Thanks to a $3.1 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the nonprofit Michigan Venture Capital Association announced it is accepting applications for two new programs designed to retain young talent and expand the state’s angel network. The Michigan Venture Fellows Program gives budding VCs the opportunity to spend 18 to 24 months in … Continue reading “MI Venture Capital Association Announces Two New Programs”
Category: National
Unlimited Abilities: A View from the MedtechVision Conference
We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our vision. —Ralph Waldo Emerson In a world thick with healthcare conferences, MedtechVision, held September 15-16 at the Rosewood Hotel in Menlo Park, CA, stood out, both for its quality of content and for its participants. “I hadn’t given any thought to the fact that it … Continue reading “Unlimited Abilities: A View from the MedtechVision Conference”
Backed by Eclectic Financiers, Acetylon Begins Trials of Cancer Drug
When Boston-based biotech startup Acetylon Pharmaceuticals began operations in 2008, it grabbed attention for having attracted a big-named backer: the Kraft Group, the Foxborough, MA, holding company founded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Acetylon ultimately raised nearly $40 million from Kraft, a group of unnamed individuals, and, most recently, the Leukemia & Lymphoma … Continue reading “Backed by Eclectic Financiers, Acetylon Begins Trials of Cancer Drug”
Complete Genomics, PacBio CEOs to Lead Off “Computing in the Age of the $1K Genome” Oct. 24
Complete Genomics and PacBio are two of the companies pumping out huge volumes of DNA data that needs to be kept on computers somewhere. So I figured it would be cool to get the leaders of both companies to sit down and talk about what they are doing to deal with one of their big … Continue reading “Complete Genomics, PacBio CEOs to Lead Off “Computing in the Age of the $1K Genome” Oct. 24″
AdverseEvents.com Seeks to Keep Track of Drug Side Effects the Way the FDA Never Could
Some powerful people in the pharmaceutical industry would like to see Brian Overstreet and his startup fall flat. Big pharma companies, on a few occasions, have told him to stop his spiel immediately, because they were afraid they could be put in a legally and ethically dubious position by hearing one more word. When I … Continue reading “AdverseEvents.com Seeks to Keep Track of Drug Side Effects the Way the FDA Never Could”
TechStars, Wetpaint, Intel: A 1-Minute Recap of Seattle Tech Headlines
—TechStars has upped its game in the incubator wars by adding a $24 million fund that will help it offer startups in the competitive program another $100,000 in financing, on top of the small stipends that founders get for the 12-week entrepreneurship bootcamp. The new money, which won’t take effect until next year’s classes, signals … Continue reading “TechStars, Wetpaint, Intel: A 1-Minute Recap of Seattle Tech Headlines”
Affectiva Opens Silicon Valley Office, Tracks Consumers’ Emotions Via Webcam
A Boston-area tech startup with a pretty bold vision is announcing its expansion to Silicon Valley today. Waltham, MA-based Affectiva, an MIT Media Lab spinout, is opening an office in Santa Clara, CA, where its CEO Dave Berman is based, along with other key members of the team. Affectiva, which has about 25 employees (most … Continue reading “Affectiva Opens Silicon Valley Office, Tracks Consumers’ Emotions Via Webcam”
Sequoia Capital’s Greg McAdoo on Consumer Web and Cleantech Trends, Boston Vs. New York, and Recruiting at MIT
Is there anything worse than a Silicon Valley VC coming to Boston to poach talent from the startup ecosystem? OK, that’s not really what Greg McAdoo is about. The Sequoia Capital partner was in town last weekend, in part for the Startup Bootcamp event at MIT (and related meetups), which featured talks by a number … Continue reading “Sequoia Capital’s Greg McAdoo on Consumer Web and Cleantech Trends, Boston Vs. New York, and Recruiting at MIT”
Smart Kitchens & Beyond: Intel’s New Research Partnership with UW Boosts “Pervasive Computing”
You reach for the peppers, dicing them to the perfect size for your famous homemade stir-fry. As the knife does its work, cameras mounted around your kitchen are watching. They log your knife technique and the size of the dice, while sensors at the stove relay the temperature when you add them to the mix. … Continue reading “Smart Kitchens & Beyond: Intel’s New Research Partnership with UW Boosts “Pervasive Computing””
San Diego’s Entropic Invests In, and Partners With, Cupertino’s Zenverge
San Diego semiconductor designer Entropic Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENTR]]) says today it has formed a strategic partnership with Zenverge, a Cupertino, CA-based chip design firm to work together on the next generation of multimedia products for home entertainment systems. In a separate release, Zenverge says it has closed a $20.5 million Series D round of financing … Continue reading “San Diego’s Entropic Invests In, and Partners With, Cupertino’s Zenverge”
SolarCity, Vidyo, Google+: The Bay Area By the Numbers
Time for our occasional index of venture funding, M&A, and other biztech-related deals from around the San Francisco Bay Area. If it’s got a number in it, we’ll try to report it. $275 million: The size of a Department of Energy loan guarantee being sought by SolarCity, the Foster City, CA-based provider of financing for … Continue reading “SolarCity, Vidyo, Google+: The Bay Area By the Numbers”
NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University
Wayne State University announced last week that one of its professors, Dr. Aloke Dutta, has received a $2.1 million grant for his work researching drugs that ease symptoms caused by Parkinson’s Disease. Dutta and his team aim to develop drugs with multiple ways of working to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and also to modify … Continue reading “NIH Awards $2.1M grant for Parkinson’s Research at Wayne State University”
San Diego’s Afraxis Gets NIH Support to Develop Compound for Rare Fragile X Syndrome
Afraxis will partner with the NIH to advance work on the San Diego company’s disease-modifying treatments for Fragile X syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that is the most common inherited form of mental retardation, according to a statement from the company today. The biotech’s lead program targets p21-activated kinase (PAK), a protein that regulates the … Continue reading “San Diego’s Afraxis Gets NIH Support to Develop Compound for Rare Fragile X Syndrome”
RXi Splits Into Two Public Companies After Adding Cancer Vaccine to Pipeline
Today, Worcester, MA-based RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RXII]]) announced that it will split into two publicly traded companies. The first, called Galena Biopharma, will focus on developing targeted cancer therapies and will be headquartered in Portland, OR. RXi will be spun off later this year and will continue to work on RNAi-based therapeutics—the company’s original mission when … Continue reading “RXi Splits Into Two Public Companies After Adding Cancer Vaccine to Pipeline”
Donovan Data Systems to Merge with MediaBank, Form MediaOcean
New York’s Donovan Data Systems agreed to merge with Chicago’s MediaBank to form a new company called MediaOcean, according to a press release. MediaBank and Donovan Data Systems both provide media management software for advertising agencies that deal with print, television, radio, and online ads. Through MediaOcean, the merged company plans to create a universal … Continue reading “Donovan Data Systems to Merge with MediaBank, Form MediaOcean”
Intuit Showcases New Apps, How San Diego’s Software Sector Could Come Together, OneRoof Energy Nails $50M, & More San Diego BizTech News
It was a busy week, with several meaty stories from San Diego’s tech front. Our Monday briefing is ready for your reading pleasure. —Jason Mendelson, a partner and co-founder of the Boulder, CO-based Foundry Group, talked about the factors that helped create a critical mass of new company formations and funding activity in Boulder’s software … Continue reading “Intuit Showcases New Apps, How San Diego’s Software Sector Could Come Together, OneRoof Energy Nails $50M, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Zeo Introduces Sleep Manager Mobile, Shifting Focus from Hardware to Sleep Management Apps and Integration
There’s no shortage of mobile apps for managing your workout plans or counting calories, but far fewer for managing and improving sleep, says Ben Rubin, co-founder and chief technology officer of Newton, MA-based Zeo. And he has reason to know. The company’s Personal Sleep Coach system has won the support of Regis Philbin (TV endorsement), … Continue reading “Zeo Introduces Sleep Manager Mobile, Shifting Focus from Hardware to Sleep Management Apps and Integration”
Xconomy VC Chat on Consumers, the Cloud, and Beyond, Plus 4 Cool Startups, Takes Place Tonight—Only 6 Tix Left
In one corner: Larry Bohn, General Catalyst Partners. Rich Levandov, Avalon Ventures. Jeff Fagnan, Atlas Venture. In the other corner: Apperian’s David Patrick. Tonight, starting at 6pm in downtown Boston, the VCs and startup CEO square off in Xconomy’s first event of the fall season, a venture chat called Consumers, the Cloud, and Beyond—New Rules … Continue reading “Xconomy VC Chat on Consumers, the Cloud, and Beyond, Plus 4 Cool Startups, Takes Place Tonight—Only 6 Tix Left”
Elevation Pharma Pulls in $17M to Advance Lung Drug Trial
San Diego-based Elevation Pharmaceuticals made headlines when it raised $30 million in January 2010, but it actually needed to hit some clinical goals to get all the money. Now it has hit one of those goals, and has earned the right to push further with a new aerosol drug for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Elevation … Continue reading “Elevation Pharma Pulls in $17M to Advance Lung Drug Trial”
200 Women and 5 Men: How Women in Bio’s Network Could Close the Gender Gap
Women have come a long way in the biotech business the past couple decades, no doubt. But if you have any illusions that the industry is nearing gender balance in 2011, then you haven’t seen what I witnessed a few days ago in a hotel lobby in Seattle. The gender balance issue jumped out at … Continue reading “200 Women and 5 Men: How Women in Bio’s Network Could Close the Gender Gap”
Genentech, ImmunoGen’s Souped-Up Antibody for Breast Cancer Passes Key Test
The evidence is mounting to prove the point that Genentech’s scientists have been trying to make for years—that a souped-up version of its top-selling antibody drug for breast cancer can be more effective in some cases than the original. Genentech, the South San Francisco-based unit of Roche, and its partner, Waltham, MA-based ImmunoGen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IMGN]]), … Continue reading “Genentech, ImmunoGen’s Souped-Up Antibody for Breast Cancer Passes Key Test”
U-M’s Faley on Entrepreneurial Programs’ Explosive Growth, and Ending the Midwestern Shame Game
“Entrepreneurialism is a virus that must be spread.” So said Samuel Zell 12 years ago as he and Anne Lurie (on behalf of her deceased husband Robert) gave the University of Michigan Ross School of Business $10 million to establish the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. Since then, the Institute has extended its reach beyond U-M, playing … Continue reading “U-M’s Faley on Entrepreneurial Programs’ Explosive Growth, and Ending the Midwestern Shame Game”
Turning the Social Network Inside Out: What the Changes at Facebook Mean For Apple and Google-and You
One of the most persistent criticisms of Facebook is that it’s trying to build a “walled garden” analogous to AOL’s dialup service in the 1980s and early 1990s. Blogger Jason Kottke said it in 2007. Tim Berners-Lee said it in Scientific American in 2010. Google’s Vint Cerf revived the meme earlier this week at an … Continue reading “Turning the Social Network Inside Out: What the Changes at Facebook Mean For Apple and Google-and You”
This Week’s Xconomy Report for WGBH: Batteries, Incubators, Drugs & More
We’re a few weeks into our partnership with WGBH Radio to provide a weekly roundup of the week’s technology and innovation news and how it’s affecting the economy and other corners of our lives. This week’s Xconomy Report, read by WGBH’s Bob Seay, covered big cleantech and startup incubator financings, as well as deals for … Continue reading “This Week’s Xconomy Report for WGBH: Batteries, Incubators, Drugs & More”
Xconomy Venture Chat on Monday: VCs Duke It Out, Startups Burst (Just a Few Tickets Left…)
We’re gearing up for our first Boston event of the fall: a chat with some prominent venture capitalists around the theme of “Consumers, the Cloud, and Beyond—New Rules for Innovation.” It’s happening this Monday from 6:00-8:00 pm in downtown Boston. We have just a few tickets left, so get yours today… I know what you’re … Continue reading “Xconomy Venture Chat on Monday: VCs Duke It Out, Startups Burst (Just a Few Tickets Left…)”
With $50M Deal, San Diego Company Combines PV Solar, Financing, and New Roof
One of South Korea’s largest conglomerates led a $50 million Series A financing for OneRoof Energy, a San Diego company with a leasing program that enables homeowners to install photovoltaic (PV) solar tiles on their roofs without paying upfront costs. The company says Hanwha International, part of the Seoul-based Hanwha Group, is getting a “significant, … Continue reading “With $50M Deal, San Diego Company Combines PV Solar, Financing, and New Roof”
Big Pharma Attempts to Extend Own Lifespan by Activating Sirtuins
Can drugs that supposedly “activate” a controversial target—sirtuin proteins—stop or even reverse the aging process? A new report this week said “No.” According to this report, published Wednesday night in Nature, sirtuin activators do not extend lifespan in roundworms and flies and earlier studies that said they did were flawed. Nonetheless, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) continues to … Continue reading “Big Pharma Attempts to Extend Own Lifespan by Activating Sirtuins”
Tokai Gets $23M, Eleven Therapeutics Hires New CEO, Ariad Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
This week’s New England life sciences news was dominated by area drugmakers. —Healthcare companies accounted for more than 75 percent of the $156.5 million brought in by Massachusetts startup companies in August, according to CB Insights FundingFlash. The overall monthly funding total has been shrinking since June, though. –Cambridge, MA-based prostate cancer drug developer Tokai … Continue reading “Tokai Gets $23M, Eleven Therapeutics Hires New CEO, Ariad Drug Advances, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
ZocDoc Adds $25M to Series C Funding
In August, New York-based ZocDoc raised $50 million in a Series C funding round from Russion billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global. Now the company—which allows patients in several states to book their doctors’ appointments online—can add another big name to its slate of investors. ZocDoc announced today that it has extended the Series C, raising … Continue reading “ZocDoc Adds $25M to Series C Funding”
FirstFuel Scores $2.4M to Put Toward Software for Remote Energy Audits
FirstFuel Software, a developer of energy auditing analytics technology for commercial buildings, announced today that it has nabbed $2.4 million in first round funding, led by Battery Ventures and Nth Power. The money will go to scaling and fueling customer adoption of FirstFuel’s software, which can profile the energy performance of buildings using data on … Continue reading “FirstFuel Scores $2.4M to Put Toward Software for Remote Energy Audits”
Visible Measures Sees $13M Series D, Goes After Social Video Advertising
What the heck is social video analytics and advertising? Whatever it is, Visible Measures has closed a Series D financing round worth $13 million, based on the strength of its software platform in that field. The Boston company, which started in 2005, has raised a total of more than $45 million to date. DAG Ventures … Continue reading “Visible Measures Sees $13M Series D, Goes After Social Video Advertising”
How to Build a Web Startup: Lean LaunchPad Edition
As part of our Lean LaunchPad classes at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and for the National Science Foundation, students build a startup in 8 weeks using Business Model Design + Customer Development. One of the problems they run into is building a website. If you’re an experienced coder and user interface designer you think nothing is … Continue reading “How to Build a Web Startup: Lean LaunchPad Edition”
Ambrx Grabs $24M Upfront in New Diabetes, Heart Failure Research Deal With Bristol-Myers
There’s lots of interest in the protein drug engineering crowd to come up with new-and-improved forms of biotech drugs, and today we’re seeing another example in a new partnership between San Diego-based Ambrx, and New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]). Under the deal, Ambrx said today it will get $24 million upfront, plus undisclosed milestone … Continue reading “Ambrx Grabs $24M Upfront in New Diabetes, Heart Failure Research Deal With Bristol-Myers”
Money Goes Mobile: Video from Intuit’s Innovation Gallery Walk
Wednesday was Investor Day at the Mountain View, CA, headquarters of Intuit, the 28-year-old consumer and business finance software giant. Most attendees were there to hear about the company’s fiscal strategy for 2012—and if that’s your cup of tea, there’s a recorded webcast of the meeting here. But Xconomy attended for a different reason—to see … Continue reading “Money Goes Mobile: Video from Intuit’s Innovation Gallery Walk”
Ariad Brings Third Cancer Drug Into Human Trials
Yesterday Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) began dosing patients in a trial of its third cancer drug, which the company believes may pack a double punch against the disease. The medicine, AP26113, inhibits two genetic targets found in some patients with solid tumors, particularly non-small cell lung cancer. The initial phase of the trial … Continue reading “Ariad Brings Third Cancer Drug Into Human Trials”
New York Life Sciences 2031: OrbiMed’s Sam Isaly on Genomics, Health Reform, and Biotech’s Future
Sam Isaly, the founder and managing partner of OrbiMed Advisors in New York, will bring a breadth of investing experience and range of perspectives to Xconomy’s first New York event—Life Sciences 2031, a panel discussion on October 13. OrbiMed operates healthcare hedge funds, private equity funds, and mutual funds, including the Eaton Vance Worldwide Health … Continue reading “New York Life Sciences 2031: OrbiMed’s Sam Isaly on Genomics, Health Reform, and Biotech’s Future”
Eleven Biotherapeutics Dials Up New CEO, Primes Lead Eye Drug for Clinic Next Year
There’s a running joke at Cambridge, MA-based Eleven Biotherapeutics. It shouldn’t be a surprise, since the company draws inspiration for its name from the 1984 rock mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” in which one of the dim-witted members of the band cranks up the amplifier to 11, because that’s louder than 10. At Eleven Biotherapeutics … Continue reading “Eleven Biotherapeutics Dials Up New CEO, Primes Lead Eye Drug for Clinic Next Year”
Orexigen’s Diet Drug Springs Back to Life, Independa Gets $1.6M, NuVasive Faces Big Judgments in Patent Dispute, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
San Diego life sciences research and development, the engine that drives innovation, got some new digs at Isis Pharmaceuticals, and J. Craig Venter started the digging for the construction of a new genomics research headquarters. But we didn’t have to go digging for news; our roundup begins now. —After meeting with federal regulators, San Diego’s … Continue reading “Orexigen’s Diet Drug Springs Back to Life, Independa Gets $1.6M, NuVasive Faces Big Judgments in Patent Dispute, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
The Immunex Impact, Calypso Gets Acquired, Women in Bio’s Kickoff, & More in Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week we had a so-small-it’s-scary acquisition of a local medical device company, along with some more encouraging news of a local biotech company entering its first clinical trial. —Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies agreed to be acquired by Palo Alto, CA-based Varian Medical Systems this week for $10 million upfront, plus undisclosed future milestone payments. This … Continue reading “The Immunex Impact, Calypso Gets Acquired, Women in Bio’s Kickoff, & More in Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Xconomist of the Week: Ben Elowitz Goes Deep with TV Gossip, Maps the Future of Media
What does “Jersey Shore” star Snooki have to do with the future of online media? Plenty, it turns out. That’s one of the surprising things I learned recently chatting with Ben Elowitz, the CEO of Seattle-based Wetpaint, a well-financed startup that’s about a year into its newest mission: Trying to reinvent how content is created … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Ben Elowitz Goes Deep with TV Gossip, Maps the Future of Media”
Getting Ready for an IPO Window: Venture Capital in the Northeast
An overriding story of the past several years has undoubtedly been the global economic volatility. Conditions in the stock markets have been unpredictable and therefore many venture capital firms have felt the need to reserve more capital for existing investments, postpone new investments and, in some cases, postpone raising new funds. While a number of … Continue reading “Getting Ready for an IPO Window: Venture Capital in the Northeast”
Sabet and Wilson Out at Twitter, Hirshland Out at Polaris, & More VC Comings and Goings
Catching up on an eventful week in Boston- and San Francisco-area venture capital personnel moves… —Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and Fred Wilson of Union Square Ventures are leaving the board of Twitter at the end of this month. Sabet and Wilson were early investors in the social-media giant, and there has been plenty of … Continue reading “Sabet and Wilson Out at Twitter, Hirshland Out at Polaris, & More VC Comings and Goings”
Salesforce.com Snaps Up Assistly in Race to Dominate Customer Service Technology
Salesforce.com, the San Francisco-based cloud business services giant, announced today that it has acquired Assistly, a two-year-old startup focusing on technology that helps companies track complaints and other customer feedback on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Web chat, and e-mail. Salesforce.com (NYSE: [[ticker:CRM]]) said it paid $50 million for Assistly, net of cash; … Continue reading “Salesforce.com Snaps Up Assistly in Race to Dominate Customer Service Technology”
Closure of Pier 38 “Death Trap” Looks Inevitable, But City Commits to Re-Open Tech Hub
Yesterday I had a chance to catch up with Jason Wong, the CEO of San Francisco-based Rereply and i5labs, who’s been a longtime tenant at the Pier 38 startup hub and has been closely involved in efforts over the past two weeks to stave off the facility’s impending closure. Wong attended a meeting last Friday … Continue reading “Closure of Pier 38 “Death Trap” Looks Inevitable, But City Commits to Re-Open Tech Hub”
Calorie Count, owned by The New York Times, Taps Technology from Startup iSpeech
When New York-based website Calorie Count wanted a way to set its app apart from the competition, co-founder and vice president Igor Lebovic literally talked up its latest feature. Calorie Count’s iPhone app uses speech-recognition technology supplied by iSpeech, a startup in Newark, NJ, to help dieters keep track of what they eat. While demonstrating … Continue reading “Calorie Count, owned by The New York Times, Taps Technology from Startup iSpeech”
Ning, Rearden, Adchemy, ArcSoft & More: The Bay Area Deals Roundup, By the Numbers
The venture funding and merger & acquisition news flies so fast in Silicon Valley that we have a bit of trouble keeping up, to be frank. We’re experimenting with different ways of bringing you the highlights. Today: a by-the-numbers list of the major deals announced over the past couple of days. $150 million—The reported value … Continue reading “Ning, Rearden, Adchemy, ArcSoft & More: The Bay Area Deals Roundup, By the Numbers”
U-M Prof Snags MacArthur Fellowship For Stem Cell Research
When Dr. Yukiko Yamashita’s cell phone rang with the news that she’d been named a MacArthur Fellow, she ignored the call. “Nobody important calls me on that phone, only my family,” Yamashita says. “I held the phone for 10 full seconds wondering if I should answer or not.” Deciding that it was a wrong number, … Continue reading “U-M Prof Snags MacArthur Fellowship For Stem Cell Research”
TechStars Raises $24M More, Offers Each Startup $100K; Founder David Cohen Talks “Quality Over Quantity”
The early-stage tech accelerator business just got even more competitive. Boulder, CO-based TechStars, which runs seed-stage mentorship programs for startups in Boulder, Boston, Seattle, and New York, announced today it has raised a new $24 million fund from a long list of investors that includes Foundry Group, IA Ventures, Avalon Ventures, DFJ Mercury, SoftBank Capital, … Continue reading “TechStars Raises $24M More, Offers Each Startup $100K; Founder David Cohen Talks “Quality Over Quantity””
Theraclone Enters Clinical World, With Flu Antibody That Might Be Handy in Pandemic
Theraclone Sciences has made a lot of news lately with its antibody discovery prowess, but now it’s getting to the point where the rubber hits the road in biotech—clinical trials. The Seattle-based biotech company, founded in 2005, is announcing today that it has started its first clinical trial. This study will look at an experimental … Continue reading “Theraclone Enters Clinical World, With Flu Antibody That Might Be Handy in Pandemic”
The Disrupt Experience
The decision to apply to TechCrunch’s Disrupt Battlefield competition wasn’t an easy one. TalkTo had been operating in stealth. We didn’t want to launch publicly, we wanted to launch successfully. Something changed once that application went forward. None of us knew if we’d even be selected as a finalist but we worked as if we … Continue reading “The Disrupt Experience”