Category: National

Tel Aviv, L.A. Right Behind Silicon Valley in Startup Genome Rankings

Brace for some surprising news. As a place to build a startup, Tel Aviv, Israel, outranks every other major startup hub in the world except Silicon Valley. That’s according to a report set to be released today by Startup Genome, a San Francisco-based R&D project. All right, you say; surely the No. 3 spot after … Continue reading “Tel Aviv, L.A. Right Behind Silicon Valley in Startup Genome Rankings”

How To Build a Biotech Cluster That Isn’t Boston or SF

I live and work in Louisville, KY, a city that probably isn’t too different from a lot of communities in the U.S. that are not biotech hubs like San Francisco and Boston. Driven in part by economic development, many in my hometown would like to develop a biotech cluster. But building a biotech cluster is … Continue reading “How To Build a Biotech Cluster That Isn’t Boston or SF”

Xconomist of the Week: Q&A with General Assembly’s Brad Hargreaves

I hate New York sports teams. But I don’t mind New York startup incubators. Especially when they have a growing presence in Boston and other cities. General Assembly is much more than that, of course. The company runs a network of startup schools dedicated to entrepreneurship and education, primarily in the fields of technology, business, … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Q&A with General Assembly’s Brad Hargreaves”

Itron Names Mezey as CEO, Lands Hong Kong Smart Grid Pilot Project

More news from Itron today: The maker of utility meters and smart grid technology has appointed Philip Mezey chief executive officer, taking over from LeRoy Nosbaum on Jan. 1. Itron also announced another smart grid win in Asia. Mezey joined Itron (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITRI]]) in 2003 through the acquisition of Silicon Energy. He has held several senior … Continue reading “Itron Names Mezey as CEO, Lands Hong Kong Smart Grid Pilot Project”

Celgene, Sanofi, Stryker Execs Charged With Insider Trading

Three high-powered New Jersey pharmaceutical executives from Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]), Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]), and Stryker (NYSE: [[ticker:SYK]]) were charged today with insider trading by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The SEC said in a statement that the three were part of a ring of former high school buddies and wine … Continue reading “Celgene, Sanofi, Stryker Execs Charged With Insider Trading”

Seattle Biomed, Emerald Bio and Peers Get Big NIH Contract Extension

Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and its scientific partners set out five years ago to better understand, in fine-grain detail, the 3-D structures of proteins on infectious bugs that sicken and kill people in developing countries. Nobody in the pharmaceutical industry had reason to look very hard before. But the scientists figured that if you could … Continue reading “Seattle Biomed, Emerald Bio and Peers Get Big NIH Contract Extension”

ICYMI: A Look Back at Fall Tech Stories in Xconomy San Francisco

For the last couple of years I’ve been sending out irregular e-mail updates to friends and followers via my Google Group. Usually they’re just link-filled lists of the stories I’ve been working on lately. People say they appreciate the updates, since they’re often too busy to visit Xconomy every day. This week it hit me … Continue reading “ICYMI: A Look Back at Fall Tech Stories in Xconomy San Francisco”

Pfizer, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in $58 Million Pact

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation says it has agreed to invest up to $58 million over six years to expand its drug development partnership with New York-based Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]), in an attempt to speed up the development of drugs that will treat people with the most common mutation associated with the deadly lung disease. Pfizer … Continue reading “Pfizer, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in $58 Million Pact”

A “Restart” for Entrepreneurship Programs at UCSF

The University of California, San Francisco, is no stranger to commercialization of academic research. UCSF professor Herbert Boyer co-founded Genentech, the company that arguably kicked off the entire biotechnology revolution, back in 1976. In more recent years the life sciences-focused campus has continued to produce faculty-led spinoffs such as Intellikine, Calithera Biosciences, Principia Biopharma, and … Continue reading “A “Restart” for Entrepreneurship Programs at UCSF”

How Will You Manage the Cloud?

Are you considering a move to the cloud? Are you planning to use Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) as the backend for your new website or application? Do you depend on cloud services being fast, cost-effective, secure, and available 24×7? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, be forewarned: While the features and scalability of offerings … Continue reading “How Will You Manage the Cloud?”

Cambridge Officially the New Center of MA Venture Deals—the Data

Over the past few years, it’s no secret to Boston-area entrepreneurs that venture capitalists have been moving back into Cambridge and Boston from places like Waltham’s Winter Hill, Lexington, and Wellesley. Off the top of my head, I can name Atlas, Highland, Bessemer, Greylock … and that’s just a quick list. Firms like Polaris (through … Continue reading “Cambridge Officially the New Center of MA Venture Deals—the Data”

Mobile Madness NY: The Big Agenda for Our Dec. 4 Forum

We’re really excited about the group we’ve assembled for Mobile Madness New York, our Dec. 4 conference exploring the ways that mobile computing is transforming commerce, entrepreneurship, publishing, big business, and more. And today, we’re announcing the full lineup for this premier tech event, part of our multi-city Mobile Madness series that also includes Boston, … Continue reading “Mobile Madness NY: The Big Agenda for Our Dec. 4 Forum”

Stanford’s Mike Snyder is Showing the Way With Personalized Medicine

Say the words “personalized medicine” to people from various walks of life, and you’re likely to get one of about four different reactions. A. “Personalized medicine? What’s that?” (Usually spoken by 99 percent of patients.) B. “Personalized medicine will bankrupt the country with expensive new diagnostic tests, and overrated targeted drugs.” (Usually spoken by health … Continue reading “Stanford’s Mike Snyder is Showing the Way With Personalized Medicine”

Itron In Deal With Panasonic For Huge Japanese Smart Meter Market

Over the next 10 years, Japan will install some 80 million smart electric meters. Itron, the 35-year-old Washington utility metering technology provider, just landed a big deal with Panasonic that should help it get a slice of that market. Itron (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ITRI]])—based in Liberty Lake, WA, just east of Spokane near the Idaho border—said Friday … Continue reading “Itron In Deal With Panasonic For Huge Japanese Smart Meter Market”

Algal Scientific is Big Winner at Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition

The annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, the busi­ness-plan contest tar­geting mid-to-late-stage startups located in the state, wrapped up last night at Orchestra Hall in downtown Detroit, where a slew of overall and sector-specific winners were announced. At stake was more than $1 mil­lion in cash prizes, plus in-kind awards of ser­vices, staffing, and software. Plymouth-based Algal Scientific won … Continue reading “Algal Scientific is Big Winner at Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition”

Streetwise and BostInno Bought by American City Business Journals

Some big news in online journalism and local startups today. Streetwise Media, the Boston-based parent company of BostInno and InTheCapital, has been acquired by American City Business Journals, the publisher of weekly print business journals in 40 cities and 45 business-news websites. The deal price wasn’t announced. American City Business Journals, based in North Carolina, … Continue reading “Streetwise and BostInno Bought by American City Business Journals”

Winklevoss Twins Lead Investors in $1M Seed Round for Hukkster

Wrapping up an early holiday present, New York startup Hukkster closed on a $1 million seed round this week. Hukkster’s Web-based “bookmarklet” service alerts users when online prices drop on items they want to purchase. Internet entrepreneurs Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss led a new $750,000 investment in Hukkster, with participation from angel investors who also … Continue reading “Winklevoss Twins Lead Investors in $1M Seed Round for Hukkster”

MoMelan Technologies Stealthily Acquired by Kinetic Concepts

MoMelan Technologies, a three-year-old Cambridge, MA, startup with an unusual skin graft technology invented by laser hair removal pioneer R. Rox Anderson, was secretly acquired by San Antonio, TX-based Kinetic Concepts recently, Xconomy has learned. A MoMelan investor who asked not to be named told Xconomy that he had received an e-mail from MoMelan co-founder and president … Continue reading “MoMelan Technologies Stealthily Acquired by Kinetic Concepts”

Qualcomm Throws Up Some Big Numbers, Sees Double-Digit Growth Ahead

With 300 million smartphones sold worldwide during the first six months of this year, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs is feeling bullish about industry trends that are carrying the wireless giant to record revenues, profits, and mobile chip shipments. Jacobs told financial analysts who gathered at the company’s San Diego headquarters yesterday he expects Qualcomm will … Continue reading “Qualcomm Throws Up Some Big Numbers, Sees Double-Digit Growth Ahead”

East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Bristol-Myers, Alnylam, Merck, & More

The East Coast produced some good news this week about treatments for hepatitis C, some big deals, and at long last, hope for victims of bedbugs. —Advances against deadly hepatitis C dominated biotech news at the beginning of the week as several very positive clinical trial results were reported for oral treatments at the annual … Continue reading “East Coast Life Sciences Roundup: Bristol-Myers, Alnylam, Merck, & More”

Deals Roundup: Cray Buys Appro, Avanade + Azaleos, Meteor and more

While this was Zulily’s week, with an $85 million Series D, there were several other more modest deals done in recent days, headlined by Seattle supercomputer maker Cray. —Cray (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CRAY]]) announced plans to acquire Appro International, a maker of high performance computing (HPC) cluster systems, for $25 million. Appro focuses on medium to large … Continue reading “Deals Roundup: Cray Buys Appro, Avanade + Azaleos, Meteor and more”

Hack/Reduce Gets Down to Big-Data Business with First Hackathon

In a very busy week for tech events, you should know that this one is BYOD. No, not “bring your own device.” Bring your own dataset. But don’t fret if you don’t have one; there’s also plenty of data available to work on. The inaugural big-data hackathon at Cambridge, MA-based hack/reduce is happening tomorrow, Nov. … Continue reading “Hack/Reduce Gets Down to Big-Data Business with First Hackathon”

Zulily Adds $85 Million, Sees Sales on a $500M Annual Pace

It sounds pretty simple: Package big sales of sought-after goods for moms and kids and start selling each day at 6 am. But that little bit of e-commerce wizardry might be a lot bigger than it sounds—and it’s turned Zulily into one of the fastest-growing startups in the Seattle region, with monthly revenue now on … Continue reading “Zulily Adds $85 Million, Sees Sales on a $500M Annual Pace”

Intarcia Snags $210M to Push Implantable Device for Diabetes

Private biotech companies are fortunate if they can scrape together a few million bucks in this year’s venture financing drought, but didn’t stop Hayward, CA-based Intarcia Therapeutics from raking in a whopping $210 million to support its drug/device combo treatment for diabetes. Intarcia, a private company moving its commercial headquarters to the Boston area while keeping … Continue reading “Intarcia Snags $210M to Push Implantable Device for Diabetes”

GramercyOne now Booker, Sharpens Strategy and Unveils Deals Service

Adopting the name of its chief product, New York’s GramercyOne became Booker Software on Tuesday, and in 2013 plans to take its automated deal-making service out of a pilot phase and make it available to more businesses. Companies such as hair salons, spas, fitness centers, chiropractors, and photographers use the two-year-old startup’s cloud-based platform to … Continue reading “GramercyOne now Booker, Sharpens Strategy and Unveils Deals Service”

TechStars Boston: 13 New Startups, from Super-Springs to Baby Makers

It’s no surprise to hear someone running a startup accelerator praise their latest flock for tackling a broad set of problems. But when TechStars Boston managing director Katie Rae praised the latest class of graduates for the diversity of their ideas, it turns out she wasn’t just reciting the standard speech. On Wednesday night, that … Continue reading “TechStars Boston: 13 New Startups, from Super-Springs to Baby Makers”

Worldwide Investor Network Pairs Foreign Startups, NY Money

There are some 300 incubators outside the U.S. nurturing hundreds of innovative startup companies, according to Eyal Bino, founder of Worldwide Investor Network. But few of these enterprises attract the interest of U.S. investors, particularly in New York, where the money is. That’s where Bino comes in. “I want to turn New York into the … Continue reading “Worldwide Investor Network Pairs Foreign Startups, NY Money”

Forest Labs, Adamas in Pact to Develop Alzheimer’s Drug Combo

In a play to extend the life of its top-selling Alzheimer’s drug memantine (Namenda XR) beyond its patent expiration, New York-based Forest Laboratories (NYSE: [[ticker:FRX]]) agreed to pay Adamas Pharmaceuticals up to $160 million to help develop a single pill combining the drug with a generic Alzheimer’s treatment. Under the agreement, Forest will pay Adamas, based in Emeryville, CA, … Continue reading “Forest Labs, Adamas in Pact to Develop Alzheimer’s Drug Combo”

WaveDivision Aims to Continue Growth With $1B Recapitalization

Independent cable and broadband services provider WaveDivision Holdings has completed a $1.052 billion recapitalization, swapping out old investors for some fresh new ones. Launched in late 2001 to acquire and upgrade cable and fiber-optic network assets in the Pacific Northwest, Kirkland, WA-based WaveDivision took on Sandler Capital in 2002 as its equity partner. Ten years … Continue reading “WaveDivision Aims to Continue Growth With $1B Recapitalization”

Janssen Forms “Investigator Databank” to Help Streamline Drug Trials

In a bid to ease the administrative burden on the scientists who run clinical trials, J&J’s Janssen Research & Development is today unveiling a global initiative to standardize and share key information that drug companies require to vet clinical trial sites and ensure they meet industry requirements. The effort is part of a broader attempt … Continue reading “Janssen Forms “Investigator Databank” to Help Streamline Drug Trials”

Text Any Business: 5 Questions with TalkTo CEO Stuart Levinson

In case you’ve ever wondered why you can’t text stores and businesses the way you text your friends, well, you can. TalkTo, a Cambridge, MA-based startup, has been working on the problem for a couple of years now. And this week the company rolled out a Web app that works similarly to its mobile apps, … Continue reading “Text Any Business: 5 Questions with TalkTo CEO Stuart Levinson”

Arboretum Ventures’ Petersen on VC in MI, What the Future Holds

The Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA) held its annual awards dinner last week, where it honored the VCs and deals of the year, so we thought it would be a good time to catch up with Arboretum Ventures‘ Tim Petersen, who also serves as the MVCA’s board chair. Petersen says the most interesting thing about … Continue reading “Arboretum Ventures’ Petersen on VC in MI, What the Future Holds”

Boston Deals: Activate Networks, Spindle, Arcadia Solutions, Cignifi

A midweek run through the companies making financing and acquisition news across the region: —Activate Networks, a provider of analytic software for businesses, reports that it has raised a $10 million Series B round of financing. The investment was led by Reed Elsevier Ventures, with participation from previous investor Excel Venture Management and new investor Premier, … Continue reading “Boston Deals: Activate Networks, Spindle, Arcadia Solutions, Cignifi”

Creating a Strong and Sustainable Innovation Culture

Steve Jobs, one of the greatest innovators of our time, famously said, “Innovation has nothing to do with how many R&D dollars you have…It’s about the people you have, how you’re led, and how much you get it.” Jobs’ quote is one that I work to embody every day in my role as CEO of … Continue reading “Creating a Strong and Sustainable Innovation Culture”

Tantalizing Hints of Progress Against ALS for Cytokinetics, Others

Lou Gehrig’s disease is a rare but devastating illness with no satisfactory treatments and a typical survival period of only about five years after diagnosis. But precisely because it’s so dire, drug developers have been scrambling in recent years to test the possibilities of new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease, whose formal name is amyotrophic … Continue reading “Tantalizing Hints of Progress Against ALS for Cytokinetics, Others”

Inside Verizon’s Innovation Center: Home Health, Virtual Retail, & More

A wireless telecom giant with a strong local presence is working on some surprising projects. If they pan out, those projects—and the various products they’re spawning—could potentially change the balance of power in the tech ecosystem. Verizon Wireless, headquartered in Basking Ridge, NJ, employs 75,000 people and brought in $70 billion in revenue last year. … Continue reading “Inside Verizon’s Innovation Center: Home Health, Virtual Retail, & More”

Keeping Web Focus, Social Leverage Raising $15M for Micro VC Fund

Howard Lindzon, the entrepreneur, hedge fund investor, and CEO of Coronado, CA-based StockTwits, is raising capital for a new and slightly more formalized version of Social Leverage, an investment partnership he runs with Tom Peterson of Phoenix, AZ. Lindzon told me recently the two have been successful enough in recent years to attract interest from … Continue reading “Keeping Web Focus, Social Leverage Raising $15M for Micro VC Fund”

Alnylam, Tekmira Look Ahead After RNAi Divorce

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals and Tekmira Pharmaceuticals were married, more or less, for eight years. But now that their divorce is final, each side sounds like it is relieved to be going off in separate directions. And shareholders of the companies who watched this dispute from afar basically agreed yesterday. After news of a legal settlement broke … Continue reading “Alnylam, Tekmira Look Ahead After RNAi Divorce”

With Ex-Isilon Chief Patel, Elemental Looks To Enter New Industries

Elemental Technologies has grown to more than $20 million in revenue by supplying software and hardware that helps video speed its way down the digital stream. With the addition of Isilon Systems co-founder Sujal Patel to the board of directors, the company is looking for guidance in expanding into new businesses, such as helping the … Continue reading “With Ex-Isilon Chief Patel, Elemental Looks To Enter New Industries”

Google, Platfora, DataSift: Bay Area Venture News by the Numbers

We don’t try to cook up stories on every Series A, B, C, or D round raised by Bay Area startups. But there seemed to be an extra helping of fundraising deals and other venture-related news over the past few days, so here’s a roundup. From biggest to smallest: $1.5 billion—The new size of Google … Continue reading “Google, Platfora, DataSift: Bay Area Venture News by the Numbers”

Mobile Drives Year-End Hopes, 2013 Outlook for Consumer Electronics

Betting on ramped-up demand for tablets, phablets, and smartphones, the Consumer Electronics Association offered a somewhat prosperous outlook on Monday for holiday sales and beyond. Researchers from the organization shared their perspectives at a press event in New York talking about where consumer gadgets may be headed in advance of January’s International CES conference. The … Continue reading “Mobile Drives Year-End Hopes, 2013 Outlook for Consumer Electronics”

TechTown Hosts First “MITX Up Detroit” For Startups

The Boston-based Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange (MITX), a trade organization representing the digital marketing and IT communities, will expand its programming outside of Boston for the first time with a MITX Up Detroit event that it’s hosting with Wayne State incubator TechTown tonight. “We wanted to go to a place that wasn’t getting all the headlines; … Continue reading “TechTown Hosts First “MITX Up Detroit” For Startups”

Angels in Life Science America

What happens when the FDA approval process slows down and imposes higher hurdles, when cost-reduction becomes central to the healthcare provider business model, when clinical trials and commercialization costs for medical devices and biotechnology products spiral through the roof, and when exit returns are compressed by general economic conditions and the decline of the IPO … Continue reading “Angels in Life Science America”

Epic Sciences Raises $13M, Advances Ultra-Sensitive Cell Diagnostics

[Corrected 11/14/12, 3:45 pm. See below.] Epic Sciences, a San Diego startup developing diagnostics to identify and analyze tumor cells and other rare cells from a blood sample, has raised $13 million in a Series B round of financing. Investors include Domain Associates, Roche Venture Fund, and Pfizer Venture Investments, and undisclosed individual investors, according … Continue reading “Epic Sciences Raises $13M, Advances Ultra-Sensitive Cell Diagnostics”

Akamai Acquires Verivue in Content Delivery Consolidation

One down, many to go. Verivue, one of the Boston area’s biggest venture-backed technology bets, is being bought by Akamai (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]), a locally based Internet icon. Terms of the cash deal were not given, but it is expected to close by the end of the year. Verivue, based in Westford, MA, has been around … Continue reading “Akamai Acquires Verivue in Content Delivery Consolidation”

SharesPost Designs a Loan Program to Make Options Attractive Again

Venture-backed companies in Silicon Valley are in a fix. They’ve issued oodles of stock options as a low-cost way to convince smart people to come work for them at salaries far below what they could make at Fortune 500 companies. But with the path to an IPO stretching out indefinitely for many startups, these options … Continue reading “SharesPost Designs a Loan Program to Make Options Attractive Again”

Saver Rate Expires Today for Mobile Madness New York Dec. 4

We’re getting closer to the Dec. 4 kick-off for Mobile Madness New York, the Big Apple debut of our premier conference on how the explosion of  mobile computing is changing the technology industry. And if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, take note—the saver rate for this power-packed program is expiring after today. You’ll want … Continue reading “Saver Rate Expires Today for Mobile Madness New York Dec. 4”