Buying a new car is a high-value transaction, one that is often time-consuming and stressful. Tred, a Seattle startup, is trying to ease at least part of the process by delivering cars for consumers to test drive from their homes. Unlike electric car maker Tesla, which is fighting car dealer associations in several states to … Continue reading “Tred Brings Cars To Test Drive, But Dealers Still Close the Deal”
Category: National
Media Camp, Act 2: Meet the Second Class of Storytelling Startups
When Media Camp opened its doors in downtown San Francisco in 2012, it represented an exotic new species of startup accelerator. Unlike most other accelerators, it was owned and run by a big corporation—Turner Broadcasting. It was focused on a single industry: digital media. It was happy to admit companies that had already gone through … Continue reading “Media Camp, Act 2: Meet the Second Class of Storytelling Startups”
New Fund from Austin’s S3 Boosts Venture Investment in Texas
Austin, TX-based venture capital firm S3 Ventures has raised a $75 million fund to invest in information technology and medical device companies. The fund is the firm’s fifth and largest to date, and is the first tech fund in Texas to announce a close in two years. “There are fewer and fewer local investors here, … Continue reading “New Fund from Austin’s S3 Boosts Venture Investment in Texas”
Ernst & Young Names 2013 Entrepreneurs of the Year for San Diego
Santarus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTS]]) CEO Gerald Proehl has been named as the 2013 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for San Diego in the life sciences category, and EcoATM CEO Tom Tullie won as Entrepreneur of the Year in technology. Both executives were selected from a list of regional finalists by an independent panel of … Continue reading “Ernst & Young Names 2013 Entrepreneurs of the Year for San Diego”
Boston Roundup: Covestor, Smart Lunches, Spark, Matrix, CareCloud
A smattering of fundraising news from companies and investors around the Boston area, and beyond: —Covestor, a Boston-based online investing marketplace, has raised $12.75 million in private investment. The Series B round came from Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, and Bay Partners, the company said in a press release. Covestor has now raised … Continue reading “Boston Roundup: Covestor, Smart Lunches, Spark, Matrix, CareCloud”
Calysta Energy to Harness Microbes for Bioplastics Maker NatureWorks
Eight months after its public debut, Menlo Park, CA-based Calysta Energy has announced its first partnership deal. Calysta, a synthetic biology company, will attempt to engineer a new microbe that can live off methane gas and produce raw materials for bioplastics manufacturer NatureWorks of Minnetonka, MN. Calysta is a spinoff of Menlo Park, CA-based DNA … Continue reading “Calysta Energy to Harness Microbes for Bioplastics Maker NatureWorks”
In Challenge to SurveyMonkey, SlimSurveys Bets Big on Brevity
In this “always on” era of online products and services, there is a time-saving appeal to the product introduced today by San Diego-based SlimSurveys. It’s designed to help businesses gather feedback from customers without sucking up too much of their time. “We wanted to build a company from the perspective of the survey respondent,” CEO Sean … Continue reading “In Challenge to SurveyMonkey, SlimSurveys Bets Big on Brevity”
Craft Brewers and Hackers to Share Insights over Pints at CU Event
There’s a set of companies in Colorado that’s spinning off one innovative startup after another. Their products and unique style are having an impact across their industries, and some of the most influential people and organizations have roots in the area. Collectively, they’ve created an ecosystem that’s studied, admired, and even envied. No, we’re not … Continue reading “Craft Brewers and Hackers to Share Insights over Pints at CU Event”
Clovis Oncology Closes $275M Offering Following Two Pivotal Weeks
Clovis Oncology’s big two weeks came to an end Monday with the closing of a secondary public offering of $275 million for the Boulder, CO.-based biopharmaceuticals company’s $275 million public offering. Since the start of June, Clovis Oncology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLVS]]) has watched its stock price more than double in value, following its announcement at the … Continue reading “Clovis Oncology Closes $275M Offering Following Two Pivotal Weeks”
QWave Makes First Startup Investments, Talks Quantum Venture Strategy
Time travel. Invisibility cloaks. Quantum supercomputers? QWave isn’t doing any of that stuff. But it’s a good way to begin a story that involves investments in quantum physics and materials science companies. QWave, aka Quantum Wave Fund, is a young venture firm based loosely in Boston and Moscow. Started last year, it has raised nearly … Continue reading “QWave Makes First Startup Investments, Talks Quantum Venture Strategy”
Content Galaxy Thinks its Video Streaming Platform Can Trump YouTube
In the free-for-all of the online video sector, it can be tough to stand out. But today New York’s Content Galaxy rolled out a platform it believes can give print media a new way to engage audiences who watch streaming videos. Content Galaxy offers paid subscribers access to content such as video from authors, publishers, … Continue reading “Content Galaxy Thinks its Video Streaming Platform Can Trump YouTube”
Amid Flashier Projects, Is Google Finally Serious About Enterprise?
Google was back on the stump Tuesday, trying to convince enterprise software buyers that it really, truly cares about their business. Amit Singh, the president of Google’s enterprise business, took the stage at the E2 conference in Boston to talk about the growing number of services that his company is offering for big business customers. … Continue reading “Amid Flashier Projects, Is Google Finally Serious About Enterprise?”
Alkermes Spinout, Civitas, Nabs Second Grant From Fox Foundation
Civitas was spun out of Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) two years ago based on technology that can deliver a precise, high dose of a drug through an inhaler. With a new round of cash from the Michael J. Fox Foundation and some promising data from a small clinical trial in hand, the startup based in Chelsea, … Continue reading “Alkermes Spinout, Civitas, Nabs Second Grant From Fox Foundation”
Former Genzyme Exec Talks About His New Role as U-M Innovation Evangelist
Richard Douglas has long-standing ties to the University of Michigan. He went there for his undergrad degree in honors chemistry before getting his PhD at UC Berkeley and a job with the Boston-based life sciences company Genzyme, where he eventually rose to the position of senior vice president of corporate development. When Genzyme was purchased … Continue reading “Former Genzyme Exec Talks About His New Role as U-M Innovation Evangelist”
Healthbox, Busy in Boston, Expands & Diversifies Amid Seed-Stage Flood
It has been a busy morning for Nina Nashif. The CEO and founder of Chicago-based Healthbox is in town for the accelerator program’s second “innovation day” in Boston. Nine health IT startups will present their pitches this afternoon to a crowd of healthcare industry executives, entrepreneurs, and investors at the Revere Hotel near Boston Common. … Continue reading “Healthbox, Busy in Boston, Expands & Diversifies Amid Seed-Stage Flood”
Trendspotting: Commerce on Facebook
Social media’s impact on global e-commerce is being felt everywhere. By promoting products via social media outlets, e-commerce companies have invited customers to spread interest and awareness of their brands through liking, reviewing, and sharing products with their network of friends. Commerce on social media has become a hot trend for many e-commerce firms to … Continue reading “Trendspotting: Commerce on Facebook”
UT Gaming Academy Aims to Train Next Generation in Business
It’s time for the video game industry to grow up. No longer the purview of introverts on the sidelines of the creative arts, gaming is a global business worth tens of billions of dollars, and its practitioners need to become as savvy business-wise as they are in the creative and technical realms. That’s the perspective … Continue reading “UT Gaming Academy Aims to Train Next Generation in Business”
Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment
Investors are betting on Seattle-area companies working on everything from uterine fibroids (Mirabilis Medica) to video storage and licensing (Ninu). Those companies, along with microscope camera maker Exo Labs and social decision-making platform Yabbly, raised capital recently. Meanwhile, car-sharing services are getting closer scrutiny from the city. The details: —Mirabilis Medica has raised $4 million … Continue reading “Roundup: Mirabilis Medica, Exo Labs, Yabbly, Ninu Attract Investment”
New Ambrx CEO Discusses Latest Deal, with China’s Zhejiang Medicine
San Diego’s Ambrx, co-founded in 2003 by the prominent chemist Peter Schultz (who remains on its board), has advanced its technology for antibody-drug conjugates by forging a series of drug discovery and development partnerships with Big Pharmas like Merck, Eli Lilly, Astellas, and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Now, in what a spokeswoman calls a “significant departure” from … Continue reading “New Ambrx CEO Discusses Latest Deal, with China’s Zhejiang Medicine”
The Lean LaunchPad Educators Class
The Lean LaunchPad entrepreneurship curriculum has caught fire. This week 100 educators from around the world will come to Stanford to learn how to teach it. Life is full of unintended consequences. Ten years ago I started thinking about why startups are different from existing companies. I wondered if business plans and 5-year forecasts were … Continue reading “The Lean LaunchPad Educators Class”
FitBark Digs Up Dogs’ Activity Data for Their Owners
Seeing dogs riding in cars with their ears flapping in the wind is common in summer, but canines need much more exercise than sticking their heads out of windows. FitBark, based in the Forest Hills section of Queens, believes its wearable activity-tracking device for dogs will help pet owners understand how much running around their … Continue reading “FitBark Digs Up Dogs’ Activity Data for Their Owners”
Ornicept: Bringing Big Data to Natural Resource Management
Russell Conard, co-founder of the Ann Arbor-based startup Ornicept, likes to describe himself as a computer scientist with a birding habit. Conard hooked up with Ornicept’s other co-founder, Justin Otani, who is the son of a wildlife biologist, while they were both attending Indiana University. The two wanted to know how scientists and researchers collect … Continue reading “Ornicept: Bringing Big Data to Natural Resource Management”
Conatus Pharmaceuticals Files for $69M IPO to Advance Liver Drugs
San Diego’s Conatus Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2005 and developing new drugs to treat chronic liver disease, plans to raise as much as $69 million through an IPO, according to a regulatory filing unsealed Friday. The biotech plans to take advantage of reduced reporting requirements as an “emerging growth company” under the JOBS Act of 2012, … Continue reading “Conatus Pharmaceuticals Files for $69M IPO to Advance Liver Drugs”
Amicus Shelves New-Drug Filing For Fabry Disease Drug
[Updated, 1:10 ET] Investors are going to have to wait awhile before they see Amicus Therapeutics submit its Fabry Disease drug to the FDA for approval. And they immediately showed their displeasure by sending the Cranbury, NJ-based company’s stock down more than 20 percent. John Crowley, Amicus’ CEO, said on a conference call Monday that … Continue reading “Amicus Shelves New-Drug Filing For Fabry Disease Drug”
10 Xpo Startups at XSITE: CareSolver, Cloze, Crunchbutton, & More
We do it once a year. And every year, it’s one of the big highlights of the day. I’m talking about the “Startup Xpo,” a showcase of some of the most intriguing young companies around Boston. It’s all part of XSITE, our fifth annual innovation conference happening this Wednesday, June 19, at Babson College. The … Continue reading “10 Xpo Startups at XSITE: CareSolver, Cloze, Crunchbutton, & More”
Cellular Dynamics, Coriell To Create California Stem Cell Bank
One of the main goals of California’s $3 billion stem cell research agency is to draw companies into the state so they can vie for a share of the funding. With a recently funded $32 million initiative, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has attracted two of the biggest US players in stem cell … Continue reading “Cellular Dynamics, Coriell To Create California Stem Cell Bank”
Austin’s Myriad RBM at Work on Molecular Tests for Mental Ailments
Words like “schizophrenia” and “bipolar disorder” have guided psychiatric treatment for decades, but they may be meaningless labels that mask a lack of real knowledge about the molecular events behind these related constellations of symptoms. That’s the critical view that greeted the latest edition of the psychiatrists’ “bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental … Continue reading “Austin’s Myriad RBM at Work on Molecular Tests for Mental Ailments”
Oh, Baby: OvaScience’s Roadmap to Next-Generation IVF
By the end of next year, Cambridge, MA-based OvaScience will likely begin selling its first product. It’s a system called Augment, designed to boost the success rate of in vitro fertilization. Normally, that would be a milestone that any life sciences company would be thrilled to achieve. But for OvaScience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVAS]]), it’s nowhere near … Continue reading “Oh, Baby: OvaScience’s Roadmap to Next-Generation IVF”
Texas Roundup: Appconomy and NanoRacks Expand, Upgrade
In Texas, school is already out and the lazy days of summer have begun in earnest. But things are not slowing down in the Texas startup scene, with companies this week making announcements of fundraising and product upgrades for customers as far-flung as in China and low Earth orbit. —NanoRacks, the Houston space-science startup located … Continue reading “Texas Roundup: Appconomy and NanoRacks Expand, Upgrade”
Mile High Roundup: DSW Plans, Brains for Robots, and Schooling CFOs
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: DSW Plans, Brains for Robots, and Schooling CFOs”
Denver Startup GutCheck Has Its Moment, Raises $4M Series B
Here’s an example of the rare “gut check moment” that’s a pleasant thing. GutCheck, a market-research startup based in Denver, has raised a $4 million Series B round. Everyone gets the idea of the gut check—when you have to face an unpleasant truth or hear what you don’t want to hear. GutCheck helps companies and … Continue reading “Denver Startup GutCheck Has Its Moment, Raises $4M Series B”
UK-based Cell Medica Lands in Texas To Seek Cancer Therapy
The next frontier in fighting cancer is using the body’s own immune system to fight the disease, an approach that will supplement traditional radiation and chemotherapy treatments. So says the chief executive of Cell Medica, a London-based life sciences startup that’s put down roots in the Texas Medical Center. As the keynote speaker at a … Continue reading “UK-based Cell Medica Lands in Texas To Seek Cancer Therapy”
Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. And Google. And Facebook.
After the dot-com crash in 2001, the tech world needed a few years to regroup. But starting around 2004, the year Facebook was founded and Google went public, the winds of innovation in consumer- and business-facing technology began to pick up again. In 2007 or so, they reached hurricane speed, and minus a short lull … Continue reading “Don’t Panic, But We’ve Passed Peak Apple. And Google. And Facebook.”
Can CEOs Win Without Being Jerks? RunKeeper’s Jason Jacobs at XSITE
Unless they’re insanely lucky, pretty much every worker bee out there has a horrifying tale of a despicable boss. They rule through threats, intimidation, and political gamesmanship. They’re unpredictable. And when they’re on the rampage, nobody’s job is safe. If you don’t like it, tough—that’s the price of greatness, right? Jason Jacobs would like to … Continue reading “Can CEOs Win Without Being Jerks? RunKeeper’s Jason Jacobs at XSITE”
Bridging the Gap Between Ann Arbor and Detroit: A Proposition
The University of Michigan’s Office of Tech Transfer hosted its semi-annual Entrepreneurs Engage yesterday, and the turnout appeared to be even larger than the one held in February. The unconference format calls for the audience to suggest discussion topics, and then attendees spend about 45 minutes in each discussion—or they don’t. There are only a few rules: … Continue reading “Bridging the Gap Between Ann Arbor and Detroit: A Proposition”
Betterment, Scivantage Fight to Bring Innovation to Wall Street
Technology continues to surge through the financial world like a gust of wind. But at times, it’s taken a bit of coaxing to bring about change. At the New Jersey Technology Council’s recent FinTech Conference in Jersey City, technologists and financial experts discussed how wealth management platforms, mobile transactions, and other tools are reshaping this … Continue reading “Betterment, Scivantage Fight to Bring Innovation to Wall Street”
East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Agios, Ludwig/CRI, Celgene
Two things you were able to count on this week if you live in New York: rain, rain, and more rain, and another Beantown biotech entering the IPO queue. We’ve got that and more in this week’s roundup: —Cambridge, MA-based Agios Pharmaceuticals has become the latest in what’s been a parade of biotechs to file … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Agios, Ludwig/CRI, Celgene”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Arena, Organovo, Isis, & More
[Corrected 6/15/13, 11:45 pm. See below.] It seemed to be a week of positive news for San Diego’s life sciences community. We have the details wrapped up here. —CalBio 2013 convened at the San Diego Convention Center yesterday with an opening keynote talk by J. Craig Venter, the human genome pioneer and founding CEO of … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Arena, Organovo, Isis, & More”
Public Media Collides with Silicon Valley; Six Startups Emerge
What happens when you bring Silicon Valley business and product-design thinking to bear on problems faced by content creators, publishers, and average citizens looking for more powerful ways to communicate? That’s the question under investigation at Matter, a San Francisco-based venture accelerator born from the public media sector. It’s not the Bay Area’s first media-focused … Continue reading “Public Media Collides with Silicon Valley; Six Startups Emerge”
Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More
[Corrected 6/18/13, 9:32 a.m. See below.] Optimum Energy and Visualant collected significant funding in the last week, while Planetary Resources announced a stretch goal for its Kickstarter campaign, Chirpify expanded beyond PayPal, and Amazon delivered groceries to L.A. Read on for details: —Optimum Energy, a Seattle company that helps building managers run heating and cooling … Continue reading “Roundup: Funding for Optimum, Visualant, Planets, Payments and More”
The Right Reasons to Be Transparent
How often do you think about transparency? As a founder and CEO of a fast-growing startup it’s on my mind often. There’s a constant stream of information coming my way, from the company’s financial health, to business partnerships, customer data and hiring plans. At any given point I can withhold information, but I do my … Continue reading “The Right Reasons to Be Transparent”
As TV Wars Grow, Azuki Expands Video Delivery Tech to First Screen
Here’s some potentially big news in the world of Internet TV. This tech sector is dominated by giants—think Comcast, Verizon, Cisco, Microsoft, Netflix—but that doesn’t mean a smaller company can’t play with the big boys. That company would be Azuki Systems, based in Acton, MA. The five-year-old startup has rolled out new software this week … Continue reading “As TV Wars Grow, Azuki Expands Video Delivery Tech to First Screen”
Using Frugal Business Model, Orphagen Targets Orphan Receptors
The decline of venture capital investments in life sciences startups has provoked a lot of angst in the U.S., with many experts predicting a shortage of new drugs for the pharmaceutical product pipeline. Life sciences startups typically require hundreds of millions of dollars before they can show that an experimental drug might work in clinical … Continue reading “Using Frugal Business Model, Orphagen Targets Orphan Receptors”
Jazz Lessons for Startup Success: Dyn CEO Jeremy Hitchcock at XSITE
Dyn is one of those boring-but-important players that make the online economy possible. Big names like Twitter, Tumblr, and Netflix rely on it to connect millions of users with their digital services, in the blink of an eye and without a hiccup. So it makes perfect sense that Dyn’s CEO is really a frustrated jazz … Continue reading “Jazz Lessons for Startup Success: Dyn CEO Jeremy Hitchcock at XSITE”
Clovis Oncology Boosts Public Offering to $240M After Stock Booms
Clovis Oncology’s great start to June might be getting better, with the Boulder, CO-based biopharmaceutical company announcing late Tuesday it was upsizing its underwritten public offering to $240 million. Clovis Oncology (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLVS]]) announced the offering Monday, but set the target amount at $170 million. Clovis will offer 3,333,334 million shares of common stock at … Continue reading “Clovis Oncology Boosts Public Offering to $240M After Stock Booms”
IDInteract Lauches TechVets Training Program in Detroit
IDInteract, a Detroit-based social marketing and brand interaction startup we profiled in March, is launching a new internship/retraining program today geared toward U.S. veterans interested in learning new IT skills. Called TechVets, it’s open to anyone honorably discharged from the military with a background in basic programming. “We want them to have a little bit … Continue reading “IDInteract Lauches TechVets Training Program in Detroit”
Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency
Seattle’s municipal utility and the people behind one of the world’s most-efficient commercial buildings are trying to reinvent the business model for financing so-called deep energy efficiency improvements, which could generate hundreds of billions of dollars of construction activity and energy savings, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Seattle City Light and the Bullitt Foundation … Continue reading “Seattle Trying Innovative Financing Model for Building Efficiency”
The Right Now Economy: The Next Wave of Startup Success
[Editor’s Note: Mark Siegel, managing director at Menlo Ventures, was the keynote speaker at IBF’s Venture Capital Investing Conference today in San Francisco. The post below summarizes his talk, in which he argued that the convergence of mobility, cloud infrastructure, social and big data—what he calls the Right Now Economy—sets the stage for $500 billion in … Continue reading “The Right Now Economy: The Next Wave of Startup Success”
Dataminr Raises $30M in New Funding Round Led by Venrock and IVP
Social media analytics company Dataminr in New York announced today it raised $30 million in a funding round led by Institutional Venture Partners and Venrock. Dataminr, founded in 2009, uses Twitter’s firehose of public tweets to analyze events happening around the world and identify trends on behalf of customers in financial services and government. The … Continue reading “Dataminr Raises $30M in New Funding Round Led by Venrock and IVP”
Chamath Palihapitiya Wants to Rewire the Crap Out of Healthcare
What does an ex-Facebook tycoon with a degree in electrical engineering know about fixing the U.S. healthcare system? Well, Chamath Palihapitiya knows that healthcare is in need of some drastic reinvention, and that to some extent, this will involve training people to think and behave in new ways—in much the same way Facebook has trained … Continue reading “Chamath Palihapitiya Wants to Rewire the Crap Out of Healthcare”