Category: National

WorldOne Getting $35M to Expand Sermo Physician Network

A pretty big deal in healthcare IT this morning: WorldOne, a health data and intelligence company based in New York, says it has secured a $35 million funding commitment from Deerfield Management, also in New York. The main focus is to expand Sermo, the Cambridge, MA-based online community for physicians, which WorldOne acquired last July. … Continue reading “WorldOne Getting $35M to Expand Sermo Physician Network”

Seattle Big Data Star Tableau Software Seeks $150M in IPO

Tableau Software’s much-anticipated IPO filing Tuesday could attract new attention to the Seattle tech scene and its growing big data cluster in particular. The 10-year-old company—profitable in each of the last three years—aims to raise up to $150 million in what would be the first tech company IPO from the Seattle area since Zillow in … Continue reading “Seattle Big Data Star Tableau Software Seeks $150M in IPO”

Agenda Up for NY Venture Challenge April 25: Building Big Cos to Last

It is high time that New York responded to doubters who question how long its latest tech boom will last. So we are giving the city’s innovation and venture community the chance to speak their minds on April 25 about growing local companies that endure. The formal program for New York’s Venture Challenge, to be … Continue reading “Agenda Up for NY Venture Challenge April 25: Building Big Cos to Last”

Seattle Roundup: Indix, Haiku, Livemocha, WebTuner, and More

A handful of interesting local companies have raised significant capital in the last week, including Indix and Haiku Deck, and stealthy WebTuner, which added to an earlier round. Meanwhile, Rosetta Stone is buying language learning company Livemocha; apps from some Seattle companies are hitching a ride in your Bimmer; Verdiem wants to help businesses save … Continue reading “Seattle Roundup: Indix, Haiku, Livemocha, WebTuner, and More”

Bind Therapeutics Reels Pfizer into Nanomedicine Partnership

Cambridge, MA-based Bind Therapeutics changed its name earlier this week to ditch the word “biosciences,” because it wants to the show the world it’s not just all about science—it’s morphing into a science-based drug company. Now it has another deal with a very big drugmaker that could help it achieve that goal. Bind is announcing … Continue reading “Bind Therapeutics Reels Pfizer into Nanomedicine Partnership”

Adaptive Biotechnologies Reaches Fork in the Road. What to Charge?

Chad Robins has a problem that all entrepreneurs hope to face someday. It’s a sign that his company has passed some key tests in R&D. He needs to figure out how much he should charge for his company’s new diagnostic test for patients with leukemia and lymphoma. Robins, the co-founder and CEO of Seattle-based Adaptive … Continue reading “Adaptive Biotechnologies Reaches Fork in the Road. What to Charge?”

Sequencing Seattle: An Idea for the Future of the Northwest

Let me make a modest proposal:  Seattle should commit to sequencing and interpreting the genomes of every willing member of its population and should do it within the next five years.  This program would elevate Seattle to the forefront of personalized genomic medicine, leverage many advantages unique to our area, and create a vibrant and … Continue reading “Sequencing Seattle: An Idea for the Future of the Northwest”

SEC’s New Social Media Guidance: Sensible, Fair, Inevitable

Give the SEC a lot of credit…the headline they chose for their press release yesterday about public companies using social media could not have been more clear: “SEC Says Social Media OK for Company Announcements if Investors Are Alerted.” With those words, and a full report here, the commission has blessed the inevitable modernization of corporate … Continue reading “SEC’s New Social Media Guidance: Sensible, Fair, Inevitable”

GreenLancer Raises $275,000 From Group of MI Investors

GreenLancer, the Detroit-based solar engineering company Xconomy profiled last July, announced last week that it has oversubscribed its Series A fundraising round, snagging $275,000 from four Michigan-based investors. The company, which is based online and employs a national network of contract employees, or greenlancers, to work on jobs, is leaving the round open as it … Continue reading “GreenLancer Raises $275,000 From Group of MI Investors”

Optimer Shares Soar Amid Reports of Buyout Interest

Reports that several big pharmas have shown interest in buying Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) sent shares of the drugmaker soaring about 20 percent today in Nasdaq trading that was more than four times the company’s recent average daily volume. By late afternoon, Optimer was trading near $14 a share, after gaining $2.31 a share in … Continue reading “Optimer Shares Soar Amid Reports of Buyout Interest”

Rally Releases More Details on Impending IPO

Rally Software Development’s expected initial public offering could be worth nearly $86 million, according to documents filed today with the SEC. The Boulder, CO-based company said in the filing that it plans to offer 5.75 million shares at a price of between $11 and $13. Underwriters will have the option of buying up to 862,500 … Continue reading “Rally Releases More Details on Impending IPO”

3D Startup Lagoa Has Designs on $1.6M Seed Round, Boston Expansion

There’s a new player in town in 3D design and graphics software—a field that has deep roots in Boston. Lagoa (fka TeamUp) has rolled out a cloud-based interactive rendering and collaboration platform today. The company says this product is the first of its kind. Lagoa has recently raised $1.6 million in seed funding from 500 … Continue reading “3D Startup Lagoa Has Designs on $1.6M Seed Round, Boston Expansion”

Healthcare IT: Making Good Progress

The cost of healthcare administration is a hot issue in America. According to the Center for American progress, in the U.S. healthcare system an estimated $361 billion annually goes to cover administrative costs. That number is a 14 percent of total healthcare expenditure nationwide. Improvements in IT are expected to reduce these expenditures dramatically. The … Continue reading “Healthcare IT: Making Good Progress”

Watchitoo Brings Video Conferencing Platform to Online Education

Eager to capture a piece of the hot online-learning market, New York’s Watchitoo took the wrapping off its Web-based ClassInteract video platform on Tuesday. CEO Rony Zarom says the platform can be used by universities and others to host live chat sessions for large classes without losing individual students among the faceless throngs of participants. … Continue reading “Watchitoo Brings Video Conferencing Platform to Online Education”

Startups Offer Webcam Workouts for the Gym-Averse

From the Nike+ FuelBand to the Wii Fit, and from YouTube workout videos to Fitbit, there are more ways than ever to work out and track exercise and health without ever setting foot in the gym. But there’s still a lot these apps and gadgets can’t do. Wearing a sensor to track your steps/strokes/stairs can … Continue reading “Startups Offer Webcam Workouts for the Gym-Averse”

A Sandwich, a Startup, and Soon, a Lawsuit? The Crunchbutton Story

It all started with a sandwich. As great stories often do. Judd Rosenblatt was a senior at Yale. There is a popular food item among Yalies, called the Wenzel, consisting of a chicken cutlet sub with cheese, mayo, and hot sauce, made by a New Haven eatery. Rosenblatt and his partners made a mobile Web … Continue reading “A Sandwich, a Startup, and Soon, a Lawsuit? The Crunchbutton Story”

Qualcomm Ventures’ QPrize Competition Draws Broader VC Following

When Qualcomm Ventures unveiled the QPrize competition in 2009, Nagraj Kashyap told me a key factor in the decision to create an incentive prize was the evaporation of venture capital amid the liquidity crisis that followed the financial meltdown of 2008. Kashyap, who heads Qualcomm Ventures, says the need for startup funding is less acute … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures’ QPrize Competition Draws Broader VC Following”

One of the Lucky Few: HighFive Kicks Off Nike+ Accelerator

Brent Gilmore was just looking for a Web domain. He wound up with a co-founder, a new company, and a trip across the country. Gilmore’s startup, HighFive, is part of the new Nike+ Accelerator program, a three-month product bootcamp run by prominent national startup accelerator TechStars. The program kicked off last month and runs through … Continue reading “One of the Lucky Few: HighFive Kicks Off Nike+ Accelerator”

Harvard Common Press Has Something New Baking in San Francisco

Harvard Common Press, a Boston-based publisher of cookbooks and parenting guidebooks, said today that it has opened a second office in San Francisco. Why should startup entrepreneurs and other Xconomy readers care about that? Because the company also makes seed investments in food-tech startups—and it’s looking to make a lot more. The 37-year-old firm, owned … Continue reading “Harvard Common Press Has Something New Baking in San Francisco”

Ra Pharmaceuticals Clinches Merck Deal for Up to $200 Million

Cambridge, MA-based Ra Pharmaceuticals has signed a collaboration deal with drug giant Merck (NYSE: MRK) that could provide the small company with as much as $200 million to support the development of its stable of novel drug candidates. The five-year-old startup is creating a library of compounds designed to overcome frequent obstacles in drug development. … Continue reading “Ra Pharmaceuticals Clinches Merck Deal for Up to $200 Million”

Colorado’s $100 Million, or $150 Million, Venture Capital Mystery

Call it Colorado’s $100 million—or is it $150 million?—mystery. That’s part of the mystery too. Gov. John Hickenlooper on March 6 told members of the media the state of Colorado is about to create a $100 million or $150 million state-backed venture capital fund. The news came during a media briefing during a visit to … Continue reading “Colorado’s $100 Million, or $150 Million, Venture Capital Mystery”

Aereo Continues to Fend Off Legal Challenges to Its Cloud-Based TV Service

In an ongoing legal feud, Long Island City’s Aereo announced on Monday that the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the prior denial of motions sought by television network broadcasters for a preliminary injunction against the startup. Aereo, which is backed by Barry Diller’s Internet company IAC in New York, developed a platform and remote antennae … Continue reading “Aereo Continues to Fend Off Legal Challenges to Its Cloud-Based TV Service”

Bot & Dolly’s Robotic Cameramen Rewrite the Script in Hollywood

If we were running our April 11 robotics forum as an Oxford-style debate, the motion would be this: Over the next decade, robots are going to transform our workplaces just as radically as personal computers did in the 1980s and 1990s. And by “workplaces” we don’t just mean assembly-line floors, where robots have been common … Continue reading “Bot & Dolly’s Robotic Cameramen Rewrite the Script in Hollywood”

Wayne State’s Warrior Fund Invests in Four Student Ventures

Late last month, student-run startups from the Blackstone LaunchPad incubator gathered for pitch competition on the campus of Wayne State University (WSU).  The startups were able to pitch for up to $5,000 in funding from the Warrior Fund, WSU’s pre-seed fund to support student tech startups. Blackstone, which operates on the campuses of WSU and … Continue reading “Wayne State’s Warrior Fund Invests in Four Student Ventures”

Divergent Ventures Leads $2M Round for San Diego’s Proximal Data

Proximal Data, a San Diego data storage specialist founded in 2011, says it has raised $2 million in a Series B round led by Seattle’s Divergent Ventures and existing investor Avalon Ventures of San Diego. The round brings total funding for the company to $5 million, according to a statement today. Proximal is developing software … Continue reading “Divergent Ventures Leads $2M Round for San Diego’s Proximal Data”

Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1 2013

The first quarter’s in the books, the birds are singing, and this is no April Fool’s story, I assure you. As is my quarterly tradition, I am posting a list of the top 20 stories in Xconomy Boston from January through March 2013. These are the stories that I think best exemplify the kind of … Continue reading “Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20 Stories of Q1 2013”

Nuance Brings Madison Avenue Mobile Ads That Talk To You

If you could have a conversation with an ad on your mobile phone, would you pay more attention to it? Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), maker of widely used voice recognition software, and some of the biggest names in advertising are betting that you will. The company is putting its technology in the hands of Madison … Continue reading “Nuance Brings Madison Avenue Mobile Ads That Talk To You”

Gilead Sciences Building on HIV, Becoming Cancer Drug Force

Gilead Sciences has had what you could call a “high-class problem” the last few years. Biotech companies that are great at one thing eventually must prove they can be great at something else. And Gilead is showing signs that it’s finally on its way to becoming a truly diversified biotech industry leader, with a plan … Continue reading “Gilead Sciences Building on HIV, Becoming Cancer Drug Force”

Jerry Fishman, Analog Devices CEO, Dead at 67: Some of His Insights

Analog Devices announced today that its CEO, Jerry Fishman, passed away from an apparent heart attack on Thursday evening. He was 67. Fishman had been chief executive of Analog, an electronics firm specializing in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, since 1996. He joined the company in 1971 in product marketing and proceeded to climb … Continue reading “Jerry Fishman, Analog Devices CEO, Dead at 67: Some of His Insights”

INRIX Traffic Data Shows Improving Economy, Big Data Possibilities

Traffic congestion across the U.S. increased in December, January, and February. It’s the strongest sustained increase in the last two years and another that the U.S. economy is in recovery. The latest INRIX Gridlock Index (IGI), which measures average trip times in the 100 largest U.S. metro areas, also illustrates how companies are finding novel … Continue reading “INRIX Traffic Data Shows Improving Economy, Big Data Possibilities”

QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech

QD Vision is a throwback to the days when “nano” was cool. OK, that was 10 years ago, but still. These days you would be hard-pressed to find many thriving nanomaterials companies in the Boston area (not counting biotechs). But Lexington, MA-based QD Vision seems to be doing just fine. The company has just closed … Continue reading “QD Vision, With $20M More in VC, Waves Flag for Boston Nanotech”

To Do Or Not To Do? That Is the Question

Do you really need a to-do list? In the age of personal optimization, when books like The 4-Hour Workweek peddle the idea that you could be superhumanly productive if you just had the right tools, the question is almost blasphemous. Of course you need a to-do list. How else are you supposed to know what … Continue reading “To Do Or Not To Do? That Is the Question”

Aastrom Scraps Phase 3 Study, Cuts Workforce in Half

The Ann Arbor-based biotech company Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM) announced this week that it’s halting its REVIVE-CLI Phase 3 clinical study of the company’s multicell therapy for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI). The company also slashed its workforce in half in a reorganization of its R&D operation. About a year ago, Aastrom raised $40 million from Eastern Capital … Continue reading “Aastrom Scraps Phase 3 Study, Cuts Workforce in Half”

East Coast Biotech Roundup: Biogen Idec, Third Rock, T2 Bio, Dart

Biogen Idec reinforced its dominance in multiple sclerosis this week with the approval of its oral drug for the disease, while Third Rock Ventures amassed half a billion dollars more to foster the life sciences contenders of the future. Fundraising and new drug candidates made news for Massachusetts biotechnology companies, and New York City kept … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Biogen Idec, Third Rock, T2 Bio, Dart”

San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Acadia, Trovagene, & More

A number of San Diego’s public life sciences companies were on the move over the past week. Here’s our briefing of the latest developments. —Shares of San Diego’s Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) spiked more than 30 percent last Friday, after partner Baxter (NYSE: [[ticker:BAX]]) said European regulators recommended approving HyQ, their jointly developed drug for … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Halozyme, Acadia, Trovagene, & More”

Foundation-Backed Dart Revs Up, Seeks Venture Funds

The small Cambridge, MA-based company Dart Therapeutics has been racing along the startup track in recent months. In September, it assembled a veteran executive team headed by CEO Gene Williams, a Genzyme veteran. This month, it in-licensed its second drug candidate for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and made a deal that might identify other potential medicines against the … Continue reading “Foundation-Backed Dart Revs Up, Seeks Venture Funds”

Amazon’s Acquisition of Goodreads: The True Ventures Perspective

Amazon announced this afternoon that it has acquired San Francisco-based Goodreads, the online community where 16 million people find and share book recommendations. Born six years ago as the brainchild of Otis Chandler, a scion of the Chandler publishing family in Los Angeles, Goodreads is home to more than 23 million book reviews and 30,000 … Continue reading “Amazon’s Acquisition of Goodreads: The True Ventures Perspective”

Scaling the Peak: Denver Out to Follow Boulder’s Entrepreneurial Ascent

When Bart Lorang decided to build his startup in Denver just over a year and a half ago, the city wasn’t exactly a lonely place. Denver has a lively downtown, cool neighborhoods, and a diverse and energetic population. Lorang is the co-founder and CEO of FullContact, which is developing a cloud-based system for managing online … Continue reading “Scaling the Peak: Denver Out to Follow Boulder’s Entrepreneurial Ascent”

Boulder and Denver, a Mile High Sibling Rivalry

Dear Xconomy, Welcome to Colorado. We’re glad to have you, but there’s a… thing you should know about. From the outside, the startup environment in Colorado just seems like one big funky but remarkably effective family of startup goodness. But, like any family, we have our internecine feuds. We are speaking, of course, about the … Continue reading “Boulder and Denver, a Mile High Sibling Rivalry”

Telling the Story of Colorado Innovation, from Molecules to the Moon

Great communities deserve great journalism. It’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned in my career. And even with all the drama surrounding the media’s alleged decline, even with all the fretting over what will—or won’t—replace it, that truth remains. Why? Because there are too many great stories that need to be told, and … Continue reading “Telling the Story of Colorado Innovation, from Molecules to the Moon”

Announcing Xconomy Boulder/Denver—7th Region in Our Network

Thank you Boulder and Denver! We are extremely pleased to announce today the launch of Xconomy Boulder/Denver, the seventh bureau in our growing network of news sites covering the business of technology in key innovation clusters around the United States. We couldn’t have done it without the incredible support of the entrepreneurial and innovation communities … Continue reading “Announcing Xconomy Boulder/Denver—7th Region in Our Network”

Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Ed

Did you think that graduating from high school or college meant your education was finished? Think again. Even assuming that you were paying attention in every class—and who among us really was?—you probably weren’t being taught the skills you need to succeed in a modern workplace, understand complex business issues, or excel at a high-tech … Continue reading “Knowledge When You Need It: Lynda.com and the Rise of Online Ed”

Still Waiting for the Ships to Come in at Third Rock Ventures

Third Rock Ventures was in the enviable position of turning away some institutional investors when the life sciences venture firm recently closed on $516 million for its third venture fund. So first let me say, “Congratulations!” to team Third Rock. Mark Levin has demonstrated at Third Rock and as the chairman and CEO of Cambridge, … Continue reading “Still Waiting for the Ships to Come in at Third Rock Ventures”

MindTouch Expands from Web Content Management to Product Support

When I first profiled MindTouch in 2009, the San Diego startup was focused on its Web-based collaboration software, created to enable a business or engineering team to easily share documents, information, images, and other information. MindTouch faced major competition against Microsoft Sharepoint, Oracle, and SAP, but CEO Aaron Fulkerson saw a potential advantage in developing … Continue reading “MindTouch Expands from Web Content Management to Product Support”

Boxbee: Cloud-Style Storage for Your Actual Stuff

Is minimalism practical? Can you really have a tidy, modern living space like the ones in the architecture magazines, where there are acres of bare tabletops and the sofas look like they’ve never been loafed on? Yes, you can, but there’s a dark secret behind all those magazine spreads. Before the photographers showed up, the … Continue reading “Boxbee: Cloud-Style Storage for Your Actual Stuff”

HubSpot Goes Shopping Again, Buys Two Small Startups

HubSpot said it would spend some of its new $35 million in investment cash on acquisitions, and today it’s making good on that pledge. The Cambridge, MA-based marketing software company says it has purchased Toronto-based Chime and New Haven, CT-based PrepWork. Chime made a browser plug-in that pulls together social media feeds, while PrepWork’s product … Continue reading “HubSpot Goes Shopping Again, Buys Two Small Startups”