Bring an open mind and an extra business card or two. That’s what I’m planning to do as I gear up for today’s Xconony Xchange: HHS CTO Todd Park and Friends on the Future of Health IT. Xconomy is fortunate that the event is sold out, and there’s little doubt in my mind that the … Continue reading “See You at Microsoft NERD for Xconomy Health IT Xchange This Evening”
Category: National
Vlingo Sees Big Future in Searching Mobile Content and Enabling Functions On The Fly
Cambridge, MA-based Vlingo came out of stealth mode in 2007 with technology that enabled users to search and call businesses from their mobile phones, and ultimately sought to give users the power to use their voice for the mobile functions that previously required a keyboard. But now it’s looking to go far beyond that, to … Continue reading “Vlingo Sees Big Future in Searching Mobile Content and Enabling Functions On The Fly”
Three Days of Angel Investing Insights
What a great week we just had for Northwest regional angel investors. Checkbooks were left untouched but minds were impacted by many insights shared among both highly experienced and new investors. Importantly, the insights shared by angels are just as valuable for entrepreneurs since a highly functional partnership between the two is critical for success. … Continue reading “Three Days of Angel Investing Insights”
Physio-Control Cuts Deal With San Diego’s BeneChill to Cool the Brain, Buy Time for Doctors
Science fiction writers have long imagined putting humans into a hibernation-like state to travel long distances in space. Doctors see another application here on Earth, in which cooling the body could slow down blood flow just enough to buy time when a patient could bleed to death or suffer serious brain damage. Now Redmond, WA-based … Continue reading “Physio-Control Cuts Deal With San Diego’s BeneChill to Cool the Brain, Buy Time for Doctors”
NaviSite Bought By Time Warner, BG Medicine Goes Public, Omnicom Gets Communispace, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Startup financings and acquisitions news have poured into the New England area at roughly the same rate the precipitation has in the last week. —Andover, MA-based IT services provider NaviSite was bought by Time Warner Cable for $5.50 per share in cash, for a total equity value of $230 million. The Time Warner (NYSE: [[ticker:TWC]]) … Continue reading “NaviSite Bought By Time Warner, BG Medicine Goes Public, Omnicom Gets Communispace, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Remembering Ken Olsen (1926-2011): A Sense of Pride and a Sense of Humor
While we are remembering Ken, I couldn’t help sending this picture of a poster that appeared in my office one Monday morning about 30 years ago that illustrated Ken’s sense of humor that most people never saw (see photo at bottom of this post). This is something we shared, along with the concern about wanting … Continue reading “Remembering Ken Olsen (1926-2011): A Sense of Pride and a Sense of Humor”
San Diego’s Leading Ventures Takes on Commercialization of Bioengineering Breakthroughs
[Corrected 2/9/11, 2:15 pm. See below.] Their histories are so entwined, it’s hard to say which were sowed first—the seeds of San Diego’s Leading Ventures or those of InflammaGen, an early stage biotech founded to commercialize technology conceived by Geert Schmid-Schönbein, a professor of bioengineering at UC San Diego. Leading Ventures revealed last month that … Continue reading “San Diego’s Leading Ventures Takes on Commercialization of Bioengineering Breakthroughs”
Sophie’s Voice: Scaling the Personal Touch in Customer Service
WePay recently surveyed a handful of active users to find out how likely they are to recommend our service to their friends (WePay makes it easy to collect money online). Although we didn’t ask about it, roughly half of survey respondents surprised us by mentioning WePay’s customer service as one of the things they like. … Continue reading “Sophie’s Voice: Scaling the Personal Touch in Customer Service”
Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome: The Photo Gallery
[Updated: 3:35 pm] Thanks to everyone who joined us yesterday for the latest Xconomy Seattle event, “Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome.” We packed the room once again for a highly engaging conversation about the state of the art in genomics. We dug into both the technical and cultural barriers that need to … Continue reading “Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome: The Photo Gallery”
Ann Arbor redux: Becton Dickinson and Co. buys medtech startup Accuri Cytometers
Treja-vu! Becton, Dickinson and Company (NYSE:[[ticker:BDX]]) announced Monday it will acquire Accuri Cytometers in Ann Arbor, MI, for an undisclosed amount. Accuri, which makes devices that can count cells and chromosomes, is led by Jeff Williams and backed by Arborteum Ventures in Ann Arbor. If this trio sounds familiar, it should. HandyLabs, another Ann Arbor-bred … Continue reading “Ann Arbor redux: Becton Dickinson and Co. buys medtech startup Accuri Cytometers”
Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M
Arsanis, a mysterious biotech firm based in Lebanon, NH, has raised $9.6 million in equity financing, according to an SEC filing. Tillman Gerngross, the co-founder and CEO of the Lebanon-based antibody discovery firm Adimab, is listed as an executive and director of Arsanis. Arsanis’s board also includes some of Gerngross’s previous Adimab backers, among them … Continue reading “Secretive Biotech Arsanis Raises $9.6M”
Startup America—Dead on Arrival
For its first few decades Silicon Valley was content flying under the radar of Washington politics. It wasn’t until Fairchild and Intel were almost bankrupted by Japanese semiconductor manufacturers in the early 1980’s that they formed Silicon Valley’s first lobbying group. Microsoft did not open a Washington office until 1995. Fast forward to today. The … Continue reading “Startup America—Dead on Arrival”
Ken Olsen, Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, Leaves Behind Route 128 Legacy
[Updated 5:15 pm. See below] Ken Olsen, the co-founder and former CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), died on Sunday. He was 84. The news was confirmed yesterday by Gordon College in Wenham, MA, where Olsen was a longtime trustee. There has been an outpouring of commentary about Olsen’s career and the impact of DEC … Continue reading “Ken Olsen, Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, Leaves Behind Route 128 Legacy”
Animoto, with Boost from Amazon GPUs, Goes High-Definition
Animoto would have knocked my grandfather’s socks off. A freelance photographer, he spent countless evenings assembling his Ektachrome transparencies into multimedia slide shows—but back in the 1970s and 1980s, “multimedia” meant a pair of carousel slide projectors with a dissolve unit controlled by time codes embedded on a musical cassette tape. At Animoto’s site, by … Continue reading “Animoto, with Boost from Amazon GPUs, Goes High-Definition”
Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life
[Updated and corrected. 02/08/11 at 12 pm ET] Stern lectures about taking your heart pill as prescribed, eating right, or exercising regularly—or else—can be a real turnoff. Some people simply tune out, perhaps while eating fried chicken sandwiches with extra pickles. But might there be a way to seduce people with medical advice, tailoring the … Continue reading “Seduce Health: What A Google Guy and Health IT Exec Are Saying to Put the Spark Back into Your Health Life”
Ernst & Young Says IPOs Continue to Gain Steam in 2011
The IPO pipeline, which slowed to a trickle in 2008 (when just six companies went public), rebounded significantly during the last three months of 2010, as 57 companies went public and 56 others registered for IPOs, according to a report from the Ernst & Young accounting firm. The rate of replenishment represents a healthy balance … Continue reading “Ernst & Young Says IPOs Continue to Gain Steam in 2011”
What’s With All the Mass Customization Startups in Boston? One Investor’s Opinion
The Boston-area technology scene is known for several mini-clusters: companies in mobile software, music software, robotics, online video, data storage, e-commerce, and Internet marketing, to name a few. But “mass customization” might be the most broadly interesting sector in town. The term refers to online companies that offer consumers personalized, custom-made goods—everything from clothing and … Continue reading “What’s With All the Mass Customization Startups in Boston? One Investor’s Opinion”
MC3, With Six Spinout Companies, Navigates Challenging Terrain of Medical Device Incubators
Medical device incubators are like low-carb donuts. They sound like a good idea on paper, but no one has really been able to create a successful one. Scott Merz is certainly trying. Since 2000, MC3 in Ann Arbor, MI, the accelerator Merz co-founded and currently leads, has spun off six companies, all of them still … Continue reading “MC3, With Six Spinout Companies, Navigates Challenging Terrain of Medical Device Incubators”
Splunk Hires Former Microsoft Fellow, Opens R&D Center in Seattle
Four examples is enough for a bona fide trend. Joining its Bay Area neighbors Facebook, Salesforce.com, and Zynga, San Francisco-based Splunk plans to announce this week that it’s opening a satellite office in Seattle. To be led by former Microsoft engineer Brad Lovering, the office will be an R&D outpost for the fast-growing company, whose … Continue reading “Splunk Hires Former Microsoft Fellow, Opens R&D Center in Seattle”
The White House Smiles on Entrepreneurs, TripAdvisor Smiles on EveryTrail, Hearsay and ReadyForZero Debut, & More Bay Area BizTech News
Last week was just about the most hectic news week since Xconomy hung out its shingle in San Francisco last summer. —The White House, continuing on the innovation theme sounded by President Obama in his State of the Union address, unveiled a “Startup America” initiative highlighting dozens of programs around the country designed to improve … Continue reading “The White House Smiles on Entrepreneurs, TripAdvisor Smiles on EveryTrail, Hearsay and ReadyForZero Debut, & More Bay Area BizTech News”
Omnicom Buys Communispace to Connect with Consumers
[Updated 2/08/11 9:25 am. See below.] Omnicom Group (NYSE: [[ticker:OMC]]) announced today that its Diversified Agency Services business has bought Communispace, a Watertown, MA-based company that powers online communities that help marketers test ideas and gain consumer feedback. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in the press release, but Communispace CEO Diane Hessan … Continue reading “Omnicom Buys Communispace to Connect with Consumers”
Sidereel: Your Dial Tone for TV
It’s a great time to be a cord-cutter. Thanks to Internet companies like Amazon, Apple, Boxee, Google, Hulu, Netflix, and Roku, it’s getting easier every day to cancel your cable or satellite TV subscription without giving up on your favorite TV shows. There’s just one problem. If you do cut the cord—as I did two … Continue reading “Sidereel: Your Dial Tone for TV”
See You This Afternoon at “Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome”
What will your doctor be able to tell you when your entire genome can be sequenced in an afternoon for $1,000 or less? Who out there in the business world has a handle on how to make this data useful? Will it actually help our society improve health and wellness? I’m getting my game face … Continue reading “See You This Afternoon at “Computing in the Age of the $1,000 Genome””
Cymer Sees Growth in Chip-Making, Northrop Grumman Combat Drone Takes First Flight, TurboTax Launches Mobile Tax-Filing App, & More San Diego BizTech News
The innovation economy took center stage last week in San Diego, where new innovations were announced in mobile apps, unmanned aircraft, and new technology platforms developed for smart grid operating systems. We’ve got it wrapped for you here. —Diego-based Cymer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYMI]]), which is considered a bellwether for the semiconductor industry, said during a fourth-quarter … Continue reading “Cymer Sees Growth in Chip-Making, Northrop Grumman Combat Drone Takes First Flight, TurboTax Launches Mobile Tax-Filing App, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Optimer Pockets $68M Upfront From Astellas For Rights to Antibiotic in Europe
San Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals has found a partner to help market its most important drug candidate outside the U.S. Optimer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OPTR]]) is announcing today it has struck a deal with Japan-based Astellas Pharma in which Astellas gets exclusive rights to market fidaxomicin in Europe, plus parts of the Middle East, Africa, and the Commonwealth … Continue reading “Optimer Pockets $68M Upfront From Astellas For Rights to Antibiotic in Europe”
Diagnostics Are Warming Up in Era of Fast, Cheap Sequencing, Says MDV’s Rowan Chapman
Quite a few players in the movement toward super-fast, super-cheap gene sequencing see a mix of arcane science, breathless hype, and modest results. Despite a decade of talk about personalized medicine, nobody walks into a doctors’ office today and gets a universal test that can predict their medical future or give advice on how to … Continue reading “Diagnostics Are Warming Up in Era of Fast, Cheap Sequencing, Says MDV’s Rowan Chapman”
Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Alnylam and Isis, Offers Litmus Test for Biotech Hope in 2011
The notion that Regulus Therapeutics might go public in 2011 sounds like nonsense at first blush. The San Diego-based startup doesn’t have a shred of evidence that says its experimental drugs are safe, or even a little effective, in human beings. And it will be at least another year before the company enters the vital … Continue reading “Regulus, the MicroRNA Child of Alnylam and Isis, Offers Litmus Test for Biotech Hope in 2011”
It’s Fashionable to Be Early, and Other Startup Lessons from the Innovation Showcase
The point at which an exciting research project is poised to become the next great product or service can be fraught with peril. So, what’s an innovator to do? Make connections, seek advice, build a team of advisors and investors who can help navigate that rocky road and bridge the gap between research and results. … Continue reading “It’s Fashionable to Be Early, and Other Startup Lessons from the Innovation Showcase”
Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease
Cambridge, MA-based Stromedix is planning to begin a mid-stage trial of its lead drug in patients with a chronic lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis before the end of June, CEO Michael Gilman tells me. And the firm’s investors have committed as much as $15.5 million in debt to cover the costs the trial. Debt … Continue reading “Stromedix Chief, After Reloading the Company Treasury, Sets Sight on Trial for Deadly Lung Disease”
How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge
To: Chris Viehbacher, CEO, Sanofi Aventis From: The Boston Biotech Community Re: Making the Most of the Impending Merger Dear Mr. Viehbacher, In the heat of the discussions regarding an acquisition of Genzyme that now look like they are on track for rapid completion, you may not have had much time to think about exactly … Continue reading “How Sanofi Could Start Off on the Right Foot in Cambridge”
Viximo Founder Brian Balfour Steps Back from Full-Time Role; Company Doing “Extremely Well”
It’s usually noteworthy when a founder leaves a startup. I heard this week that Brian Balfour, the founder of Cambridge, MA-based Viximo, has stepped back from his full-time role at the virtual-goods technology company where he served as vice president of product marketing. Balfour has been a fixture in the Boston-area tech startup scene for … Continue reading “Viximo Founder Brian Balfour Steps Back from Full-Time Role; Company Doing “Extremely Well””
Incubators ‘R’ Us: Kauffman Labs, Highland Capital, Betaspring, & Other Startup Accelerators Round Out Busy Week
I don’t know about you, but I’m incubatored out. With all the news and PR this week about Startup America, MassChallenge, TechStars Network, Y Combinator, and other programs across the nation, startup incubators/accelerators have suddenly gone mainstream. Which, just like when alternative rock became mainstream in the early ‘90s (always a key analogy), makes me … Continue reading “Incubators ‘R’ Us: Kauffman Labs, Highland Capital, Betaspring, & Other Startup Accelerators Round Out Busy Week”
Bliss Healthcare, Founded by MIT Sloan Grad, Starts New Web-Savvy Home Care Service
Pankaj Khare says he has devoted the past several years of his life and his 401K savings to a startup that he thinks will improve the way home care is delivered to patients. Now, with some help from Boston-area angel investors, this company, Bliss Healthcare, is finally ready to introduce a Web-supported home care service … Continue reading “Bliss Healthcare, Founded by MIT Sloan Grad, Starts New Web-Savvy Home Care Service”
California Biotech To Add Jobs, Merck’s Bet on Biotech Drugs in Palo Alto, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News
We had a number of national stories with local angles in Bay Area biotech this week. —California biotech CEOs have a lot to complain about with high taxes and a lousy state budget predicament making it hard to do business. But despite the headwinds, the California Healthcare Institute, BayBio, and PwC said this week that … Continue reading “California Biotech To Add Jobs, Merck’s Bet on Biotech Drugs in Palo Alto, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”
Tablet Journalism: Can Rupert Murdoch’s iPad Adventure Save the News Business?
Sorry for the sensational headline. I couldn’t help myself. Talking about the future of journalism just gets me fired up, I guess. Anyway, the answer, of course, is no. Rupert Murdoch’s new initiative, called The Daily, can’t save journalism in an Internet era when advertising rates have declined and everyone wants to get their content … Continue reading “Tablet Journalism: Can Rupert Murdoch’s iPad Adventure Save the News Business?”
Genocea Announces New CEO, Pfizer to Add Jobs In MA, Ocular Raises $14M, and More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
We saw a mix of meaty pieces on company strategies and outlooks, as well as breaking news on funding for Boston’s life sciences companies. —Ryan took a look at Cambridge, MA-based drug developer Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals (and neighbor to Xconomy) as it navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which it filed for in December. The firm, … Continue reading “Genocea Announces New CEO, Pfizer to Add Jobs In MA, Ocular Raises $14M, and More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Mobisante Wins FDA Approval for “Ultrasound on a Smartphone” Technology
Seattle is the global capital of ultrasound technology, and now it can lay its claim as the place that developed the first FDA-cleared system that puts ultrasound on a smartphone. Redmond, WA-based Mobisante said today it has won FDA clearance to start selling its MobiUS system to healthcare professionals in the U.S. The startup, which … Continue reading “Mobisante Wins FDA Approval for “Ultrasound on a Smartphone” Technology”
Isis Spinoff Altair Therapeutics Shut Down, After Mid-Stage Asthma Study Fails
San Diego-based Altair Therapeutics, a spinoff from Isis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISIS]]), has shut down operations after the startup’s only drug candidate failed in a mid-stage clinical trial against asthma, Xconomy has learned. Carlsbad, CA-based Isis told investors back in November on its quarterly conference call that Altair’s lead drug candidate, AIR645, failed to show enough … Continue reading “Isis Spinoff Altair Therapeutics Shut Down, After Mid-Stage Asthma Study Fails”
Jeff Bocan is Not Crazy: Beringea’s Ex-Californian Seeks Gold Rush in Michigan
More than a few people thought Jeff Bocan was crazy when he left the sunny beaches of San Monica, CA two years ago for the snow-clogged driveways of Ann Arbor, MI. Beringea, the Detroit-based private equity and venture capital firm, wanted Bocan to move to Michigan to help find and finance promising local startups. Bocan … Continue reading “Jeff Bocan is Not Crazy: Beringea’s Ex-Californian Seeks Gold Rush in Michigan”
The Super Bowl of Marketing: Quantifying the Impact and Online Afterlife of TV Ads
San Diego’s Covario, a five-year-old startup that provides analytics and services for digital marketing, convened its annual users conference in downtown San Diego yesterday. The event draws top marketing executives from companies like Intel, Procter & Gamble, and Research In Motion (RIM), which led Covario to develop a movie theme around the “Top Guns” of … Continue reading “The Super Bowl of Marketing: Quantifying the Impact and Online Afterlife of TV Ads”
EveryTrail Was “Unappreciated Gem,” Says TripAdvisor Exec: A Look Inside Today’s Acquisition
As we reported earlier today, Palo Alto mobile travel publishing startup EveryTrail is now part of TripAdvisor, the giant travel review site based in Newton, MA and owned by Bellevue, WA-based Expedia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXPE]]). EveryTrail’s iPhone and Android apps allow users to document their travels by uploading geotagged photos and voice memos, which are arrayed … Continue reading “EveryTrail Was “Unappreciated Gem,” Says TripAdvisor Exec: A Look Inside Today’s Acquisition”
VCs Are Not Your Friends
One of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make is not understanding the relationship they have with their investors. At times they confuse VCs with their friends. Let’s Go to Lunch At Rocket Science our video game company was struggling. Hubris, bad CEO decisions (mine) and a fundamental lack of understanding that we were in a “hits-based” … Continue reading “VCs Are Not Your Friends”
EveryTrail Thumbs A Ride From TripAdvisor, As Internet Travel Business Consolidates
Newton, MA-based TripAdvisor, the travel review site owned by Bellevue, WA-based Expedia (Nasdaq: [[ticker:EXPE]]), said today that it’s buying EveryTrail, a Palo Alto, CA, startup that helps users create multimedia travel tours using their GPS smartphones. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, so it’s hard to say whether the acquisition represents a sizable return … Continue reading “EveryTrail Thumbs A Ride From TripAdvisor, As Internet Travel Business Consolidates”
Boston-Power Hires New CEO; Founder Lampe-Onnerud Says She’s Excited By Move
Boston-Power, a Westborough, MA-based advanced lithium-ion battery developer, announced it has brought on Keith Schmid as its new chief executive. He replaces CEO and founder Christina Lampe-Onnerud, who will move to the position of executive chairman. Schmid comes most recently from Power Distribution, a Virginia-based provider of electrical power distribution equipment and services that saw … Continue reading “Boston-Power Hires New CEO; Founder Lampe-Onnerud Says She’s Excited By Move”
NanoString, Snapping Up Genomic Health Veteran, Seeks to Prove Economic Value of Cancer Diagnostic
There aren’t a lot of success stories out there in molecular diagnostics, but Redwood City, CA-based Genomic Health (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GHDX]]) is one. So if you’re the CEO of a small private company like Seattle-based NanoString Technologies, and you’re trying to find a way to turn an innovative scientific instrument into a bigger moneymaking diagnostic tool, … Continue reading “NanoString, Snapping Up Genomic Health Veteran, Seeks to Prove Economic Value of Cancer Diagnostic”
Ocular Therapeutix Grabs $14M in New Round for Eye Therapies
Ocular Therapeutix has found a new investor and a fresh round of capital to advance its hydrogel-based treatments for the eye, CEO Amar Sawhney told me yesterday. The Bedford, MA-based startup is raising $14 million in a Series D round of venture capital. Ascension Health Ventures, the investment unit of the largest Catholic hospital chain … Continue reading “Ocular Therapeutix Grabs $14M in New Round for Eye Therapies”
FDA Rejects Orexigen’s Weight-Loss Drug, Arena Lays Off 66, ResMed CEO Jumps to CareFusion, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
A series of private announcements and public policy changes in recent days put a spotlight on entrepreneurs nationwide. As Wade wrote in a thoughtful analysis, we seem to have placed a much bigger bet as a nation on early stage startups—and the life sciences news out of San Diego this past week seemed to reflect … Continue reading “FDA Rejects Orexigen’s Weight-Loss Drug, Arena Lays Off 66, ResMed CEO Jumps to CareFusion, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Hearsay Helps Corporate America Get Local, and Get Smarter About Facebook and Twitter
If you’re an ambitious store manager at Starbucks, an agent for State Farm Insurance, or even a paper salesman for a branch of Dunder Mifflin, then of course you’re setting up your own local accounts on Facebook and LinkedIn and Twitter. You are certainly reaching out to customer with updates and special offers. It would … Continue reading “Hearsay Helps Corporate America Get Local, and Get Smarter About Facebook and Twitter”
IBM Venture Exec from Silicon Valley: Boston Startups Very Active in Mobile, Cloud Computing, Healthcare
Deborah Magid isn’t a VC, but she works in a venture group. Her responsibilities are global, but I’m asking her to think locally. She works for a tech giant, but I’m quizzing her on small startups. Confused yet? Magid isn’t. She’s the director of software strategy in IBM’s Venture Capital Group, which started in 2000. … Continue reading “IBM Venture Exec from Silicon Valley: Boston Startups Very Active in Mobile, Cloud Computing, Healthcare”
Seattle Genetics Reloads, Uptake Ups and Leaves, PhysioSonics Raises Cash, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
One of Seattle’s biotech stalwarts raised a lot of money this week that it will use to hire people for its inaugural commercialization drive. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) pulled in $155 million this week through an underwritten stock offering of 10 million new shares. The company is preparing to seek FDA approval for its first … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Reloads, Uptake Ups and Leaves, PhysioSonics Raises Cash, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”