Nate Bezanson sits at a table beneath the i3Detroit hackerspace tent at last weekend’s Detroit Maker Faire in Dearborn, MI. In front of him are two flashlights—one labeled “stock” and the other labeled “hacked.” The “stock” flashlight is your normal store-bought halogen model, the “hacked” one looks very much like it’s been, well, hacked to … Continue reading “Hackerspaces at Maker Faire Show and Tell How to Build a Better Detroit”
Category: National
Trius Chops IPO Price, Offers More Shares
In a page taken from the discount retailing playbook, San Diego’s Trius Therapeutics slashed the proposed price of its pending IPO by roughly 60 percent and increased the number of shares it is offering by 67 percent. Trius now plans to offer at least 10 million shares at $5 apiece, after initially planning to sell … Continue reading “Trius Chops IPO Price, Offers More Shares”
Reveal Imaging, Makers of Airport Screening Technologies, Sold to SAIC
There’s some news on the homeland security front today. Reveal Imaging Technologies, based in Bedford, MA, said it is being acquired by SAIC, the McLean, VA-based government contractor giant also known as Science Applications International Corporation (NYSE: [[ticker:SAI]]). Financial terms of the deal weren’t released, but the acquisition is expected to close by the end … Continue reading “Reveal Imaging, Makers of Airport Screening Technologies, Sold to SAIC”
Avedro Raises $4.6M for Vision Correction Technology
Things appear to be heating up at Avedro. The Waltham, MA-based startup, which is developing a system that uses thermal energy to correct vision, has raised $4.6 million out of a proposed $5 million in an equity, debt, and rights financing, according to an SEC filing. David Muller, the CEO of Avedro, said in an … Continue reading “Avedro Raises $4.6M for Vision Correction Technology”
Larry Corey, Virus Hunter With Midwest Roots, Seeks to Unleash Health Innovation at Hutch
Raising her son in a middle class home in the Detroit area in the ’50s and ’60s, Larry Corey‘s mother dreamed he’d become a doctor. Now he’s set his sights much higher, as the new president and director of one of the world’s leading biomedical research institutes, a place that seeks to do no less … Continue reading “Larry Corey, Virus Hunter With Midwest Roots, Seeks to Unleash Health Innovation at Hutch”
Qualcomm Gets its Technology in EV Chargers, Aptera Makes Finals in $10M Automotive X Prize, & More San Diego BizTech News
It wasn’t a busy week for news about San Diego technology innovation, but it wasn’t a slow week either. It was jus-s-s-t right. And here is our summary. —You’re going to start hearing a lot about Ecotality in coming months. The San Francisco-based company is heading efforts to install electric vehicle charging stations throughout San … Continue reading “Qualcomm Gets its Technology in EV Chargers, Aptera Makes Finals in $10M Automotive X Prize, & More San Diego BizTech News”
SV Life Sciences, Fresh from Closing $523M New Fund, Looking at Health IT Deals
While many venture firms are struggling in the aftermath of the Great Recession, there are a few outfits with plenty of capital to invest. SV Life Sciences, which has operations in Boston and the Bay Area, is one of those few. Last month the firm closed one of the year’s largest healthcare-focused venture funds, its … Continue reading “SV Life Sciences, Fresh from Closing $523M New Fund, Looking at Health IT Deals”
With Traditional M&A Players Still on Sidelines, Small and Mid-sized Businesses Have Unique Opportunity to Make Strategic Acquisitions
The recent economic turmoil forced rapid change on the mergers and acquisitions marketplace, as the tightening of available credit pushed traditional M&A players—primarily private equity investors and large corporations—to the sidelines and dramatically slowed existing transactions. The landscape yielded a dearth of profitable deals, with any residual motivation for investment in mid-sized firms deflated by … Continue reading “With Traditional M&A Players Still on Sidelines, Small and Mid-sized Businesses Have Unique Opportunity to Make Strategic Acquisitions”
iTunes Meets Facebook & Epicurious: Kitchen Monki Brings A Number of Big Internet Ideas To the World of Food
There’s no denying Seattle is a tech savvy town. And when it comes to food, I think it’s safe to say we’re climbing up in the ranks. We’re the most caffeinated city in the country, according to The Daily Beast (no surprise there), and when it comes to the intersection of food and tech, we … Continue reading “iTunes Meets Facebook & Epicurious: Kitchen Monki Brings A Number of Big Internet Ideas To the World of Food”
A Rival for the iTunes App Store, a Data-Driven Dating Service for Facebook, a Pair of Social Gaming Deals, & More Bay Area BizTech News
What summer doldrums? The startup launches, venture financings, and M&A deals were flying about as fast as they come last week. —I got the inside story on OpenAppMkt, a new marketplace for Web apps for the Apple iPhone, from co-founder Teck Chia. The service, which went live on Friday, is similar to the iTunes App … Continue reading “A Rival for the iTunes App Store, a Data-Driven Dating Service for Facebook, a Pair of Social Gaming Deals, & More Bay Area BizTech News”
Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Pays $112M to Buy Remaining Stake in PackeVideo
Japanese communications provider NTT DoCoMo, which acquired a 35 percent stake in San Diego’s PacketVideo last year for $45.5 million, says it is acquiring the remaining 65 percent from holding company NextWave Wireless for $111.6 million. Under terms of the deal, PacketVideo will become a wholly owned subsidiary of NTT DoCoMo. It will operate autonomously, … Continue reading “Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Pays $112M to Buy Remaining Stake in PackeVideo”
Azuki CEO Looking to Grow Mobile Software Business By Making it “Brainless”
Azuki Systems, an Acton, MA-based maker of software for helping video and other data-rich media content providers deliver their material through mobile devices, has announced that it hired a new president and CEO. Azuki‘s new leader is John Clancy, a cloud computing exec who most recently served as CEO-in-Residence at Schooner Capital in Boston. “I’m … Continue reading “Azuki CEO Looking to Grow Mobile Software Business By Making it “Brainless””
Hutch Names Larry Corey as New President, To Build on Hartwell’s Growth Legacy
The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the world’s leading centers for biomedical research and innovation, has found its new leader after a year of searching. Larry Corey, the international HIV vaccine expert, has been named to replace the retiring Nobel laureate Lee Hartwell, 70, in the top job at the Seattle-based nonprofit research … Continue reading “Hutch Names Larry Corey as New President, To Build on Hartwell’s Growth Legacy”
OpenAppMkt: The Return of the iPhone Web App?
Few people remember it now, but for the first year after the launch of the Apple iPhone in June, 2007, there was no App Store. The device came with a few built-in or “native” apps like a calendar, a clock, and a notebook, along with a couple of third-party apps like the YouTube player and … Continue reading “OpenAppMkt: The Return of the iPhone Web App?”
SiGe Semiconductor Targets $144M IPO
A Massachusetts tech firm is testing the IPO waters. Andover, MA-based SiGe Semiconductor, which makes radio frequency chips for wireless communications, filed papers with the SEC yesterday for a proposed $143.8 million initial public offering. The firm has not set a date for the proposed offering. SiGe, founded as a Canadian company in 1996, has … Continue reading “SiGe Semiconductor Targets $144M IPO”
Connect Adopts New Measures to Boost the Innovation Economy
Connect, the San Diego nonprofit group for technology and entrepreneurship, said its board has approved a series of initiatives intended to stimulate the long-term formation of technology startups. The initiatives, which will be supervised by Connect CEO Duane Roth, are supposed to attract more early stage investment capital, and influence innovation policies set by the … Continue reading “Connect Adopts New Measures to Boost the Innovation Economy”
Silicon Valley’s TechShop to Open Ford-Affiliated Workshop for Detroit’s Next Generation of Inventors
Somewhere deep in Ford Motor’s institutional memory, it recalls a time before the strictly tiered, hierarchical business of making automobiles, when Detroit was a city of tinkerers, of makers, of individuals with dreams, talent, and a blowtorch. Today, harkening back to that legacy, Ford is announcing it is getting together with TechShop—a Menlo Park, CA-based … Continue reading “Silicon Valley’s TechShop to Open Ford-Affiliated Workshop for Detroit’s Next Generation of Inventors”
Gates Foundation’s Tachi Yamada: Biotechies and VCs are Missing Out on Global Health
Tachi Yamada was a big name in Big Pharma before he took the top global health job at the world’s richest charitable organization, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But no single organization—not even a multi-national, multi-billion dollar R&D shop at GlaxoSmithKline, or the Gates Foundation—can conquer leading killers like HIV, tuberculosis, diarrheal diseases, and … Continue reading “Gates Foundation’s Tachi Yamada: Biotechies and VCs are Missing Out on Global Health”
LS9 Reveals Key Biofuel Genes, Onyx Drug Passes Big Trial, Solazyme Seeks First-Mover Edge, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News
This week we had reports from a couple of the leading biofuel companies in the Bay Area, along with a noteworthy advance from a cancer drug developer. —LS9, the South San Francisco-based biofuel company, reported in this week’s edition of Science magazine how it discovered genes in cyanobacteria that it hopes will pave the way … Continue reading “LS9 Reveals Key Biofuel Genes, Onyx Drug Passes Big Trial, Solazyme Seeks First-Mover Edge, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”
FDA Gives Nod to Momenta’s Anti-Clotting Generic, Ingenix Acquires Picis, Millennium Harnesses BioScale’s Protein-Measuring Technology, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
This week saw a long-awaited FDA approval for a Boston-area drug maker, speculation about a possible buyout of a local biotech giant, and some in-depth profiles on other key life sciences players. —Hospital software maker Picis, of Wakefield, MA, said it is being acquired by Ingenix, an Eden Prairie, MN-based healthcare intelligence and analytics firm. … Continue reading “FDA Gives Nod to Momenta’s Anti-Clotting Generic, Ingenix Acquires Picis, Millennium Harnesses BioScale’s Protein-Measuring Technology, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Fierce Competition at the TechFlash Summer BBQ & Ping-Pong Tournament
There was some serious action going on last night at TechFlash’s second annual Summer BBQ and Ping-Pong Tournament. With over 400 in attendance, techies from far and wide traded in their smartphones for paddles, and battled it out for the championship.
For the less athletically inclined, there was also the first ever foosball competition, and an award for the team with the most spirit (i.e. the zaniest costumes…I mean uniforms), which went to social media agency Banyan Branch, whose mascot could only be described as ‘shaggy.’ (See pictures here).
California Startup Carmakers, Aptera and Zap, Finalists in Automotive X Prize
And then there were nine. What began in April as a field of 136 experimental cars and 111 teams with their eyes on the $10 million Automotive X Prize has been winnowed to just nine cars and seven teams. Track testing was completed Tuesday at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI. The nine finalists … Continue reading “California Startup Carmakers, Aptera and Zap, Finalists in Automotive X Prize”
Early Theraclone Scientist Lee Adams Dies in Mount Rainier Climbing Accident
Some more sad news has hit the Seattle biotech community. Lee Adams, one of the early employees at Spaltudaq, now Theraclone Sciences, died this week on Mount Rainier after a fall into a crevasse. He was 52. The Seattle Times has a solid story on what happened on the mountain at 13,000 feet of elevation. … Continue reading “Early Theraclone Scientist Lee Adams Dies in Mount Rainier Climbing Accident”
LS9 Shows Recipe For $50 Oil: Genes That Convert Sugar to Diesel in One Step
LS9 is on a quest to make renewable fuel at $50 a barrel, and today it is revealing at least part of the scientific road map it’s been following to get there. The South San Francisco-based biofuel company is reporting today that it has discovered novel genes from strains of cyanobacteria that are the basis … Continue reading “LS9 Shows Recipe For $50 Oil: Genes That Convert Sugar to Diesel in One Step”
Xconomy Readers Set $20B Pricetag on Genzyme—Is That Too Rich for Sanofi-Aventis?
We asked our readers to chime in this week on the value of the venerable biotech Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]), which has reportedly become an acquisition target of the French drug giant Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE:[[ticker:SNY]]). Well, the results are in, but the question remains how our readers’ predicted price will match up with what Sanofi offers, and whether … Continue reading “Xconomy Readers Set $20B Pricetag on Genzyme—Is That Too Rich for Sanofi-Aventis?”
Maker Faire Taps Into Detroit’s Sense of Mission, History as City of Tinkerers and, Yes, Entrepreneurs
The spark of innovation can often be found in outrage—outrage that the world, or some part of it, does not yet contain something that has yet to be invented or brought to it. And James Peyer, University of Michigan stem cell biology Ph.D. student, part-time do-it-yourself entrepreneur, and participant in this weekend’s Detroit Maker Faire, … Continue reading “Maker Faire Taps Into Detroit’s Sense of Mission, History as City of Tinkerers and, Yes, Entrepreneurs”
The Northwest Tech Scene, Public Policy, and Collaboration: WTIA CEO Susan Sigl on Her First 100 Days & What’s In Store
Three months have flown by since Susan Sigl succeeded Ken Myer as the CEO of the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA). The 26-year-old organization is the largest statewide association of tech companies and executives in the world, representing some 1,100 members and 125,000 tech employees across Washington, with a staff of just 11. That’s quite … Continue reading “The Northwest Tech Scene, Public Policy, and Collaboration: WTIA CEO Susan Sigl on Her First 100 Days & What’s In Store”
Illumina Buys Helixis, Genzyme Shares Soar on Buyout Report, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
There wasn’t a lot of San Diego life sciences news over the past week, but what we got was big. Here’s our summary. —San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), which makes high-speed gene sequencing equipment for biomedical laboratories, acquired Carlsbad, CA-based Helixis for at least $70 million, with an additional $35 million tied to meeting certain … Continue reading “Illumina Buys Helixis, Genzyme Shares Soar on Buyout Report, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Massachusetts Startup Investing Surges to $307M in June, Led by $60M Boston-Power Deal
It wasn’t just temperatures that were heating up in Massachusetts in June. Venture investing in the Bay State’s tech and life sciences startups soared to $307.1 million, brought in through 31 equity-based deals. For several months this spring, venture investing in the region hovered in the neighborhood of $200 million, according to data provided by … Continue reading “Massachusetts Startup Investing Surges to $307M in June, Led by $60M Boston-Power Deal”
Overshooting and Undershooting: Scale Venture Partners’ Kate Mitchell and Rory O’Driscoll on the VC Pendulum Swing
Part of the point of opening Xconomy San Francisco last month was to put our ear to the ground in the world capital of venture investing. Toward that end, I sat down earlier this week with Kate Mitchell and Rory O’Driscoll. They’re both general partners at Scale Venture Partners, a Foster City, CA-based firm that … Continue reading “Overshooting and Undershooting: Scale Venture Partners’ Kate Mitchell and Rory O’Driscoll on the VC Pendulum Swing”
Immune Design Pockets $32M, InDi Nails $10M, SonoSite Looks Inside My Carotids, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week, we saw more than the usual number of venture deals on the Seattle life sciences beat. Maybe the VCs needed to tie up some loose ends before unplugging in the month of August. —Seattle-based Immune Design snagged the big round of the week, a full $32 million Series B deal that included ProQuest … Continue reading “Immune Design Pockets $32M, InDi Nails $10M, SonoSite Looks Inside My Carotids, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Aircuity, Focused on “Not Using Energy You Don’t Need,” Tracks and Streamlines Building Ventilation
Given that the air system at Xconomy’s offices seems noisy and erratic most days, I wasn’t that surprised to hear that most buildings are over-ventilated (a bit of information I picked up from Aircuity president and chief operating officer Rob Brierley). But for businesses running their air systems on overload, this can be more than … Continue reading “Aircuity, Focused on “Not Using Energy You Don’t Need,” Tracks and Streamlines Building Ventilation”
New CEOs For Boston-Area Mobile Companies
We tracked a duo of new CEO announcements today, both at companies in the mobile sector. —Aylus Networks, a Westford, MA-based developer of technology to help mobile operators manage video data on their networks, announced Mark Edwards will be joining the company as CEO. Edwards comes from the helm of mobile device management software company … Continue reading “New CEOs For Boston-Area Mobile Companies”
Under The Radar Financings in San Diego: Envision Solar, Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, & More
Every month, New York-based CB Insights casts its net for “under-the-radar deals” that provide less than $1 million in capital for technology and life sciences companies, and shares its catch with Xconomy editors in the five cities where we operate. In its survey for June, the private company intelligence firm brought up seven deals in … Continue reading “Under The Radar Financings in San Diego: Envision Solar, Zacharon Pharmaceuticals, & More”
Protecting Consumers From Their Own Genetic Data Will Come at a Cost
Last week’s U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing into the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry was a vicious affair, with more than a whiff of the show trial about it. Representatives from testing companies 23andMe, Navigenics and Pathway Genomics faced a barrage of questions about the accuracy and utility of their tests, made all … Continue reading “Protecting Consumers From Their Own Genetic Data Will Come at a Cost”
Disney Buys Playdom, Adobe Buys Day, & More Mid-Week Deals News Around Silicon Valley
It’s been a busy week already when it comes to acquisitions and venture deals in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. There’s too much going on to write it all up separately, so here’s a quick rundown: —After operating for just two and a half years and raising $76 million in venture funding, Mountain View, CA-based … Continue reading “Disney Buys Playdom, Adobe Buys Day, & More Mid-Week Deals News Around Silicon Valley”
HemaQuest Raises $4M More, Boosting VC Round to $16M for Sickle Cell, Blood Disorders
Another few months have gone by, and another few million bucks have arrived in the corporate treasury for HemaQuest Pharmaceuticals. The Seattle-based developer is announcing today it has raised $4 million for its experimental treatments for sickle cell anemia and other blood disorders. The financing comes from a new investor, Latterell Venture Partners. This latest … Continue reading “HemaQuest Raises $4M More, Boosting VC Round to $16M for Sickle Cell, Blood Disorders”
BioScale, Mastering Acoustics for Molecular Detection, Gets Nod from Millennium Pharma
Until recently, BioScale had operated out of the public eye for some eight years as it engineered a new way of measuring biological samples with sound wave technology. Now the Cambridge, MA-based startup has garnered some validation for its acoustic technology from a very visible player in biotech—Millennium, The Takeda Oncology Company. Cambridge-based Millennium has … Continue reading “BioScale, Mastering Acoustics for Molecular Detection, Gets Nod from Millennium Pharma”
LearnBoost Bets on Better Tools for Teachers
San Francisco-based LearnBoost made a splash earlier this week with news of a $975,000 venture financing win. But much of the news coverage focused on the fact that four major venture firms, plus an assortment of angel investors, had participated in the relatively small financing round. To get more of the story behind the startup’s … Continue reading “LearnBoost Bets on Better Tools for Teachers”
Washington Startups Pull In $104.3M in June; Healthcare and Energy/Utilities Sectors Top the List
Compared to the handful of “under the radar” deals we had to report on in our May roundup, the month of June was buzzing with deals, both small and large, for Seattle-area tech and biotech companies. Normally we publish our “under the radar” roundup for regional deals worth less than $1 million in a monthly … Continue reading “Washington Startups Pull In $104.3M in June; Healthcare and Energy/Utilities Sectors Top the List”
Oclaro Buys Mintera, Gazelle Gets $12M, Genzyme Buyout Rumors Swirl, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Acquisitions were a big theme in the New England-area deal news this past week. We also saw several funding rounds and an intellectual property deal. —Providence, RI-based Alektrona, a maker of smart-grid software and hardware, grabbed $250,000 in funding from the Slater Technology Fund, also of Providence. The money comes as part of a $510,000 … Continue reading “Oclaro Buys Mintera, Gazelle Gets $12M, Genzyme Buyout Rumors Swirl, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Qualcomm’s Technology Inside Ecotality’s Electric Vehicle Chargers
At the Xconomy Smart Energy Forum in San Diego just a couple of months ago, Qualcomm’s Manuel Jaime emphasized that 100-percent electric vehicles (EVs) like the Nissan Leaf will need to be integrated with EV charging stations—and the charging stations have to be integrated with a local power grid. Once they’re integrated, Jaime explained, EV … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Technology Inside Ecotality’s Electric Vehicle Chargers”
Illumina Acquires Helixis for Up to $105M, To Get Small, Low-Cost Genetic Analysis Tool
San Diego-based Illumina has acquired an intriguing startup from southern California with a vision of putting low-cost genetic analysis systems on every biologist’s benchtop. Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]), the leading maker of high-speed gene sequencing instruments, said today in its second-quarter financial report, and in a separate statement, that it has acquired Carlsbad, CA-based Helixis for … Continue reading “Illumina Acquires Helixis for Up to $105M, To Get Small, Low-Cost Genetic Analysis Tool”
Tableau Doubles Revenue by Making Data More Visual, More Fun
Tableau Software has made it clear over the past year that it is one of the rising stars of the local software community. Spun out from Stanford University in 2003, the company has spent the last seven years carving out a global market of businesspeople and consumers itching for a new product to help them … Continue reading “Tableau Doubles Revenue by Making Data More Visual, More Fun”
Versus Technology Doesn’t Need to Develop RFID in Northern Michigan, But Wouldn’t Dream of Doing it Anywhere Else
Versus Technology is located at the base of the pinky on Michigan’s mitten, where Lake Michigan laps its tongue into the shining waters of the Grand Traverse Bay. Versus develops products that track patients, staff, and equipment for hospitals across the country, so it does not really need to be at this inconveniently located corner … Continue reading “Versus Technology Doesn’t Need to Develop RFID in Northern Michigan, But Wouldn’t Dream of Doing it Anywhere Else”
A Natural History of the Scentsa: Fragrances Publisher Gets Huntington Capital Financing to Expand Technology Platform
Just as Greg was reporting the $5 million in financing that San Diego’s Huntington Capital arranged for custom publisher RPI in Tukwila, WA, the firm was providing similar financing for Crescent House Publishing of Carlsbad, CA. Both deals came out of Huntington Capital Fund II, the $78 million fund the boutique lender and private equity … Continue reading “A Natural History of the Scentsa: Fragrances Publisher Gets Huntington Capital Financing to Expand Technology Platform”
Solazyme, Founded on ‘Delusional’ Idea of Algae Biofuel, Stakes Claim as Industry’s First Mover
Two teenagers arrived at Emory University in Atlanta as freshmen in 1989, and within days, they hit upon a “delusional” idea: starting a biotech company. Two decades later, it’s become a lot less delusional, as Jonathan Wolfson and Harrison Dillon have built South San Francisco-based Solazyme into one of the nation’s leading contenders in the … Continue reading “Solazyme, Founded on ‘Delusional’ Idea of Algae Biofuel, Stakes Claim as Industry’s First Mover”
Elemental Talks About Its $7.5M Series B, and Cashing In on the New Economics of Online Video
The online video market just got a little hotter. Last month, my colleague Luke broke the news that Elemental Technologies, a parallel-processing video software startup in Portland, OR, had raised a new financing round. Today the company is talking for the first time about the deal and where it stands in an increasingly competitive—and lucrative—market. … Continue reading “Elemental Talks About Its $7.5M Series B, and Cashing In on the New Economics of Online Video”
Immune Design Follows Corixa Playbook, Sees Data, Deals on the Horizon in Year Three
Steve Reed is following a tried-and-true road map for building a biotech company. First year, build the team. Second year, gather some data to support the founding idea. Third year, prove it in clinical trials. Then start coaxing Big Pharma to open up its checkbook and do deals. “This is when it gets exciting,” Reed … Continue reading “Immune Design Follows Corixa Playbook, Sees Data, Deals on the Horizon in Year Three”
Practically Green, Led by Former Globe Exec, Uses Social Media and Game Mechanics to Spread Green Living
Everyone has their own green environmental “a-ha” moment. Maybe it’s seeing birds drowning in oil, or paying $4 a gallon for gas, or reading about the plastic trash heap the size of Texas swirling around in the Pacific Ocean. For Susan Hunt Stevens, it was discovering her young son had serious food and environmental allergies, … Continue reading “Practically Green, Led by Former Globe Exec, Uses Social Media and Game Mechanics to Spread Green Living”