With its latest attempt to make a dent in Web search market, Microsoft is once again showing its true value in the social networking age: a safe place to turn for other tech companies wary of Google. On Thursday, Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) detailed upcoming changes to its Bing search engine, which holds a small slice of … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Bing: Favorite Ally for Social Networks Scared of Google”
Category: National
SD Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Vertex, MediciNova, & More
Massachusetts’ Vertex and San Diego’s Celladon are advancing some promising gene therapy treatments. Here’s our roundup of life sciences news over the past week. —San Diego’s Celladon, which is developing a gene therapy to treat patients with a certain type of heart failure, extended a recent investment round by $10 million. Two new investors, MPM … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Celladon, Vertex, MediciNova, & More”
Modo Labs, One Year Into Kurogo, Talks Mobile and Education Tech Trends
Lately there has been a lot of talk about education technology in these parts. For example, MIT and Harvard are about to put more classes online with their new, $60 million edX partnership. But are universities really taking advantage of the latest tech trends? Though they were early adopters of the Web, they seem to … Continue reading “Modo Labs, One Year Into Kurogo, Talks Mobile and Education Tech Trends”
Credentialock Wants to Conquer the Global Verification Market
My mom keeps my college diploma in a frame on the wall of her home office, but the last time I saw my college transcripts, two apartments ago, they were sitting in a moving box along with a decade’s worth of tax returns. Luckily, in the journalism profession, one doesn’t generally need to keep track … Continue reading “Credentialock Wants to Conquer the Global Verification Market”
Xconomist of the Week: Len Schlesinger on Learning by Doing
Are successful entrepreneurs born with an innate sense that tells them which risky business bets will pay off? Or is this a skill that that can be learned over time? To Babson College President and Xconomist Leonard “Len” Schlesinger, the answer to both questions is yes. There are occasional business prodigies like Steve Jobs who … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Len Schlesinger on Learning by Doing”
BetterCloud Raises $2.2M, Gets Bullish on Google Apps for Enterprise
Six-month-old New York-based BetterCloud announced today it raised $2.2 million in a seed round with angel investors and backing from its own CEO David Politis. Software-as-a-service provider BetterCloud focuses on developing security and management software for businesses that use the Google Apps platform. BetterCloud, founded last November, plans to use the funding towards development of … Continue reading “BetterCloud Raises $2.2M, Gets Bullish on Google Apps for Enterprise”
A Doctor’s-Eye View of Silicon Valley
What was a geeky doctor like me doing on an MIT Sloan entrepreneurship and innovation trek in Silicon Valley back in March? That was the big question, given that I’m 37 years old, trained as an anesthesiologist, and only started using a Twitter account a couple of weeks ago. Going on that tour was almost like … Continue reading “A Doctor’s-Eye View of Silicon Valley”
Is Natural Gas Really the Next Big Thing?
Is natural gas the new next big thing? It is called a revolution in energy and a game-changer. Daniel Yergin claims that “the rapidity and sheer scale of the shale breakthrough—and its effects on markets—qualified it as the most significant innovation in energy so far since the start of the twenty-first century.” The President has … Continue reading “Is Natural Gas Really the Next Big Thing?”
Jumptap, Mobext, and Razorfish Talk Ad Strategy at Mobile Media Upfront
The rabbit-like spread of smartphones and tablets offers marketers a personal way to reach consumers, but the industry is still sorting out how best to harness this platform. Much like the rise of online advertising, caution and curiosity framed the early days of mobile advertising. Brands might push ads or apps on to smartphones, but … Continue reading “Jumptap, Mobext, and Razorfish Talk Ad Strategy at Mobile Media Upfront”
BeyondTrust Acquires eEye to Block Attacks From Within and Without
Carlsbad, CA-based BeyondTrust, a network security company focused on protecting public companies against attacks from within, says it has acquired eEye Digital Security, a Phoenix, AZ-based company that helps defend networks from external threats. Financial terms were not disclosed. Both companies are private. Since moving to the San Diego area three years ago, BeyondTrust has … Continue reading “BeyondTrust Acquires eEye to Block Attacks From Within and Without”
Willow Garage Spins Off Open Source Robotics Foundation
It’s a rite of passage in the software world: Once the community around an open-source application, operating system, or language grows large enough, the creators often set up an independent, non-profit organization to oversee future growth. It happened with basic Web tools like the Apache Web server back in the 1990s, and now it’s starting … Continue reading “Willow Garage Spins Off Open Source Robotics Foundation”
IDRI, Aeras Team Up to Develop Tuberculosis Vaccine
A lot of people think tuberculosis is a thing of the past, but it remains one of the most deadly diseases in the world. Now the Seattle-based Infectious Disease Research Institute is getting ready to take it on with a new vaccine being prepped for clinical trials. IDRI said today it has formed a partnership … Continue reading “IDRI, Aeras Team Up to Develop Tuberculosis Vaccine”
Acme Packet, Constant Contact, & Terrafugia CEOs Join XSITE on June 14
Here at Xconomy we are gearing up for our biggest event of the year: XSITE (the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, & Entrepreneurship) on June 14 at Babson College. Tickets have been going fast, but you can still register here. The theme for this year’s event, our fourth annual summertime summit, is Accelerating Innovation. And … Continue reading “Acme Packet, Constant Contact, & Terrafugia CEOs Join XSITE on June 14”
Amazon Takes Over: How a Flood of People Could Remake Seattle
In Seattle, the future is pretty easy to find. Just head to Amazon.com’s neighborhood. Just a few years ago, this corner of the city was dominated by warehouses and cheap rentals. It was a mostly forgotten area, infamous for the rush-hour traffic that piled up as drivers fled to the freeway. Today, the place is … Continue reading “Amazon Takes Over: How a Flood of People Could Remake Seattle”
A 10-Point Plan to Stimulate Biotech & the Economy as a Whole
AN OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT OBAMA Dear President Obama: As you and the rest of our nation’s leadership grapple with the momentous questions of restoring our collective financial stability and eminence, I am hopeful that some lessons from my background as an immigrant—now naturalized citizen—might prove instructive. The undeniable fact that runs throughout all the … Continue reading “A 10-Point Plan to Stimulate Biotech & the Economy as a Whole”
NY’s Cancer Research Institute Looks to Boost Cancer Immunotherapy
When the Cancer Research Institute was founded in 1953 in New York, it set out to pursue an idea that was radical at the time—the notion that mobilizing the body’s innate immune mechanisms could be the key to fighting cancer. Since then, the organization has supported students studying cancer immunology, funded academic research, and even … Continue reading “NY’s Cancer Research Institute Looks to Boost Cancer Immunotherapy”
Facebook and the Opportunity for eCommerce Entrepreneurs
The pieces are in place for Facebook’s IPO next week—not only has the company set its stock price range and updated its Q1 numbers, it has also attempted to de-risk the biggest perceived risk in the first draft of its S-1: exposure to mobile competition. Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, which ostensibly will help it approach … Continue reading “Facebook and the Opportunity for eCommerce Entrepreneurs”
SessionM, PlumChoice, Mojo Motors, and More Boston Dealmakers
Plenty of deal activity this week in New England mobile, biotech, Internet, and IT startups. —Newton, MA-based sleep management technology startup Zeo added another $2 million to the $1 million debt financing it raised last fall, according to an SEC filing. It’s now targeting a total round size of $5 million. —Vanu Coverage, a maker of … Continue reading “SessionM, PlumChoice, Mojo Motors, and More Boston Dealmakers”
Seattle Genetics Misses 1st Quarter Sales Estimate, But Sees $1B Future
Seattle Genetics fell short of Wall Street’s quarterly sales expectations for its new lymphoma drug, but the company boldly declared today that it sees its first drug becoming a billion-dollar blockbuster over time. The Bothell, WA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) said today it generated $34.5 million in net product sales in the first quarter, about a … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Misses 1st Quarter Sales Estimate, But Sees $1B Future”
Magna E-Car Systems: A Hybrid-Electric Success Story
In late March, the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) announced that it had decided to cancel its 2012 Business of Plugging In (BPI) conference, one of the biggest annual confabs dedicated to electric vehicles in the nation. The first Business of Plugging In conference was held in 2009. According to its website, the 2010 conference … Continue reading “Magna E-Car Systems: A Hybrid-Electric Success Story”
San Diego’s MediciNova Nears Turning Point with Lead Drug for Asthma
[Corrected 5/7/12, 5:10 pm. See below.] When Yuichi Iwaki started MediciNova in 2000, he says many mid-size pharmaceutical companies in Japan had concluded it was just too difficult to conduct their own clinical trials in the United States. So MediciNova was born of a kind of Japanese pragmatism. “Mid-size Japanese companies did not have the … Continue reading “San Diego’s MediciNova Nears Turning Point with Lead Drug for Asthma”
San Diego’s Celladon Extends Round to $53M, Opens European Office
San Diego-based Celladon, which raised $43 million in February to advance development of a gene therapy treatment for heart disease, has extended the round with an additional $10 million, according to a statement yesterday. The company’s lead drug candidate is intended to restore a key enzyme for a healthy heart. The extension added two new … Continue reading “San Diego’s Celladon Extends Round to $53M, Opens European Office”
SessionM, Sequoia, Braemar, and Charles River Ventures: A VC Roundup
Catching up on some venture capital news on a rainy Tuesday… —SessionM, a Boston-based mobile advertising startup, has raised $20 million in Series B funding led by Charles River Ventures, according to a report in Dow Jones VentureWire, which put the company’s valuation at around $100 million. The startup’s previous investors include Highland Capital Partners … Continue reading “SessionM, Sequoia, Braemar, and Charles River Ventures: A VC Roundup”
Greenstart’s Second Batch of Startups Has “Digital Cleantech” Focus
Startups with ideas for improving energy efficiency in the transportation, construction, and utility industries got their first big chance to promote their businesses at last week’s semi-annual demo day at Greenstart, San Francisco’s cleantech startup accelerator. It was the second such event at Greenstart, which was established last summer and hatched its first batch of … Continue reading “Greenstart’s Second Batch of Startups Has “Digital Cleantech” Focus”
Sutro Biopharma Pulls in $16M for New Antibody Drugs
Sutro Biopharma is pursuing a big idea for antibody drug development, and it just got some more money to see how far it can go. The South San Francisco-based biotech company is announcing today it has received $16 million in the second tranche of its Series C financing. Skyline Ventures led the deal, which included … Continue reading “Sutro Biopharma Pulls in $16M for New Antibody Drugs”
Elemental Technologies Grabs $13M to Expand in Video Processing
For your average digital consumer, Internet-connected video is no longer a revolutionary thing. It’s now simply a staple of the modern media diet, and one that will get even more ubiquitous as consumers gobble up the latest generations of smartphones and tablets. Things are a little different, however, for companies that built their video expertise … Continue reading “Elemental Technologies Grabs $13M to Expand in Video Processing”
Eleven Biotherapeutics Raises $20M to Advance Dry-Eye Drug
Cambridge, MA-based Eleven Biotherapeutics said today that it has expanded its Series A financing by $20 million, bringing the total raised in the funding round to $45 million. New investor JAFCO joined founding investors Third Rock Ventures and Flagship Ventures in their support of the company, which raised the first part of its Series A … Continue reading “Eleven Biotherapeutics Raises $20M to Advance Dry-Eye Drug”
Q&A: Alan McGlade on His New Digital Media Fund
Former MTV executive Alan McGlade and venture capitalist Michael Yang launched Digital Entertainment Ventures (DEV) in New York recently to make early-stage investments in digital media companies. DEV’s total value has not been disclosed, but the fund has already backed Stagit, a Web-based live music platform, and Mad Humans, a mobile gaming company. McGlade, managing … Continue reading “Q&A: Alan McGlade on His New Digital Media Fund”
First Comes The $1,000 genome, Then Comes The $10,000 Analysis
While everyone in the in the world of sequencing has heard this cynical joke, as an industry, the joke is about to be on us. We have focused our time, energy and investment on the ability to sequence the genome in a day, and have largely ignored the computational power required to extract and analyze … Continue reading “First Comes The $1,000 genome, Then Comes The $10,000 Analysis”
Dendreon Meets Expectations with $82M in 1st Quarter Provenge Sales
Seattle-based Dendreon said back in February that it expected “moderate” first quarter sales growth with its prostate cancer drug, and now it’s reporting it delivered on that projection, generating just enough sales to meet Wall Street expectations. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said today it generated $82 million in first quarter net sales of sipuleucel-T (Provenge). That … Continue reading “Dendreon Meets Expectations with $82M in 1st Quarter Provenge Sales”
Ford Offers Employees Free TechShop Memberships to Spur Innovation
As TechShop Detroit celebrated its grand opening last weekend, Ford announced a new employee incentive program at the makerspace designed to encourage the next generation of Henry Fords by unleashing their inner inventors. The Employee Patent Incentive Award program gives inventors “a free three-month membership to TechShop Detroit for submitting an invention worthy of patent consideration,” … Continue reading “Ford Offers Employees Free TechShop Memberships to Spur Innovation”
CustomMade Looks to Expand, Drive New Model for E-Commerce and Retail
Whether you call it e-commerce, digital marketing, or what not, the Boston area has a lot of companies trying to create the future of how people buy stuff online. There are established e-retailers like Wayfair (fka CSN Stores) for home goods; newer companies like Gemvara for buying jewelry and Zmags for doing tablet-based browsing and … Continue reading “CustomMade Looks to Expand, Drive New Model for E-Commerce and Retail”
SD BizTech Roundup: Ortiva Acquired, EcoATM, & Grid2Home Raise Cash
Here’s a quick roundup of new from San Diego’s technology sector over the past week. —In a move that has implications for San Diego’s tech community, the University of California named Pradeep Khosla, dean of Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering, to succeed Marye Anne Fox as chancellor of the University of California, San Diego. … Continue reading “SD BizTech Roundup: Ortiva Acquired, EcoATM, & Grid2Home Raise Cash”
Gaming and Music Take Center Stage at Startup Weekend NYC
With the likes of Zynga championing social games, it is no surprise that startups are in a rush to capture their share of this sector. But what is surprising is the rise of New York innovators who are diving into this market. Gaming played a major part of this past weekend’s first ever gaming- and … Continue reading “Gaming and Music Take Center Stage at Startup Weekend NYC”
Retrophin, Headed by Controversial Hedge Fund Chief, Raises $4M
New York-based biotech company Retrophin announced this morning that it has completed a $4 million Series A round led by MSMB Capital, a life sciences hedge fund based in New York. Both MSMB and Retrophin are managed by Martin Shkreli (pictured at right), a 29-year-old finance whiz and biology fanatic who spent several years investing … Continue reading “Retrophin, Headed by Controversial Hedge Fund Chief, Raises $4M”
Style Mavens on Fashion 2.0: It’s About Great Products, Not Tech
“I’m not a big believer in just technology for the sake of technology.” At an event covering the intersection of fashion and technology, you may expect this quote to come from a designer. But this was said by venture investor Lawrence Lenihan of FirstMark Capital, a New York firm that’s invested in companies such as … Continue reading “Style Mavens on Fashion 2.0: It’s About Great Products, Not Tech”
Xconomy’s Future of Robotics Event: The Slide Show
If you missed our May 3 forum on “The Future of Robotics in Silicon Valley,” fear not. Today we’re pleased to bring you a flurry of photos from the gathering, captured in pixels by photographer Scott Bramwell at SRI International, which hosted the half-day event. The sold-out event featured top roboticists from both coasts, including … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Future of Robotics Event: The Slide Show”
Vertex Shares Boom on Cystic Fibrosis Results
[Updated: 9:40 am ET] Vertex Pharmaceuticals wowed the cystic fibrosis community earlier this year with its new drug that improves lung function for patients with a rare form of the inherited disease. Now it’s gathering evidence that it could extend the drug’s benefits to many more people. The Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) is announcing … Continue reading “Vertex Shares Boom on Cystic Fibrosis Results”
Yapta Continues Makeover With Corporate Airfare Tracker FareIQ
Five years into its existence, online airfare tracker Yapta is going through a major overhaul. The company is searching for a permanent CEO, after co-founder Tom Romary stepped down late last year. And for the last six months, its team has been building a new product that could be a major turning point for the … Continue reading “Yapta Continues Makeover With Corporate Airfare Tracker FareIQ”
Antibiotic R&D is in Trouble: Here’s One Way to Fix It
Bacteria have been on Earth for more than a billion years, evolving in crafty ways to stay alive amid all kinds of threats. Only about 70 years ago, antibiotics came along and became one of the great triumphs of medicine, giving us the upper hand against infectious bugs. But the combination of government-funded research and … Continue reading “Antibiotic R&D is in Trouble: Here’s One Way to Fix It”
New Digital Game, Social Network To Help Detroiters Map City’s Future
Detroit Works, the agency charged with planning what the Detroit of tomorrow will look like, is about to unveil a new online game and accompanying social network designed to allow Detroiters to help map the city’s future. Launching Monday, Detroit 24-7 is an interactive game funded by the Knight Foundation and designed by Community PlanIt. The Boston-based … Continue reading “New Digital Game, Social Network To Help Detroiters Map City’s Future”
What TechStars’ Progress in Boston Really Means for Innovation
As I walked out of the latest TechStars Demo Day spectacle in Boston yesterday, I was struck by one question: what does it all mean? Yes, 13 young startups made highly refined pitches to a theater full of angel investors, venture capitalists, and fellow entrepreneurs, to mark the end of the accelerator program. Yes, some … Continue reading “What TechStars’ Progress in Boston Really Means for Innovation”
Redwood Robotics Aims to Build Next Generation of Robot Arms
After a year in the planning stages, a new Bay Area startup called Redwood Robotics has revealed its plans to build inexpensive arms for personal service robots. The startup is a joint venture between San Francisco-based Meka Robotics, Menlo Park, CA-based Willow Garage, and the famed R&D institute SRI International. Meka Robotics co-founder Aaron Edsinger, who will lead the new … Continue reading “Redwood Robotics Aims to Build Next Generation of Robot Arms”
Xconomist of the Week: Rebecca Lynn on the Financial Services Boom
Morgenthaler Ventures partner Rebecca Lynn shows up at just about every Health 2.0 event in Silicon Valley—heck, she organizes some of them, like Morgenthaler’s annual DC to VC health IT showcase. So if you only went to those events, you might think that was Lynn’s whole investing focus. But in fact, the Xconomist’s portfolio at Morgenthaler … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Rebecca Lynn on the Financial Services Boom”
Analyst: Dendreon’s Growth Stalling With Cancer Docs as Rival Gains
Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) is still struggling to get cancer physicians in the habit of prescribing its new immune-boosting drug for prostate cancer, as a competing product is gaining momentum, according to a survey by investment firm Robert W. Baird. In a survey of 100 community-based medical oncologists conducted in March, about 41 percent of physicians said … Continue reading “Analyst: Dendreon’s Growth Stalling With Cancer Docs as Rival Gains”
NIH’s Collins Lauds “Unprecedented” Partnership at NY Bio Confab
Yesterday at the New York Biotechnology Association’s 21st annual meeting, National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins was beamed in by videoconference to a keynote lunch at the Times Square Marriott Marquis. Collins, who was the featured speaker, apologized for his virtual appearance at the event, but he had a good excuse: Just two hours … Continue reading “NIH’s Collins Lauds “Unprecedented” Partnership at NY Bio Confab”
Kyruus Takes Big Data Approach to Identify Qualified Physicians
Hospitals typically check patients in with one system, track their healthcare with another, and process insurance claims with yet another. Boston-based Kyruus is looking to pull together all these different data points and many more to help healthcare providers tackle patient care more efficiently. We first heard about Kyruus last year, when it was revealed … Continue reading “Kyruus Takes Big Data Approach to Identify Qualified Physicians”
Nirvanix Raises $25M to Fuel Expansion of Cloud Storage Services
San Diego-based Nirvanix, which provides cloud storage services, says today it has raised more than $25 million in a Series C round of venture funding led by Khosla Ventures. Existing investors Valhalla Partners, Intel Capital and two San Diego firms, Mission Ventures and Windward Ventures, joined in the round. Nirvanix, founded in 1998 as Streamload, … Continue reading “Nirvanix Raises $25M to Fuel Expansion of Cloud Storage Services”
SD Life Sciences Roundup: Gen-Probe, Zogenix, & the Innovation Economy
Here’s our wrap-up of life sciences news over the past week, along with some life sciences data from the latest Connect Innovation Report. —Bedford, MA-based Hologic (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HOLX]]) agreed to pay $3.7 billion, or $82.75 a share, for Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[GPRO]]), San Diego’s venerable, 29-year-old clinical diagnostics company. At a 20 percent premium, the Hologic-Gen-Probe … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Gen-Probe, Zogenix, & the Innovation Economy”
Winners of “MI 50 Companies to Watch” Awards To Be Announced
The annual awards for the Edward Lowe Foundation‘s Michigan 50 Companies to Watch contest will be announced tonight at a gala celebration in Lansing. The awards go to growth-stage companies that are singled out for innovation, corporate culture, philanthropy, and the impact they make on local and state markets. To be eligible, companies must be … Continue reading “Winners of “MI 50 Companies to Watch” Awards To Be Announced”