[Updated 8/30/11, 1:25 pm. See below.] The way to think about San Diego’s Ortiva Wireless is that it serves as a kind of accelerator. The reason the company exists comes down to the fact that the world is going wireless, the mobile device is moving into the center of our lives, and bandwidth congestion is … Continue reading “Aiming at Constrained Bandwidth, Ortiva’s Technology Improves Video Streaming”
Category: National
E La Carte Orders Up $4M More for Restaurant Tech
Boston-to-Silicon Valley transplant E la Carte has raised $4 million in new funding, according to a report in TechCrunch. The round was led by Lightbank. The startup previously raised more than $1 million in angel capital from investors including John Landry, Roy Rodenstein, Dave Balter, Dave McClure, Joshua Schachter, and Paul Buchheit. E la Carte, … Continue reading “E La Carte Orders Up $4M More for Restaurant Tech”
Spongecell, Backed by Eric Schmidt, Squeezes Social Media and Video Into Banner Ads
Ben Kartzman wants banner ads to do more than sit and wait to be clicked. As common as that mode of marketing has become, he believes his company, Spongecell, can more efficiently engage the public by weaving rich content—video, social media, or interactive features—into typically idle ads. “We don’t think static ads should exist anymore,” … Continue reading “Spongecell, Backed by Eric Schmidt, Squeezes Social Media and Video Into Banner Ads”
SEOmoz, Jobs, Zillow: Your 1-Minute Guide to the Past Week in Seattle Tech
Rand Fishkin, the CEO of Seattle search-marketing software company SEOmoz, is known for his extensive blog posts that lift the curtain on running a startup company. But the amount of transparency he showed recently wowed even longtime observers, as Fishkin laid out an extremely open tale of a possible new round of venture capital. We … Continue reading “SEOmoz, Jobs, Zillow: Your 1-Minute Guide to the Past Week in Seattle Tech”
New Social Networking Site in Detroit Aims to Cultivate Community Leadership
Wade Solomon is an Information Technology project manager for General Electric, an adjunct faculty member for the University of Phoenix in Information Systems and Technology, and an instructor at Kaplan University. In his spare time, he speaks at conferences teaching teens the fundamentals of video game development and animation using an application called Scratch. He … Continue reading “New Social Networking Site in Detroit Aims to Cultivate Community Leadership”
Black Coral’s Rob Day Talks Cleantech By Way of IT, Why Evergreen Solar’s Bankruptcy Isn’t the End, and Boston’s Energy Future
Two years ago, we took a close look at Boston-based Black Coral Capital, just as Rob Day was joining the newly formed, cleantech-focused private equity firm as partner. Since then, both the Day and Black Coral names have shown up as part of investments in some innovative cleantech plays in Boston—several that go beyond traditional … Continue reading “Black Coral’s Rob Day Talks Cleantech By Way of IT, Why Evergreen Solar’s Bankruptcy Isn’t the End, and Boston’s Energy Future”
Apple, Y Combinator, Flite: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News
The earthquakes and storms stayed on the opposite coast last week, leaving the Bay Area to focus on what it does best—churning out new ideas and new startups. To wit: —Y Combinator, the famed venture incubator in Mountain View, CA, held its semi-annual Demo Day. (Demo Days, to be precise, since the 63 startups had … Continue reading “Apple, Y Combinator, Flite: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News”
The Startup Genome Compass
What makes startups succeed or fail? More than 90 percent of startups fail, due primarily to self-destruction rather than competition. For the less than 10 percent of startups that do succeed, most encounter several near death experiences along the way. Simply put, while we now have some good theory, we just are not very good … Continue reading “The Startup Genome Compass”
MP3Tunes Likes Sound of Court Ruling, PureForge Raises $4.5M, Qualcomm Backs AliveCor, & More San Diego BizTech News
Managing complexity was a recurring theme at a global conference on data mining and predictive analytics held in San Diego last week, and sometimes it’s a recurring theme here at Xconomy as well. We’ve pulled together a lot of disparate elements for this roundup, for example. Your briefing begins now. —In a ruling with broad … Continue reading “MP3Tunes Likes Sound of Court Ruling, PureForge Raises $4.5M, Qualcomm Backs AliveCor, & More San Diego BizTech News”
SEOmoz’s Disappearing VC Round: Transparency on Another Level
One of the most well-documented entrepreneurial sagas out there just got even more interesting. Rand Fishkin, the co-founder and CEO of Seattle search-marketing firm SEOmoz, has updated his extremely transparent journey toward a possible second venture capital round with a disappointing final note: The $24 million deal fell through at the last moment, after a … Continue reading “SEOmoz’s Disappearing VC Round: Transparency on Another Level”
Maveron Promotes Former Zynga Exec
Andrew Trader, an early executive at social-game juggernaut Zynga, has been promoted to venture partner at Maveron, the consumer-focused venture capital firm of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Trader started working with Maveron as an entrepreneur in residence since last fall. Trader was part of what’s been called the founding team at Zynga, where he focused … Continue reading “Maveron Promotes Former Zynga Exec”
Adimab Inks Collaboration Deals with Biogen Idec, Novo Nordisk
Lebanon, NH-based Adimab, a provider of human antibody discovery technology, announced today that it has formed discovery collaborations with Weston, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and Danish firm Novo Nordisk. Each pharmaceutical company will use the Adimab technology to identify human antibodies against two targets. The specific targets and the dollar terms of the deals … Continue reading “Adimab Inks Collaboration Deals with Biogen Idec, Novo Nordisk”
Zymeworks Snags $187M Deal With Merck to Discover Multi-Pronged Antibodies
Merck has made plain that it needs to elevate its game in biotech drug development, and that means turning to partners for help. The latest chapter in this ongoing story is now unfolding at a little company called Zymeworks in Vancouver, BC. Zymeworks is announcing today it has secured a partnership with Whitehouse Station, NJ-based … Continue reading “Zymeworks Snags $187M Deal With Merck to Discover Multi-Pronged Antibodies”
Anti-Lean Startup: Yottaa Yearns for Big, Fast Growth by Hiring Global Workforce
Lean startup, schmean startup. There’s more than one way to build a Web company. Just ask Coach Wei, the founder and CEO of Yottaa, a two-year-old tech startup in Cambridge, MA. Yottaa (pronounced sort of like the green Jedi master) makes software tools to help business websites run faster, monitor their performance, and generate sales … Continue reading “Anti-Lean Startup: Yottaa Yearns for Big, Fast Growth by Hiring Global Workforce”
The Fall of Pfizer: How Big is Too Big for Pharma Innovation?
There are big companies out there—Apple, Google, Amazon—that most people today would consider innovative developers of new products. But can a company that seeks to create new drugs get too big to innovate? Is there something about life sciences that requires it to stay small if it wants to create? The question has been on … Continue reading “The Fall of Pfizer: How Big is Too Big for Pharma Innovation?”
Lantos Nabs $4.1M, Adds New CEO
[Updated 8/29/11 6:40 pm. See below.] Cambridge, MA-based Lantos Technologies, an imaging technology startup, has brought in $4.1 million in a round of equity funding from 17 investors, according to an SEC filing. The funding was led by return Lantos investor Excel Venture Management and included previous backers Catalyst Health Ventures and Mass Medical Angels. The MIT spinout … Continue reading “Lantos Nabs $4.1M, Adds New CEO”
Dendreon Wins FDA OK for Atlanta Provenge Factory, Completing National Network
Seattle-based Dendreon has stumbled in early sales and marketing of its new prostate cancer drug, but the company has gone 3-for-3 in its effort to build a national network of manufacturing centers for the novel product. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said today it has received FDA clearance to start producing sipuleucel-T (Provenge) from a new factory … Continue reading “Dendreon Wins FDA OK for Atlanta Provenge Factory, Completing National Network”
EnergyHub Gets $14.5M in Series B Round to Power Its Play in Home Energy Efficiency
A startup out to make homes more energy efficient continues to draw investor support. Brooklyn’s EnergyHub said in a press release Thursday it raised $14.5 million in a series B funding round that included Acadia Woods, .406 Ventures, the New York City Investment Fund, and Physic Ventures. EnergyHub makes software and systems for energy management … Continue reading “EnergyHub Gets $14.5M in Series B Round to Power Its Play in Home Energy Efficiency”
What Comes After Flickr? The Future of Photos in the Cloud
It’s unclear how much damage Hurricane Irene will deal out as it travels up the Eastern Seaboard this weekend, but in the British Virgin Islands, it’s already caused one notable loss. Lightning from the storm sparked a fire that destroyed the home of Sir Richard Branson, who lost thousands of irreplaceable photographs in the blaze. … Continue reading “What Comes After Flickr? The Future of Photos in the Cloud”
Buzzient Snaps Up $1.1M to Put Toward Social CRM Software, Talent
Boston-based Buzzient, a maker of software enabling businesses to use social media to more effectively keep tabs on their customers, has taken in $1.1 million in equity based funding. CEO Timothy Bernard Jones says the financing is an inside round, led by his own seed fund TBJ Investments. Other investors are TiE Angels Boston, Buzzient … Continue reading “Buzzient Snaps Up $1.1M to Put Toward Social CRM Software, Talent”
Verizon’s Software Beachhead in Boston: The Story Behind CloudSwitch and Terremark
OK, I had to ask: Did Ellen Rubin tell Amazon’s Jeff Bezos to piss off? “No comment,” says Rubin, with a laugh. We were talking about her startup, Burlington, MA-based CloudSwitch, getting bought by Verizon (NYSE: [[ticker:VZ]]) yesterday for an undisclosed sum—and being integrated into the New York City telecom giant’s Terremark division. It turns … Continue reading “Verizon’s Software Beachhead in Boston: The Story Behind CloudSwitch and Terremark”
Steve Jobs Calling: The Stuff of Customer Service Legend
Kevin Pedraja will be the first to admit he was just spouting off. Back in 2000, after an infuriating runaround with Apple about cracks in the plastic case of his shiny new Power Mac G4 Cube, Pedraja finally lost it and faxed a letter to Steve Jobs, threatening to use his professional PR skills to … Continue reading “Steve Jobs Calling: The Stuff of Customer Service Legend”
Buddy Media Attracts World’s Top Brands With Facebook-Management Platform
In February, the Facebook page for the popular snack brand Pretzel Crisps had drawn only 6,800 fans. So Jason Harty, director of field and interactive marketing for the brand, launched a campaign on Facebook offering a dollar-off coupon to anyone who became a fan. In two weeks, the fan base grew to 13,700 for Pretzel … Continue reading “Buddy Media Attracts World’s Top Brands With Facebook-Management Platform”
Y Combinator’s Summer 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief, Part 2
The Y Combinator startup incubator program in Mountain View, CA, is getting so big—63 companies presented at Demo Day this Tuesday, about half of them on the record—that we couldn’t squeeze summaries of even the on-the-record subset into a single article. Part 1 of our YC S11 debrief appeared yesterday and covered the first half … Continue reading “Y Combinator’s Summer 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief, Part 2”
Genomatica Files for IPO, Tandem Diabetes Raises $12M, Zogenix Looks to Raise Almost $50M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
The big news for San Diego life sciences companies over the past week fell into two categories, raising money and winning regulatory approval. Either way, it’s all good news. —Genomatica, which genetically engineers microorganisms to produce industrial chemicals from renewable raw materials, has applied to raise $100 million through an IPO. The proceeds would be … Continue reading “Genomatica Files for IPO, Tandem Diabetes Raises $12M, Zogenix Looks to Raise Almost $50M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Xconomist of the Week: Sakti3’s Sastry on How to Succeed in Cleantech
Xconomy readers are no doubt familiar with Ann Marie Sastry. She’s the co-founder of Sakti3, a next-generation lithium-ion battery development company, and a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan. Sakti3’s battery has already attracted deep-pocketed investors such as Khosla, General Motors, and Beringea. In April, the company’s solid-state batteries made the MIT Technology Review’s … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Sakti3’s Sastry on How to Succeed in Cleantech”
Shire Wins Approval for Rare-Disease Drug Developed At Boston-Based Unit
[Updated 8/25/11 12 p.m. See below.] Today the FDA approved icatibant (Firazyr), a drug made by Shire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SHPGY]]) to treat a rare disease called hereditary angioedema. The drug, which Shire picked up in its 2008 acquisition of Germany-based Jerini, was developed for the U.S. market by Shire’s Human Genetic Therapies unit in Lexington, MA. Hereditary … Continue reading “Shire Wins Approval for Rare-Disease Drug Developed At Boston-Based Unit”
CloudSwitch Bought by Verizon as Wireless Giant Moves Into the Cloud
Some interesting news in the world of startups and big cloud providers today. Verizon Communications announced it has acquired CloudSwitch, a Burlington, MA-based software startup, for an undisclosed price. CloudSwitch will be combined with Verizon’s Terremark IT services division, the company said, as it tries to take a “step forward in defining the enterprise cloud.” … Continue reading “CloudSwitch Bought by Verizon as Wireless Giant Moves Into the Cloud”
Faqden, Using MIT Artificial Intelligence Research, Aims to Turn Mobile Phone Into Vocab Coach for SAT Prep
Looking back on my SATs, I felt like I might have been at a disadvantage having prepped for the test with a book, as opposed to a living, breathing coach or instructor with a bit more personalization. Sunnyvale, CA-based Faqden, whose founding team includes Harvard and MIT alums, has set its sight on combining the … Continue reading “Faqden, Using MIT Artificial Intelligence Research, Aims to Turn Mobile Phone Into Vocab Coach for SAT Prep”
Vizibility Raises $1.3 Million for Personal Web Branding Product
New York-based Vizibility announced today that it raised a follow-on seed round of $1.3 million, bringing its total capital raised to over $2 million. The company, which struggled to raise seed funding after it was founded in 2009, was oversubscribed on this round. Vizibility is a tool that allows users to control how they appear … Continue reading “Vizibility Raises $1.3 Million for Personal Web Branding Product”
Thane Kreiner, the Biotech-Entrepreneur-Turned-Educator With 1 Billion People on His Mind
Thane Kreiner, in the prime of his professional life at 50, could be doing pretty much whatever he wants in Silicon Valley’s biotech industry. But about a year ago, he took a job that offered him a big cut in salary, no stock options, and no performance bonuses. The lure? The chance to help build … Continue reading “Thane Kreiner, the Biotech-Entrepreneur-Turned-Educator With 1 Billion People on His Mind”
SEOmoz’s Fishkin: The Most Transparent Fundraising Saga Ever?
Rand Fishkin is not what you’d call a shy person. As the co-founder and CEO of Seattle search-marketing firm SEOmoz, Fishkin is a near-constant presence on almost any content channel you can think of. It’s good for his company, but unlike some other Internet oversharers, Fishkin also puts a premium on high-quality content. So, when … Continue reading “SEOmoz’s Fishkin: The Most Transparent Fundraising Saga Ever?”
Seattle Genetics’ Market Debut, Pathway Gets Bought, Theraclone’s Latest Trick Against HIV, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Seattle Genetics made waves both locally and nationally this week with an FDA approval that’s a historic step for the antibody drug business, and raises some interesting questions about the economics of cancer. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) nailed down FDA approval of its first product on Friday. The drug, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) is designed to … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics’ Market Debut, Pathway Gets Bought, Theraclone’s Latest Trick Against HIV, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Zillow Finds Profit in First Earnings Since IPO
[Updated at 4 pm Pacific] Real-estate website operator Zillow (NASDAQ: [[ticker:Z]]), which went public in late July, reached profitability in the second quarter on revenues of $15.8 million, more than double the sales of a year earlier. The Seattle company’s net income for the quarter was $1.6 million. A year earlier, it had lost $2 million. … Continue reading “Zillow Finds Profit in First Earnings Since IPO”
Ash Stevens: Developing Chemicals Proudly Made in the USA
Forty-nine years ago, Wayne State University unveiled its brand new Detroit Research Park, located across from the John C. Lodge Freeway not far from the football stadium. The ceremony was held in front of a crowd of dignitaries that included Mayor Jerome Cavanagh. One of the first such endeavors of its kind in the nation, … Continue reading “Ash Stevens: Developing Chemicals Proudly Made in the USA”
San Diego’s Awarepoint Raises $27M in Series F—As in Final—Venture Round
San Diego-based Awarepoint, which has developed real-time tracking technology for the healthcare industry, says today it has raised $27 million in a Series F round of financing led by Silicon Valley’s Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The company says a new investor, San Francisco’s Top Tier Capital Partners, joined in the round, along with existing … Continue reading “San Diego’s Awarepoint Raises $27M in Series F—As in Final—Venture Round”
San Diego’s Genomatica, a Pioneer in Industrial Biotechnology, Files for IPO
San Diego-based Genomatica, an industrial biotech that uses engineered microorganisms to produce high-value chemicals in fermentation tanks, has submitted plans for an initial public offering, according to a regulatory filing today. The underwriters include Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Jefferies & Company, and the company hopes to someday trade under the ticker symbol GENO. … Continue reading “San Diego’s Genomatica, a Pioneer in Industrial Biotechnology, Files for IPO”
Y Combinator’s Summer 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief, Part 1
Y Combinator unleashed its latest class of startups on the world yesterday at its summer Demo Day in Mountain View. The famed venture incubator, which provides mentorship, networking, investor access, and a modest cash stipend in return for an equity stake in each company, admitted a record 63 startups this time around. That’s up from … Continue reading “Y Combinator’s Summer 2011 Demo Day: The Definitive Debrief, Part 1”
Springpad Announces Facebook Integration for Tracking Friends’ Likes and Accessing Them When You Need Them
Spring Partners CEO and co-founder Jeff Janer has previously referred to his Charlestown, MA-based company’s service as the “anti-Facebook: a place to focus not on your social network but on yourself and all the tasks and information you have to manage.” Today Spring is announcing that Springpad, its online notebook designed to function as a … Continue reading “Springpad Announces Facebook Integration for Tracking Friends’ Likes and Accessing Them When You Need Them”
ToutApp, Back from Silicon Valley, Aims to Make Repetitive E-mails Easier
Fresh from a three-month stint in California, Tawheed Kader, founder and CEO of New York’s ToutApp, is back home to build the ranks of his startup and pursue his next round of funding. Last Wednesday he and the other graduates from this summer’s 500 Startups business accelerator program in Mountain View, CA, showed off their … Continue reading “ToutApp, Back from Silicon Valley, Aims to Make Repetitive E-mails Easier”
Confident Technologies Adds New Capabilities to Its Network Security Software
Curtis Staker and Roman Yudkin have been busy in the 16 months since they officially launched Confident Technologies of Solana Beach, CA—using salvaged computer security software originally developed by Portland, OR-based Vidoop. As I explained last year, the suburban San Diego company has developed an alternative to the security protocol that requires an online user … Continue reading “Confident Technologies Adds New Capabilities to Its Network Security Software”
Inrix’s $37M Led July Equity Deals in WA; Varolii, Lucid Commerce, PayScale, Yapta Follow
Traffic-data company Inrix‘s $37 million investment round easily outpaced all other deals to top July’s $93 million tally of Washington state equity financing deals in technology, cleantech and life sciences, according to data compiled by our partners at CB Insights. Two companies tied for second place with $8 million, while PayScale came in fourth and Yapta’s … Continue reading “Inrix’s $37M Led July Equity Deals in WA; Varolii, Lucid Commerce, PayScale, Yapta Follow”
HubSpot Buys OneForty, Cambridge Diagnostics Startups Nab Funding, Hopper Closes $8M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
This week we’ve seen financing news for a mix of New England IT and life sciences startups. —Massachusetts startups raised $250.5 million across 34 deals in July, down from about $564.7 million the month before. The July drop in funding is a pattern we’ve observed before, thanks to data from our partner CB Insights, provider … Continue reading “HubSpot Buys OneForty, Cambridge Diagnostics Startups Nab Funding, Hopper Closes $8M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
How Google+ Could Transform Healthcare & Medicine
This post was co-authored by Rich Whalley, an associate at CBT Advisors. What could Google do if it had access to everyone’s health data? You’re probably already thinking a few things: 1. There’s no way I’m giving Google my personal health data. 2. Didn’t Google already try to do this with Google Health? 3. Won’t this … Continue reading “How Google+ Could Transform Healthcare & Medicine”
Venture Financing for MI Firms Down More Than 41 Percent
Venture capital investment in Michigan-based startups is down 41 percent this year compared to 2010, according to a report released yesterday by the Michigan Venture Capital Association (MVCA). Between January and August 2011, Michigan-based startups had raised $72.5 million in VC financing, compared to $123 million for the same period in 2010, and $91 million for … Continue reading “Venture Financing for MI Firms Down More Than 41 Percent”
Flite Is Out to Build a Better Widget For the Internet Ad Industry
By early 2009, Widgetbox was a company on life support. The startup ran a platform that allowed developers to build and distribute small software applications called widgets that could be dropped into consumer or enterprise websites. But the three-year-old San Francisco firm was nearly done in by the triple whammy of the recession (which meant … Continue reading “Flite Is Out to Build a Better Widget For the Internet Ad Industry”
Cartera Commerce Eyes Local Merchants to Drive Card-Linked Loyalty Program Business
Lexington, MA-based Cartera Commerce got started in 2005 under the name Mall Networks, as a provider of online malls where credit card holders and airline frequent flyers could earn rewards for buying goods from a collection of brand name merchants. That was before group buying and the financial crisis of 2008 happened. Both of which … Continue reading “Cartera Commerce Eyes Local Merchants to Drive Card-Linked Loyalty Program Business”
San Diego’s Michael Robertson, MP3tunes, Claim ’99 Percent’ Win in Fight Over Cloud Music
A federal judge in New York has largely rebuffed a request for summary judgment in a copyright infringement case that Capitol Records and its parent EMI Music Group filed in 2007 against MP3tunes, the San Diego-based provider of cloud-based music services. MP3tunes founder Michael Robertson, who previously founded San Diego’s MP3.com (and became a pariah … Continue reading “San Diego’s Michael Robertson, MP3tunes, Claim ’99 Percent’ Win in Fight Over Cloud Music”
GSK and Unilever Among Early Adopters of BioLeap’s Technology for Creating New Molecules
Last year, consumer-products giant Unilever had a problem. The company wanted to make a meaningful impact in the ultra-crowded category of anti-aging cosmetics, but to do so, it had to come up with entirely new methods for fighting wrinkles. So it turned to Pennington, NJ-based startup BioLeap, which has developed a technology platform that helps … Continue reading “GSK and Unilever Among Early Adopters of BioLeap’s Technology for Creating New Molecules”
Microsoft, Medify, Evo Media: Your 1-Minute Week in Seattle Tech Headlines
Hewlett-Packard‘s surprise exit from the mobile computing business roiled the tech world last week—and its effects will be wide-ranging for a long time. Here in the Seattle area, the change cements Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) as “the vital new underdog” in mobile computing, as Xconomy’s Wade Roush wrote in the latest edition of his weekly column. … Continue reading “Microsoft, Medify, Evo Media: Your 1-Minute Week in Seattle Tech Headlines”