Three years ago, Stephen Friend started a nonprofit with a bold vision to speed up drug discovery, which might represent the biggest cat-herding exercise in the history of biology. If it sounds equal parts promising and daunting, it should. The idea of creating an open-source movement for biology—a field in which scientists and corporations guard … Continue reading “Sage Bionetworks Moves from Thinking Stage to Doing Stage”
Category: National
CoolChip, Copiun, Wingu Among the Slew of Boston Deals This Week
We saw a number of early stage investments in the past week in New England cleantech, Web, and life sciences startups. —Harvest Power, a Waltham, MA-based developer of technology for converting organic waste to natural gas, soil, and fertilizer, nabbed $110 million in a Series C financing led by True North Venture Partners and American … Continue reading “CoolChip, Copiun, Wingu Among the Slew of Boston Deals This Week”
Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks
Venture investors wrote lots of checks during the first three months of 2012, but the amounts were small, according to the venture capital activity report being released today by CB Insights, the New York data services firm. The firm counted 785 venture deals during the quarter that ended March 31, marking the second-highest deal count … Continue reading “Small is Beautiful in Q1 Venture Deals as VCs Write Lots of Checks”
U-M Social Venture Fund Picks LearnZillion for Its First Investment
The University of Michigan’s student-run Social Venture Fund recently announced it has made its first investment in an education-tech startup called LearnZillion. The fund, which makes early-stage investments of up to $200,000, joined a syndicate of 17 investors for a Series A round valued at $2.4 million total. (The Social Venture Fund’s portion was $50,000.) … Continue reading “U-M Social Venture Fund Picks LearnZillion for Its First Investment”
Five Questions: Acorda CEO Ron Cohen on the Future of Neurology R&D
Hawthorne, NY-based Acorda Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACOR]]) held its first R&D day for Wall Street analysts in six years today, and when CEO Ron Cohen was asked ‘why now?’ his answer was simple. The company had been focused all those years on getting its multiple sclerosis drug dalfampridine (Ampyra) approved, Cohen says. “Until all of that was done, … Continue reading “Five Questions: Acorda CEO Ron Cohen on the Future of Neurology R&D”
Microsoft, TechStars Unveil New Program for Azure Cloud Services
Updated 3 pm with correction Microsoft is taking its relationship with startup accelerator TechStars to another level. Today, the software company revealed that it’s sponsoring a second startup program based around the TechStars model, this time for companies that use Microsoft’s Azure cloud-computing service. That’s in addition to the Microsoft-TechStars accelerator based on the Kinect … Continue reading “Microsoft, TechStars Unveil New Program for Azure Cloud Services”
Accelrys Takes on Productivity Gap with Scientific Lifecycle Software
[Corrected 5/1/12, 10:35 am. See below.] Amid a nationwide effort to spur a renaissance in American manufacturing, San Diego-based Accelrys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACCL]]) is flipping on the switch today for technology that represents a culmination of much of the strategy that CEO Max Carnecchia outlined for me last year. At that time, Carnecchia explained how the … Continue reading “Accelrys Takes on Productivity Gap with Scientific Lifecycle Software”
Optimism and Innovation
There are many opinions on the essential elements for innovation. One component is particularly crucial, and one of my favorite quotes on the matter is by Intel co-founder Robert Noyce, who said “Optimism is an essential ingredient for innovation. How else can the individual welcome change over security, adventure, over staying in safe places?” Having … Continue reading “Optimism and Innovation”
SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School”
Time to check in on another growing and profitable tech company in Boston. This one has built its business around Web and mobile marketing technologies—basically helping big retailers and banks make their websites and other marketing channels faster and more efficient, and thus more lucrative. (Yes, you’re going to have to read a bit more … Continue reading “SiteSpect CEO on Web Marketing and Why Big Data is “Like Sex in High School””
Driving for a Better Way to Engage Consumers in their Own Health
Attention to health is life’s greatest hindrance—Plato Let’s just say you own a car. You have undoubtedly purchased insurance for the car and if you are diligent and worried about value and performance, you also are diligent about maintenance. You get the oil changed according to schedule, you fill it with the right kind of … Continue reading “Driving for a Better Way to Engage Consumers in their Own Health”
Enzyme Maker Alcresta Nabs $10M from Third Rock, Bessemer, Frazier
The team behind Newton, MA-based Allena Pharmaceuticals, which started up six months ago to develop enzyme-based drugs, is announcing today that they’ve formed a second enzyme company, Alcresta, to turn novel enzymes into nutritional supplements. That team—Third Rock Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Frazier Healthcare Ventures—put $15 million into Allena, and is pouring another $10 … Continue reading “Enzyme Maker Alcresta Nabs $10M from Third Rock, Bessemer, Frazier”
Dendreon CEO John Johnson: ‘This is My Last Stop’
Dendreon was run its entire 20-year history by people trained in science and medicine, and the big achievement was FDA approval of the first treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer cells like a virus. But it stumbled in the early days of marketing its prostate cancer drug, so Dendreon did what many … Continue reading “Dendreon CEO John Johnson: ‘This is My Last Stop’”
By Invitation Only: A Story of Entrepreneur Passion and Leadership
“Alexis had certainly never waxed on about her shopping habits in front of a room full of middle-aged men clad in blue shirts and khakis. She knew a big part of a VC partner’s job is to assess people’s judgment; they don’t tend to be fond of frivolity. Yet our business would live or die … Continue reading “By Invitation Only: A Story of Entrepreneur Passion and Leadership”
Ex-MSFT, AOL Exec Gounares Tackles Datacenter Software with Concurix
Microsoft veteran and former AOL chief technology officer Alex Gounares, who once served as Bill Gates’ top technical assistant, is back in the Seattle area and jumping into the startup scene again with Concurix, a still-forming company that plans to sell next-generation operating system software for big datacenters. Concurix is still in the very early … Continue reading “Ex-MSFT, AOL Exec Gounares Tackles Datacenter Software with Concurix”
U-M Student Startup Fetchnotes Offers ‘Sticky Notes for the Modern Age’
After collecting a few thousand users through a private beta launch and garnering press from the likes of the Wall Street Journal and All Things Digital, Ann Arbor, MI-based Fetchnotes opened the mobile app for its digital note-capturing service to the public last Friday. The startup, which is headed by a pair of University of Michigan … Continue reading “U-M Student Startup Fetchnotes Offers ‘Sticky Notes for the Modern Age’”
Abbott’s Humira, the 3rd-in-Class Drug That Toppled Lipitor as No. 1
Sometimes the biggest success stories in business never make it to the magazine covers. There’s no single Eureka moment, no surprise turning point, no redemption, no swashbuckling CEO delivering the goods. There’s just a team pursuing genius like Edison once said: through 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration. Dull as it may sound, there … Continue reading “Abbott’s Humira, the 3rd-in-Class Drug That Toppled Lipitor as No. 1”
Buildium, Boosted by Real Estate Bust, Sees a Big Mobile Future
[Corrected 4/16/12 10:30 am. See below.]It’s not often that you hear an entrepreneur say his business grew through the real estate crash and economic downturn. But that’s indeed the case with Buildium, a Boston-based, maker of online software enabling landlords and small property managers to track rent payments, receive maintenance requests from tenants, manage leases, … Continue reading “Buildium, Boosted by Real Estate Bust, Sees a Big Mobile Future”
Birchbox Breaks into New Markets to Compete in Subscription Commerce
It takes a touch of finesse to win over consumers in a market crowded with e-tailers eager to ship products to one’s front door. Now New York’s Birchbox is finding out whether it has that touch. The e-retail company, which ships curated wares, made its first splash offering assorted cosmetics and beauty products for women … Continue reading “Birchbox Breaks into New Markets to Compete in Subscription Commerce”
Voyager Co-Founder Godreau at New Firm with Ex-MS, Yahoo, AOL Execs
Updated 4/16 Enrique Godreau III, a founder and former managing director at Seattle’s Voyager Capital, has resurfaced at a new venture firm where he’s working closely with former Microsoft executives who recently left high-profile jobs at AOL and Yahoo. In fact, the firm—-GSharp Ventures—appears to be so new that the only real thing I could … Continue reading “Voyager Co-Founder Godreau at New Firm with Ex-MS, Yahoo, AOL Execs”
Clipboard’s Gary Flake: Out of the Lab, Building the Personal Web
These are the boom years for the personal Web. Think of a relationship, an interest—hell, even a mundane personal task—and there’s probably at least one connected tool for the job. And more are being built all the time. But which one of those profiles represents the real you? It’s probably some combination of your professional … Continue reading “Clipboard’s Gary Flake: Out of the Lab, Building the Personal Web”
Kullect Reinvents Blogging for the Smartphone Era
Blogs are coming up on their 15th birthday—the term “weblog” was coined in December 1997, according to Wired (though it wasn’t shortened to “blog” until 1999). What’s interesting is how little the form has changed in that time. A typical blog is still just a collection of text-based essays or articles and comments written on … Continue reading “Kullect Reinvents Blogging for the Smartphone Era”
Boston and Cambridge Renew Rivalry in Startup Real Estate
The real estate market for companies can be a tragically boring topic—unless you’re a startup looking for office space. There has been a lot of talk this week about rising rents in Kendall Square as compared to Boston’s Innovation District or South End, say, and some related issues (see below). All the better to fan … Continue reading “Boston and Cambridge Renew Rivalry in Startup Real Estate”
Detroit Labs, Compuware & More on the Mobile Opportunity in Michigan
The scene at a recent happy hour hosted by Detroit Labs was bustling, especially considering that the only means of event promotion were flyers hastily taped to the doors in the Madison Building, where Detroit Labs is headquartered. About 50 people crowded into the upper bar—most of them young men—and discussed their latest projects and … Continue reading “Detroit Labs, Compuware & More on the Mobile Opportunity in Michigan”
Pervasis, Flagship, SeventhSense, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers
We saw some investments this week in New England regenerative medicine, diagnostics, and medical devices companies. —Cambridge, MA-based Flagship Ventures formed a new partnership with Merck Research Ventures Fund to find and finance companies developing drugs for unmet medical needs. The $250 million Merck fund was established last fall and has so far made four … Continue reading “Pervasis, Flagship, SeventhSense, & More Boston Life Sciences Newsmakers”
Tioga Investor Thomas McNerney Keeping Busy After San Diego Move
Thomas, McNerney & Partners, the life sciences investor that moved its West Coast office to San Diego last year, led the latest financing round in San Diego’s Tioga Pharmaceuticals, which I briefly noted earlier today. In fact, Thomas, McNerney put in $8 million of Tioga’s $10 million Series B round, and principal Jason Brown has … Continue reading “Tioga Investor Thomas McNerney Keeping Busy After San Diego Move”
Xconomist of the Week: Jason Baptiste and the Ultralight Startup
Where did this guy find the time to write a book? Never mind that. Jason Baptiste is on the prowl again. The co-founder and CEO of New York-based Onswipe, a tablet-based media and advertising startup, has just released his new book, The Ultralight Startup (Portfolio Penguin, 2012). It’s a how-to-entrepreneur guide with lots of details … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Jason Baptiste and the Ultralight Startup”
Harvest Power, With $100M+ in Revenue, Raises $110M in Tough Cleantech Market
There’s something different about Harvest Power. While other cleantech companies have struggled mightily, the Waltham, MA-based waste-to-energy-and-soil firm keeps chugging along and growing. Today the company says it has raised $110 million in Series C funding, led by True North Venture Partners and American Refining and Biochemical. Previous investors also chipped in, including Kleiner Perkins … Continue reading “Harvest Power, With $100M+ in Revenue, Raises $110M in Tough Cleantech Market”
GrabCAD Hosts Estonian President, Who Happens to Be Cyber Security Expert
The first sign that this was not a regular day was the State Police detail in the parking lot of the American Twine building near Kendall Square. Then, in the hallways, a group of secret-service types watching every door, and at least one person in a military uniform. They weren’t there to see Stavros, the … Continue reading “GrabCAD Hosts Estonian President, Who Happens to Be Cyber Security Expert”
The Future of Robotics on May 3: Here’s the Agenda
Faster than anyone expected, it’s going to be May 3—the day we’re gathering an amazing group of roboticists and entrepreneurs for our first forum on The Future of Robotics in Silicon Valley and Beyond. The event takes place from 1:00 to 5:30 pm at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA, and features representatives from 10 … Continue reading “The Future of Robotics on May 3: Here’s the Agenda”
Provid Pharma Leans on MS Society’s Venture Fund to Boost Lead Drug
North Brunswick, NJ-based Provid Pharmaceuticals could be a case study in biotech bootstrapping. The company, founded in 2001, had been subsisting largely on angel funding, grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Small Business Innovation Research arm of the U.S. government, and an early collaboration with San Diego-based Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]). Then, in … Continue reading “Provid Pharma Leans on MS Society’s Venture Fund to Boost Lead Drug”
SD Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Illumina, & Deals, Deals, Deals
In an encouraging sign for San Diego’s life sciences sector, a number of new financing deals recently went to local companies. Here’s our roundup of all the news. —Shareholder suits have begun to pile up after San Diego’s Optimer Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) shook up its leadership, citing concerns over a stock grant issued by a … Continue reading “SD Life Sciences Roundup: Optimer, Illumina, & Deals, Deals, Deals”
Google Ventures-Backed Signpost Brings Repeat Business to Daily Deals
The daily deals sector may be overcrowded and highly competitive, but New York’s Signpost is leveraging a different approach to help attract customers to small merchants. The two-year-old startup operates as an advertising platform that gets deals published online on behalf of cafés, spas, restaurants, and other retailers. On the surface that sounds like the … Continue reading “Google Ventures-Backed Signpost Brings Repeat Business to Daily Deals”
Why There’s No Such Thing as An Overnight Exit Strategy
It’s highly unlikely that you’re going to wake up one morning, hear a knock on your door, and open it to find an acquisition partner with a briefcase full of cash ready to buy your business. The reality is that successful exits—whether through an IPO, a buyout, a strategic acquisition, or a merger—take years of … Continue reading “Why There’s No Such Thing as An Overnight Exit Strategy”
Rippld Builds a Social Network for Creative Professionals
When Rippld co-founder Adrian Walker started an independent film-production company two years ago, he was frustrated by the lack of online platforms for his fellow creative professionals to use to network, post portfolios, and share jobs. He wanted to showcase the people he used for sound work and CGI effects because, as he says, “the … Continue reading “Rippld Builds a Social Network for Creative Professionals”
CommonAngels, NEVCA Pledge 50 Startup Tickets for XSITE on June 14
We’re still two months out from our full-day flagship forum XSITE, the Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, but CommonAngels and the New England Venture Capital Association have already pledged to buy 50 tickets together—25 each—for startups looking to attend the June 14 conference. “We are thrilled to be able to support entrepreneurs in … Continue reading “CommonAngels, NEVCA Pledge 50 Startup Tickets for XSITE on June 14”
Wavii Makes Search More Human (Like Google+ Should)
He surely didn’t know it at the time. But Adrian Aoun’s godson, who lives in London and just turned 5, has been supplying the Seattle entrepreneur with inspiration for years. The setting is their regular video chats, which have allowed Aoun to watch the kid’s mastery of language take hold—and even do a little casual … Continue reading “Wavii Makes Search More Human (Like Google+ Should)”
Springpad Upgrades Digital Notebooks for Sharing, Discovery, and Persistence
If you’re interested in the growth of consumer Web companies in the Boston area, you should know the team at Spring Partners. And if you have deeper questions about how the Web will evolve beyond search and social, well, you should really check out what they’re building. Charlestown, MA-based Spring Partners is announcing version 3.0 … Continue reading “Springpad Upgrades Digital Notebooks for Sharing, Discovery, and Persistence”
Clio Searches for Music—Using Music
In 2007, Clio founder and principal scientist Dr. Greg Wilder saw a fundamental problem with music search engines: they all required words. So he set out to build an engine that could not only find music based on other music, but actually compare tracks to one another to find something similar—a music-based analysis, search and … Continue reading “Clio Searches for Music—Using Music”
Synchronoss Technologies Makes Strategic Moves to Boost Innovation
It can be tough for wireless carriers and users alike to sort out the increasingly complex mash-up of mobile devices and data. The ongoing releases of new handsets, software, and digital content makes it difficult to keep all the pieces working together smoothly. Synchronoss Technologies (Nasdaq: [[ticker:SNCR]]) in Bridgewater, N.J. develops software platforms that work … Continue reading “Synchronoss Technologies Makes Strategic Moves to Boost Innovation”
BioPharma Needs A Safe, Reliable Way To Repair Broken Genes
The sequencing of the human genome didn’t immediately lead to treatments for a number of diseases, as many had hoped and a smaller number had predicted. However, the enormous drop in the price of DNA sequencing over the past decade has now made it possible to sequence an individual’s complete genome for less than $5,000. … Continue reading “BioPharma Needs A Safe, Reliable Way To Repair Broken Genes”
Cardinal Health Hires West Wireless Health Institute’s Inaugural CEO
It felt like an auspicious time when Don Casey arrived two years ago as the inaugural CEO for San Diego’s new West Wireless Health Institute. Founders Gary and Mary West, who made their fortune in telemarketing, had pledged a total of $90 million to the nonprofit institute, where Casey proclaimed the mission was to “innovate, … Continue reading “Cardinal Health Hires West Wireless Health Institute’s Inaugural CEO”
Mymetics Ropes in Dendreon, KPCB Vets to Restart Vaccine Developer
[Updated: 7:10 am PT] Sometimes little biotech companies hit the wall, and need a jolt from new management, new investors, and even a change of scenery to see if their technology is ever going to pan out. Mymetics is one of those classic biotech stories, of a little vaccine company heading West to reinvent itself. … Continue reading “Mymetics Ropes in Dendreon, KPCB Vets to Restart Vaccine Developer”
UCSD Spinoff NexDx Aims to Diagnose Rheumatoid Arthritis
Research from the UC San Diego School of Medicine that shows distinct characteristics in the inflammation-producing cells that line the joints of rheumatoid arthritis patients is serving as the foundation for a new molecular diagnostics startup in San Diego. The startup, NexDx, was founded last year to develop reliable and cost-effective technology to accurately diagnose … Continue reading “UCSD Spinoff NexDx Aims to Diagnose Rheumatoid Arthritis”
AisleBuyer, Crashlytics, Cymfony, & More Boston Dealmakers
The world is atwitter over the big Facebook-Instagram acquisition, but Boston companies have been proving their muster with deals of their own this week. —Cambridge, MA-based mobile gaming startup The Tap Lab said it has brought in $550,000 in funding from a crop of angel investors that includes Harmonix founders Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy, former … Continue reading “AisleBuyer, Crashlytics, Cymfony, & More Boston Dealmakers”
In San Diego Restart, Verenium Erases Debt, Looks to Expand Products
It’s been roughly a year since Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]) returned to its roots, so to speak, in San Diego as an industrial biotechnology company with an extensive catalog of enzymes. The company got its start here two decades ago as a kind of science project—amassing samples of enzymes from “life at the edge,” the organisms … Continue reading “In San Diego Restart, Verenium Erases Debt, Looks to Expand Products”
The Billion-Dollar App: How Apple Propelled Instagram to Success
Yesterday’s news that Facebook is buying Instagram and its photo-sharing app was eye-popping for about five reasons at once. But the most interesting reason, to me, has also been the most overlooked so far. Here are the points that jumped out in yesterday’s news, starting with the least important (and most discussed) and building up … Continue reading “The Billion-Dollar App: How Apple Propelled Instagram to Success”
Crashlytics, With $5M in New VC Bucks, Goes After Huge Mobile Developer Market
Crashlytics has a cool name. It’s run by cool guys. It’s all a little too cool. The truth is, the Cambridge, MA-based startup is solving a really hard technical problem: helping developers fix mobile apps when they crash by pinpointing the line of code (and use case) where the main issue occurred. And as you’ll … Continue reading “Crashlytics, With $5M in New VC Bucks, Goes After Huge Mobile Developer Market”
Big Fish Games Bets on Freemium Games, Streaming Service
When Paul Thelen started Big Fish Games—“just in my bedroom, coding games,” he says—the Internet was just beginning to transform the way people got their entertainment. And it was a very big deal: Instead of heading to the store and forking over a few $20s for a disc in a colorful box, you could test … Continue reading “Big Fish Games Bets on Freemium Games, Streaming Service”
Core Innovation Capital’s $45M Fund Seeks Tech for the “Underbanked”
In 2007, a not-for-profit Chicago outfit called the Center for Financial Services Innovation launched a private equity fund to support tech startups with innovative financial products. The fund, says its New York-based manager Arjan Schutte, specifically sought out companies serving the “underbanked,” or as he explains it, “consumers who either don’t have a bank, or … Continue reading “Core Innovation Capital’s $45M Fund Seeks Tech for the “Underbanked””
Passion, Casual-ness, & Money: Themes from MIT’s Business in Gaming
If you saw some odd costumes wandering the streets of Boston this past weekend, chances are they were en route to a games-related event (I’m talking about you, Anime aficionados). The one I attended, MIT’s Business in Gaming conference, contained more suit-clad attendees than outlandish hairdos and capes (thank goodness). The event draws investors, entrepreneurs, … Continue reading “Passion, Casual-ness, & Money: Themes from MIT’s Business in Gaming”