This is a story about what goes on under the hood of your smartphone or tablet device. It’s also about Yahoo, the troubled Santa Clara-CA based advertising and information giant. But Yahoo doesn’t make a single mobile gadget of its own. So what’s the connection? It turns out that Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]) has ambitious plans … Continue reading “Yahoo Challenges Apple with a Cocktail of Mobile Publishing Tools”
Category: National
New England’s Rising Biotech CEOs to Gather at April 4 Xconomy Event
The life sciences industry is booming in the Boston area. Witness some of our headlines just over the past few weeks: Flagship Ventures closed a $270 million fund to invest in new biotech companies; startups RaNA and Warp Drive Bio raised significant VC rounds; pharma giant Merck led a $10 million financing of diagnostics firm … Continue reading “New England’s Rising Biotech CEOs to Gather at April 4 Xconomy Event”
Monster Slashes 400 Jobs, Restructures for Profitability
Monster Worldwide (NYSE: [[ticker:MWW]]), the New York parent company of Maynard, MA-based Monster.com, the jobs and recruiting site, said in a regulatory filing that it has laid off about 400 employees, or 7 percent of its worldwide staff of 5,700. The layoffs include fewer than 100 job cuts in Massachusetts, according to the Boston Business … Continue reading “Monster Slashes 400 Jobs, Restructures for Profitability”
Google Search Plus Your World: An Offer You Can’t Refuse
I’ve been taking in Google’s recent release of “Search, plus your world” (or SPYW as the cool kids say) over the last several days, reflecting on what it means for Wetpaint and other media companies; but perhaps even more importantly, deeply understanding what it indicates about Facebook and Google themselves. As we all know by … Continue reading “Google Search Plus Your World: An Offer You Can’t Refuse”
Celgene Buys Avila for $350M, Gaining Promising “Covalent” Drugs
[Updated 1/26/12 8:30 am. See below.] When Avila Therapeutics’ CEO Katrine Bosley spoke with Xconomy in December, she predicted the oncology world would show “a lot of excitement” for drugs that inhibit an enzyme called Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk)—and in particular for Avila’s experimental compound in that category, AVL-292. Her words were prescient: Today Summit, NJ-based … Continue reading “Celgene Buys Avila for $350M, Gaining Promising “Covalent” Drugs”
San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More
The unsolicited $5.7 billion offer that Roche made for Illumina will no doubt dominate San Diego’s biotech news for weeks to come. We have it and more. —Switzerland’s Roche offered $5.7 billion, or $44.50 a share, for San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]] in a hostile bid disclosed yesterday. Roche’s bid to stake a claim in … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences Roundup: Illumina, Sequenom, Acutus, & More”
Theraclone, VLST Founders Form New Antibody Startup, V-Gene
Two of the scientific founders of a couple of Seattle’s best-funded biotech startups have come together in a new company that aims to create a valuable antibody drug candidates while burning through the least amount of venture capital possible. The new Seattle-based company, called V-Gene, is being started by combining a couple of technologies developed … Continue reading “Theraclone, VLST Founders Form New Antibody Startup, V-Gene”
Hadoop Meetup Feb. 15 Looks to Connect Big Data Community in Boston
Sometimes the most interesting gatherings have the strangest names. What does “Boston Hadoop Meetup Group” say to you? To me, it says “future of big data in Boston.” Hadoop is an open source data-analysis platform that is gaining popularity for helping companies and IT departments crunch huge amounts of information. The Hadoop meetup group in … Continue reading “Hadoop Meetup Feb. 15 Looks to Connect Big Data Community in Boston”
Constant Contact, Bluefin Labs, HP, & More Boston Dealmakers
An acquisition and startup financings made up the New England deals news this week. —Waltham, MA-based marketing software firm Constant Contact acquired the Boston startup CardStar, the developer of a mobile app for customer loyalty and rewards programs. The deal, whose terms were undisclosed, enables Constant Contact (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTCT]]) to expand its marketing offerings for … Continue reading “Constant Contact, Bluefin Labs, HP, & More Boston Dealmakers”
Something New for Shoppers in Downtown Detroit: Virtual Retail
Detroiters often grumble about the relative lack of shopping options downtown compared to other cities of similar size. Sure, there are boutiques here and there, as well as a handful of stores in the Renaissance Center and the Millender Center, but there is no Urban Outfitters; no American Apparel; no Macy’s. Somerset CityLoft, a pop-up … Continue reading “Something New for Shoppers in Downtown Detroit: Virtual Retail”
Intrepid Labs: Boston’s Newest Co-Working Spot for Maturing Startups
Boston has no place for “serious, venture-backed startups” to grow from five employees to 25 employees, akin to San Francisco’s RocketSpace, or New York City’s General Assembly, says Mark Kasdorf. Enter Intrepid Labs, the co-working space he recently established in the former digs of another co-working space (Dogpatch Labs) at 222 Third Street near Kendall … Continue reading “Intrepid Labs: Boston’s Newest Co-Working Spot for Maturing Startups”
How to Be A 100-Year Startup: Video from Evernote CEO Phil Libin
When most startups reach a certain age—seven years, maybe nine; certainly, by the time they get acquired or go public—they stop being startups. They get slow and cautious. They lose the will to wow customers with unconventional ideas. Evernote hasn’t reached that age yet. And CEO Phil Libin hopes it never does. In a video … Continue reading “How to Be A 100-Year Startup: Video from Evernote CEO Phil Libin”
Digital Media Center Brings Tech Players and Investors to Times Square
With a kind of candor that speaks of the motivation in the startup and investment communities, angel investor Jerry Neumann talked bluntly Tuesday evening about the companies he backs. “All of my entrepreneurs are irritating,” he said jokingly during a panel discussion at the Digital Media Center event held at Times Square in New York. … Continue reading “Digital Media Center Brings Tech Players and Investors to Times Square”
Amazon Looking to “Rapidly Grow” Digital Music Team
Now that it’s got a very Apple-like system in place—tablet computer paired with digital media—Amazon.com appears to be cranking up the volume on its online music service as well. The San Francisco office of Amazon’s a2z research and development subsidiary is chock full of job ads for people to work on the Amazon MP3 store … Continue reading “Amazon Looking to “Rapidly Grow” Digital Music Team”
Roche Makes $5.7B Hostile Takeover Bid for Illumina
San Diego-based Illumina, the market leading maker of DNA sequencing instruments, has just made it through a rough year, and now it may be entering its final chapters as an independent company. Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) said last night that it has gotten an unsolicited (that’s polite PR language for hostile) takeover bid from Switzerland-based Roche. … Continue reading “Roche Makes $5.7B Hostile Takeover Bid for Illumina”
Family Affair: Courtagen Applies Management DNA to Genomics Startup
Woburn, MA-based Courtagen Life Sciences’ acquisition of Medicinal Genomics, announced January 18, is less notable for the technologies that are being merged than for the people who are coming together on the management team. Courtagen’s CEO is Brian McKernan, who co-founded the company in 2009 with his brother, Brendan, who is the startup’s president. Medicinal … Continue reading “Family Affair: Courtagen Applies Management DNA to Genomics Startup”
NY Angels Pledge 50 Tickets for Xconomy’s Feb. 1 Venture Forum
We’re just a week away from Xconomy’s first big New York City event, Xconomy Forum: New York’s Venture Emergence. And the New York Angels have stepped up to sponsor admissions for 50 NYC startups. Most of these free tickets will be distributed through the city’s startup incubators, but we have 10 to hand out ourselves … Continue reading “NY Angels Pledge 50 Tickets for Xconomy’s Feb. 1 Venture Forum”
Affymax Prepares to Mount Challenge to Amgen Anemia Drug Monopoly
Affymax shocked the world when an FDA advisory committee recommended last month that its anemia drug was good enough to earn a spot on the U.S. market. Now the Palo Alto, CA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AFFY]]) is making all sorts of moves behind the scenes that will determine how big a bite it will take out … Continue reading “Affymax Prepares to Mount Challenge to Amgen Anemia Drug Monopoly”
EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather”
If you were in the business of supplying heating oil in the Northeast, do you think it would be useful to know if a big winter snowstorm is likely to arrive with sub-zero temperatures in Massachusetts next month? How would fire chiefs in the brushy backcountry of Southern California react if they knew the odds … Continue reading “EarthRisk Figures Odds in Long-Range Forecasts of “Extreme Weather””
Angry at the Genome
In 2004, I was an enthusiastic postdoctoral researcher in Eric Lander’s lab at the Broad Institute, with the job I had dreamed of since I was 10 years old. Growing up in Paducah, KY, I read Isaac Asimov’s The Genetic Code. And while I understood nothing of its meaning, I fell in love with the … Continue reading “Angry at the Genome”
Meet the 13 New TechStars Boston Startups
The cool thing about TechStars is that it is often surprising. The startup accelerator and seed-stage investment firm, which runs programs in four cities around the U.S., announced its newest class of Boston entrepreneurs (the fourth so far) last night. And while I’ve heard of a couple of the startups, most of them are brand … Continue reading “Meet the 13 New TechStars Boston Startups”
Detroit Startup Takes a 2.0 Approach to Capturing, Sharing Wedding Memories
Brett deMarrais had only been to one wedding in his life—his cousin’s—before he launched his company in 2010. “I saw that they didn’t have a videographer, and I found out the reason why was because of the price,” deMarrais says. “My cousin always regretted that decision.” Like so many entrepreneurs before him, deMarrais had a “there must be … Continue reading “Detroit Startup Takes a 2.0 Approach to Capturing, Sharing Wedding Memories”
“Vulture” Capital? Far From It
They say the first casualty of war is the truth. Based upon recent events in the U.S. presidential elections, it looks like the truth is a casualty in politics as well. Whether out of desperation, ignorance, or political convenience, current and former contenders for the Republican presidential nomination have been questioning the long-term economic value … Continue reading ““Vulture” Capital? Far From It”
Burgess, Cormier, Kane, and Lynch Join Mobile Madness Lineup on March 14
The speaker list for Mobile Madness 2012 keeps getting better and better. I’m still plugging away at the agenda, but wanted to post a quick update here. Boston’s premier conference on mobile software and devices, if I do say so myself, takes place the afternoon of March 14 at Microsoft NERD in Kendall Square. The … Continue reading “Burgess, Cormier, Kane, and Lynch Join Mobile Madness Lineup on March 14”
Producteev Launches Windows App to One-Up Competition in Task Management
New York’s Producteev released on Tuesday the first Windows desktop version of its task management software in an effort to become more ubiquitous than its rivals. Producteev’s software lets users who work collaboratively organize, update, and see who is responsible for getting specific jobs done. The platform can be accessed via mobile apps, the Web, … Continue reading “Producteev Launches Windows App to One-Up Competition in Task Management”
Amazon Boosting Game Teams in Seattle, CA with Social & Mobile Focus
Amazon.com’s cloud-computing services already power some of the biggest names in online gaming. Its new Kindle Fire tablet and app store are giving game publishers a critical new sales channel. And now, the e-commerce pioneer appears to be getting more serious about publishing its own games. Over the last few months, Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) has … Continue reading “Amazon Boosting Game Teams in Seattle, CA with Social & Mobile Focus”
Apptopia Hopes to Bring Broker Flair To Mobile App Marketplace
The vast majority of mobile applications in the marketplace aren’t coming from well-established businesses, but experimental developers. The apps can even accrue a good user following, but those developers don’t exactly have the skills or desire to build a business around their creations. “It’s laughable how many times I’ve heard, ‘I didn’t get into this … Continue reading “Apptopia Hopes to Bring Broker Flair To Mobile App Marketplace”
Eric Schmidt-Backed Slice Helps Users Track Their Online Purchases
Slice, the online purchase-tracking site backed by heavy hitters including Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt and Playdom founder Rick Thompson, started as a research project. While looking for a new business venture, company founders and Scott Brady, Harpinder Madan, and Eric Botto took a close look at the e-commerce industry and the massive amount of … Continue reading “Eric Schmidt-Backed Slice Helps Users Track Their Online Purchases”
Report: Gilt Layoff Rumors Confirmed, Two Top Execs Depart
Even the hottest companies suffer growing pains, as evidenced by the recent layoffs at Gilt Groupe, the flash-sales site that raised a remarkable $138 million in a Series E financing earlier this year and later bought troubled daily-deals site BuyWithMe. After weeks of rumors, Gilt’s CEO Kevin Ryan told AllThingsD that Gilt has cut 10 percent of … Continue reading “Report: Gilt Layoff Rumors Confirmed, Two Top Execs Depart”
Vertex Vows to Fight On With Alios Drugs in High-Stakes Hepatitis C Race
Vertex Pharmaceuticals went from king of the hill in the treatment of hepatitis C to yesterday’s news in about six wild months. But while many on Wall Street say Vertex’s big drug will soon become obsolete, Vertex and its small partner in South San Francisco have quietly put themselves in position to defend a big … Continue reading “Vertex Vows to Fight On With Alios Drugs in High-Stakes Hepatitis C Race”
Novo Nordisk Adds Diabetes Research to Seattle Immunology Team
Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest maker of diabetes treatments, is increasing its bet on Seattle’s biomedical research community. Denmark-based Novo said today it is establishing a new center with 20 scientists in Seattle who will conduct research into type 1 diabetes. This new group will be housed in South Lake Union alongside Novo’s team of … Continue reading “Novo Nordisk Adds Diabetes Research to Seattle Immunology Team”
Millennium Wins FDA OK for New Velcade, Looks to Fend Off Onyx
Millennium is the house that Velcade built, and today it’s gotten the green light to start marketing what it considers to be a new and improved version of the hit drug for multiple myeloma. The Cambridge, MA-based cancer drug developer, part of Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals, said today it has gotten clearance from the FDA to … Continue reading “Millennium Wins FDA OK for New Velcade, Looks to Fend Off Onyx”
Hewlett-Packard Expands to Cambridge via Vertica’s “Big Data” Center
There’s a new big tech company in town. In fact, it’s arguably the world’s biggest technology company (by revenue), and it’s joining the ranks of IBM, EMC, Microsoft, Google, and, most recently, Amazon, in expanding to the Boston-Cambridge area. Palo Alto, CA-based Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: [[ticker:HPQ]]) has set up a new office in Cambridge, MA. The … Continue reading “Hewlett-Packard Expands to Cambridge via Vertica’s “Big Data” Center”
Joyent, TRUSTe, Mykonos: Bay Area BizTech by the Numbers
Time once again for our irregular, data-driven roundup of local deals, M&A, and other news, from biggest to smallest. The truth is, it’s been a slow week since our last local deals roundup on January 17. $2.89 billion—The total amount invested in venture-backed companies in the San Francisco Bay Area in the fourth quarter of … Continue reading “Joyent, TRUSTe, Mykonos: Bay Area BizTech by the Numbers”
San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More
—Venture capitalists invested $269 million in 23 deals in the San Diego area during the last three months of 2011, according to the MoneyTree Report from the National Venture Capital Association, PwC, and Thomson Reuters. That was almost a 20 percent gain in dollars, but a 28 percent slide in deal count from MoneyTree data … Continue reading “San Diego Tech Roundup: Venture Capital, Tealium, Qualcomm, & More”
Tableau Software to Add 300 to Staff After Near-Double Sales Growth
Tableau Software, the Seattle-based data visualization company that started as a Stanford University spinoff, says it plans to hire some 300 employees this year after ending 2011 with nearly double revenue growth. The company, which views itself as “a future IPO prospect,” says its hiring plans include an expansion of its San Francisco Bay Area … Continue reading “Tableau Software to Add 300 to Staff After Near-Double Sales Growth”
Q&A: What DFJ Gotham Sees in E-Commerce Plays Like Moms’ Site Totsy
When New York-based e-commerce site Totsy raised a $5 million Series A in late 2010, the startup gained the expertise of two of New York’s best-known venture capital groups: Rho Ventures and DFJ Gotham Ventures, which led the round. Since then, the site—which holds limited time “flash sales” of merchandise for parents and children—has grown … Continue reading “Q&A: What DFJ Gotham Sees in E-Commerce Plays Like Moms’ Site Totsy”
Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting
Mark Twain used to toss around a saying about three kinds of lies. There are lies, damned lies, and statistics. This week in biotech, we saw some statistics that could lead some people to get a false impression that everything is just peachy in biotechland. If you measure the state of life science innovation by … Continue reading “Biotech Is Raising More Cash, But Don’t Be Fooled: Startups are Hurting”
Infinity Offers Hint Of Effect With Pancreatic Cancer Drug
Infinity Pharmaceuticals released some preliminary data last June that suggested it may be onto something for pancreatic cancer, and now it has gathered a bit more evidence to support its case. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) is announcing results today from a small study of 16 patients that suggest its experimental once-a-day pill, … Continue reading “Infinity Offers Hint Of Effect With Pancreatic Cancer Drug”
Report: UCSF Chancellor Proposes Autonomy in State University System
[Updated: Noon, 1/21/12] UCSF could end up being a much more independent institution if chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann gets her way. That’s according to a story today in the San Francisco Chronicle, which reported on a proposal Desmond-Hellmann put forward this week to University of California regents, who were meeting at UC Riverside. The plan would … Continue reading “Report: UCSF Chancellor Proposes Autonomy in State University System”
Finsphere Adds $7.3M, Vodafone Ventures Board Member
Bellevue, WA-based Finsphere has added $7.3 million in fundraising and a board member from Vodafone Ventures, according to a new SEC filing. The new money, which appears to include the sale and exercise of some options, adds to a total of $3.95 million that Finsphere raised in related equity financings last year. Finsphere, founded in … Continue reading “Finsphere Adds $7.3M, Vodafone Ventures Board Member”
Finnish Startup Playmysong Raises Seed Round, Opens NYC Office
Finland’s Playmysong said in a press release it raised a seed round, $350,000 according to a spokesman, led by startup accelerator Lifeline Ventures and opened a New York office this month. The company plans to also set up shop in San Francisco in February. Playmysong’s Apple iOS and Web app lets users request songs to … Continue reading “Finnish Startup Playmysong Raises Seed Round, Opens NYC Office”
Genzyme, Veracyte Strike Deal to Market Thyroid Cancer Diagnostic
Veracyte has been gaining momentum the past few months with a new molecular diagnostic for thyroid cancer, and today it’s taking another step ahead by forming an alliance with Genzyme, the maker of a common drug for treating the disease. South San Francisco-based Veracyte said today that it has formed a global co-promotion deal with … Continue reading “Genzyme, Veracyte Strike Deal to Market Thyroid Cancer Diagnostic”
In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning
As early stage biotech startups advance their drug candidates into pre-clinical development, many must decide at some point whether to start working with a big pharmaceutical or biotech partner to continue to pursue their program through clinical trials. It’s no small decision, and a topic of increasing industry interest, especially since initial public offerings (IPOs) … Continue reading “In Life Sciences Partnerships, You Must be Smart from the Beginning”
Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future
There is hardly a more important topic to society than the future education. So I’m really looking forward to hosting a Tweetchat later today on education and the future. My guest will be John Seely Brown (@jseelybrown), the technology visionary who previously served as chief scientist of Xerox and also director of Xerox PARC, the … Continue reading “Tweet Chat Today with John Seely Brown on Education and the Future”
Boston’s Top 10 VC Deals of Q4: Warp Drive, Rapid7, & More
We’ve recently reported on venture capital deal trends from last quarter—for example, Massachusetts regained its No. 2 ranking behind California and ahead of New York in dollars and deals—but let’s take a closer look at some of those deals. Of the Boston area’s 10 biggest venture investment deals from the fourth quarter of 2011, six … Continue reading “Boston’s Top 10 VC Deals of Q4: Warp Drive, Rapid7, & More”
The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try
Once upon a time, there was a magical innovation called RSS, for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication. It freed news articles, podcasts, and other content from their original homes on the Web and allowed news junkies to follow their favorite publications and blogs through story streams called news feeds, which could be bundled … Continue reading “The 10 Social News Apps You Need to Try”
Millennium, Looking to Fend Off Onyx, Awaits FDA Word on New Velcade
The drug that made Millennium into a biotech power is on the verge of getting a subtle but meaningful upgrade, just in time to help the company fend off a serious new competing therapy from South San Francisco-based Onyx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONXX]]). Cambridge, MA-based Millennium, the cancer drug unit of Takeda Pharmaceuticals, is awaiting word … Continue reading “Millennium, Looking to Fend Off Onyx, Awaits FDA Word on New Velcade”
Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World
[[Correction: 11:20 am ET]] It’s never been easy to make a buck in biotech venture capital, but there used to be more predictability and logic to it, according to Clarus Ventures’ Nick Galakatos. You’d invest a few million, or tens of millions, and push a new drug or device toward some scientific validation in a … Continue reading “Clarus Ventures Adjusts to Unpredictable Biotech World”
MoneyTree Report: Seattle Venture Dollars Hit 7-Year Low Last Year
The amount of venture financing poured into Seattle-area companies didn’t keep pace with strong growth nationally last year—in fact, it was quite the opposite. That’s according to the latest MoneyTree Report, from the National Venture Capital Association and PricewaterhouseCoopers, which shows venture investment in Seattle region dropping to $508 million in 2011. That’s the lowest figure … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report: Seattle Venture Dollars Hit 7-Year Low Last Year”