Twenty-plus years ago, I helped launch the $10K Business Plan Competition now known as the MIT $100K Competition. Back then there was very little of formalized entrepreneurship activities at MIT. The $100K gave rise to the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation after Desh Deshpande had served as a $50K judge and noticed that there weren’t … Continue reading “Building an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem: Ideas for Indonesia and Beyond”
Category: National
Epizyme Gets $90M in Epigenetics Partnership with Celgene
Cambridge, MA-based Epizyme said today that it has formed a strategic partnership with an international subsidiary of Summit, NJ-based Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]). The two companies will work together to develop targeted cancer therapies based on Epizyme’s work in epigenetics, an emerging field that involves turning genes on and off without altering the underlying DNA. The … Continue reading “Epizyme Gets $90M in Epigenetics Partnership with Celgene”
Cytokinetics Shows Hint of Effect With Drug for Lou Gehrig’s Disease
There has never been much innovation to brag about in the treatment of the neurodegenerative disease that killed Yankees legend Lou Gehrig. But South San Francisco-based Cytokinetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYTK]]) is reporting today on clinical trial results that offer a hint it could be onto something for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). An experimental drug from … Continue reading “Cytokinetics Shows Hint of Effect With Drug for Lou Gehrig’s Disease”
Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers
San Diego-based Illumina has talked openly about how it is inspired by the way Apple integrates hardware and software, and now it’s taking another cue from the consumer technology colossus. Illumina, the market-leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, said today it is creating an open platform for genomic software developers to make apps for scientific … Continue reading “Illumina Opens Apple-Inspired App Store for DNA Software Developers”
Fashion, Photos, and Marketing Loom Large Among Startups at ERA Demo Day
Graduates from the Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator’s winter class took the stage today at the New York Institute of Technology to impress investors and other attendees at its demo day event. Ten startups offered up their ideas on how to disrupt fashion, retail, marketing, and other industries that are rooted in the city yet extend far … Continue reading “Fashion, Photos, and Marketing Loom Large Among Startups at ERA Demo Day”
MI Pre-Seed Capital Fund Awards $444,000 in Microloans to 12 Tech Startups
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which supports high-tech startups, recently announced it has awarded more than $444,000 in microloans to 12 companies through the Michigan Microloan Program. To qualify for the loans, which range from $10,000 to $50,000, companies must be located in Michigan, have the rights to innovative technology, be pre-revenue, and have the … Continue reading “MI Pre-Seed Capital Fund Awards $444,000 in Microloans to 12 Tech Startups”
How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story
It’s rare that chips and salsa lead to a startup funding deal. But this isn’t your average startup, and I’m not talking about the usual kind of chips and salsa. CoolChip Technologies, a Boston-area tech startup looking to make data centers more energy-efficient, raised $500,000 in seed funding earlier this month. What the company didn’t … Continue reading “How CoolChip Got $500K from Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund: A Salsa Story”
Symform Adds $8M, Sees Strategic Investor on Horizon in Cloud Backup
Competition in the cloud storage business is definitely ticking up a few notches. Yesterday, we saw the official unveiling of Google Drive, the long-rumored online file-storage service that could draw customers from a huge base of people already using the tech giant’s e-mail, photo, and document software. Other companies jumped out ahead of that announcement, … Continue reading “Symform Adds $8M, Sees Strategic Investor on Horizon in Cloud Backup”
N-Gene Digs Up Funds to Boost “Heat Shock” Drug in Diabetes and MD
Drug development is never easy for cash-strapped biotechs, but for those wanting to make new drugs to treat diabetes—where the FDA demands clinical trials that are long and expensive—it can be nearly impossible. New York-based N-Gene Research Laboratories is one of those companies. The scrappy, 15-year-old outfit “has always worked in financial hypoxia,” says CEO … Continue reading “N-Gene Digs Up Funds to Boost “Heat Shock” Drug in Diabetes and MD”
Personal Capital Shows the Affluent All Their Money in One Place
Personal Capital, an online financial advisory company, came out of the gate with a big mission. “We’re looking to tear up the financial services world,” says company CEO Bill Harris, former CEO of PayPal . The startup’s Web-based service has been described as “Mint for rich people,” but it’s more than that. In addition to … Continue reading “Personal Capital Shows the Affluent All Their Money in One Place”
General Assembly Founder Hargreaves, Atlas’ Destin Join XSITE Lineup
It was already a star-studded bevy of speakers convening for XSITE, the full-day Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship slated for June 14 at Babson College. Now, that lineup boasts some additional stars, as Atlas Venture partner Fred Destin and Brad Hargreaves, co-founder of the vaunted New York startup space General Assembly, have just … Continue reading “General Assembly Founder Hargreaves, Atlas’ Destin Join XSITE Lineup”
Boston Deals This Week Themed Around Data: Locu, EMC, & Terascala
Looks like you had to be doing something innovative with data in order to get in on the Boston deals this week. —Media reports have pegged Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) as on the brink of acquiring San Jose, CA- and Israel based XtremIO, a developer of technology for bringing flash memory to enterprise storage … Continue reading “Boston Deals This Week Themed Around Data: Locu, EMC, & Terascala”
RegainGo Offers Online Tools to Introduce Homeowners to Remodelers
Clark Covert and Jason Beale, co-founders of Detroit-based startup RegainGo, are looking to technology to try to recapture the nostalgic feeling of knowing and trusting the people who work on your home. RegainGo, sort of a hybrid between Angie’s List and Groupon, offers short-term deal coupons as a way to introduce homeowners to the home … Continue reading “RegainGo Offers Online Tools to Introduce Homeowners to Remodelers”
IMS Health Buys DecisionView For Programs to Speed Clinical Trials
[Update: 6:35 am PT, 4/25] IMS Health, the giant healthcare market information company based in Danbury, CT, said today it is acquiring San Francisco-based DecisionView for an undisclosed amount. DecisionView, a privately-held software company founded in 2004, has made strides the past few years with its real-time analytic programs that are supposed to help drug … Continue reading “IMS Health Buys DecisionView For Programs to Speed Clinical Trials”
Asteroid Mining: Metals are Valuable, but Water is the Real Prize
Planetary Resources, the new company started by wealthy entrepreneurs and space experts to mine asteroids, hopes to make bundles of money by hauling precious metals like platinum back down to Earth. But there’s something more basic that the company says is far more valuable: water. Asteroids are known to carry stores of water, and drawing … Continue reading “Asteroid Mining: Metals are Valuable, but Water is the Real Prize”
New Data on Genzyme MS Drug Shows Improvement in Disability
One of the most closely watched developments in the quest for new multiple sclerosis treatments is the experimental drug alemtuzumab (Lemtrada) from Cambridge, MA-based Genzyme, a unit of French drug giant Sanofi (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]). Last November, Genzyme revealed that in a late-stage trial, the drug reduced relapse rates and the risk of long-term disability, and today, … Continue reading “New Data on Genzyme MS Drug Shows Improvement in Disability”
The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier
Enacted with great fanfare in early April, the JOBS Act is intended to improve access to the public capital markets for startup companies. The cornerstone of the act is the creation of an “IPO on ramp” which provides “emerging growth companies” up to five years following their IPO to come into full compliance with various … Continue reading “The JOBS Act—The “IPO On-Ramp” Makes IPOs Easier”
The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet
Ravi Mehta, the vice president of product at Boston-area startup Viximo, has an interesting side project. It’s called Slidevana, and it’s aimed at entrepreneurs, academics, lawyers, and anyone else who wants to deliver more effective presentations. Today, Slidevana is releasing its first set of 150-plus slide templates for PowerPoint, available for a one-time download fee. … Continue reading “The Cure for PowerPoint Pain? Try Slidevana, Says Microsoft Vet”
Zui.com Adds “FaceTube” as MattyB Helps March Traffic Surge Past 2M
First came the Internet browser, with a new approach to parental controls. Then came Zui.com, an Internet search engine for kids that has grown to serve more than 2 million youthful users a month in less than nine months. Today, San Diego-based Zui.com is introducing “Facetube,” a new feature of Zui.com that operates like a … Continue reading “Zui.com Adds “FaceTube” as MattyB Helps March Traffic Surge Past 2M”
Voyager Leads $1.3M Round in Chirpify, Turning Tweets Into Sales
Twitter has become a revolutionary way for celebrities and brands to communicate with fans and customers. Now, investors are hoping to pump up the messaging platform’s potential as a sales channel. That’s the thinking behind today’s Voyager Capital-led $1.3 million investment in Chirpify, a Portland, OR-based startup that can turn tweets into miniature digital storefronts. … Continue reading “Voyager Leads $1.3M Round in Chirpify, Turning Tweets Into Sales”
Sparkology Puts Elite Spin on Dating and Competes to Enter Y Combinator
As more dating websites chase the same customers, it gets harder to see the differences among these companies. Most promise lots of dates, but that does not always translate into successful matches. New York’s Sparkology believes its strategy of only accepting men educated at renowned universities sets it apart from its rivals—and might win the … Continue reading “Sparkology Puts Elite Spin on Dating and Competes to Enter Y Combinator”
George Rathmann, Founding CEO of Amgen and Icos, Dies at 84
[Updated: 9:25 pm PT] George Rathmann, the first CEO of Amgen and a pioneer who inspired a generation within the biotech industry, has died at the age of 84. He had kidney disease and lived through dialysis treatments in his final years. Rathmann was best known as the guy who bet the company at Amgen … Continue reading “George Rathmann, Founding CEO of Amgen and Icos, Dies at 84”
Asteroid Mining? Yeah, It’s Possible—With Enough Money
An all-star group of investors, entrepreneurs, and space experts is gearing up to unveil Planetary Resources, a new company that focused on mining asteroids for precious elements. It’s not the first time that wealthy people have set their sights on a space mission, but this one is definitely more complicated than sending a few space … Continue reading “Asteroid Mining? Yeah, It’s Possible—With Enough Money”
AstraZeneca Reloads its Pipeline with Ardea Deal, Could be Still Hunting
AstraZeneca (NYSE: [[ticker:AZN]]), the global pharmaceutical giant based in London, is replenishing its drug pipeline with its acquisition of San Diego’s Ardea Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RDEA]]), which was disclosed by both companies earlier today. Britain’s second-largest drugmaker also could still be hunting, and might even have another San Diego company in its sights, according to press … Continue reading “AstraZeneca Reloads its Pipeline with Ardea Deal, Could be Still Hunting”
Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search
Sitting across the table from me, on the seventh floor of a brick building near Kendall Square, is the head of Google travel. He controls where the big, bad Internet giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) will go in the vast competitive landscape of flight and hotel search, airline reservation systems, relationships with online travel agencies, and so … Continue reading “Google, ITA, and the Future of Travel: It’s All About Data, Not Search”
Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle’s Parting Thoughts on Big Biofuel
After stepping down as the founding CEO of San Diego’s Sapphire Energy, Jason Pyle tells me he’s accomplished a number of key initiatives at the algae-based biofuels startup, and basically that it’s time to move on. His departure surprised me. Founding CEOs don’t often walk away from startups that have amassed a $1 billion valuation … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle’s Parting Thoughts on Big Biofuel”
Robots and You: See the Connections on May 3
Maybe you’re under the impression that robots are still sci-fi technology, decades away from the point where they might affect your everyday life. Well, tell that to Jeff Bezos, who just spent $775 million of Amazon’s cash to acquire Kiva Systems. If you’ve ordered a handbag or a pair of shoes from Amazon subsidiary Zappos … Continue reading “Robots and You: See the Connections on May 3”
Amazon’s Fight Against Content Middlemen: Books, TV, Movies, Games
The publishing industry was rocked last year when Amazon.com, long the most important retailer in books, got serious about becoming a publisher. No longer content to control a few niche imprints, Amazon took aim at the big publishing houses’ cash cows by directly signing up best-selling authors and hiring an industry insider to run the … Continue reading “Amazon’s Fight Against Content Middlemen: Books, TV, Movies, Games”
E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets
For Jie Zheng and Rie Yano, the options for selling used clothing were just not cutting it. Consignment stores were picky, thrift shops paid virtually nothing for their wares, and eBay was complicated. Both were working as marketers for big fashion brands, buying a lot of clothes for office days and work events, and trying … Continue reading “E-Commerce Startup Material Wrld Opens up Fashionistas’ Closets”
What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?
Hardly anybody wants new drugs that act like a sledgehammer, bashing diseased and healthy cells like old-school cancer chemotherapy. Many drugs today are supposed to be smart enough to work like laser-guided missiles that hit the diseased cells and mostly spare the healthy ones. But if your goal is to create one of these amazing … Continue reading “What Are the Hottest Targets in Biotech Today?”
CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era
When e-commerce startup CoffeeTable was brand new, the company occupied a table at San Francisco’s Dogpatch Labs, right across from another startup called Burbn. The week Burbn launched its iPhone app, CoffeeTable’s lead engineer “started to see that it was going to take off, and decided to switch over and join them,” says Ben Choi, … Continue reading “CoffeeTable Aims to Reinvent Catalog Shopping for the iPad Era”
NY Tech Day Brings Together Startups and Potential Investors
New York is teeming with events to showcase startups, but Thursday’s NY Tech Day presented a lineup of up-and-comers who, in some cases, drew more attention than big-name exhibitors such as tumblr. In its debut event, NY Tech Day brought out some 160 tech companies to the 69th Regiment Armory in New York’s Flatiron District. … Continue reading “NY Tech Day Brings Together Startups and Potential Investors”
San Diego’s Q1 Venture Activity Surges on One Mega Deal
Boosted by a $144-million “mega deal” that Sappire Energy disclosed a few weeks ago, VC investments in San Diego climbed to a four-year high during the first quarter of 2012, according to a pair of VC surveys being released today. San Diego’s bouyant trend, however, ran counter to a significant downward trend in overall VC … Continue reading “San Diego’s Q1 Venture Activity Surges on One Mega Deal”
Dyax, Adimab, Mersana, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
Partnerships and funding news came out of New England biotechs, particularly a few working on antibody technology. —Newton, MA-based Alcresta, a startup developing nutritional supplements from enzymes, nabbed $10 million from Third Rock Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Frazier Healthcare Ventures. Alcresta will share office space and a management team with Allena Pharmaceuticals, an enzyme drug … Continue reading “Dyax, Adimab, Mersana, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
CEO Changes in Planned Succession at San Diego’s Sapphire Energy
I thought the best presentation at the “Rock Stars of Innovation Summit” a few weeks ago was a chat between two co-founders of San Diego’s Sapphire Energy—CEO Jason Pyle and Steve Briggs, the UC San Diego cellular biologist and a member of Sapphire’s advisory board. It turns out that was Pyle’s last public appearance in … Continue reading “CEO Changes in Planned Succession at San Diego’s Sapphire Energy”
At Altius’s Online College, Students Will Learn Through Stories
Altius Education, the San Francisco startup that launched the two-year online junior college called Ivy Bridge, now hopes to blossom into a full-fledged, four-year institution called Altius University. And to prepare the way, it’s rolling out a new software platform designed to improve education through “the power of stories.” Paul Freedman, Altius’ founder and CEO, … Continue reading “At Altius’s Online College, Students Will Learn Through Stories”
SD Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, Illumina, & RainTree Oncology
There was a mix of news out of San Diego’s life sciences community over the past week. Get your briefing here. —San Diego’s Sotera Wireless said the FDA has cleared its ViSi Mobile System, a wireless device that enables healthcare providers to continuously monitor their patients’ vital signs in hospitals. Continuous monitoring systems, which can … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Accelrys, Illumina, & RainTree Oncology”
How to Build a Billion-Dollar Startup
The quickest way to create a billion dollar company is to take basic human social needs and figure out how to mediate them online. Look at the first wave of the Web/mobile/cloud startups that have done just that: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Match.com, Pandora, Zynga, WordPress, LinkedIn. It’s your turn. Hard-Wired This week I’m in New … Continue reading “How to Build a Billion-Dollar Startup”
Cell Therapeutics Shells Out $30M for New Drug
Cell Therapeutics has been known to travel the world to find new drugs to develop, and the latest stop is Singapore. The Seattle-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) said today it has agreed to acquire picritinib, a drug from S*Bio of Singapore, that’s designed to block biological targets known as JAK2 and FLT3. The company agreed to … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Shells Out $30M for New Drug”
Progress for Pervasis and InVivo: A Boost for Regenerative Efforts?
Last week brought good news for two Cambridge, MA companies pursuing different methods for repairing damaged body parts. Pervasis Therapeutics, which developed a cell-based method for fixing blood vessels, was acquired by Irish drug giant Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPGY]]) on April 12. The next day, Cambridge-based InVivo Therapeutics (OTCBB: [[ticker:NVIV]]) said it expected it would soon win … Continue reading “Progress for Pervasis and InVivo: A Boost for Regenerative Efforts?”
Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town
There is a lot of talk these days in post-industrial American cities like Detroit about transforming the “brawn economy” into the brain economy. Detroit Xconomist Mahendra Ramsinghani, who runs Invest Detroit’s First Step Fund, is on the front lines of that battle to economically recalibrate. “As a community, generation after generation got up and went … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Ramsinghani On Microinvesting in a Company Town”
Alder Biopharma Snags $38M To Charge Ahead With Antibody Drugs
Alder Biopharmaceuticals has nailed down the biggest round of venture capital the Seattle biotech community has seen in a long time. The Bothell, WA-based antibody drug developer is announcing today it has raised $38 million in a Series D financing led by new investor Novo Ventures. All of Alder’s previous backers— Sevin Rosen Funds, Ventures … Continue reading “Alder Biopharma Snags $38M To Charge Ahead With Antibody Drugs”
Nexamp Unit Purchase Helps Retroficiency Inflate its Energy Efficiency Footprint
It’s not often that a two-year-old company acquires part of another startup, but it looks like a recent purchase for Boston-based Retroficiency is paying off. Last November the energy auditing software maker closed $3.3 million in a Series A round led by Point Judith Capital, and in the process acquired the energy efficiency division of … Continue reading “Nexamp Unit Purchase Helps Retroficiency Inflate its Energy Efficiency Footprint”
Big Fish Games Paid Nearly $12M in Stock for Self Aware Games
Updated 6:20 pm We now know how much stock in Big Fish Games changed hands for the Seattle casual gaming company’s recent acquisition of Oakland, CA-based studio Self Aware Games. A new regulatory filing by Big Fish, posted earlier today, shows that nearly $12 million worth of Big Fish shares were issued for the acquisition, with … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Paid Nearly $12M in Stock for Self Aware Games”
Mt. Elliott Makerspace: Fertile Ground for Detroit’s Future Innovators
[Updated 4/18/12, 8:51 p.m. See below.] When the Mt. Elliott Makerspace, the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition, and Detroit Future hosted a DiscoTech event at the Museum of Contemporary Art last weekend, it was a uniquely Detroit affair. As kids and their grown-up escorts bounced between stations that offered lessons on everything from beat-making and computer … Continue reading “Mt. Elliott Makerspace: Fertile Ground for Detroit’s Future Innovators”
In Google’s Moon Race, Teams Face a Reckoning
The future is way behind schedule. That’s the feeling you pick up on when you talk to people in the civilian space business. Forty years after the Apollo missions, there are still no lunar bases like the one in 2001: A Space Odyssey. There are no Pan Am space planes ferrying bureaucrats to meetings on … Continue reading “In Google’s Moon Race, Teams Face a Reckoning”
PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)
At its best, e-mail is a never-ending game of whack-a-mole. At its worst, well, it’s like falling down an infinitely long, dark tunnel with a box of quicksand at the bottom. Can you guess which side of bed I got out of? Fortunately, there are people working on making the e-mail experience better. Matt Thazhmon … Continue reading “PowerInbox CEO Dishes on E-mail as Social Platform vs. Facebook (& Instagram)”
Pipeline Fellowship Grooms Female Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs
On March 30, Brittany Haas stepped before a firing line of 10 investors who were considering funding her New York-based startup, Happily Ever Borrowed, a website that rents veils, jewelry and other accessories to brides. Haas was part of a pitch event that couldn’t have been more different from a TechStars demo day—or any other … Continue reading “Pipeline Fellowship Grooms Female Angel Investors and Entrepreneurs”
Illumina Stays Independent, Roche Walking Away
Illumina will remain an independent company, at least for now. The San Diego-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the market leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, fended off a hostile takeover bid by Roche as its shareholders re-elected the four members of the Illumina board who were opposed by Roche nominees. Roche said in a statement that it … Continue reading “Illumina Stays Independent, Roche Walking Away”
Schoology Aims to Make the Honor Roll in Education Technology
Much like a promising class of new graduates, the fast-growing startups in education technology are landing big offers to get ahead. Money is flowing into these companies as they develop technology that puts new twists on the traditional classroom. Up and comer Schoology in New York raised $6 million on Monday in a funding round … Continue reading “Schoology Aims to Make the Honor Roll in Education Technology”