New companies struggling to hire fresh talent may find help in the form of a nonprofit organization that debuted last Wednesday in New York. Venture for America says it will match a select group of college grads with early-stage companies, particularly in cities that face employment challenges. “Our main goal is to create U.S. jobs,” … Continue reading “Venture for America Recruiting College Grads for Startup Jobs in Detroit, Providence, and More, Says Founder”
Category: National
Assistly’s Pricing Gamble: A Case Study in Freemium
At last week’s True University startup school event at Berkeley, Alex Bard, CEO and co-founder of San Francisco-based Assistly, moderated a session on freemium business models; his panel of startup veterans spent an hour delving into the pros and cons of offering free products as a way to drum up new business. It turns out … Continue reading “Assistly’s Pricing Gamble: A Case Study in Freemium”
Basho Charges Ahead, With Focus On Enterprise and The Guy Who Wrote the Book (or Theorem) on Databases as Board Member
Earlier this month, Don Rippert made a major career change, going from his gig as chief technology officer of technology consulting firm Accenture to Cambridge, MA-based database software maker Basho Technologies, where he joined as CEO. “I wanted to really focus on the technology, and I thought this would give me a chance to do … Continue reading “Basho Charges Ahead, With Focus On Enterprise and The Guy Who Wrote the Book (or Theorem) on Databases as Board Member”
CareFusion Gets Exclusive 5-Year Deal for ResMed Ventilators
Two of San Diego’s biggest medical device companies, CareFusion (NYSE: [[ticker:CFN]]) and ResMed (NYSE: [[ticker:RMD]]), today announced a five-year agreement that gives CareFusion exclusive rights to distribute two ResMed non-invasive ventilators and accessories in the United States. ResMed said the deal enables it to use CareFusion’s extensive sales network of U.S. hospitals, long-term acute care … Continue reading “CareFusion Gets Exclusive 5-Year Deal for ResMed Ventilators”
DuPont Scoops Up “Silicon Ink” Maker Innovalight
One of the many tasks confronting the energy industry, if we’re to have any hope of sidestepping a climate catastrophe, is to dramatically increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cells, so that more of the sun’s energy can be converted into electricity. Sunnyvale, CA-based Innovalight has developed a material it calls “silicon ink” that’s helping in … Continue reading “DuPont Scoops Up “Silicon Ink” Maker Innovalight”
Qualcomm’s GestureTek Deal Signals New Possibilities for Qualcomm Atheros
Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the San Diego wireless technologies giant, said today it has acquired certain assets related to gesture recognition technology from Sunnyvale, CA-based GestureTek—a move that points to new capabilities at its new Atheros unit. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. GestureTek, founded in 1986, specializes in machine vision technology that enables … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s GestureTek Deal Signals New Possibilities for Qualcomm Atheros”
Massive $112 Million Venture Round Pumps Up Expectations for Airbnb
Apparently, the world is full of people who own homes or condos but would rather rent them out than actually live in them. And it has an equal number of people (perhaps the same ones) who’d rather bunk in someone else’s home when traveling than stay in a hotel. That’s the basis for the burgeoning … Continue reading “Massive $112 Million Venture Round Pumps Up Expectations for Airbnb”
EnVivo, Backed by Fidelity Biosciences, Tests New Weapon Against Alzheimer’s
When Eli Lilly stopped developing an Alzheimer’s compound a year ago due to side effects and lack of effectiveness, some experts expressed doubt about a similar drug being developed by Watertown, MA-based EnVivo Pharmaceuticals. Those doubts may have intensified last week, when pharmaceutical giant Lilly released more data on the drug, called semagacestat, which is … Continue reading “EnVivo, Backed by Fidelity Biosciences, Tests New Weapon Against Alzheimer’s”
How Scientists and Engineers Got It Right, and VCs Got It Wrong
Scientists and engineers as founders and startup CEOs is one of the least celebrated contributions of Silicon Valley. It might be its most important. ESL, the first company I worked for in Silicon Valley, was founded by a PhD in math and six other scientists and engineers. Since it was my first job, I just … Continue reading “How Scientists and Engineers Got It Right, and VCs Got It Wrong”
Inrix Lands $37M, Plans to Step on the Gas Expanding Global Traffic Data
[Updated at 2:10 pm] Traffic data provider Inrix, born out of the team that developed Microsoft’s SYNC in-car software system with Ford, plans an aggressive global expansion and a public-market debut “sooner rather than later” after landing a $37 million round of investment led by top Silicon Valley venture capitalists. That’s the word today from … Continue reading “Inrix Lands $37M, Plans to Step on the Gas Expanding Global Traffic Data”
CloudBees Closes $10.5M More, Opens Boston Office
Bring on the bees…or is it the B? CloudBees, a software startup setting up headquarters in Boston, said today it has received $10.5 million in Series B financing led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Previous investor Matrix Partners, which led the startup’s $4 million A round back in November, also participated in the new financing. CloudBees … Continue reading “CloudBees Closes $10.5M More, Opens Boston Office”
New York Entrepreneurs Pitch VCs on “FinTech” Startups
On Friday, more than 70 venture capitalists and other investors braved a New York City heat wave, and made their way to the midtown office of financial-services giant UBS for the first ever FinTech Innovation Lab demo day. The lab was a 12-week long program for startups that are developing new technologies to serve the … Continue reading “New York Entrepreneurs Pitch VCs on “FinTech” Startups”
Life Sciences Firms Grab VC Dollars, ViaSat-1 Ready for Launch, EarthRisk Offers 40-Day Forecasts, & More San Diego BizTech News
While venture capital activity remained relatively constant in year-over-year funding for San Diego companies, most of the capital went to local life sciences companies. It was a big week for VC news, and our briefing begins now. —A regional breakout of venture activity from the MoneyTree Report shows that 29 startups in San Diego received … Continue reading “Life Sciences Firms Grab VC Dollars, ViaSat-1 Ready for Launch, EarthRisk Offers 40-Day Forecasts, & More San Diego BizTech News”
The Man Behind the Magic
This past week was truly a “magical” one for me. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the hall of fame basketball star, brilliant entrepreneur, and generous philanthropist joined my venture capital firm, Detroit Venture Partners, as our fourth partner. Spending the day with Earvin reveals something much more than his legendary stats and accomplishments, however. His rarified level … Continue reading “The Man Behind the Magic”
Glympse’s $7.5M Leads June Deals in WA
Glympse’s $7.5 million venture capital haul topped the list of tech, biotech, and cleantech equity deals in Wahingtion state last month, according to data compiled by our partners at CB Insights. Founded by former Microsofties, Glympse is a “social GPS” offering that allows users to broadcast their whereabouts in real time, kind of like a … Continue reading “Glympse’s $7.5M Leads June Deals in WA”
Bay State Startup Funding Bubbles Up to $564.7 Million in June
The summer heat wave has begun. No, I’m not talking about the weather—I’m referencing the $564.7 million that Massachusetts startups raised in 38 equity-based financings in June. Fundraising remained steady across April and May at around $306 million, and then took off last month with a couple of triple-digit-million deals, according to data provided by … Continue reading “Bay State Startup Funding Bubbles Up to $564.7 Million in June”
My Farewell Present: Six Observations About Michigan’s Innovation Economy
Due to some unforeseen personal issues, I have to end my tenure as editor of Xconomy Detroit far sooner than I would like. But in my relatively short time here, I’ve discovered no shortage of interesting and compelling stories in Michigan. Here are my top six takeaways from my six months in the Wolverine State. … Continue reading “My Farewell Present: Six Observations About Michigan’s Innovation Economy”
The Challenge of Computing on a Planetary Scale: Inside Google’s Faculty Summit
For the first time, Google held its annual Americas Faculty Summit in our New York City offices. On July 14th and 15th, about 100 faculty members from universities in the western hemisphere attended the two-day summit, which focused on systems, artificial intelligence, and mobile computing. Google New York is our second largest office outside of … Continue reading “The Challenge of Computing on a Planetary Scale: Inside Google’s Faculty Summit”
Sean Cross Discusses Deals and Froth at New York Venture Summit
Thursday’s New York Venture Summit, hosted by Staten Island’s youngStartup Ventures, brought venture capitalists and other investors together in New York’s financial district to hear pitches from startups out to impress them. The seventy-five companies that were there presented ideas in technology, life sciences, and clean technology at a time one investment banker described as … Continue reading “Sean Cross Discusses Deals and Froth at New York Venture Summit”
The CliffsNotes Version of True University—The 2-Day Startup School from True Ventures
After I wrote a long article profiling the unusual culture at True Ventures, the San Francisco-based early stage investing fund known for its investments in startups like Automattic, GigaOm, and KissMetrics, the firm invited me to attend True University, a two-day conference on startup-building tactics at the University of California at Berkeley. (Well, the truth … Continue reading “The CliffsNotes Version of True University—The 2-Day Startup School from True Ventures”
Q2 Funding in NYC: “Shopping Facilitators” and Foursquare Rule
Foursquare’s recent $50 million funding round may have grabbed headlines nationwide, but a close look at second-quarter venture rounds reveals another trend: Investors can’t get enough of fashion sites. Gilt Groupe, a website that features limited-time “flash” sales of clothing, travel, and other high-end items, pulled in a remarkable $136 million. Ideeli and Rent the … Continue reading “Q2 Funding in NYC: “Shopping Facilitators” and Foursquare Rule”
Dow Jones Shows Slight Decline in Venture Deals, Dollars, Since Last Year
More or less correlating the results of two previous venture capital surveys, Dow Jones VentureSource says today that venture investors throughout the United States put $8 billion into 776 deals during the second quarter that ended June 30. In terms of absolute numbers, that’s fairly close to venture data we reported Wednesday from the MoneyTree … Continue reading “Dow Jones Shows Slight Decline in Venture Deals, Dollars, Since Last Year”
Biogen Confirms Cambridge Move, Amag Merges With Allos, ACT Kicks Off Trials, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
New England drug developers made headlines this week by kicking off drug trials, relocating offices, and merging. —Xconomy national biotech editor Luke Timmerman profiled Cambridge, MA-based Ensemble Therapeutics, which is working to synthesize a class of mid-sized molecules known as macrocycles that are supposed to combine the best properties of both small-molecule and large-molecule drugs. … Continue reading “Biogen Confirms Cambridge Move, Amag Merges With Allos, ACT Kicks Off Trials, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Bristol-Myers Acquires Amira Pharmaceuticals for $325 Million, Scoops Up Lung Drug
The people in San Diego who discovered a multi-billion dollar asthma drug for Merck have captured the attention of Big Pharma once again. Amira Pharmaceuticals, a privately held company in San Diego, has agreed to be acquired by New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) for $325 million in cash upfront, plus additional milestone payments of … Continue reading “Bristol-Myers Acquires Amira Pharmaceuticals for $325 Million, Scoops Up Lung Drug”
Athenahealth to Buy Proxsys for Up to $36M to Improve Hospital Efficiency, Patient Care
For a public company, Athenahealth has kept a fairly low profile. But that’s been changing over the past year—and the trend continues today. The Watertown, MA-based health IT company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ATHN]]) says it is acquiring Proxsys, a care coordination and admitting services firm based in Alabama. The price is $28 million in cash upfront plus … Continue reading “Athenahealth to Buy Proxsys for Up to $36M to Improve Hospital Efficiency, Patient Care”
Gazelle Runs Down $22M More for Electronics Recycling Service
Second Rotation, the Boston company that runs the electronics recycling site Gazelle.com, has been fairly quiet for the past year. No more. The startup said today it has raised a $22 million Series D financing round led by Craton Equity Partners. Existing investors Physic Ventures, Venrock Associates, and RockPort Capital also participated in the round. … Continue reading “Gazelle Runs Down $22M More for Electronics Recycling Service”
Magic Johnson Joins and Funds Detroit Venture Partners
Detroit Venture Partners, less than a year old, is adding a big name (and investor) to its roster. It announced today that NBA hall of famer and Michigan native Earvin “Magic” Johnson has joined the Motown venture firm as a general partner and will be investing millions in the fund. “Earvin brings so much to the … Continue reading “Magic Johnson Joins and Funds Detroit Venture Partners”
Biotech is Biggest Winner in Second-Quarter VC Funding, Zogenix Strategy Unfolds, Intellikine Builds Clinical Trial Capabilities, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
There’s been a deluge of venture capital news over the past week, and a flash flood of VC cash during the second quarter went mostly to San Diego’s life sciences sector. Our briefing begins now. —San Diego venture firms invested a total of $198.2 million in 29 local startups during the second quarter that ended … Continue reading “Biotech is Biggest Winner in Second-Quarter VC Funding, Zogenix Strategy Unfolds, Intellikine Builds Clinical Trial Capabilities, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Violin Memory Hints at IPO Plans, Makes A Come-From-Behind Bid to Replace Disks with Flash in Enterprise Storage
It’s not your everyday startup CEO who shows up at Xconomy San Francisco’s office in cowboy boots, claims that he’s going to take over a $23 billion industry, and then hints that an IPO is in the offing. But that’s exactly what Donald Basile, CEO of Mountain View, CA-based Violin Memory, did this Tuesday. The … Continue reading “Violin Memory Hints at IPO Plans, Makes A Come-From-Behind Bid to Replace Disks with Flash in Enterprise Storage”
“Going Directly At The Beast”—WePay Takes on PayPal with New Tools for Online Merchants
WePay emerged from the Y Combinator venture incubator in late 2009 with a plan to make it simpler for people to round up money online from groups of other people; think of a carpool driver collecting gas money from his riders, for example. Well, you can still use it for that. But as it turned … Continue reading ““Going Directly At The Beast”—WePay Takes on PayPal with New Tools for Online Merchants”
Where Does Textaurant Fit Into the Future of Restaurant Tech? Founder Josh Bob Speaks
Maybe it’s because I’m hungry, but I’ve been thinking about the future of restaurants lately. Like a lot of people, I eat out far too often, and I have strong feelings about the way the experience should go—the food, the service, the ambience, and so on. So does Josh Bob. OK, it’s his job (though … Continue reading “Where Does Textaurant Fit Into the Future of Restaurant Tech? Founder Josh Bob Speaks”
San Diego Chalks Up $198M in Venture Capital, But Where Have All the Software Deals Gone?
[Corrected 7/21/11, 2:45 am. See below.] The single largest technology sector in San Diego today is software. According to the Connect First Quarter 2011 Innovation Report, San Diego’s software industry accounted for 35 percent of the region’s 5,900 private technology companies, while the combined number of private biotech and medical device companies accounted for just … Continue reading “San Diego Chalks Up $198M in Venture Capital, But Where Have All the Software Deals Gone?”
NYC’s Coronado Biosciences Plans Two Drug Trials, Wall Street Debut, and Boston Move
It’s not too often that a biotech company marches into the FDA and asks permission to run human tests of a remedy derived from parasitic worms. But the agency will likely be entertaining just such a request sometime in the next couple of months, when Coronado Biosciences files an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for … Continue reading “NYC’s Coronado Biosciences Plans Two Drug Trials, Wall Street Debut, and Boston Move”
SeaGen Passes FDA Panel, Ken Stuart’s Journey to Seattle Biomed, the Latest M&A Obsession, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was the week Seattle Genetics passed an important milestone on its way to bringing its first product to the U.S. market. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) won unanimous endorsement from an FDA advisory panel for its new drug for rare lymphomas, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris). The FDA’s committee of cancer drug experts voted 10-0 in favor … Continue reading “SeaGen Passes FDA Panel, Ken Stuart’s Journey to Seattle Biomed, the Latest M&A Obsession, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
VC Investments in Boston Companies Soar to 1999 Levels ($1B+); Here Are the Top 10 Deals from the 2nd Quarter
Boston-area venture investing is starting to look a lot like 1999. That’s my take from crunching the regional numbers in the latest MoneyTree Report, prepared by the National Venture Capital Association, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Thomson Reuters. The Boston stats are in rough agreement with the national trends reported by my colleague Bruce Bigelow, but they are … Continue reading “VC Investments in Boston Companies Soar to 1999 Levels ($1B+); Here Are the Top 10 Deals from the 2nd Quarter”
Is Lady Gaga’s Backplane Based in San Diego? Inquiring Minds Want to Know
[Updated 8/24/11, 8:35 pm. See below.] Here’s a tantalizing tidbit for all the Little Monsters and online celebrity gossip mongers: In a breakout of data from the MoneyTree Report on venture capital investments that were made in San Diego during the three months that ended June 30, there is an interesting entry for a $1 … Continue reading “Is Lady Gaga’s Backplane Based in San Diego? Inquiring Minds Want to Know”
Zillow Stock Climbs 79 Percent in Action-Packed First Day of Trading
Zillow’s stock ended a roller coaster ride of trading on Wednesday, its first day as a public company. The Seattle-based online real estate listing company’s stock traded as low as $32.50 and as high as $60, but ultimately posted a 79 percent gain, finishing the day at $35.77. Zillow (NASDAQ: [[ticker:Z]]), by pricing its shares … Continue reading “Zillow Stock Climbs 79 Percent in Action-Packed First Day of Trading”
Amag Makes Good on Acquisition Promise, But Wall Street Balks
Amag Pharmaceuticals CEO Brian Pereira recently told Xconomy he was shopping for acquisitions to round out the Lexington, MA-based company’s pipeline. Today Amag (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMAG]]) delivered on that vow by announcing it would merge with Allos Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALTH]]) in an all-stock deal worth $686 million. Allos, based in Westminster, CO, makes pralatrexate injection (Folotyn), … Continue reading “Amag Makes Good on Acquisition Promise, But Wall Street Balks”
BuyWithMe Gets Edhance, LogMeIn Picks Up Pachube, Polaris Backs Two MA Companies, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Acquisitions were big again this week, but we saw a range of financings and transactions across energy, biotech, and IT sectors. —Waltham, MA-based Tecogen, a maker of natural-gas-fueled, engine-driven combined heat and power systems, inked a $500,000 investment from Southern California Gas. —Verastem, a Boston-based oncology startup founded by MIT biologists Robert Weinberg and Eric Lander, … Continue reading “BuyWithMe Gets Edhance, LogMeIn Picks Up Pachube, Polaris Backs Two MA Companies, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
From Domino’s To Compuware, Michigan Sees Its Future In Mobile Technology
Like pineapple and pepperoni, Domino’s Pizza and Apple seem an unlikely pairing. But the Ann Arbor, MI-based company has openly embraced the consumer electronics giant to push sales of pizza, salads, and bread sticks. Last month, Domino’s released an iPhone app that allows consumers to order products over the Internet through their mobile device. Though … Continue reading “From Domino’s To Compuware, Michigan Sees Its Future In Mobile Technology”
Biogen Idec Moving HQ Back to Cambridge, Constructing Two New Buildings at Kendall Square
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) has confirmed what the biotech community has been buzzing about for a couple months—it is moving its headquarters back to Cambridge, MA. The company is now planning to build two new buildings in Cambridge to house 530 employees who will move from the current headquarters in Weston, MA, according to a … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Moving HQ Back to Cambridge, Constructing Two New Buildings at Kendall Square”
Merck and UCSF Team Up to Find New Weapons Against Resurgent HIV
Three years ago, Warner Greene was among a number of HIV experts meeting at George Washington University to discuss the problem of HIV “latency”—the tendency of the virus that causes AIDS to hide in cells and then rage up when drug therapy is halted. “I made a plea,” recalls Greene, head of virology and immunology … Continue reading “Merck and UCSF Team Up to Find New Weapons Against Resurgent HIV”
Thrutu’s In-Call Media Sharing App Comes to the iPhone
Since March 3, when Palo Alto, CA-based Thrutu introduced its Android app for sharing photos, contacts, and map locations during a voice call, more than 250,000 Android phone owners have downloaded the app. That’s a lot for an Android app, so Thrutu vice president Liz Rice seemed pretty happy when I spoke with her yesterday. … Continue reading “Thrutu’s In-Call Media Sharing App Comes to the iPhone”
How a VC-Style Investment System Can Support a More Just and Humane World
If you were to look under the hood of any big-name IPO these days – such as LinkedIn, Pandora, and someday, Facebook – you’d see a highly sophisticated coordination of capital sources that fueled each to that highly coveted spot: Seed or “Angel” money that got the idea off the ground was followed by early-stage … Continue reading “How a VC-Style Investment System Can Support a More Just and Humane World”
VC Dollars Rise Above Pre-Recession Level in MoneyTree’s Second-Quarter Survey
Venture capital activity improved slightly year-over-year, with a total of $7.5 billion invested in 966 new companies nationwide during the quarter that ended June 30th, according to the MoneyTree Report released today. Investment levels represented the highest quarterly total since the pre-recessionary second quarter of 2008, according the report, which is prepared by the National … Continue reading “VC Dollars Rise Above Pre-Recession Level in MoneyTree’s Second-Quarter Survey”
Constant Contact Opens NY Office, Makes Big Shift in Tech for Creating Marketing Tools
If there is anything constant about Constant Contact, it is change. The online marketing company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTCT]]), based in the Boston area, is announcing today it has opened a new office in New York City. That by itself isn’t big news, but it’s part of a larger strategic shift in the firm’s technology approach—what is … Continue reading “Constant Contact Opens NY Office, Makes Big Shift in Tech for Creating Marketing Tools”
Ken Stuart, the Working Class Kid Who Built a Global Health Hotspot at Seattle Biomed
One of Seattle’s leading scientific entrepreneurs grew up in a working-class home in which neither parent went to college. Ken Stuart‘s family didn’t have enough money to send him to one of the many universities in his hometown of Boston. When he graduated high school, he had no idea what would come next. “I wasn’t … Continue reading “Ken Stuart, the Working Class Kid Who Built a Global Health Hotspot at Seattle Biomed”
Advanced Cell Technology Starts Human Trials of Embryonic Stem Cells Under Strict FDA Supervision
On July 14, Advanced Cell Technology (ACT)—a long-struggling developer of therapies derived from human embryonic stem cells—started its first human trials, by treating two patients suffering from blinding eye diseases. The company’s chief scientific officer, Robert Lanza, was still on a high when reached by phone in his Marlborough, MA, office a few days later. … Continue reading “Advanced Cell Technology Starts Human Trials of Embryonic Stem Cells Under Strict FDA Supervision”
Zillow Prices IPO at $20, Trading to Start Wednesday
Seattle online real-estate listing company Zillow says it will begin trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange Wednesday at $20, a price higher than its recently revised estimate of $16-$18 per share. That price could value the company at about $540 million. Zillow is selling nearly 3.5 million shares, seeking about $70 million. Nationally, the Zillow … Continue reading “Zillow Prices IPO at $20, Trading to Start Wednesday”
Waring Succeeds Bicker as CEO at CleanTech San Diego
Lisa Bicker has tendered her resignation as CEO of CleanTech San Diego, the non-profit industry group that has helped organize and focus regional efforts to stimulate sustainable business practices and build on San Diego’s emerging capabilities as an innovation cluster in cleantech and renewable energy technologies. Bicker, who was the group’s first CEO, wrote in … Continue reading “Waring Succeeds Bicker as CEO at CleanTech San Diego”