When we last checked in with Flud, the Web startup had just launched a new-and-improved version of its iPhone app, which allows users to aggregate, curate, and share news content. Bobby Ghoshal, Flud’s co-founder and CEO, says the company was riding high on widespread news coverage (Ghoshal says the accompanying spike in traffic briefly killed … Continue reading “Flud (Quietly) Relaunches Its Android App”
Category: National
The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation
The Supreme Court’s ruling this week in Prometheus vs Mayo that medical tests relying on correlations between drug dosages and treatment are non-patentable portends a dramatic and frightening reduction in patent protection for innovations in the life sciences and bio-technology industries – and beyond. The Court held that San Diego-based Prometheus Laboratories’ patent claim for … Continue reading “The Supreme Court’s Bad Precedent for Innovation”
Celtra Brings Rich Media to Brands on Facebook, Sees Everything Going Mobile
What’s Facebook’s mobile strategy going to be? How are brands going to take advantage of the mobile medium? These are some of the biggest outstanding questions in the tech-business arena. We’re getting a glimpse of some of the answers this week—and a Boston startup is directly involved in helping brands navigate these issues. Celtra, a … Continue reading “Celtra Brings Rich Media to Brands on Facebook, Sees Everything Going Mobile”
‘Breakthrough’ in Quantified Health Sets Stage for Innovation Summit
It’s not often when a big local conference intersects with an important scientific breakthrough. It’s exciting when it happens. Attendees can feel that low-volt current of excitement that comes with realizing they are witnessing the dawning of a whole new industry. Maybe they’ll even become part of the lore around an event that becomes known … Continue reading “‘Breakthrough’ in Quantified Health Sets Stage for Innovation Summit”
Lockheed Martin’s India Innovation Program Offers Key IP, Licensing Insights
Last Friday marked the end of the five day long DST-Lockheed Martin India Innovation Growth Program workshop (LMIIGP) that took place in Goa, India, and brought together a group of fifty promising entrepreneurs and inventors. Organized by the Indian Department of Science and Technology, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), The … Continue reading “Lockheed Martin’s India Innovation Program Offers Key IP, Licensing Insights”
Grant Funding Helps Karyopharm Speed Lead Cancer Drug to Clinic
In January 2011, Natick, MA-based Karyopharm’s 12 employees learned that the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation would be awarding them $1 million in research funding—a giant sum considering most grants from non-profits are in the low- to mid-six-figure range. “One of the reasons it was such a substantial amount is that the grant program is focused on … Continue reading “Grant Funding Helps Karyopharm Speed Lead Cancer Drug to Clinic”
12 Investing and Business Gems from Avalon’s Kevin Kinsella
Current and former MIT students gathered at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, Tuesday night to hear one of San Diego’s most renowned venture investors, Avalon Ventures founder Kevin Kinsella, share insights from a long and adventurous career. Fresh off Avalon’s huge Zynga payout—the firm invested $5.3 million and saw the value of … Continue reading “12 Investing and Business Gems from Avalon’s Kevin Kinsella”
Paul Allen’s Big Bet to ‘Uncover the Essence of What Makes Us Human’
Following his second brush with cancer a couple of years ago, billionaire Paul Allen had some time to think about the legacy he’ll leave, beyond being the co-founder of Microsoft. Yesterday, he made clear that he wants to be the guy who helped spark new understanding of the human brain. “I’ve always been fascinated by … Continue reading “Paul Allen’s Big Bet to ‘Uncover the Essence of What Makes Us Human’”
Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom
Tech blogs typically cover startups in North America and Europe that want to be the next Facebook-style success, but the innovation ecosystem is far more diverse and far-reaching. Linda Rottenberg, CEO and co-founder of New York nonprofit Endeavor Global, has spent the last 15 years or so championing an effort to connect mentors and investors … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Linda Rottenberg on Global Tech Boom”
The Real Lessons of Solyndra
Having raised $1 billion in private equity investment and $500 million in U.S. federal loan guarantees before imploding, Fremont, CA-based solar panel maker Solyndra is now a political football. Finger-pointing and the assignment of blame are expected to continue throughout the year, leading up to the 2012 elections. Solyndra has the potential to become a … Continue reading “The Real Lessons of Solyndra”
Paul Allen Commits $300M to Expand Institute for Brain Science
Paul Allen is making one of the biggest bets of his life on brain science. The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft says he’s committing another $300 million of his fortune to the Allen Institute for Brain Science, a nonprofit research center he founded in Seattle in 2003. The new cash infusion—one of the largest private contributions … Continue reading “Paul Allen Commits $300M to Expand Institute for Brain Science”
Verve Raises $7M, Studies Mobile ‘Paradox’ for Old Media Customers
Verve Wireless has raised at least $7 million from investors in a new round of financing, according to a recent regulatory filing. Verve, which has headquarters both in Encinitas, CA, and Washington, D.C., also is addressing a fundamental challenge as it builds out its Web-based technology, which enables regional newspapers, broadcast stations, and other media … Continue reading “Verve Raises $7M, Studies Mobile ‘Paradox’ for Old Media Customers”
Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel
Coming on the heels of a fantastic, jam-packed Mobile Madness 2012 event last Wednesday here in Cambridge, MA, Xconomy is pleased to announce the official debut of our new Mobile Channel. The mobile sector—from apps to iPads—has been a growing part of our daily coverage. Our Mobile Madness conference, meanwhile, has been a mainstay in … Continue reading “Xconomy Launches Mobile Channel”
Y Combo-Backed HBS Startup Shoptiques Launches E-Commerce Site
Olga Vidisheva started Shoptiques during her second year at Harvard Business School to give shoppers online access to the curated inventory from independent boutiques around the world. She’s since generated some pretty serious interest—12,000 people on the private beta site’s wait list, to be exact. The site has officially opened up to the public today, … Continue reading “Y Combo-Backed HBS Startup Shoptiques Launches E-Commerce Site”
Boston’s OpenView Nabs $200 Million for Oversubscribed Third Fund
[Corrected 3/22/12, 5:40 pm. See below.] March is shaping up to be pretty sunny in Boston, both on the weather and the venture fundraising fronts. Boston-based OpenView Venture Partners is announcing today that it just closed a $200 million third fund, surpassing its initial $150 million target and securing all of its commitments in three … Continue reading “Boston’s OpenView Nabs $200 Million for Oversubscribed Third Fund”
Freshly Funded Integrate, steered by Skier and NFL Vet, Storms NYC
Ad technology startup Integrate, which offers a platform that helps advertisers manage campaigns across both on- and offline venues, announced today that it has raised $11 million in a Series B funding round. Comcast Ventures and Liberty Global led the round, with participation from Integrate’s original investor, Foundry Group. Integrate, which is headquartered in Denver, … Continue reading “Freshly Funded Integrate, steered by Skier and NFL Vet, Storms NYC”
OVP, Looking for a Home Run, Hits Bunt Single With Complete Genomics
OVP Venture Partners had one of its portfolio companies go public a little more than a year ago, so the Kirkland, WA-based firm had to have high hopes for the kind of home-run returns that can make up for a lot of misses in a portfolio. But now its investment in Mountain View, CA-based Complete … Continue reading “OVP, Looking for a Home Run, Hits Bunt Single With Complete Genomics”
Boston’s Deal News: Amazon Acquires Kiva, and Tech IPOs
A few big acquisitions for tech players colored the New England deals news this week: —Dublin-based pharmaceutical company Shire, which has operations in the Boston area, acquired San Francisco startup Ferrokin Biosciences for an upfront payment of $100 million and a potentially $225 million more in development and commercial milestones. Ferrokin is developing a drug … Continue reading “Boston’s Deal News: Amazon Acquires Kiva, and Tech IPOs”
Bizdom Relaunches with New Office in the Madison, New Logo, No ‘U’
The nonprofit Detroit-based accelerator Bizdom (no more U) has relaunched with new digs in the Madison Building downtown, a spiffy new logo and website, and a few tweaks to its business model. With the new branding, Bizdom is playing up its connection to Quicken Loans’ Dan Gilbert, who created the program in 2007 and remains … Continue reading “Bizdom Relaunches with New Office in the Madison, New Logo, No ‘U’”
Silicon Valley *Is* a Meritocracy
Of late, there has been talk that Silicon Valley is not a meritocracy, and that it is biased against women, black, and older entrepreneurs. I don’t believe this is true. I have lived and worked as a serial entrepreneur in the Valley for more than 15 years. Over the past couple of years, as I … Continue reading “Silicon Valley *Is* a Meritocracy”
Ariad and Merck Face Tough FDA Review of Sarcoma Pill
[Updated 3/20/12, 4:30 p.m. See below.] On Friday, investigators at the FDA released a report raising a serious question about a sarcoma drug co-developed by Merck and Ariad Pharmaceuticals that’s now up for approval: Does its modest effect on tumors justify its potentially toxic side effects? This afternoon an advisory panel to the FDA will … Continue reading “Ariad and Merck Face Tough FDA Review of Sarcoma Pill”
Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says
Developing the latest breakthrough drug just doesn’t pay these days as much as creating the hot new web app does. Private life sciences companies in Silicon Valley that got financing in the fourth quarter of 2011 had an average per-share value that was about 10 percent higher than their previous round of financing, which typically … Continue reading “Biotech Lagging Behind Go-Go Web Valuations, Survey Says”
Five Facts about Mendix, Another Cloud Enterprise App Startup
Take a look at Mendix and you’ll see some oft-buzzed-about themes. It’s a platform-as-a-service company that’s looking to disrupt the existing world of enterprise IT. Its technology is built around the cloud. And it’s located in Boston’s “Innovation District” Mendix was dreamt up by CEO Derek Roos as a means for employees at big companies … Continue reading “Five Facts about Mendix, Another Cloud Enterprise App Startup”
EMC-Isilon Acquires Storage Software Partner Likewise
One of the biggest recent acquisitions in the Seattle area is paying some more dividends today. EMC’s Isilon storage division, which was added to the IT behemoth in a $2.25 billion deal two years ago, is now acquiring Bellevue, WA-based Likewise Software. No price was given in the announcement from Likewise CEO Barry Crist, and … Continue reading “EMC-Isilon Acquires Storage Software Partner Likewise”
Amazon Buying Warehouse Tech Company Kiva Systems for $775M
Updated 3:30 pm Pacific Amazon.com is calling on armies of robots to help it get the most out of a rapidly expanding national distribution system—and those robots already work for some other well-known names in retail. The Seattle e-commerce pioneer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) announced Monday that it plans to buy Kiva Systems, a supplier of planning … Continue reading “Amazon Buying Warehouse Tech Company Kiva Systems for $775M”
Venture MI II Invests $15M in Wisconsin Early-Stage Fund
Venture Michigan Fund II announced today that it has made a $15 million investment in Venture Investors Early Stage Fund V, a Madison, WI-based operation with an office in Ann Arbor, MI that focuses on investing in startups spun out of technology from midwestern universities. Venture Investors is expected to make 15 to 18 investments in … Continue reading “Venture MI II Invests $15M in Wisconsin Early-Stage Fund”
Why WebMD Is History: The Next Generation of Web-Based Medicine
The healthcare industry has been waiting a long time for its “2.0” moment. As social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn exploded in the late 2000s, so did e-commerce, enterprise SaaS, and cloud services. Business models, features and strategies have all dramatically evolved in the past decade and the valuations of many IT companies have taken … Continue reading “Why WebMD Is History: The Next Generation of Web-Based Medicine”
Medivo Leverages Mobile Strategy to Get Ahead in Health Information
With the world awash in health IT startups, New York’s Medivo is battling to prove it is different from other startups in this sector. So on March 7, the company—which operates a Web and mobile platform that connects doctors to their patients—acquired NYC neighbor WellApps, which creates mobile apps for monitoring symptoms of serious intestinal … Continue reading “Medivo Leverages Mobile Strategy to Get Ahead in Health Information”
San Diego Tech Roundup: Givit, ID Analytics, and Rain on the Parade
—A steady rain is lingering this morning from the monster storm that blew through San Diego over the weekend. Also lingering is what you might call my “curiosity of the week:” Don Casey resigned as CEO of the San Diego-based West Wireless Health Institute, just two years after he was lured from Johnson & Johnson’s … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Givit, ID Analytics, and Rain on the Parade”
Kala Funnels $6.2M Into New Drugs for Eye and Lung Diseases
Mucus may be the butt of many a second grader’s jokes, but it actually plays a vital biological role—protecting our organs from harmful foreign particles by trapping them and shuttling them out of the body. Sometimes, though, mucus itself becomes the problem. In the lung disease cystic fibrosis, for example, super-thick mucus impedes breathing and … Continue reading “Kala Funnels $6.2M Into New Drugs for Eye and Lung Diseases”
Top 10 Quotes From Mobile Madness: Apple Vs. Facebook, OLPC, & More
Hello, I am a recovering Mobile Madness 2012 organizer. I’d like to give huge props to the 350+ people who attended and participated last week, and very special thanks to our speakers, sponsors, and host, Microsoft NERD. (The day is depicted in photos here.) It was a memorable afternoon indeed. So memorable, in fact, that … Continue reading “Top 10 Quotes From Mobile Madness: Apple Vs. Facebook, OLPC, & More”
Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?
Plenty of places in the world are messed up, but Europe has been near the top of the list lately. If all the horrible scenarios play out, this will be the year the euro collapses, the European Union fractures, and some economically advanced countries could go bust. Yet while the world financial system holds its … Continue reading “Biotech’s New Frontier: Europe?”
Xconomy Mobile Madness 2012: Total Mobility in Pictures
There may be fervor around college basketball this month, but we’d like to think we drum up some pretty intense excitement around the mobile industry in March. Xconomy held its fourth Mobile Madness forum on Wednesday at Microsoft’s New England Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA. Audience members packed in to hear the massively … Continue reading “Xconomy Mobile Madness 2012: Total Mobility in Pictures”
Quizzle: ‘Cracking the Nut’ of Online Personal Finance in a Down Economy
In its first year of operation, Detroit-based startup Quizzle, one of the many under the sprawling QuickenLoans umbrella, handed out free credit reports as a way to entice users. More than a million people signed up for the site. During Quizzle’s second year of operation, it began offering users products to help clean up their … Continue reading “Quizzle: ‘Cracking the Nut’ of Online Personal Finance in a Down Economy”
Ex-Vertica/HP Honcho Lynch Talks Next Steps, New Big Data Investments
“I’m a fighter. I’m only happy when I’m in some kind of battle.” That would be Chris Lynch, the former CEO of Vertica Systems, the Cambridge, MA-based data analytics firm acquired by Hewlett-Packard for some $300 million a year ago. Lynch is looking for his next battle right now, since he left HP and Vertica … Continue reading “Ex-Vertica/HP Honcho Lynch Talks Next Steps, New Big Data Investments”
OncoGenex Snags $50M for Prostate Cancer Drug Plan
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals decided it needed to spend more money on the final stage of clinical trials for its prostate cancer drug, so today it went out and raised a lot more cash. The Bothell, WA and Vancouver, BC-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]) said today it has raised $50 million through an underwritten stock offering. The company … Continue reading “OncoGenex Snags $50M for Prostate Cancer Drug Plan”
Former CEO Chris Lynch Out at Vertica/HP: What’s Next?
The golden handcuffs are off, it appears. Chris Lynch, the former CEO of Vertica, the big-data analytics company acquired by Hewlett-Packard a year ago, has left the company. The news was first reported by SiliconAngle this morning. It’s not a big surprise—CEOs leaving a year after being acquired is one of the more predictable things … Continue reading “Former CEO Chris Lynch Out at Vertica/HP: What’s Next?”
Life Sciences News Roundup: InflammaGen, HemaQuest, ImThera & More
A spate of funding deals were disclosed over the past week, including a sizable investment in San Diego’s Allylix, an industrial biotechnology startup. —San Diego’s HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals said it raised $13 million in an extension of its Series B funding round to support a mid-stage trial of its experimental drug for patients with sickle cell … Continue reading “Life Sciences News Roundup: InflammaGen, HemaQuest, ImThera & More”
Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?
I’ve been in Boston this week, attending Xconomy’s big Mobile Madness conference and hanging out with my colleagues in our Cambridge, MA, headquarters. For all the debate among startup entrepreneurs about whether Boston or Silicon Valley is a better place to start a company, I’ve been reminded during my visit that Boston has a huge … Continue reading “Bikes and Business: Can Cities Cycle Their Way To Prosperity?”
Peter Schultz on New Merck-Funded Institute: ‘We’re Getting Lots of Resumes’
Merck made big news in San Diego yesterday when it said it is committing $90 million over seven years to a new nonprofit drug discovery shop led by chemist Peter Schultz. I caught up with Schultz briefly yesterday by phone to gather more information about the institute, called the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr). … Continue reading “Peter Schultz on New Merck-Funded Institute: ‘We’re Getting Lots of Resumes’”
Groove Biopharma Joins Stellar Lineup at “Reinventing Biotech” Apr. 3
Groove Biopharma, one of the edgy biotech startups at Seattle’s Accelerator, could have easily raised $20 million based on the scientific goals it reached last year. That almost certainly would have been the case in 2005, 2006, or 2007. But since Groove hit its milestones in the post-downturn era, it pulled in $6 million and was … Continue reading “Groove Biopharma Joins Stellar Lineup at “Reinventing Biotech” Apr. 3″
The Greater Seattle Brain Science Cluster
[Update: 3/29/12 2:10 pm PT] Seattle has a lot of biotech talent, but not every major field of research is strong here, and I’d say it’s mostly an oncology, immunology, and infectious disease (global health) kind of town. Never in my time covering the local scene has it occurred to me think of Seattle a … Continue reading “The Greater Seattle Brain Science Cluster”
In Boston Life Sciences News: Akili, Kala, And Genocea
Drug developers and a new health-focused video game startup made the New England life sciences news this week. Yes, you read that correctly. —Akili Interactive Labs is hoping to be the first with a video game approved by the FDA as a medical device. The startup was founded by Boston’s PureTech Ventures and draws on … Continue reading “In Boston Life Sciences News: Akili, Kala, And Genocea”
Apptio Adds $50M to “War Chest,” Plans to Double Sales Bookings
Looks like those predictions about a boom in IT infrastructure companies might not just be idle talk. Apptio, a Bellevue, WA provider of IT management software for large companies, has raised another $50 million in financing to grow its worldwide footprint—a notable sum of cash for a Seattle-area tech company. The financing will help Apptio … Continue reading “Apptio Adds $50M to “War Chest,” Plans to Double Sales Bookings”
Dwellable’s Vacation Rentals, Built For iPad, Take On the Uglyweb
It’s amazing how many different industries are still wandering around somewhere in one of the desolate cul-de-sacs of Web 1.0—low-quality photos, weird tables, endless lists of links. Adam Doppelt, a co-founder of the restaurant-rating app Urbanspoon, ran into all of those hurdles when he was researching vacation rentals for a family trip. But it took … Continue reading “Dwellable’s Vacation Rentals, Built For iPad, Take On the Uglyweb”
How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong
One of the great dilemmas in the modern economy is balancing risk and reward, cost and benefit. That is true for investors, corporate managers, citizens, and elected officials. The financial crisis was caused by excessive risk taking by almost every player in the system. Investors stretched for return but didn’t understand the risks to which … Continue reading “How the NY Times Got the JOBS Act Wrong”
Demandware IPO Latest in Series of Boston Tech Breakouts
Ho-hum, another Boston-area technology IPO. This time it’s Demandware (NYSE: [[ticker:DWRE]]), the Burlington, MA-based digital retail and commerce firm. I am being ironic, because, like TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRIP]]) and Brightcove (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BCOV]]) before it, Demandware’s going public has not gotten as much in-depth attention from the press and innovation community as it probably should have. … Continue reading “Demandware IPO Latest in Series of Boston Tech Breakouts”
Medidata Gains Raves on Wall Street for Drug Development Tools
A molecular biologist and a urologist were sitting at a lab bench at Columbia Presbyterian hospital in New York in the mid-1990s musing about a problem they saw in drug development. It sounds like the beginning of a joke, but in fact it was the genesis of what turned out to be a good business … Continue reading “Medidata Gains Raves on Wall Street for Drug Development Tools”
Shire Shells Out $100M to Buy Ferrokin Biosciences
Shire, the Dublin-based pharmaceutical company with operations in the Boston area, is paying $100 million upfront for a little San Francisco company seeking to help patients get rid of excessive amounts of iron in the blood. Shire said today it is has agreed to pay $100 million upfront, plus another $225 million if future development … Continue reading “Shire Shells Out $100M to Buy Ferrokin Biosciences”
Quixey’s ‘Power Search’ Helps Users Weed Through Universe of Apps
The idea for Quixey, the search engine for apps, came from a simple problem. When co-founder Tomer Kagan was still the CEO of his last company, Your Logo Here, a colleague was looking for a password manager. Typing in “password vault” didn’t bring up anything useful. Kagan realized people needed a better way to find … Continue reading “Quixey’s ‘Power Search’ Helps Users Weed Through Universe of Apps”