MSpot might be the biggest mobile music service you’ve never heard of. The Palo Alto company has been profitable since shortly after its launch in 2004, and its streaming music service has six million users across 10 different wireless carriers in North America. But it white-labels that service, meaning it shows up under names like … Continue reading “mSpot Opens Up Freemium Cloud Music Service in a Bid to Pre-empt Apple and Google; In-Depth Q&A with CEO Daren Tsui”
Category: National
Tesaro: Former MedImmune CEO’s Firm Writes Check, Cancer Drug Vets Build Pipeline
Tumors are kicking our butt in the war on cancer. What’s more, big drugmakers are cutting their budgets at the expense of some cancer treatments under development. But now there’s Tesaro, a drug development outfit that formed this spring to buy some of those promising therapies for cancer in the early stages of development and … Continue reading “Tesaro: Former MedImmune CEO’s Firm Writes Check, Cancer Drug Vets Build Pipeline”
World Cup Draws Big Fans From San Diego’s Innovation Elite, Mushroom Networks Targets Internet Bottlenecks, SmartDraw Aims for a Bigger Market, & More San Diego BizTech News
Local companies revealed a flurry of venture funding deals last week, but some VC partners said venture capital continues to lag the overall economic recovery. The nagging problem is that IPOs and other exits remain constricted for venture-backed companies. We have all that and even some World Cup news. You better settle in, because our … Continue reading “World Cup Draws Big Fans From San Diego’s Innovation Elite, Mushroom Networks Targets Internet Bottlenecks, SmartDraw Aims for a Bigger Market, & More San Diego BizTech News”
Bonanzle and PhysioSonics, Plus a Few New Kids on the Block in May’s Under the Radar Deals
Much like April’s “under the radar” roundup, this month a number of smaller, but still significant deals (between $100,000 and $1,000,000) have come through for a number of companies we’ve been following for some time. But we also saw a handful of companies for the first time in this month’s installment of local micro-deals compiled … Continue reading “Bonanzle and PhysioSonics, Plus a Few New Kids on the Block in May’s Under the Radar Deals”
In Bust Times, Schmooze
A friend of mine worked at a productive technology company that was private. When sales slumped in a recession, the owner turned technical personnel on to creating future products, and turned them to servicing products when the economy was strong. The company became public and the cycle of stability was reversed: laying off people in slumps … Continue reading “In Bust Times, Schmooze”
Future Biotech Winners Will Help Nurses Clean up Less (Stuff), Says Roger Longman
Savvy biotech companies developing, say, cancer drugs, will have to do more in the future than just look at whether a new drug is safe and kills tumors, according to Roger Longman. They’ll also measure things that really count for payers, like length of hospital stays, and—set aside your bowl of Cheerios—how much time it … Continue reading “Future Biotech Winners Will Help Nurses Clean up Less (Stuff), Says Roger Longman”
New England’s Under-the-Radar List: 19 Startup Financings in May You Probably Haven’t Heard About
As temperatures warmed up in New England in the month of May, so did smaller startup investments. There were 19 financings worth less than $1 million last month, and they went to companies spanning the medical devices, social media, energy, and software spaces. (A huge jump from April, when we rounded up seven such deals … Continue reading “New England’s Under-the-Radar List: 19 Startup Financings in May You Probably Haven’t Heard About”
San Diego’s Hotbed of Innovation Also a Hotbed for World Cup Fans
Earlier this week on ESPN radio, the announcers introduced news about the dramatic U.S. victory over Algeria in the World Cup soccer tournament by saying (approximately): And now, for the four or five Americans who are soccer fans… Ouch. Ironic too, considering that ESPN invested $100 million for the broadcasting rights to the 2010 World … Continue reading “San Diego’s Hotbed of Innovation Also a Hotbed for World Cup Fans”
Orexigen Drug Shows Potential as “Two-Fer” Against Obesity and Diabetes
Diabetes and obesity are so closely related for so many millions of people, physicians and investors now sometimes talk about the “diabesity” epidemic. There are a lot of drugs out there for one condition or the other, and now San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics is attempting to make a case that its experimental drug could be … Continue reading “Orexigen Drug Shows Potential as “Two-Fer” Against Obesity and Diabetes”
Automattic Buys Plinky
Plinky, a “content encouragement” service that provides daily prompts to people in need of help composing social media updates, was presumed to be headed to the junk heap after its creator, San Francisco-based Thing Labs, announced plans in April to stop updating the site. But in a post on the Thing Labs blog today, the … Continue reading “Automattic Buys Plinky”
10 Stories from Xconomy Seattle’s Early Days (With Some Added Perspective)
There has been plenty of tech-business news in the past week to put Seattle on the national radar. But it takes years to understand the innovation community here; I’ve only scratched the surface so far. So, in honor of my colleague Thea’s first week on the job, I thought it would be useful to look … Continue reading “10 Stories from Xconomy Seattle’s Early Days (With Some Added Perspective)”
Report: John Glaser Leaving Partners Healthcare for Siemens
[Updated—6/25/10, 4 pm Eastern time] This is sort of a coincidence. Partners HealthCare chief information officer John Glaser, who three days ago was featured on this site, is resigning from his long-time post to take over as CEO of the hospital software division of the Germany-based conglomerate Siemens, according to the HIStalk blog. (Glaser has … Continue reading “Report: John Glaser Leaving Partners Healthcare for Siemens”
Olympus Acquires Redmond’s Spiration, Maker of Lung-Disease Valve, for Undisclosed Sum
[Update: 10:45 am] Spiration’s independent days are over. The Redmond, WA-based company, the developer of a minimally-invasive valve to treat lung diseases, has agreed to be acquired by Japan-based Olympus for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition is really the culmination of a relationship that’s been growing between the two companies since 2008, when Olympus obtained … Continue reading “Olympus Acquires Redmond’s Spiration, Maker of Lung-Disease Valve, for Undisclosed Sum”
Consumers Energy To Reach 6.2 Percent Renewable Power After Deal With Four New Michigan Projects
With Michigan law requiring that 10 percent of its energy supply come from renewable sources by 2015, Consumers Energy has announced its supply will reach 6.2 percent after it purchases electricity from four new renewable energy projects. Consumers Energy, which supplies power to more than 6 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents, has reached power … Continue reading “Consumers Energy To Reach 6.2 Percent Renewable Power After Deal With Four New Michigan Projects”
Mushroom Networks Uses “Bonding” Technology to Pump More Data Through Bottlenecks
What San Diego’s Mushroom Networks does is something akin to IT alchemy. The company’s technology transforms data rates that trickle into its “black box” device from a variety of Internet connections into a broadband gusher on the other side, for the benefit of all the users on a business intranet or local network. The technology … Continue reading “Mushroom Networks Uses “Bonding” Technology to Pump More Data Through Bottlenecks”
26 Apps to Drive Your iPad Wild!
Being one of the earliest of early adopters—I got my first iPad about half an hour after they went on sale on April 3—I’m often asked by friends, family members, and readers about my favorite iPhone and iPad applications. I’ve written plenty of columns about iPhone apps, so now it’s the iPad’s turn. Given the … Continue reading “26 Apps to Drive Your iPad Wild!”
Genentech’s Souped-Up Antibody, Reg Kelly’s Mission, LS9 Nears Moment of Truth & More Bay Area Life Sciences News
We know the news and features move fast on our site, and it can be hard to keep up with everything we write every day. So here’s a weekly roundup to help you catch up. This one is especially big, since we started publishing Xconomy San Francisco on June 14 and I’m actually summing up our first … Continue reading “Genentech’s Souped-Up Antibody, Reg Kelly’s Mission, LS9 Nears Moment of Truth & More Bay Area Life Sciences News”
Third Rock Invests in Ablexis, Acceleron Grabs $8.4M, Alnylam Chief Joins Agios Board, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
Drugmakers were big newsmakers this week, with announcements of financings and personnel moves. Sylvia also wrote her column on the incompetencies often found in biotech companies that drive up the cost of drug development. —Ryan captured his interview with John Glaser, the chief information officer of Boston’s Partners HealthCare. Glaser discussed the challenges and changes … Continue reading “Third Rock Invests in Ablexis, Acceleron Grabs $8.4M, Alnylam Chief Joins Agios Board, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Boston-Power Pulls In $60M More to Push Battery Technologies Into Electronics, Cars, and Utilities
One of New England’s most prominent cleantech companies is making strides today in a very active field. Westborough, MA-based Boston-Power, a maker of advanced lithium-ion batteries and energy storage technologies, says it has raised $60 million in Series E growth equity funding, co-led by existing investors Foundation Asset Management and Oak Investment Partners. Previous investors … Continue reading “Boston-Power Pulls In $60M More to Push Battery Technologies Into Electronics, Cars, and Utilities”
Rumblefish, YouTube Team Up to Offer Music Licensing Service for Consumers
One of the complications of living in an information age is the fact that an endless amount of digital content is available anywhere and at all times, no matter who owns it. For creators—artists, writers, musicians—the massive influx of digital information has meant intellectual property is more easily reprinted, plagiarized, pirated and downright stolen virally. … Continue reading “Rumblefish, YouTube Team Up to Offer Music Licensing Service for Consumers”
The XSITE 2010 Slide Show
It’s been a week since our 2010 Xconomy Summit on Innovation, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, and we’re still excited about it—and still hearing good feedback from the business community. We’ve already taken a look at some of the high points of the day (which included a vocal and guitar performance by Xconomy CEO Bob Buderi), but … Continue reading “The XSITE 2010 Slide Show”
Intrigue, Fraud Surround Death of Biotech Angel Investor, Neurocrine Biosciences Signs Two Big Deals, Regulus Therapeutics Signs Sanofi-Aventis Deal, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
San Diego’s life sciences community and angel investors are watching transfixed as investigators unfold the suspicious death of La Jolla resident John G. Watson. We also saw some huge funding deals over the past week, and we’ve summarized it all for you here: —Carlsbad, CA-based Regulus Therapeutics announced a lucrative partnership with Sanofi-Aventis, the Paris-based … Continue reading “Intrigue, Fraud Surround Death of Biotech Angel Investor, Neurocrine Biosciences Signs Two Big Deals, Regulus Therapeutics Signs Sanofi-Aventis Deal, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Seattle Sensor Systems Loses New CEO Who Stirred Buzz at Zino Society, Technology Alliance
[Update: 4:22 pm Pacific] Seattle Sensor Systems, a University of Washington spinout company that appeared rejuvenated earlier this year by hiring a new chief executive with a new business plan, has suddenly decided to dump CEO Carole Spangler. Spangler confirmed that she’s out of the picture, but didn’t say why. “News travels fast. It is … Continue reading “Seattle Sensor Systems Loses New CEO Who Stirred Buzz at Zino Society, Technology Alliance”
Seattle Genetics’ Dark Horse, Gilead Beats Novartis, Oncothyreon Back in the Saddle, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Summertime may be officially here, but we are a long way from the dog days. This week, the Seattle biotech desk had reports on cancer drugs, drug discovery tools, and antibiotics, as well as a few sharp guest editorials. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]) has generated a lot of buzz about its drug candidate, an “empowered … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics’ Dark Horse, Gilead Beats Novartis, Oncothyreon Back in the Saddle, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Startup School, Round Two: The 2010 Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators
A common trait among entrepreneurs is their distaste for working alone. Fortunately, there are programs across the country that aim to surround startups with entrepreneur comrades, seasoned execs, and investors, to provide both community and guidance. We rounded up these programs last year in the inaugural Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, and are back again … Continue reading “Startup School, Round Two: The 2010 Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators”
Extreme Reach Raises $9M More to Improve Distribution and Tracking of Video Ads
Score one for digital video advertising. Extreme Reach, a Needham, MA-based maker of distribution software for video ads, said yesterday it has closed $9 million in Series B financing, made up of $7 million in equity and $2 million in term debt. The round was led by one of the company’s original investors, Village Ventures. … Continue reading “Extreme Reach Raises $9M More to Improve Distribution and Tracking of Video Ads”
Mobile Developers Flocking to Tablets in Wake of iPad’s Launch, Survey Shows
If mobile software developers were reserving judgment about tablet computers as a platform for new apps and services, the events of the last three months—principally, of course, the advent of the iPad—seem to have changed their minds. Developers are stampeding to tablets now, and it’s about more than just the iPad. Mountain View, CA-based Appcelerator … Continue reading “Mobile Developers Flocking to Tablets in Wake of iPad’s Launch, Survey Shows”
Three Ways the Bay Area Can Become a Stronger Place for Cleantech
As the new CEO of a Bay Area energy biotech company coming from a major oil company, I have a bit of an outsider’s view. Here are my suggestions: 1. Understand that not every problem has a quick solution. Years of startups and venture investing in tech companies have conditioned a lot of people to … Continue reading “Three Ways the Bay Area Can Become a Stronger Place for Cleantech”
Fixing the Broken Model: Look Inside Your Company
You know that ominous figure people always talk about, that one staggering number—$1.3 billion these days—that represents the cost to develop and market a drug? It is, to be sure, way too high and unsustainably so. The billions of dollars that have been invested to discover the next generation of blockbusters have, for the most … Continue reading “Fixing the Broken Model: Look Inside Your Company”
Massachusetts Startups Pull in $186M in May; Life Sciences Companies Take the Top Five Deals
Last month was not at all about equality, at least when it came to venture investing. Overall, monthly venture investing totals have remained pretty stable for most of the spring in Massachusetts, hovering around the $200 million neighborhood, based on data provided by private company intelligence platform CB Insights. (That’s only counting deals worth $1 … Continue reading “Massachusetts Startups Pull in $186M in May; Life Sciences Companies Take the Top Five Deals”
Investment Banking Advisor Points to the Exit for Venture-Backed Startups
Founders of venture-backed startups should be building their business to go public through an IPO, but it is far more likely they will get acquired instead, according to former investment banker Steve Fletcher, who is now a managing director in the San Francisco office of GCA Savvian Advisors. Fletcher, who was a keynote speaker this … Continue reading “Investment Banking Advisor Points to the Exit for Venture-Backed Startups”
HP Buys Melodeo for Reported $30-$35M
[Updated and corrected: 2:40 pm] The team behind the nuTsie cloud-based music service, Seattle-based startup Melodeo, has been acquired by Hewlett-Packard, according to a TechCrunch report. The company was reportedly purchased for approximately $30 to $35 million earlier this month, “a source familiar with the deal” told TechCrunch. Melodeo provides an all-in-one music system that … Continue reading “HP Buys Melodeo for Reported $30-$35M”
Greenhorn Connect, Growing Fast, Looks to Continue “Snowball Effect” of Young Tech Entrepreneurs
If you’re a young entrepreneur in the Boston area, you need to know about Greenhorn Connect. It’s a fast-growing resource site that, as its name suggests, connects entrepreneurs, college students, and recent grads with startup jobs, events, guides, and other activities. Greenhorn just launched a new job board last week that aims to help young … Continue reading “Greenhorn Connect, Growing Fast, Looks to Continue “Snowball Effect” of Young Tech Entrepreneurs”
Borders Joins E-Reader Price Wars with Kobo Device, Gift Cards, New Apps, Even A Free Cup of Joe
This isn’t quite the $49 “paperback Kindle” that marketing guru Seth Godin has been urging Amazon to build, but Ann Arbor, MI-based bookseller Borders is firing another shot in the e-reader price wars brought on by the introduction of Apple’s iPad, which scared the bejeezus out of the nascent industry. Borders has announced that it … Continue reading “Borders Joins E-Reader Price Wars with Kobo Device, Gift Cards, New Apps, Even A Free Cup of Joe”
Ablexis Maps Out New Antibody Drug Strategy with $12M From Third Rock, Pfizer
Antibodies that can zero in on specific diseased cells are some of the biggest-selling and fastest-growing fields in all of biotech. Yet after three decades of R&D, if you talk to people who try to discover these things, they’ll tell you it’s a long and risky slog to get any good candidates for clinical trials. … Continue reading “Ablexis Maps Out New Antibody Drug Strategy with $12M From Third Rock, Pfizer”
Biotech Must Have Predictable Regs, More Capital, More Talented Workers to Thrive
Last week, a group of executives and leaders from state life sciences trade associations across the country, including myself, gathered here in Seattle to discuss the policy landscape at both the federal and state levels. Part of our agenda for the meeting, which took place at Amgen’s Helix campus along Elliott Bay, was to discuss … Continue reading “Biotech Must Have Predictable Regs, More Capital, More Talented Workers to Thrive”
Presage Biosciences, the Fred Hutch Spinoff, Adds CEO, Angel Bucks, Big Pharma Customers
Quite a lot has happened at Presage Biosciences in just a couple months. This Seattle-based company, a spinoff from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has recruited a new CEO, raised another $1 million, found new labs, and snapped up two active contracts from Big Pharma customers. Such are the heady early days for the … Continue reading “Presage Biosciences, the Fred Hutch Spinoff, Adds CEO, Angel Bucks, Big Pharma Customers”
Consumer Genetics Needs More Transparency, Not Excessive Regulation
[Editor’s Note: Daniel MacArthur, a researcher at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, UK, and the author of Genetic Future, co-wrote this post.] Are you ready for consumer genetics? Is your government? Recent announcements of federal investigations into the budding direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry suggest that authorities are preparing to increase regulation of … Continue reading “Consumer Genetics Needs More Transparency, Not Excessive Regulation”
Etude on the iPad—A Young Boston Developer Follows the Music to San Francisco
Dan Grover has seen a lot. He’s taken courses through the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and studied at Northeastern University in Boston. He’s had his own independent application development company since 2004. He’s been a staff developer at Boston-based uLocate (now Where) and Palo Alto, CA-based Tapulous. The Mac desktop program he built, ShoveBox, … Continue reading “Etude on the iPad—A Young Boston Developer Follows the Music to San Francisco”
Jackpot Scores $14M, MIT Startup Wins 20K-Euro Prize, Nuance Acquires ShapeWriter, & More Boston-Area Deals News
We saw news of financings for stealthy startups in healthcare and IT, as well as an acquisition in the mobile space, and a business competition prize winner. —Predictive BioSciences raised $25 million in Series C funding, to put towards selling its test for bladder cancer and for developing its diagnostics technology. New investor ProQuest Investments, … Continue reading “Jackpot Scores $14M, MIT Startup Wins 20K-Euro Prize, Nuance Acquires ShapeWriter, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Man Charged With Fraud in Draining $7.5M From Angel Investor’s Account
San Diego authorities have charged a 59-year-old man with identity theft, saying he unlawfully transferred $7.5 million from a Deutsche Bank account by posing as the actual account holder—a retired San Diego biotech executive and angel investor who was found dead on June 8. San Diego police also are investigating the death of the executive, … Continue reading “Man Charged With Fraud in Draining $7.5M From Angel Investor’s Account”
Tom Ranken, Former WBBA Chief, Named CEO of Washington Clean Tech Alliance
The Washington Clean Technology Alliance (WCTA), a business network founded in 2007 to serve as an advocacy organization for Washington’s clean, green and environmental tech industries, has hired J. Thomas Ranken as its first full time president and CEO. The pick should help strengthen the local cleantech sector, and help the organization garner more support. … Continue reading “Tom Ranken, Former WBBA Chief, Named CEO of Washington Clean Tech Alliance”
Nuance Acquires ShapeWriter, Ramps Up Pressure on Seattle Startup Swype
Memo to mobile-interface companies: Nuance is on the prowl. The speech-recognition and imaging software giant (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), based in Burlington, MA, has acquired ShapeWriter, a Silicon Valley-based spinout from the IBM Almaden Research Center, for an undisclosed sum. Nuance has not spoken publicly about the acquisition, but a message on the ShapeWriter website as of … Continue reading “Nuance Acquires ShapeWriter, Ramps Up Pressure on Seattle Startup Swype”
Last Call! Share Hellos, Goodbyes, and Beers with Wade and Greg Tonight
Just a reminder to our readers around Boston that we’d love to see you at tonight’s Xconomy beer bash. We’re welcoming Greg Huang as the new Editor of Xconomy Boston and saying farewell to Wade Roush, who starts his journey to San Francisco this weekend. The festivities start at 5:00 p.m. at the Cambridge Brewing … Continue reading “Last Call! Share Hellos, Goodbyes, and Beers with Wade and Greg Tonight”
Three Medical Device Deals to Wrap Up: Voyage Medical, Incline Therapeutics, and Baxano
Here are three interesting medical device deals from around the Bay Area that crossed our desk in the past few days. —Voyage Medical, a Redwood City, CA-based developer of technology to help cardiologists better visualize heart tissue as they work, raised $20.6 million out of an equity financing round that could be worth as much … Continue reading “Three Medical Device Deals to Wrap Up: Voyage Medical, Incline Therapeutics, and Baxano”
From Pioneer in Internet Sales to a Giant Leap in Mass Adoption, SmartDraw Charts New Strategy in Graphics Software
Paul Stannard says communicating visually by using charts, graphs, and other information graphics is six times as effective as communicating by text alone. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Yet even with the widespread availability of sophisticated software like Autodesk’s AutoCad, Adobe Illustrator, and CorelDraw to create diagrams and info-graphics, Stannard maintains that … Continue reading “From Pioneer in Internet Sales to a Giant Leap in Mass Adoption, SmartDraw Charts New Strategy in Graphics Software”
Michigan-Based Site Boocoo.com Thinks It’s Found a Way to Compete with Craigslist and eBay…and Save Your Local Newspaper
Since Monday, if you’ve paid close attention, you might have noticed a goofy-sounding phrase in your Boston Herald or San Diego Union-Tribune: “Boocoo Auctions.” It comes from a Royal Oak, MI, based company called Ranger Data Technologies and is part of an ambitious plan to take lost advertising revenue back from Craigslist and eBay. But, … Continue reading “Michigan-Based Site Boocoo.com Thinks It’s Found a Way to Compete with Craigslist and eBay…and Save Your Local Newspaper”
Regulus Therapeutics, Spinoff of Isis and Alnylam, Forms $750M MicroRNA Deal With Sanofi
Regulus Therapeutics has found its second big ally from Big Pharma. The Carlsbad, CA-based company has forged what it calls its most lucrative partnership yet to discover, develop, and someday co-market microRNA drugs with Paris-based pharma giant Sanofi-Aventis (NYSE: [[ticker:SNY]]). Regulus, formed in 2008 by Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]]) and Carlsbad’s Isis Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “Regulus Therapeutics, Spinoff of Isis and Alnylam, Forms $750M MicroRNA Deal With Sanofi”
John Glaser, Boston’s Top Hospital Geek, Talks About Obama’s Health IT Plan and Getting Booted from Catholic School
John Glaser, chief information officer of Partners HealthCare, sits atop one of the largest health IT organizations in New England. Yet beneath his corporate shell lives a scorching wit and perhaps a somewhat reformed hell-raiser. He was kicked out of his Jesuit high school in the Bay Area during his junior year for his part … Continue reading “John Glaser, Boston’s Top Hospital Geek, Talks About Obama’s Health IT Plan and Getting Booted from Catholic School”
TaskRabbit Kicks Off Errand-Running Service in San Francisco, Boston ‘Burbs
TaskRabbit—known until this April as RunMyErrand—was one of the darlings of the Bay Area investing community when it emerged from the inaugural session of Facebook’s fbFund incubator program last summer. Founding CEO Leah Busque headed out to Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters in June 2009, and by October her Boston-born startup had picked up checks totaling … Continue reading “TaskRabbit Kicks Off Errand-Running Service in San Francisco, Boston ‘Burbs”