It’s one of the cardinal rules of startup life: stick to your knitting. Don’t get distracted by all the cool things you could do, at the expense of the thing you already do well. At Xconomy, we’ve followed that rule pretty well: We’re journalists who write about technology and entrepreneurship for a living, and we … Continue reading “Adventures in YouTube-Land: The Making of “World Wide Wade Goes West””
Category: National
The Role the State of Massachusetts Should Play in Cleantech
Governor Deval Patrick had good intentions of wanting to grow the cleantech space when Ian Bowles consolidated all of the available money the state had slated for solar initiatives into a new group called the Clean Energy Center (CEC). This group essentially places bets on which startups will make it big and then provides them … Continue reading “The Role the State of Massachusetts Should Play in Cleantech”
Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine
Lebanon, NH-based biotech startup Adimab has grown the ranks of its Big Pharma collaborators, which are coveted for their deep pockets and other resources they bring to smaller firms. Swiss drug giant Novartis has inked a research agreement with Adimab to access the startup’s synthetic immune system of sorts that churns out potential antibody drugs. … Continue reading “Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine”
Corey Goodman’s New Startup, UCSF Spinoff Raises $40M, Gail Maderis Gives Back, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News
We covered a variety of subjects on the biotech beat this week—cloud computing for genomics, a new idea for bioinformatics, an environmental health startup co-founded by Corey Goodman, and a profile of the new CEO of BayBio. Read on to catch up on the week’s headlines. —Gail Maderis has spent a career working up the … Continue reading “Corey Goodman’s New Startup, UCSF Spinoff Raises $40M, Gail Maderis Gives Back, & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”
A Place for Mom Sells Majority Stake to Warburg Pincus
Seattle-based online elder care referral service, A Place for Mom, has sold a majority ownership stake to international private equity firm Warburg Pincus, according to a company asset track record kept by investment banking advisory firm GCA Savvian. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokesperson for A Place for Mom didn’t immediately … Continue reading “A Place for Mom Sells Majority Stake to Warburg Pincus”
AlloCure Arrives in New England, Merck Shutters Cambridge Research Site, Infinity Cuts Deal With Intellikine, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
It was a shorter week, but we had a heavy volume of headlines on acquisitions, partnerships, job cuts, and company strategies for New England-area biotech names. —Cambridge’s Alnara Pharmaceuticals kicked off the holiday weekend last Friday with news that it been acquired by Indianapolis-based pharma giant Eli Lilly. The companies didn’t disclose the purchase price … Continue reading “AlloCure Arrives in New England, Merck Shutters Cambridge Research Site, Infinity Cuts Deal With Intellikine, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Theranos Raises $45M For Personalized Medicine
Theranos, the Palo Alto, CA-based company that seeks to put together health IT systems that support more personalized medicine, has raised $45 million in new equity and option financing in a deal that could ultimately be worth as much as $100 million, according to a regulatory filing. Theranos didn’t issue a statement today about the … Continue reading “Theranos Raises $45M For Personalized Medicine”
TipCity Offers Search Engine for Diners, Enables Local Restaurants to “Flash Deals”
As the entrepreneur who successfully pioneered Bluetooth software at San Diego’s Widcomm (now part of Broadcom), Hiep Pham is accustomed to taking some calculated risks. Today, he is betting that consumers will respond to “flash deals” for restaurant discounts that are sent to their mobile devices by text message or e-mail, and are displayed on … Continue reading “TipCity Offers Search Engine for Diners, Enables Local Restaurants to “Flash Deals””
Ford Makes it Easier to Avoid Texting While Driving With New SYNC Features
With laws in Michigan and other states cracking down on texting while driving, Ford today unveiled some new features to its SYNC platform, an all-in-one navigation, communication, and entertainment center that takes the next step in Ford’s goal of transforming the automobile into one big, safety-conscious, smartphone on wheels.. New features in Ford’s SYNC product … Continue reading “Ford Makes it Easier to Avoid Texting While Driving With New SYNC Features”
With San Diego as “Ground Zero,” Nissan Targets Pragmatic Car Buyers With Leaf EV—and We Take It for A Test Hum
In the fall of 2008, I was green with cleantech envy when my colleague Greg Huang got to test drive a prototype Tesla Roadster, the luxury, all-electric sports car made by Silicon Valley’s Tesla Motors (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TSLA]]), which became a public company just last week. But yesterday I turned over a new Leaf—and then I … Continue reading “With San Diego as “Ground Zero,” Nissan Targets Pragmatic Car Buyers With Leaf EV—and We Take It for A Test Hum”
Innovating Where Banks Won’t: Talking with Rich Aberman About WePay’s Vision for Group Payments
It’s too bad the economic collapse of 2008-2009 gave “financial innovation” a bad name, because the online banking and payments sector could actually use a lot more of it. When’s the last time your bank’s website surprised you with a cool new feature or service? For that matter, when’s the last time PayPal rolled out … Continue reading “Innovating Where Banks Won’t: Talking with Rich Aberman About WePay’s Vision for Group Payments”
Infinity Pharma, Intellikine Strike Deal to Make Cancer Drugs Against Hot Target
Cambridge, MA-based Infinity Pharmaceuticals seeks to stay on the leading edge of cancer research, and today it has found something it likes in San Diego. Infinity (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INFI]]) has struck a global development and commercialization deal with San Diego-based Intellikine to pursue drugs aimed at one of the emerging hot targets in biology of cancer … Continue reading “Infinity Pharma, Intellikine Strike Deal to Make Cancer Drugs Against Hot Target”
Cambridge Semantics, Looking to Put Microsoft Excel “On Steroids,” Brings Intelligent Data Sorting to Non-Techies
Semantic technology—a broad term in the software industry for adding meaning to pieces of information so they can more efficiently interact with each other—is seen as a useful vehicle for helping businesses sort through data relevant to their everyday operations. The problem is, IT guys are typically those who have the most access to and … Continue reading “Cambridge Semantics, Looking to Put Microsoft Excel “On Steroids,” Brings Intelligent Data Sorting to Non-Techies”
Gail Maderis, the Boston Biotech Exec Who Came Home to SF, Seeks to Give Back at BayBio
Gail Maderis built a career as a biotech executive in Boston, where she got involved early enough to help shape the rules of the industry that companies live under today. But after more than two decades in New England, Maderis has become one of the key players in the San Francisco Bay Area, the place … Continue reading “Gail Maderis, the Boston Biotech Exec Who Came Home to SF, Seeks to Give Back at BayBio”
Concur Co-founder Raj Singh on How Surviving the Dotcom Bust Shaped the Company Culture and How Mobile Has Changed its Course (Part 1)
Seattle was one of the hardest hit regions during the dotcom boom and subsequent crash of the early 2000s. The companies that were able to survive the fall, however, were grandfathered into a strong regional, and once again booming, technology industry. One of these survivors—now a veteran on the local tech scene—is Redmond, WA-based Concur … Continue reading “Concur Co-founder Raj Singh on How Surviving the Dotcom Bust Shaped the Company Culture and How Mobile Has Changed its Course (Part 1)”
Alnara Pharma Used “Flexible” Strategy on Road to Eli Lilly Deal
Cambridge, MA-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals made headlines before Fourth of July weekend when the drug giant Eli Lilly agreed to buy the startup and its late-stage drug for pancreatic insufficiency for an undisclosed sum. But what might have been lost in all the hoopla about the deal was that there are only 21 full-time employees at … Continue reading “Alnara Pharma Used “Flexible” Strategy on Road to Eli Lilly Deal”
Amazon’s Vision for Biology in the Cloud, Uptake Nabs $17.5M, CMC Icos Mounts Comeback, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This being a short holiday week, the Seattle biotech roundup is short and sweet. —Seattle-based online retail giant Amazon has been pushing hard for a few years to become the leader in cloud computing, which has enabled a generation of tech startups to run their businesses with less startup capital. But it’s only recently been … Continue reading “Amazon’s Vision for Biology in the Cloud, Uptake Nabs $17.5M, CMC Icos Mounts Comeback, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Arena Signs Deal With Eisai for Lorcaserin, Qualcomm CEO Identifies Two Opportunities in Mobile Health, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
The long Fourth of July holiday weekend made for a short week of life sciences news in San Diego. Even if I made short work of this week’s roundup, though, let’s hope you long remain interested. —Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs, who was instrumental in bringing the World Economic Forum’s mobile health … Continue reading “Arena Signs Deal With Eisai for Lorcaserin, Qualcomm CEO Identifies Two Opportunities in Mobile Health, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Will New Radiation Labels Affect Mobile Phone Sales?
A new law is about to go into effect in San Francisco requiring sellers of mobile phones to post the “Specific Absorption Rate” (SAR) levels of the devices. How will conveying this information to consumers affect sales of mobile phones and devices—and which manufactures will feel the burden of this new stigma? The Cellular Telecommunications … Continue reading “Will New Radiation Labels Affect Mobile Phone Sales?”
Mall Networks Lands $6.6M More to Push Online Shopping and Rewards Platform
Online shopping—and rewards programs in particular—seem to be on the rise. Mall Networks, a promoter of online customer loyalty programs, has closed a new $6.6 million round of venture funding, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC. Attempts to reach the company, which is headquartered in Lexington, MA, and has an office in Silicon … Continue reading “Mall Networks Lands $6.6M More to Push Online Shopping and Rewards Platform”
Calithera, a UCSF Spinoff, Raises $40M to Develop Cancer Drugs
One of the nation’s biggest biotech startup deals of the year just emerged from UC San Francisco. Calithera, a company with roots in the lab of Jim Wells, has raised $40 million to develop new cancer drugs. The financing was led by Morgenthaler Ventures, and included US Venture Partners, Advanced Ventures, Delphi Ventures, as well … Continue reading “Calithera, a UCSF Spinoff, Raises $40M to Develop Cancer Drugs”
Super Angels and Seed Funds: Sim Simeonov’s Advice for Investors and Entrepreneurs
Angel investors have good reasons for passing on your startup company. But they should make more, not fewer investments over the long run, in order to maximize their returns. That’s what I took away from Sim Simeonov’s guest analysis in PE Hub last week. But it turns out there’s much more to the story. Simeonov, … Continue reading “Super Angels and Seed Funds: Sim Simeonov’s Advice for Investors and Entrepreneurs”
Uptake Medical Raises $17.5M for Emphysema Device
Uptake Medical has closed a financing round worth $17.5 million. The Seattle-based company says it will use the money to get clearance to start selling a device to treat emphysema in Europe, to start marketing it outside the U.S., and to pursue FDA approval. The Series B financing was led by Maverick Capital, and included … Continue reading “Uptake Medical Raises $17.5M for Emphysema Device”
World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode VII: Denver, CO
Well, I made it to San Francisco! I officially occupied my new Potrero Hill loft (which will double as Xconomy’s San Francisco bureau) Tuesday morning. But I don’t have an Internet connection there yet, so I’m writing this at the Starbucks on 16th and Kansas. Which means I’m feeling right at home—we depended on Starbucks … Continue reading “World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode VII: Denver, CO”
Borders’ eBook Store Open For Business; New Apps For Android, Blackberry
Borders today launched an assault on Amazon, while fighting for its own survival. The Ann Arbor, MI-based bookseller continued its aggressive new mission of trying to remain relevant in a highly competitive space by opening its new eBook store and launching two more eReader apps for Blackberry and Android devices. Today’s announcement follows its release … Continue reading “Borders’ eBook Store Open For Business; New Apps For Android, Blackberry”
CMC Icos Mounts Comeback, Resumes Hiring, After Pausing During the Downturn
CMC Icos Biologics was one of the bright spots in the Northwest innovation community during the dark days of September 2008. The financial crisis was all over the news, yet the Bothell, WA-based biotech drugmaker said it planned to double in size to 250 employees, and quintuple its manufacturing capacity. Two weeks later, the company … Continue reading “CMC Icos Mounts Comeback, Resumes Hiring, After Pausing During the Downturn”
Google Pays $700M for ITA, Eli Lilly Buys Alnara, Skyhook Lands Samsung Partnership, & More Boston-Area Deals News
We saw news of several local acquisition deals by technology powerhouses in the past week. —Watertown, MA-based Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, a developer of RNA interference drugs, raised $5 million in an offering of debt and options. The startup previously raised $21.4 million in Series A funding from Abingworth Management, Skyline Ventures, and Oxford Bioscience Partners. Former … Continue reading “Google Pays $700M for ITA, Eli Lilly Buys Alnara, Skyhook Lands Samsung Partnership, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
DNAnexus Seeks to Capitalize on Data Pile-Up, as Leader in Genomic Analysis Software
The time is right for someone to come along and build a great company in bioinformatics, according to Andreas Sundquist. He’s betting it will be his team at Palo Alto, CA-based DNAnexus. Scientists have been complaining for years about massive amounts of data piling up on their servers as gene sequencing instruments have become ever … Continue reading “DNAnexus Seeks to Capitalize on Data Pile-Up, as Leader in Genomic Analysis Software”
On-Q-ity, Led by Former Genzyme Exec, Takes on “Diagnostic Black Hole” in Cancer
Cancer survivors could have tumor cells circulating in their blood stream and not know it, because imaging exams don’t detect these indicators of potential malignancies, says Mara Aspinall, the chief executive of On-Q-ity. On-Q-ity, a diagnostics startup based in Waltham, MA, wants to find these circulating tumor cells in patients’ blood and use biomarkers to … Continue reading “On-Q-ity, Led by Former Genzyme Exec, Takes on “Diagnostic Black Hole” in Cancer”
Flo TV to Launch Sports Datacasting This Month, as Parent Qualcomm Studies Datacasting for Magazines and Other Opportunities
Some of Qualcomm’s top executives have been suggesting the San Diego wireless technology giant is looking at alternative uses of the 700 MHz spectrum that Qualcomm’s Flo TV has been using since 2007 to broadcast television programming to mobile devices. As we reported last month, Qualcomm Chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs said the number of … Continue reading “Flo TV to Launch Sports Datacasting This Month, as Parent Qualcomm Studies Datacasting for Magazines and Other Opportunities”
The Open Science Shift
Recent years have seen technological revolutions in informatics, communications, and the life sciences. Xconomy readers are deeply engaged with these trends, but may be unaware of the most important development of all, the transition (sometimes painful), to an Open Science system better suited for a global, networked, knowledge economy. Sadly, rapid technical progress has thus … Continue reading “The Open Science Shift”
Earth Class Mail CEO Sarah Carr on the Revamped Business Model and What Had to Change in Her First 10 Months
[Corrected: 1:15 pm, see below] Earth Class Mail was built on the notion that businesses which receive a lot of important documents through old fashioned snail mail may benefit from the services it has to offer. The Seattle-based company, founded in 2004 by former head and board chairman, Ron Wiener, develops software that digitizes incoming … Continue reading “Earth Class Mail CEO Sarah Carr on the Revamped Business Model and What Had to Change in Her First 10 Months”
Greenplum Purchase Gets EMC into the Big Data Game
[Corrected July 8, 2010, 10:20 a.m.; see below] Boston is already a powerhouse in “big data.” It’s home to companies like Netezza, Dataupia, Vertica, and Lightwolf Technologies, which all help enterprises manage and mine the huge databases used in business intelligence applications. It was the site of the first “Boston Big Data Summit” last fall. … Continue reading “Greenplum Purchase Gets EMC into the Big Data Game”
Qualcomm CEO Points to Wellness and Chronic Care Management as Big Opportunities in Mobile Health
Like most advances in the life sciences, ensuring reimbursement by medical insurance providers and getting new wireless devices through the government regulatory process will be crucial barriers for the emerging wireless health sector to overcome, according to Qualcomm chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs. Jacobs, who was key to organizing a mobile health summit held in … Continue reading “Qualcomm CEO Points to Wellness and Chronic Care Management as Big Opportunities in Mobile Health”
Lockerz.com Raises Cash From Kleiner Perkins for Social Commerce Site
Seattle-based startup Lockerz is a new kind of social networking service—an invitation-only social commerce site where the ultimate goal is for members to earn rewards for their online interaction. Through the site, members collect points redeemable for discounts on brand name products by connecting with friends, watching videos, shopping online, and otherwise engaging in the … Continue reading “Lockerz.com Raises Cash From Kleiner Perkins for Social Commerce Site”
World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode VI: Wall, South Dakota
If Xconomy had an official interstate highway, it would be I-90. The longest highway in the whole interstate system, it stretches 3,099 miles from Logan Airport in Boston (Xconomy’s birthplace) to Safeco Field in Seattle (the second city in our network). On our way to San Francisco, we followed I-90 from Boston to Buffalo, and … Continue reading “World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode VI: Wall, South Dakota”
AutoVenture Forum to Play Matchmaker Between Promising Tech Companies and Big Automakers, Suppliers
David Bodde, a college professor who teaches entrepreneurship to engineers, believes the auto industry is going through “a quiet revolution”—one in which most of the innovation happens not at the big auto companies but at the tiered suppliers. Bodde, an engineering professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, calls it a move “from a very … Continue reading “AutoVenture Forum to Play Matchmaker Between Promising Tech Companies and Big Automakers, Suppliers”
What Google’s $700M Acquisition of ITA Means to Boston, and to Competition with Expedia, Bing, and Kayak
This deal has a little bit of everything. A compelling startup story, technology used by millions of consumers, big company strategy and competition, antitrust issues, and, on top of all that, a really significant local innovation angle. I’m talking, of course, about last week’s $700 million acquisition of Cambridge, MA-based ITA Software by Google. ITA’s … Continue reading “What Google’s $700M Acquisition of ITA Means to Boston, and to Competition with Expedia, Bing, and Kayak”
Qualcomm Seeks Spark for Brew MP, Northrop Grumman Gets $35M for UAV-to-UAV Refueling, & More San Diego BizTech News
It was a busy week for San Diego BizTech news, as Qualcomm convened its inaugural Uplinq conference to encourage programmers to write apps for its Brew MP system. We’ve got that news and more, so link up here. —Qualcomm convened its first-ever Uplinq conference in San Diego last week in a bid to reinvigorate the … Continue reading “Qualcomm Seeks Spark for Brew MP, Northrop Grumman Gets $35M for UAV-to-UAV Refueling, & More San Diego BizTech News”
PhyloTech, Corey Goodman’s First Environmental Health Startup, Raises $1.2M in Seed Capital
Corey Goodman, the prominent biotech entrepreneur, looked at the view from his home at Tomales Bay in Marin County, CA one day in the late ’90s, and was stunned by what he saw. Officials were taking water samples, looking for bacterial contamination that was making people sick. It was all a big mystery where it … Continue reading “PhyloTech, Corey Goodman’s First Environmental Health Startup, Raises $1.2M in Seed Capital”
AlloCure, With Stem Cell Therapy for Kidney Failure, Arrives in New England with New CEO
Boston has landed an intriguing biotech startup seeking to tap the New England talent pool. AlloCure, the developer of an adult stem cell therapy for a severe kidney disease, has moved its headquarters from Salt Lake City to Burlington, MA, where it is being led by new CEO Robert Brenner, a veteran executive from AMAG … Continue reading “AlloCure, With Stem Cell Therapy for Kidney Failure, Arrives in New England with New CEO”
Amazon’s Cloud Computing Service Sees Opportunity in Genomic Data Overload
The future of biology, if Amazon has its way, will be in the cloud. The Seattle-based online retailer (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]) has generated buzz the past few years with its foray into cloud computing through Amazon Web Services. This is the model in which customers rent server space on a pay-as-you-go basis, and get access to … Continue reading “Amazon’s Cloud Computing Service Sees Opportunity in Genomic Data Overload”
Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy
I recently had the honor of being interviewed for an Xconomy article. When I finished reading the article, I read a number of the related posts. One of them, “Five Things Entrepreneurs and Innovators Can Do To Invigorate Michigan’s Economy,” bothered me because, in my opinion, it leaves one thinking that Michigan is completely missing … Continue reading “Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy”
Amazon Acquires Woot, Symform Raises $4M, Starbucks Offers Wi-Fi for All, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It’s been a slow deal week for Northwest tech companies, most likely because of the holiday weekend. But that’s not to say nothing of note happened. In the past week we’ve seen two cloud storage and health IT startups rake in some dough, the free Wi-Fi trend expand to one of the biggest retail brands … Continue reading “Amazon Acquires Woot, Symform Raises $4M, Starbucks Offers Wi-Fi for All, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
World Stem Cell Summit
This Detroit event bills itself as the flagship international event uniting the stem cell community by bringing together scientists, patients, advocates, business people, investors, educators, ethicists, policy makers, government representatives, and others to network and learn from each other. Organizers say the summit will attract more than 1,200 attendees from 30 nations, 60 exhibitors and … Continue reading “World Stem Cell Summit”
Kleiner-Backed V-Vehicle’s Headquarters Remains in San Diego—For Now
San Diego has learned from years of painful experience that being the hometown of a corporate headquarters is an insecure relationship that depends entirely on the fidelity of the company’s CEO. So it seemed inevitable that San Diego-based V-Vehicle would move its headquarters to the San Francisco Bay Area after the wheels came off the … Continue reading “Kleiner-Backed V-Vehicle’s Headquarters Remains in San Diego—For Now”
World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode V: Minneapolis, MN
When I hatched this kooky plan to drive across the country to San Francisco, shooting, editing, and publishing videos along the way, I had no idea it would be quite so exhausting. So when we reached the home of Graham’s friend Oliver Zhou in Minneapolis Wednesday night, we were grateful to have a place to … Continue reading “World Wide Wade Goes West—Episode V: Minneapolis, MN”
Drug Giant Eli Lilly Buys Alnara Pharma To Get Cystic Fibrosis Drug
[Updated: 07/02/10 at 10:14 am Eastern time] It appears to be a rare case of fast money made in a biotech startup. The drug giant Eli Lilly (NYSE:[[ticker:LLY]]) has bought Cambridge, MA-based Alnara Pharmaceuticals and its lead drug for cystic fibrosis patients just two years after the biotech startup incorporated. The companies revealed the deal … Continue reading “Drug Giant Eli Lilly Buys Alnara Pharma To Get Cystic Fibrosis Drug”
Drop the Incrementalism & More Advice on How to Create a Stable Hub for Innovation
We tapped into a rich vein for commentary the past few weeks, by asking technology leaders from around the country for ideas on how to make San Francisco and Silicon Valley a more stable place for innovation, less wedded to traditional cycles of boom and bust. We had no idea what people would say, but … Continue reading “Drop the Incrementalism & More Advice on How to Create a Stable Hub for Innovation”
Xconomy Seattle’s Top 20 Stories of the Quarter: The Quest for the Land Speed Record, Dendreon Makes History, & Geoff Entress Up Close
A veteran newspaper reporter once said that if you wrote a story six months ago, it was fine to follow up again, because nobody would remember you wrote that other piece. Now that news moves at electron speed on the Web, we figure people can barely remember what we wrote just a couple weeks ago. … Continue reading “Xconomy Seattle’s Top 20 Stories of the Quarter: The Quest for the Land Speed Record, Dendreon Makes History, & Geoff Entress Up Close”