Category: National

Aveksa Acquired by EMC in Enterprise Security Deal

Aveksa is one of those enterprise technology companies you might have forgotten about over the years. But no longer. The Waltham, MA-based security software and identity management firm has been acquired by EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the data storage giant based in Hopkinton, MA. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Aveksa will operate within EMC’s … Continue reading “Aveksa Acquired by EMC in Enterprise Security Deal”

Zebit, Operated by Global Analytics, Raises $30M for U.S. Expansion

As a Web-based financial services company, Global Analytics is not exactly a household name—even in San Diego, where the company was founded in 2003. That seems likely to change in coming months, however. Global Analytics is announcing today it has raised $30 million in debt financing, as the company lays the groundwork to bring its … Continue reading “Zebit, Operated by Global Analytics, Raises $30M for U.S. Expansion”

Nine Observations on Leadership From North America’s Highest Peak

People are always striving to develop their leadership skills, or to find a leader worth following. But sometimes the trick is recognizing when you’re in the presence of strong leadership, and learning from it. Your normal BioBeat will return to this space next week, but lately I’ve been fixated on absorbing leadership lessons for business … Continue reading “Nine Observations on Leadership From North America’s Highest Peak”

Texas Roundup: TechStars Austin, Houston Hackathon, and More

An Independence Day hangover notwithstanding, we at Xconomy Texas want to be sure you are updated with startup happenings. Techstars Austin—The Boulder-based accelerator received more than 850 applications for its inaugural startup class in Austin, says Jason Seats, who is heading up TechStars Austin. In May, TechStars announced its expansion to Austin, its seventh city. … Continue reading “Texas Roundup: TechStars Austin, Houston Hackathon, and More”

Colorado Cleantech Companies Raised a Combined $10.4M in 2nd Quarter

A handful of Colorado cleantech and energy services companies raised a combined $10.4 million from venture capital investors during the second quarter, bringing the 2013 total raised in cleantech to $45.2 million. Cleantech has long been something of a catch-all term for very diverse industries, and that can be seen in the latest numbers, which … Continue reading “Colorado Cleantech Companies Raised a Combined $10.4M in 2nd Quarter”

CampThat Web App Helps Campers Connect With Campgrounds, Each Other

Maybe this holiday weekend you’re joining the 40 million Americans who go camping each year. Those of us who love the great outdoors know that camping web sites and apps are desperately in need of innovation—many look like they were designed in the 1990s and often don’t have complete information. CampThat, which just opened up … Continue reading “CampThat Web App Helps Campers Connect With Campgrounds, Each Other”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Verdine, Vedanta, Alnylam, & More

East Coasters may have been gearing up for their July 4 barbecues this week, but they still managed to pack a ton of life sciences news into three days before they fired up their grills. Details below: —Harvard University chemical biologist Gregory Verdine has taken a leave of absence from the university to become the … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Verdine, Vedanta, Alnylam, & More”

The Denali Expedition: A Photo Essay

I’ve been dreaming about Denali since I started climbing mountains a decade ago with two best friends. This is the year we made it happen. As many Xconomy readers know, I just returned from a successful three-week expedition to climb Alaska’s Denali, the highest peak in North America. Many saw me grow a beard to … Continue reading “The Denali Expedition: A Photo Essay”

Ridepal Offers Free Google Bus-Style Rides to Relieve BART Strike

A shutdown of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system has been snarling traffic around San Francisco since Tuesday, as local branches of the Almagamated Transit Union and the Service Employees International Union continue to strike for improvements in salary, pensions, healthcare coverage, and worker safety. So, it’s been a good week to telecommute. But for … Continue reading “Ridepal Offers Free Google Bus-Style Rides to Relieve BART Strike”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Pathway Genomics, Avanir

The short week before the July 4th holiday made for a quick wrap-up of news from San Diego’s life sciences community. Here’s my rundown. —An important committee of the European Medicine Agency (EMA) gave a positive recommendation for a new formulation of Roche’s trastuzumab (Herceptin) that incorporates Hylenex, the FDA-approved drug delivery method from San … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Pathway Genomics, Avanir”

Array Starts First Phase 3 Trial, Shifts to Late-Stage Development

Array Biopharma said Tuesday it has received a $5 million milestone payment from Novartis for beginning Phase 3 testing of a drug it hopes can treat ovarian cancer. The milestone is just part of a larger transition for the Boulder, CO-based biopharmaceutical company. The event that triggered the payment was the beginning a multinational, randomized … Continue reading “Array Starts First Phase 3 Trial, Shifts to Late-Stage Development”

NY Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Stories That Got This City Talking in Q2

With Xconomy’s mission of highlighting how innovation can drive exponential growth in the economy, it’s important to look back at stories that speak to the character of the cities we cover. My esteemed colleagues in Boston, San Francisco, Boulder/Denver, and Seattle have already shared some of their favorites from the second quarter of this year. … Continue reading “NY Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Stories That Got This City Talking in Q2”

Apple, Amazon, Samsung Targeted in Boston University Patent Suits

Boston University has launched a series of patent lawsuits against Apple, Samsung, Amazon, and a long list of smaller electronics suppliers, a surprising show of legal aggression from the private university. The series of lawsuits, which date back to October, revolve around a pair of patents for semiconductor technology that can be used to make … Continue reading “Apple, Amazon, Samsung Targeted in Boston University Patent Suits”

Houston Startup Vapogenix Aims to Build a Better Pain Drug

Treating pain usually means taking medication that has to course through our bloodstream—our entire body—before it can take effect. The thing is, we typically feel pain in one place. So why can’t we just treat that specific area, and in a faster fashion? Houston-based Vapogenix is working on a drug that could do exactly that. … Continue reading “Houston Startup Vapogenix Aims to Build a Better Pain Drug”

Venture Investors Continue Love Affair with Digital Health Startups

It’s been a slow year for startup fundraising—the investments doled out by venture firms in the first quarter dropped 6 percent compared with the same period of 2012. But at least a couple of sectors have been defying that trend. One is software, where funding for the first half of 2012 was up 38 percent … Continue reading “Venture Investors Continue Love Affair with Digital Health Startups”

GI Dynamics Lines Up $52M For Key U.S. Study

GI Dynamics may be based in Lexington, MA, but its device that combats Type 2 diabetes and obesity by slipping a lining into the small intestine isn’t sold here just yet. Today, GI Dynamics took one step closer to that goal by raising enough cash to support a big clinical trial in the U.S. GI … Continue reading “GI Dynamics Lines Up $52M For Key U.S. Study”

With J&J’s Help, Vedanta Marches Ahead With Microbiome Drug Cocktail

When Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]) announced it opened its Boston Innovation Center, it snuck in an unspecified investment in a PureTech Ventures-backed startup named Vedanta BioSciences. And while the exact nature of the relationship is unclear, one thing is for sure: the Cambridge, MA-based startup now has some big muscle behind it to help … Continue reading “With J&J’s Help, Vedanta Marches Ahead With Microbiome Drug Cocktail”

A Detroit Entrepreneur Transforms Tragedy Into Life-Saving Inventions

Orlando Robinson has always been a tinkerer. Growing up near Schoolcraft and Greenfield on the west side of Detroit, he was the kind of kid who dismantled electronics just to reassemble them for fun. He graduated from high school early, enrolled at Wayne State University at age 16, and landed in Iraq with the U.S. … Continue reading “A Detroit Entrepreneur Transforms Tragedy Into Life-Saving Inventions”

Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize

This may seem like a surprising observation, but it’s true. Biopharma companies and baseball teams employ similar strategies that they hope will result in either a blockbuster drug or winning the World Series. The challenges each faces are significant. Did you realize that the percentage of drugs that are put into clinical trials and successfully … Continue reading “Baseball and Biopharma: More Alike Than You Might Realize”

While I Was Away on Denali: NanoString, Mirabilis, Seattle Genetics

This week, I flew home after a three-week expedition to summit the highest peak in North America—Alaska’s Denali (Mt. McKinley). Three weeks is a long time in the news business. So here’s a roundup of Seattle biotech highlights that I missed, many of which were covered by colleagues who held down the fort. —Jens Quistgaard … Continue reading “While I Was Away on Denali: NanoString, Mirabilis, Seattle Genetics”

Boston Roundup: Sigma Prime, ATV, Venrock, iRobot

A trio of venture capital news bits, and an international patent lawsuit in this roundup of Boston-area news briefs: —Sigma Prime Ventures, the new early stage venture fund formed after the bicoastal split of Sigma Partners, has raised about $115 million of a fund that could grow to $125 million, according to an SEC filing. … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Sigma Prime, ATV, Venrock, iRobot”

Cleantech Angel Group NWEA On Pace to Break 2012 Investing Record

Let’s hold off on the wake for early-stage cleantech investing in the Northwest. With more than $1.8 million invested so far in 2013, Northwest Energy Angels (NWEA) is on pace to surpass its record 2012. The longest-tenured cleantech angel investing group in the country has bet on 10 companies through the first half of this … Continue reading “Cleantech Angel Group NWEA On Pace to Break 2012 Investing Record”

Outerwall, aka Coinstar, Pays $350 Million for San Diego’s EcoATM

Bellevue, WA-based Coinstar says today that it has agreed to pay $350 million in cash to acquire EcoATM, the San Diego cleantech startup that operates kiosks for recycling electronic mobile devices. The automated retailer, which already was a major investor in EcoATM, with a 23 percent stake, also has changed its name Outerwall, along with … Continue reading “Outerwall, aka Coinstar, Pays $350 Million for San Diego’s EcoATM”

San Diego Tech Week Reflects Gains as Web Startups Amass Downtown

As the founding CEO of San Diego’s OpenCandy and its sister startup SweetLabs, Darrius Thompson says he usually keeps his head down and his attention focused on the nuts and bolts of building both companies, and on creating new Web-based software. So it’s understandable that Thompson was unaware of a grassroots effort to help boost … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Week Reflects Gains as Web Startups Amass Downtown”

TechMediaNetwork Acquires Bestofmedia Group to Challenge CNET

TechMediaNetwork, which owns New York media outlets LAPTOP, Space.com, and Newsarama, said Monday it acquired Bestofmedia Group to load up its portfolio and take on media giant CBS’s tech site CNET. TechMediaNetwork, with headquarters in Ogden, UT and offices in New York, said the acquisition will give it some 72 million readers across all of … Continue reading “TechMediaNetwork Acquires Bestofmedia Group to Challenge CNET”

When You Are Facing a Tsunami of Barriers, Surf Like a Woman

All entrepreneurs face roadblocks when they are starting up. It’s part of the job. For Surbhi Sarna, who founded of nVision Medical in 2012, things are more intense. NVision Medical is an early stage women’s health business focused building medical devices that help detect ovarian cancer and infertility. It recently raised over $4 million in … Continue reading “When You Are Facing a Tsunami of Barriers, Surf Like a Woman”

Texas Cancer Agency Withdraws Pending Startup Funding Applications

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas has dismissed five pending grant applications by companies seeking funding in light of CPRIT’s ongoing reorganization. The move came days after Texas Gov. Rick Perry approved on June 15 a new law designed to reform  the embattled agency. CPRIT had come under legislative and legal scrutiny late last … Continue reading “Texas Cancer Agency Withdraws Pending Startup Funding Applications”

Sunesis Waits Out Suspenseful Final Year of Pivotal Leukemia Trial

The next 12 months will be a transformational period for South San Francisco-based Sunesis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNSS]]), no matter what the outcome of the ongoing late stage trial of its lead drug candidate, vosaroxin. Sunesis, which now has 30 employees, could be reborn as an expanding commercial oncology company if vosaroxin proves to lengthen the … Continue reading “Sunesis Waits Out Suspenseful Final Year of Pivotal Leukemia Trial”

Harvard Professor Steps Down to Pilot Warp Drive Bio

Warp Drive Bio has been laying in the weeds ever since Sanofi, Third Rock Ventures, and Greylock partners helped form it with a $125 million financing in January 2012 and a plan to hit previously undruggable disease targets by tapping into nature. After staying out of the news for about 18 months, the Cambridge, MA-based … Continue reading “Harvard Professor Steps Down to Pilot Warp Drive Bio”

Rally’s $84M IPO, NexGen’s $119M Exit Made Quarter One to Remember

The Spring of 2013 will go down in the history of Colorado’s tech community as one to remember, with a breakthrough IPO, a nice exit for a leader in the historically vibrant data storage industry, major investment in two startups, and new life for one of the area’s leading biotechs. Here’s a quick recap of … Continue reading “Rally’s $84M IPO, NexGen’s $119M Exit Made Quarter One to Remember”

Q2 Review: Top San Francisco Stories from April, May, and June

Taking a cue from my colleagues in Boston and Seattle, I’ve gone through the archives to give you a look back at some of the most important, popular, controversial, or just plain fun Xconomy San Francisco articles and commentaries of the second quarter of 2013. I’ve picked six articles from each month, drawing on our … Continue reading “Q2 Review: Top San Francisco Stories from April, May, and June”

Despite Shakeup, the Show Goes On at TechStars NYC Demo Day

Eleven bright-eyed startups pitched ideas for 3-D imaging, enterprise software, and ad technology at a demo day last Thursday in New York to a crowded house of potential investors, entrepreneurs, and other looky-loos (myself included). Though the show ran much like others TechStars puts on, it would be remiss to ignore the recent reshuffling at … Continue reading “Despite Shakeup, the Show Goes On at TechStars NYC Demo Day”

Detroit’s Practice.Space Incubator Offers an Urban Redevelopment Trial Run

There’s a new business incubator in town called Practice.Space, and it’s targeted to mid-career professionals, new graduates, and others who are interested in playing a part in Detroit’s revitalization but aren’t sure where to begin. “The people we have in mind are maybe architects, lawyers, or graphic designers who want to make a pivot in … Continue reading “Detroit’s Practice.Space Incubator Offers an Urban Redevelopment Trial Run”

Wall St. Loves Biotech, Leading Venture-Backed IPOs in Q2

[Updated 6:15 pm. NVCA now says historical IPO data in its report was misstated and will be revised later. This version removes earlier references to historical deal trends.] We knew that biotech companies were lighting up the stock market this year. Today, the National Venture Capital Association has fresh numbers illustrating Wall Street’s love affair … Continue reading “Wall St. Loves Biotech, Leading Venture-Backed IPOs in Q2”

A Deal on a Handshake: A Short Tribute to Outgoing Babson President

Sunday marked Len Schlesinger’s official last day of service as Babson College president after five standout years in the role. Today, new Babson president Kerry Healey, former lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, takes over. As the guard changes at one of the world’s best schools for entrepreneurship, I wanted to give my own adieu to Schlesinger, … Continue reading “A Deal on a Handshake: A Short Tribute to Outgoing Babson President”

Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q2 2013: Editor’s Picks

Here we are at the midpoint of 2013. Time to look back over the previous quarter and highlight some of the top stories we’ve done at Xconomy Boston. As is my quarterly tradition, these are editor’s picks—my favorite stories from April through June 2013—and they exemplify what Xconomy tries to do, day in and day … Continue reading “Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q2 2013: Editor’s Picks”

Happy Summer: Notable Second Quarter Stories from Xconomy Seattle

Summer arrives in earnest this week with warm weather and Independence Day. Before we get lost in a haze of barbecue and fireworks smoke, let’s take a look back at notable Seattle-area Xconomy stories from the second quarter. —Tableau Software’s successful May IPO underscored continued investor interest in big data companies, and Seattle’s leadership in … Continue reading “Happy Summer: Notable Second Quarter Stories from Xconomy Seattle”

Alnylam’s Amyloidosis Drug Holds up in Second Clinical Trial

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) turnaround over the past few years started when a drug for a rare disease called transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis showed promise in a small clinical trial: its stock traded at $12 per share a year ago, and sits at about $31 per share today. While the Cambridge, MA-based biotech still has a … Continue reading “Alnylam’s Amyloidosis Drug Holds up in Second Clinical Trial”

Mile High Roundup: Startup Visas, Jobs, and Entrepreneurs Take Bows

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: Startup Visas, Jobs, and Entrepreneurs Take Bows”

PasswordBox: Strong Passwords That You Don’t Have to Remember

Leave it to tech entrepreneurs to turn bad news into good news. For most of us, our passwords are the keys to our entire digital lives. The bad news is that we’re losing the race to keep these passwords safe from hacker attacks. Making up a secure yet memorable password used to be a matter … Continue reading “PasswordBox: Strong Passwords That You Don’t Have to Remember”

Houston Research Institute Funds Health Startups for Earth and Space

Space may be the final frontier, but it also could represent new horizons for better, more effective healthcare back on Earth. That’s essentially the philosophy of the National Space and Biomedical Research Institute in Houston, a sort of venture capital arm for NASA which provides seed funding to healthtech and biotech startups nationally. Whether the … Continue reading “Houston Research Institute Funds Health Startups for Earth and Space”

Civic Hackers Must Work With Governments, Not Just Disrupt Them

I recently helped organize the National Civic Day of Hacking activities in Detroit and I was very impressed with my city’s outpouring of problems, and the hackers that came out to show support. Right now is a great time to be a technologist because our tools have advanced by leaps and bounds over the years. … Continue reading “Civic Hackers Must Work With Governments, Not Just Disrupt Them”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: J&J, Celgene, Zafgen, & More

[Updated, 1:39 pm ET] Boston, New York, and New Jersey biotechs were bustling with activity this week, and for a change it had nothing to do with IPOs. We’ve got all the partnerships, clinical trial results, and more below: — [Updated with new item] Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) agreed on Friday to pay … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: J&J, Celgene, Zafgen, & More”

Adobe Spends $600M for Neolane in Marketing Software Buy

Marketing software is officially the place to be for IPOs and big acquisition deals. Today, Adobe announced that it was paying $600 million in cash for Neolane, a Paris-based marketing software company with strong Boston-area ties. Neolane’s U.S. headquarters are in Newton, MA, and its lead venture investor is Boston’s Battery Ventures, which led the … Continue reading “Adobe Spends $600M for Neolane in Marketing Software Buy”

Small Dams Could Pump Out Big Power, Says Boulder Startup

Think of a hydroelectric project, and what comes to mind? Probably the giant Hoover Dam, or the Three Gorges megaproject in China. They’re projects that generate a lot of cheap, clean electricity at a continuous rate, but come at the cost of major disruptions to ecosystems and communities. That’s part of the reason why environmentalists … Continue reading “Small Dams Could Pump Out Big Power, Says Boulder Startup”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Elcelyx, Acutus, and More

Much of the big news in San Diego’s life sciences community over the past week was coming out of Chicago, where the American Diabetes Association was holding its annual meeting. We’ve got it all wrapped up here. —San Diego’s Acutus Medical, founded in 2011 to develop minimally invasive technology for creating a 3-D mapping system … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Isis, Elcelyx, Acutus, and More”

Seattle Roundup: NanoString IPOs, Socrata Scores $18M, and More

The second quarter is wrapping up with a less-than-stellar IPO for NanoString Technologies, a major raise by government data company Socrata, a DARPA grant for a UW team making a portable diagnostic device, good news/bad news about traffic congestion, and a first Startup Weekend event in Bellevue, WA. —NanoString Technologies, the Seattle gene expression diagnostics … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: NanoString IPOs, Socrata Scores $18M, and More”

Michigan VC Roundup: Good News Abounds

—The Detroit-based Renaissance Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) announced its initial investment of $16.7 million in 20 Michigan companies has led to a return of nearly $300 million. Xconomist Chris Rizik, who is the fund-of-funds’ CEO, says it’s great when a plan works out. “We hoped ultimately that the money could be leveraged eight times, since … Continue reading “Michigan VC Roundup: Good News Abounds”