Forty years ago, Al Bierkle, a salesman at Kelly Services, and Bill Bierkle, an IT employee at Chrysler, saw the future of data processing: bulky yet powerful machines that could perform tasks far more efficiently than humans could. Mainframe computers were starting increase in popularity, so the Bierkle brothers plunked down $1,200 a month to … Continue reading “DIVDAT: Pivoting Into a New Generation of Data Processing”
Category: National
IAC Subsidiary Proust Shutting Down At End of Month
Nearly two years after it was founded within Internet company IAC (Nasdaq: [[ticker:IACI]]) in New York, social scrapbook Proust.com will be no more. E-mails sent out Wednesday announced the website will shut down on Jan. 31. Proust, for now, is an online scrapbook that lets users selectively share personal stories along with photos and videos … Continue reading “IAC Subsidiary Proust Shutting Down At End of Month”
VC Fundraising Scorecard: General Catalyst, Excel, OpenView, & More
[Updated 1/5/12] The first week of the new year is a good time to take stock of where venture capital firms are in their fundraising progress. No question that unless you’re a top-tier firm—and even then, in some cases—raising a sizeable new fund has been very challenging. Back in August, I ran a summary of … Continue reading “VC Fundraising Scorecard: General Catalyst, Excel, OpenView, & More”
Report: Sermo Founders Off to New Company
Founders of Sermo, the Cambridge, MA-based provider of an online community for physicians, are off to a new health-focused Web startup. The news was first reported today at online publication Pharmalot, which noted Sermo CEO Daniel Palestrant’s departure. Sermo founder and chief medical officer Adam Sharp is also a founder of the new startup, Par8o, according to … Continue reading “Report: Sermo Founders Off to New Company”
Seattle Deals: Ubermind, iCopyright, Vizify
—Consulting firm Deloitte has acquired Seattle mobile developer Ubermind, the companies announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. Ubermind CEO Shehryar Khan and founder Donald Brady will join Deloitte Consulting as principals, according to Deloitte’s press release. On its blog, Ubermind says that Deloitte’s large footprint is a big opportunity for the smaller company, … Continue reading “Seattle Deals: Ubermind, iCopyright, Vizify”
Inspiration Bio Founders and Execs Inspired by New Boston Headquarters
When New York hedge fund manager John Taylor co-founded Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals in 2004, his main goal was to help his son, who suffers from the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia. So he and co-founder Scott Martin—a Texan who also has a child with hemophilia—set up a virtual biotech company and began pursuing new treatments for the disease. … Continue reading “Inspiration Bio Founders and Execs Inspired by New Boston Headquarters”
As Internet TV Soars, Verimatrix Software Keeps the “Pay” in Pay-TV
Since it was founded in 2000, San Diego-based Verimatrix has raised about $50 million in institutional venture funding and spent untold hours of software programming to address a relatively simple problem nagging the pay-TV industry for more than a decade. As Verimatrix CEO Tom Munro puts it, “We keep people from watching television without paying … Continue reading “As Internet TV Soars, Verimatrix Software Keeps the “Pay” in Pay-TV”
Coffee & Power Puts A Jolt of Creativity Into Crowdsourcing
After building a vast virtual world with a complex internal economy sustained by the labor of more than a million active users, what do you do for an encore? For Philip Rosedale, the founder and former CEO of Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, the answer was to try to recreate some of the … Continue reading “Coffee & Power Puts A Jolt of Creativity Into Crowdsourcing”
Isis, Biogen Strike Potential $299M Deal For Rare Spine Disorder Treatment
Isis Pharmaceuticals has found a new partner in Biogen Idec that’s betting a large amount of money on a new therapy for a rare spinal disorder in newborns. Weston, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) said today that it has agreed to work with Carlsbad, CA-based Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]) on an experimental antisense drug for … Continue reading “Isis, Biogen Strike Potential $299M Deal For Rare Spine Disorder Treatment”
2tor Elevates Chip Paucek to CEO, Shifts Headquarters to Maryland
Education technology startup 2tor in New York said Wednesday it appointed president and co-founder Chip Paucek as its CEO. John Katzman, the founding CEO, remains with the company as executive chairman. With Paucek’s appointment, 2tor’s headquarters shifts to its Landover, MD offices. The company will maintain its New York operations and also has offices in … Continue reading “2tor Elevates Chip Paucek to CEO, Shifts Headquarters to Maryland”
Novo Leads New $30M Round for San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals
San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals says today it’s raised $30 million in Series B funding, which is expected to carry the startup through its mid-stage trials for a new aerosol drug for treating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The fresh round was led by Denmark’s Novo Ventures life sciences fund, which keeps an office in San … Continue reading “Novo Leads New $30M Round for San Diego’s Elevation Pharmaceuticals”
Alnylam Gets First Hint of Effectiveness for RNAi Cholesterol-Lowering Drug
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals has been saying for a while that it needs hard data from clinical trials to prove its skeptics wrong, and today it’s coming out with an early hint of effectiveness with its RNA interference-based treatment for lowering cholesterol. Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) is announcing today that it has gotten some encouraging results … Continue reading “Alnylam Gets First Hint of Effectiveness for RNAi Cholesterol-Lowering Drug”
Loosen the Rules Stifling IPOs by Venture-Backed Startups
[Editor’s Note: We asked selected Xconomists a series of questions designed to zero in on the big issues of the year, including “What would you be willing to throw a punch over?”] What would I be willing to throw a punch over? Solving the small-cap IPO bottleneck … to unleash the job creating potential of … Continue reading “Loosen the Rules Stifling IPOs by Venture-Backed Startups”
The Boston Tech Year in Review: Endeca, RSA, and More
A lot has happened in the technology world in the past year. So let’s take a minute to reflect on the defining moments of 2011 and where we stand now, as a local tech community with increasingly global impact. This is by no means comprehensive, or even a summary of the most important stories of … Continue reading “The Boston Tech Year in Review: Endeca, RSA, and More”
Allozyne “Redistributes” Workforce After Scrapping Poniard Merger Plan
Seattle-based Allozyne has made a small set of job cuts after it was unable to pull the trigger on its plan to go public late last year, Xconomy has learned. Allozyne has let go some of its scientific staff, according to a source close to the situation. When asked how many jobs were eliminated, and … Continue reading “Allozyne “Redistributes” Workforce After Scrapping Poniard Merger Plan”
Amazon, Microsoft Expected to Make Waves in Mobile This Year
Mobile industry leaders are looking for big moves in 2012 from the Seattle area’s two technology heavyweights, taking the lead from a surge by Google’s Android operating system, according to a new survey from Issaquah, WA-based Chetan Sharma Consulting. Sharma’s 2012 Mobile Industry Predictions Survey, compiled from about 150 responses through the consulting firm’s global … Continue reading “Amazon, Microsoft Expected to Make Waves in Mobile This Year”
Xconomy is Looking for a Digital Media Intern to Join Our Cambridge Offices
Hey intern hopefuls, have you been on the hunt for a sweet media gig for the new semester? You’re in luck. Xconomy is looking for a rockstar intern to help out with a mix of editorial, social media, and event-related projects we’re initiating in the new year. On top of gaining professional Web and news … Continue reading “Xconomy is Looking for a Digital Media Intern to Join Our Cambridge Offices”
JeNu Biosciences Raises $1.5M for Ultrasound to “Put Good Things in Skin”
Seattle-based JeNu Biosciences has raised some new cash to go after the emerging market for ultrasound-based skin care devices. The company has pulled in $1.5 million from Seattle’s Second Avenue Partners and other angel investors, out of a round that is expected to be worth $3 million, says CEO Wayne Wager. JeNu has now raised … Continue reading “JeNu Biosciences Raises $1.5M for Ultrasound to “Put Good Things in Skin””
Edmodo’s K-12 Social Network Helps Teachers Connect with Students
Back in 2008, when Edmodo co-founders Nic Borg and Jeff O’Hara were still working in IT for Chicago-area school districts, they noticed a big problem. Teachers were increasingly trying to bring Web tools into the classroom, but they didn’t have a safe and secure way to collaborate with students online. (Clearly, Facebook wasn’t an option—and … Continue reading “Edmodo’s K-12 Social Network Helps Teachers Connect with Students”
SD BizTech Roundup: Qualcomm, Razer, Avalon’s Zynga Windfall, & More
Been on vacation? Get back up to speed with our end-of-the-holidays roundup of San Diego tech news. —Almost half of the top 50 venture-backed startups had at least one founder who was an immigrant, according to a study from the National Foundation for American Policy. Such findings led author Stuart Anderson, who also is executive … Continue reading “SD BizTech Roundup: Qualcomm, Razer, Avalon’s Zynga Windfall, & More”
Diabetes Drugs Could Cure Cancer
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”] Drugs for type 2 diabetes have the potential to become effective therapies for certain types of cancers. Tumor cells have increased energy needs, and starving them of … Continue reading “Diabetes Drugs Could Cure Cancer”
TechStars NYC Alum Wantworthy Got A $860,000 Year-End Funding Boost
New York’s Wantworthy, an online fashion wish list, raised some $860,000 according to a regulatory filing. The company wants to raise about $1 million in total for the round. Wantworthy was among the graduates of the New York TechStars summer 2011 accelerator program. Wantworthy, founded in 2010, developed a platform that lets users create lists … Continue reading “TechStars NYC Alum Wantworthy Got A $860,000 Year-End Funding Boost”
Aveo (Barely) Passes Study With Kidney Cancer Drug, Stock Falls
[Updated] Aveo Pharmaceuticals is starting the New Year with news that it has passed the most important clinical trial in company history, although it appears to have barely eked out the victory, which disappointed investors. Cambridge, MA-based Aveo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVEO]]) said today that its lead experimental drug reached its goal in a pivotal clinical trial … Continue reading “Aveo (Barely) Passes Study With Kidney Cancer Drug, Stock Falls”
VelQuest Bought by Accelrys for $35M
‘Tis the season for end-of-year acquisitions to be announced, now that everyone’s back at work. Hopkinton, MA-based VelQuest, a maker of pharmaceutical and medical device-related software, has been acquired by San Diego-based Accelrys (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACCL]]), the scientific R&D software firm, for $35 million in cash. VelQuest started in 1999 and is led by CEO and … Continue reading “VelQuest Bought by Accelrys for $35M”
Nurse Designs Staffing Tech for Efficiency-Starved Hospitals
When registered nurse Matthew Browning was working as a hospital supervisor a few years back, he often found himself frustrated by an all-too-common conundrum. Whenever his hospital was short-staffed, the only way he could find nurses willing to put in extra shifts was to call everyone one-by-one—a hassle that was only exacerbated by this country’s … Continue reading “Nurse Designs Staffing Tech for Efficiency-Starved Hospitals”
Merck Leads $10M Funding of HIV Diagnostics Firm Daktari
Cambridge, MA-based Daktari Diagnostics announced in late December that it has raised $10 million in financing from a syndicate of private and venture firms. The funding round was led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, a unit of Whitehouse Station, NJ-based Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]). Also participating in this funding round were Daktari’s existing investors, Norwich … Continue reading “Merck Leads $10M Funding of HIV Diagnostics Firm Daktari”
Counting Coups: Better, Fewer Deals in 2011 for Venture-Backed Cos.
2011 was a year of bigger deals and fewer exits for venture-backed companies, according to data being released today by Dow Jones VentureSource. VentureSource says that venture-backed companies netted $53.2 billion through a total of 522 deals of all kinds in 2011—mergers, buyouts, and IPOs. That was a 14 percent decline in the number of … Continue reading “Counting Coups: Better, Fewer Deals in 2011 for Venture-Backed Cos.”
Healthcare That Works
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”] Reinventing the absolutely dysfunctional healthcare delivery system in the U.S. It is a daunting idea, as it requires major changes in 100 years worth of doctor and … Continue reading “Healthcare That Works”
Smart Destinations Out to Make Big City Tourist Travel Family-Friendly
Boston has a pretty well-known cluster of tech companies—young and old—that are focused on aspects of travel like booking flights and hotels. Kayak, TripAdvisor, and ITA Software (now part of Google), just to name a few, fit that mold. But there’s another area player that’s helping customers to experience a city once they get there, … Continue reading “Smart Destinations Out to Make Big City Tourist Travel Family-Friendly”
All-Electric Transportation
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”] All-electric commercial boats, ships, railway engines, and aircraft. The hyper-convergence of energy generation, battery storage, electric vehicle systems development, and electric charging infrastructure has first focused commercially … Continue reading “All-Electric Transportation”
Technology That Finally Helps Learning
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?”] That technology can actually play a significant positive role in education. The false promises go back at least 100 years—to extravagant claims by Thomas Edison. Certainly “computers … Continue reading “Technology That Finally Helps Learning”
The Big Stories of 2011 at Xconomy San Francisco
The challenge of writing a year-end “top stories” post is that a list of headlines is too particular to illustrate what really happened over the last year. Sometimes the outlines of the big trends only become clear when you step back, look at the whole year’s output, and see what groupings naturally emerge. That’s why … Continue reading “The Big Stories of 2011 at Xconomy San Francisco”
Detroit in 2012: The Rebirth Story That’s For Real
I’ve been dithering over my task of writing a year-end piece for Xconomy. Partly because I’m not a huge fan of them, and partly because, when it comes to my thoughts about the future of Detroit, there is just so darn much to contemplate. Since I started this job in July, I have had the … Continue reading “Detroit in 2012: The Rebirth Story That’s For Real”
Alternative Online Payments: The Dream That Refuses to Die
[Editor’s note: As a New Year’s exercise, we asked a select group of Xconomists to answer this question: “What’s the craziest idea out there that just might succeed?” ] After nearly twenty years of failed attempts, I’m still a believer in the potential transformative power of the “crazy idea” of alternative Internet payment systems, particularly … Continue reading “Alternative Online Payments: The Dream That Refuses to Die”
Healthy Transgenic Foods
[Editor’s note: We asked a group of Xconomists to answer the following question: “If you could patent one thing, what would it be?”] Transgenic foods that are programmed and cultivated not so much to lower costs at the risk of ruining health and the environment, but the opposite—like a tomato that produces lots of Omega3 … Continue reading “Healthy Transgenic Foods”
The Top 10 Traffic-Getting Stories at Xconomy San Diego
A decade ago, when newspaper and magazine editors prepared their rundown of the year’s most important news stories, they really were just choosing the articles that they thought had the most impact. That was old media. Today, everything is measured and anything can be quantified—at least on the Internet. In cyberspace, people vote with their … Continue reading “The Top 10 Traffic-Getting Stories at Xconomy San Diego”
Xconomy Seattle’s Top 12 Life Sciences Stories of the Year
It’s Editor’s Picks time at the end of the year, which is a sure sign that your local journalists are looking to stick something on the site you can read during a slow week so we can spend time with our families. Seriously, this has been a fascinating and typically frenzied year for us at … Continue reading “Xconomy Seattle’s Top 12 Life Sciences Stories of the Year”
Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20ish Stories of 2011
‘Tis the season to reflect on the past year and take a look at some of Xconomy Boston’s top stories. As usual, these aren’t necessarily the highest-traffic stories (though in some cases they are). They are stories that exemplify what we are trying to deliver to our readers every day—narratives about the people, companies, and … Continue reading “Editor’s Picks: Xconomy Boston’s Top 20ish Stories of 2011”
Cure for Diabetes
[Editor’s note: We asked a group of Xconomists to answer the following question: “If you could patent one thing, what would it be?”] If I can only pick one, I’d patent a functional cure for diabetes—whether it’s an artificial pancreas, a treatment to spare beta cells, or a means to prevent insulin resistance. However it … Continue reading “Cure for Diabetes”
Bacteria to Do Our Bidding
[Editor’s note: We asked a group of Xconomists to answer the following question: “If you could patent one thing, what would it be?”] Broad claims covering delivery of therapeutics using engineered bacteria. Synthetic biology tools emerging in just the last few years have made this possible. The trick, of course, is precise control. If I … Continue reading “Bacteria to Do Our Bidding”
12 Big Questions for Seattle Tech in 2012
I don’t want to read too much into the arbitrary turn of the calendar, but it seems like we’re in the middle of a pretty interesting moment for Seattle’s technology scene. One of our mega-companies may be on the wane, while the other appears to be headed for much bigger things. The startup scene is … Continue reading “12 Big Questions for Seattle Tech in 2012”
Xconomy Storms NYC: Top Ten Topics in the Big Apple in 2011
Ever since Xconomy added New York to its stable of cities on April 1, we have found plenty of companies to write about that are making waves in tech, biotech, and cleantech. We’ve met tech entrepreneurs who’ve caught the fancy of New York’s thriving venture capital scene, and scientists in the bowels of Big Pharma … Continue reading “Xconomy Storms NYC: Top Ten Topics in the Big Apple in 2011”
Beyond the iPad to the hPad
[Editor’s note: We asked a group of Xconomists to answer the following question: “If you could patent one thing, what would it be?”] Two patents: a. A low-cost holographic pad: an “hPad,” which would sit on your desk and project three-dimensional fixed and moving images. It would include a touchscreen-like functionality. This would not only … Continue reading “Beyond the iPad to the hPad”
A Detroit Mom’s Quest to Breathe Innovation Into Young Minds
I’m fond of saying that what Detroit needs is a Cory Booker. But I need to amend that: What Detroit really needs is a few more people like Ida Byrd-Hill, the founder of Uplift Inc., a startup whose motto is “Utilizing intellectual property, real estate, and technology to lift people out of tragedy by reconstructing cities … Continue reading “A Detroit Mom’s Quest to Breathe Innovation Into Young Minds”
Seattle Rewind: AT&T-Mo, Google, Amazon, Angels & More
AT&T shook up a potentially drowsy holiday week with the news that it was abandoning its $39 billion bid for Bellevue, WA-based T-Mobile. Ma Bell and T-Mo’s parent, Deutsche Telekom, telegraphed the end of their deal a week earlier when they got a federal antitrust lawsuit suspended. It seemed for a while like maybe there … Continue reading “Seattle Rewind: AT&T-Mo, Google, Amazon, Angels & More”
Allozyne Raises More VC Cash, Looks to FDA Meeting After Poniard Deal Fizzles
Seattle-based Allozyne wasn’t able to go public this year, so it has fallen back on Plan B, tapping its existing venture capital backers one more time in a bid to create more value around its lead multiple sclerosis drug candidate. Allozyne, which has spent about $50 million since its founding in 2005 and was down … Continue reading “Allozyne Raises More VC Cash, Looks to FDA Meeting After Poniard Deal Fizzles”
TripAdvisor Post-IPO: Five Things We Learned From CEO Stephen Kaufer
Merry Christmas, Boston. You asked for it, and you got it. A big, publicly traded consumer tech company to put us on the map alongside the Silicon Valley bad boys and uppity New Yorkers. I present to you: TripAdvisor (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TRIP]]). Sure, we already have Zipcar (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ZIP]]), Carbonite (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CARB]]), iRobot (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IRBT]]), and … Continue reading “TripAdvisor Post-IPO: Five Things We Learned From CEO Stephen Kaufer”
Google Becomes Technology Partner with IncubateNYC Campaign in Harlem
Google has signed on as a technology partner with IncubateNYC’s campaign to establish a technology incubator in Harlem, says Marcus Mayo, co-founder of IncubateNYC. The group is competing to be chosen by the New York City Economic Development Corporation to fulfill a request for proposals for a new incubator to be established near 125th Street. … Continue reading “Google Becomes Technology Partner with IncubateNYC Campaign in Harlem”
WGBH Xconomy Report: TripAdvisor, Amazon, & More
Our partnership with the folks at WGBH continues as we join forces again this week to bring you the Xconomy Report. In this week’s innovation news, TripAdvisor goes public and independent, breaking ties with Expedia. Seattle-based Amazon.com makes plans for a Boston-area office, which will open in Cambridge early next year. And much more, including … Continue reading “WGBH Xconomy Report: TripAdvisor, Amazon, & More”
Beyond the Tablet Wars: Apple, Amazon, and the Cloud
Much has been written on the battle between Apple and Amazon. Certainly Steve Jobs’ passing has made us all reflect, and perhaps on a much deeper level than before, on the man and the empire he created. In many ways, the companies are more alike than they are different. What makes them both remarkable players … Continue reading “Beyond the Tablet Wars: Apple, Amazon, and the Cloud”