drug to treat cardiac and respiratory problems in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Thomas Collet, Phrixus’ president and CEO, says the company will receive approximately $2.5 … Continue reading “NIH Award Will Help Phrixus Pharmaceuticals Advance to Clinical Trials”
ViaCyte Raises $10.6M as Artificial Pancreas Moves Toward Key Trials
ViaCyte, the San Diego regenerative medicine startup with a big idea for using stem cell-derived therapy to treat diabetes, says today it has raised $10.6 million through a private equity financing. The deal included the company’s largest existing investors—Johnson & Johnson, Sanderling Ventures, and the Johnson Trust. ViaCyte says the funding matches the $10.1 million … Continue reading “ViaCyte Raises $10.6M as Artificial Pancreas Moves Toward Key Trials”
Rep. DelBene Talks Immigration Reform, Electronic Privacy, Sales Tax
Congresswoman Suzan DelBene represents what has been described as one of the most evenly divided districts in the country. The redrawn First Congressional District of Washington state also contains several geographical and economic elements—from agricultural and high-tech businesses to a lengthy stretch of Canadian border—that have a major stake in the outcome of the immigration … Continue reading “Rep. DelBene Talks Immigration Reform, Electronic Privacy, Sales Tax”
Finally, A Sure-Fire Way to Lose Weight
I’m proud to announce that I have just entered my 16th year of trying to lose five pounds. Not many fatties have the perseverance to keep trying to lose five pounds, and failing, for 16 consecutive years, but I do. In honor of this milestone, my wife bought me a Jawbone wrist bracelet, which miraculously … Continue reading “Finally, A Sure-Fire Way to Lose Weight”
Yottaa, Going the Last Mile in Mobile, Lands $16M More in VC
Yottaa is a new variation on an old Boston theme. It’s a Web infrastructure startup working on a tough technical problem. It’s trying to outmaneuver competitors in a new era of cloud and mobile devices. It has eschewed the popular “lean startup” methodology by building a larger, globally distributed team designed to go big from … Continue reading “Yottaa, Going the Last Mile in Mobile, Lands $16M More in VC”
Android Co-Founder Rich Miner: Fragmentation “An Overblown Issue”
Sure, smartphone developers find it frustrating to keep up with the multiple versions of Google’s Android operating system scattered across hundreds of millions of smartphones around the world. But Android co-founder Rich Miner thinks the discussion of that fragmentation problem tends to get blown out of proportion. “I think this is a bit of an … Continue reading “Android Co-Founder Rich Miner: Fragmentation “An Overblown Issue””
ServiceNow Acquires Dutch Provider of Performance Analytics Software
San Diego-based ServiceNow (NYSE: [[ticker:NOW]]) has acquired Mirror42, a nine-year-old software developer based in Amsterdam that helps companies measure their business performance. Financial terms were not disclosed in a statement released after regular trading ended today. ServiceNow says additional details will be disclosed in conjunction with second-quarter financial results that ServiceNow plans to release on … Continue reading “ServiceNow Acquires Dutch Provider of Performance Analytics Software”
Kymeta Raises $50M To Upend Satellite Antenna Business
Satellite antenna maker Kymeta may be only a year old, but with a $50 million financing round and the technology backing of Intellectual Ventures, the company can hardly be called a startup. The Redmond, WA, company—which uses patented metamaterials to make antennae that it says will beat existing technologies on size, weight, power requirements, and … Continue reading “Kymeta Raises $50M To Upend Satellite Antenna Business”
San Diego’s Conatus Pharmaceuticals Sets Price Range for IPO Shares
After disclosing a planned IPO last month, San Diego’s Conatus Pharmaceuticals said in an updated filing yesterday that it plans to offer 5 million shares at a price between $10 and $12 per share. An additional 750,000 shares would be sold if underwriters exercise their option to extend the offering. Conatus estimates the offering would … Continue reading “San Diego’s Conatus Pharmaceuticals Sets Price Range for IPO Shares”
Mobile Game Developer Backflip Studios Scores $112M from Hasbro
Backflip Studios is joining forces with Hasbro, following a deal in which Hasbro paid $112 million in cash for a 70 percent stake in the Boulder, CO-based mobile game developer. Hasbro (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HAS]]) and Backflip Studios announced the deal Monday. The deal is a huge one for Backflip, which has emerged as a leading mobile … Continue reading “Mobile Game Developer Backflip Studios Scores $112M from Hasbro”
After Virtualization: VMware’s Valiant Plan to Co-opt the Cloud
VMware has outgrown its name. The “VM” stands for virtual machines, and the “ware” stands for the software needed to create them. The original idea, based on research in the 1990s by co-founder Mendel Rosenblum, the husband of founding CEO Diane Greene, was to help companies get more performance out of their computers by setting … Continue reading “After Virtualization: VMware’s Valiant Plan to Co-opt the Cloud”
New Carlsbad “Germinator” Opens for Startups as DIY Biology Blooms
As an activist and founder of the Bay Area’s annual Open Science Summit, Joseph Jackson posed an intriguing question on Xconomy a few years ago: “Can a generation of “DIY” biology hobbyists help kickstart a new biotech revolution the way the home brew computer club did for personal computing?” Jackson answered his own question a … Continue reading “New Carlsbad “Germinator” Opens for Startups as DIY Biology Blooms”
Don’t Give Away Your Board Seats
I had a group of ex-students out to the ranch who were puzzling over a dilemma—they’ve been working hard on their startup, were close at finding product/market fit and had been approached by Oren, a potential angel investor. Oren had been investing since he left Google four years ago and was insisting on not only … Continue reading “Don’t Give Away Your Board Seats”
ArborMetrix Platform Selected by MI Breast Oncology Quality Initiative
ArborMetrix, the Ann Arbor-based startup that aims to “filter the noise” out of the statistical approach to healthcare, says its cloud-based platform will replace the current platform used by the Michigan Breast Oncology Initiative (MiBOQI). The 26-hospital Collaborative Quality Initiative (CQI) will implement ArborMetrix’s technology to improve quality, safety, outcomes, and effectiveness of breast cancer treatment across Michigan. Blue … Continue reading “ArborMetrix Platform Selected by MI Breast Oncology Quality Initiative”
Lingerie E-Commerce Site Adore Me, Developed at Harvard, Raises $8.5M
With $8.5 million from a Series B round, New York-based lingerie e-commerce site Adore Me said on Tuesday it has a plan to crack the hold Victoria’s Secret has on the intimate apparel market—at least online. Adore Me offers rotating collections of new designer bras and panties. In addition to purchases by general consumers, the … Continue reading “Lingerie E-Commerce Site Adore Me, Developed at Harvard, Raises $8.5M”
FDA Clears New Version of Tyrx’s Infection-Fighting Pacemaker Sleeve
Tyrx climbed its first big hurdle in 2008 when it began selling its first product to hospitals in the U.S. With a key green light today from the Food and Drug Administration, the Monmouth Junction, NJ-based company has a bigger goal within its grasp—becoming cash-flow positive. The FDA today cleared the company to begin selling … Continue reading “FDA Clears New Version of Tyrx’s Infection-Fighting Pacemaker Sleeve”
Forma, CRT Deal Part of Broader Research Initiative
Forma Therapeutics has built itself brick by brick with a drug discovery engine that has caught the eye—and the dollars—of industry titans like Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]), Boehringer Ingelheim, Genentech, and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]). Now, it is putting that cash to work in a new collaboration with academic researchers. Watertown, MA-based Forma is announcing … Continue reading “Forma, CRT Deal Part of Broader Research Initiative”
Mirna Therapeutics Taking on Cancer With Help of Tiny RNAs
Mirna Therapeutics, an Austin-based life sciences startup, is bringing out the big guns in the fight against cancer, in the form of tiny RNA molecules. In just over three years, Mirna has raised nearly $50 million to develop drugs based on microRNAs, very short strands of RNA that can act like genomic master switches, each … Continue reading “Mirna Therapeutics Taking on Cancer With Help of Tiny RNAs”
Exar Snaps Up Semiconductor Designer Cadeka Microcircuits for $29M
Semiconductor products designer and manufacturer Cadeka Microcircuits has been purchased by Exar for $29 million in a cash and stock deal, the companies announced Monday. The acquisition price could go up because the deal includes earn-out provisions based on the net revenue Cadeka products generate for Exar. Cadeka makes precision analog integrated circuits and is … Continue reading “Exar Snaps Up Semiconductor Designer Cadeka Microcircuits for $29M”
NextEnergy Awards $10K to Two Advanced Energy Companies
NextEnergy, a Detroit-based non-profit dedicated to incubating advanced energy technology, announced last week that it has awarded $10,000 in Advanced Energy Innovation awards to two southeast Michigan companies, Inmatech and Arborlight. The awards were presented last month during the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest event. Inmatech, based in Ann Arbor, is a startup focused on developing new … Continue reading “NextEnergy Awards $10K to Two Advanced Energy Companies”
Filip Technologies Drafts New CEO from Virgin Group, Plans NY Office
A British developer of a wearable communicator for kids has hired Jonathan Peachey, previously CEO of Virgin Management USA, and plans to open a U.S. headquarters in New York that will include tech talent in mobile, Web, and backend software development. Filip Technologies is putting the final touches on a device that functions as a … Continue reading “Filip Technologies Drafts New CEO from Virgin Group, Plans NY Office”