Every entrepreneur in the Northwest seems to be wondering about how to scrape up a few bucks from President Obama’s economic stimulus, yet hardly anybody has any coherent answers about how to actually get any of it. That was the main impression I got yesterday after attending the Washington Innovation Summit. This event, organized by … Continue reading “Brother, Can You Spare a Stimulus Dime? Washington Innovation Summit Notebook”
Category: National
At CHI Meeting, Microsoft Turns Computing Interfaces on Their Head, and Side, and Back
I spent a couple of days this week at CHI, the big annual meeting of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (ACM SIGCHI). It was the first time since 1994 that the conference—the main international gathering for scholars and practitioners in user interface design—has come to Boston. But it wasn’t … Continue reading “At CHI Meeting, Microsoft Turns Computing Interfaces on Their Head, and Side, and Back”
Amgen Cuts 100 Jobs in Bothell
Amgen, the world’s biggest biotech company, is cutting 100 jobs at a drug manufacturing site in Bothell, WA, Xconomy has learned. This round of cuts will leave Amgen with about 70 people still working in Bothell, and a total workforce in the state of just under 900 people, company spokeswoman Carol Pawlak confirmed. Amgen, which … Continue reading “Amgen Cuts 100 Jobs in Bothell”
JanRain Offers Universal Logins, Puts Portland at Center of Internet Identity Movement
Are you tired of trying to remember 20 different passwords for all your online accounts? If so, Larry Drebes has a proposition for you. His Portland, OR-based company, JanRain, makes software that gives customers and employees secure, universal logins for the Web, and it enables companies’ websites to accept these logins. The software works via … Continue reading “JanRain Offers Universal Logins, Puts Portland at Center of Internet Identity Movement”
Amylin Braces for Proxy Battle Amid Flurry of Filings
Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) became one of San Diego’s Cinderella success stories in 2005, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two of its diabetes drugs—some 18 years after the biotech was founded. But the company has been buffeted by some unusual challenges in recent months. Demand for exenatide, Amylin’s lead diabetes drug, has slumped … Continue reading “Amylin Braces for Proxy Battle Amid Flurry of Filings”
Nano-Terra Envisions Moneymaking Nanotech Ideas for Batteries, Kitty Litter, & More
Nano-Terra is sticking to its original strategy: Let other companies spend the money on manufacturing and marketing products that arise from its inventions, while making its money from licensing its nanotech creations and pulling in royalties on product sales. Now the Cambridge, MA-based startup is considering spinning off separate businesses to pursue more applications, including … Continue reading “Nano-Terra Envisions Moneymaking Nanotech Ideas for Batteries, Kitty Litter, & More”
Putting UW Startup Dreams on Hold: Entrepreneur Advises Researchers to Nurture Ideas More
We’ve been writing for months about the renaissance in startup activity at the University of Washington since Linden Rhoads came to campus to run tech transfer. The big ideas, and the fire in the belly, are easy to find coming from UW these days (Arzeda and EnerG2 pop to mind), but as any businessperson will … Continue reading “Putting UW Startup Dreams on Hold: Entrepreneur Advises Researchers to Nurture Ideas More”
Dendreon Saga Nears Climax, Gregoire Biotech Fund in Jeopardy, UW’s Biofuel Futurist, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Seattle biotech had a little something for everybody this past week. There was drama (Dendreon), politics (Life Sciences Discovery Fund getting whacked), a scientist’s life story (David Baker), and young competitors vying to make the world a better place (UW Environmental Innovation Challenge). —Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]), the Seattle developer of an immune-stimulating therapy for prostate … Continue reading “Dendreon Saga Nears Climax, Gregoire Biotech Fund in Jeopardy, UW’s Biofuel Futurist, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Extend Media Expands Video Delivery Options for Cable Providers—But Will They Bite Fast Enough to Stop Defections?
Last month I connected by phone with Extend Media‘s founder and president Keith Kocho. At the time, Kocho was sole leader of the Boston-based startup, which makes video management software for media companies. Given that Extend specializes in delivering video content across multiple platforms—over the broadband Internet to PCs, over traditional cable networks to TV … Continue reading “Extend Media Expands Video Delivery Options for Cable Providers—But Will They Bite Fast Enough to Stop Defections?”
Can Business Schools Teach Entrepreneurship?
When the Dow is sitting at half its 52-week high, the U.S. economy is shedding about a half million jobs a month, and the financial institutions of entire countries are collapsing, it’s as good a time as any to do some hard thinking about your professional future. At business schools these days, more and more … Continue reading “Can Business Schools Teach Entrepreneurship?”
Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs
A standing-room-only crowd gathered yesterday for Xconomy’s Forum on the Future of Mobile Innovation in New England, hosted by Microsoft at its gorgeous new New England Research and Development Center (or NERD, as Microsoft’s Reed Sturtevant called it). Google’s Rich Miner, MIT’s Sandy Pentland, and two panels’ worth of mobile entrepreneurs were on hand to … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs”
Former UC President Dynes Views CalIT2 as a New Paradigm for Innovation
At a luncheon that followed the La Jolla Research and Innovation Summit on Friday, I sat with Bob Dynes, the former President of the University of California system, who began talking about the formation of CalIT2 (Cal-IT-squared) almost a decade ago. These days, the research center also known as the California Institute for Telecommunications and … Continue reading “Former UC President Dynes Views CalIT2 as a New Paradigm for Innovation”
Spark Capital Backs Brownsberger’s Bill to Ban Non-Competes
Boston’s Spark Capital came out publicly today in favor of Massachusetts House Bill 1794, which would outlaw non-compete agreements in employment contracts in the state. The venture firm has been vocal on the issue for some time—its partners helped found the Alliance for Open Competition and sent Governor Deval Patrick an open letter opposing non-compete … Continue reading “Spark Capital Backs Brownsberger’s Bill to Ban Non-Competes”
Clinical Data Sheds Cogenics, Codon Devices Codes, Mass Medical Angels Revs Up, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
The news this week from New England’s life sciences sector is all across the spectrum, with a new angel group forming to launch new companies and several firms struggling (and in one case, failing) to survive. —Bob hosted a panel at the Massachusetts Technology Transfer Center’s fifth annual Early-Stage Life Sciences Technology Conference and came … Continue reading “Clinical Data Sheds Cogenics, Codon Devices Codes, Mass Medical Angels Revs Up, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Gov. Gregoire’s Baby, $350M Life Sciences Discovery Fund, Faces Possible Shutdown
[[Updated at 11:10 am Pacific with comment from Governor’s spokesman]] One of the centerpieces of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s economic development strategy, the state’s 10-year, $350 million Life Sciences Discovery Fund, would either be gutted or essentially shut down by dueling budget bills under consideration by state lawmakers, Xconomy has learned. This pot of money, which … Continue reading “Gov. Gregoire’s Baby, $350M Life Sciences Discovery Fund, Faces Possible Shutdown”
Sony Electronics Restructuring its U.S. Headquarters
Sony Electronics, which moved its U.S. corporate headquarters from New Jersey to suburban San Diego five years ago, is restructuring its business here as part of a global overhaul the Japanese giant has been undergoing since January. Sony arrived in San Diego’s Rancho Bernardo neighborhood in 1972, becoming the first foreign company to establish a … Continue reading “Sony Electronics Restructuring its U.S. Headquarters”
Ardea Biosciences, in Moment of Serendipity, Discovers HIV Drug That May Work for Gout
Biotech companies like to talk up the discipline it takes to move a drug through years of development, but discovery sometimes depends on plain serendipity. I got an interesting reminder of that the other day from Barry Quart, the CEO of San Diego-based Ardea Biosciences. Back in late 2007, Ardea (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RDEA]]) scientists were looking … Continue reading “Ardea Biosciences, in Moment of Serendipity, Discovers HIV Drug That May Work for Gout”
UW Business Plan Competition Draws 33 Teams With Ideas for Software, Energy, Healthcare
The ballots are in, and the University of Washington’s annual Business Plan Competition is officially under way. The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Foster School of Business has run the event for the past 11 years, awarding some $757,000 in prize money to 71 student companies that have crafted the most compelling and … Continue reading “UW Business Plan Competition Draws 33 Teams With Ideas for Software, Energy, Healthcare”
Bio Bigwigs from Boston and Beyond Gather in Cambridge to Discuss Future of Drug Development, Venture Capital, and Deals with Pharma
There’s little arguing (at least from me) that the hottest ticket in town yesterday was the Boston Red Sox’ opening day game at Fenway Park—but for ardent biotech fans in the Hub there was arguably no better place to be than across the Charles River in Cambridge for the Boston Biotech Business Development Conference. The … Continue reading “Bio Bigwigs from Boston and Beyond Gather in Cambridge to Discuss Future of Drug Development, Venture Capital, and Deals with Pharma”
MOD Systems Places Two Top Execs on Leave After Fraud Allegations
Seattle-based MOD Systems, a maker of music and video downloading technology for retail stores, placed its chief executive, Mark Phillips, and chief operating officer, Kenneth Gordon, on administrative leave Friday. I heard a rumor about this move over the weekend, and TechFlash confirmed the news yesterday, adding some important details. A phone message left with … Continue reading “MOD Systems Places Two Top Execs on Leave After Fraud Allegations”
Google CEO Suggests Micropayments, Subscriptions Might Take Off for Online News
The Associated Press did some saber-rattling in San Diego yesterday at the annual convention of the Newspaper Association of America, and today Google CEO Eric Schmidt delivered his riposte. In a keynote speech, AP chairman William Dean Singleton had vowed to more aggressively enforce the AP’s intellectual property rights. He said the wire service will … Continue reading “Google CEO Suggests Micropayments, Subscriptions Might Take Off for Online News”
Segway, GM Collaborate on Next-Generation Personal Transport
I had to check the calendar when I heard about this to make sure it wasn’t still April Fool’s Day. It appears that Bedford, NH-based Segway and Detroit-based General Motors (NYSE: [[ticker:GM]]) are joining forces to develop a new electric-powered, two-seater vehicle that, like the famous Segway Personal Transporter (PT), balances on two wheels. The … Continue reading “Segway, GM Collaborate on Next-Generation Personal Transport”
Epix Saga Continues with Sale of Imaging-Drug Rights, Exchange Offer
Epix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:EPIX]]), a Lexington, MA-based biotech firm struggling to survive, has revealed two separate deals today—the sale of certain market rights to its cardiovascular imaging agent and an exchange offer for $100 million in debt—aimed at shoring up its balance sheet and avoiding bankruptcy. Epix sold U.S./Puerto Rican, Canadian, and Australian marketing rights to … Continue reading “Epix Saga Continues with Sale of Imaging-Drug Rights, Exchange Offer”
See You This Afternoon at the [Sold Out!] Xconomy Forum on Mobile Innovation in New England
[Update 12:15 p.m. I’ll be live-tweeting from the event. You can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/wroush. Please use the hash tag #xconmobile if you’re tweeting or blogging about the event.] We’re packing up our laptops, posters, and banners in a couple of hours and heading over to Microsoft’s New England Research and Development Center for Xconomy’s … Continue reading “See You This Afternoon at the [Sold Out!] Xconomy Forum on Mobile Innovation in New England”
Moving Fast, Trius Therapeutics Assesses Capital Needs for Late-Stage Clinical Trials
When Luke checked in at Trius Therapeutics almost six months ago, he reported that the San Diego life sciences startup was on a roll, but not quite ready to talk about results of its early stage clinical trials. These days, CEO Jeff Stein says Trius is assessing how best to move ahead in its development … Continue reading “Moving Fast, Trius Therapeutics Assesses Capital Needs for Late-Stage Clinical Trials”
Swype Scores $1.3M, Onehub Raises $600K, Genzyme Comes to Town, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a fairly quiet week for Northwest deals, with activity in biotech, software, and mobile. Let’s see if the sunny weather brings more action. —Seattle Genetics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]), a Bothell, WA-based developer of cancer drugs, provided a worldwide license to use its technology to Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company in exchange for $4 million … Continue reading “Swype Scores $1.3M, Onehub Raises $600K, Genzyme Comes to Town, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Alkermes, Swinging For the Fence, Touts New Anti-Addiction Drug
Alkermes is in the midst of a makeover. The Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) is morphing from a steady-as-she-goes developer of technology that improves drugs for partners into a more classic biotech that swings for the fence. This means Alkermes is now getting in the high-risk and high-reward game that goes with developing new drugs … Continue reading “Alkermes, Swinging For the Fence, Touts New Anti-Addiction Drug”
Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs is Retired, But Not Retiring
When Qualcomm co-founder and longtime chairman and CEO Irwin Jacobs stepped down as chairman of the wireless giant last month, he said he was taking another shot at retiring. Jacobs, who turned 75 in October, told The San Diego Union-Tribune after Qualcomm’s annual shareholders meeting that his first attempt at retiring didn’t take, presumably because … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs is Retired, But Not Retiring”
Antibodies for HIV, Long Dismissed, Show Signs of Comeback at Seattle’s Theraclone
One of the great riddles of modern medicine is why a few rare individuals who get infected with HIV retain a strong enough immune defense to naturally fight off the virus in all its nefarious strains. Some of these people are prostitutes in Africa, they never take an expensive cocktail of antiviral drugs, and they … Continue reading “Antibodies for HIV, Long Dismissed, Show Signs of Comeback at Seattle’s Theraclone”
Polaris’ Simeonov Strikes Out on Own—Forms Advisory Firm While Looking for the Next Big Thing
Simeon “Sim” Simeonov, a longtime technology partner at Polaris Venture Partners, has left the venture company to launch his own endeavor—an advisory firm to help startups. Simeonov put together the website for his firm, FastIgnite, over the weekend. The homepage shows a turtle with a rocket strapped to its back, with a lit match primed … Continue reading “Polaris’ Simeonov Strikes Out on Own—Forms Advisory Firm While Looking for the Next Big Thing”
Qualcomm May Slow Verizon’s LTE Rollout
Verizon’s schedule for deploying speedy fourth generation mobile phones may be subject to delay. Citing a Deutsche Bank research report issued this morning, GigaOM suggests Verizon won’t make its plan to have LTE (Long-Term Evolution) handsets available by the end of 2010. The holdup is due to the LTE chip production schedule at San Diego’s … Continue reading “Qualcomm May Slow Verizon’s LTE Rollout”
A123Systems Will Supply Batteries for Chrysler’s Electric Vehicles
If struggling automaker Chrysler survives its current financial crisis, it will likely come out the other end with a different owner (the Obama Administration wants it to link up with Italy’s Fiat) and a different lineup of vehicles. In fact, it’s already working on a line of electric-only automobiles, including five Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler … Continue reading “A123Systems Will Supply Batteries for Chrysler’s Electric Vehicles”
Everypoint Launches News Reader for Java Phones
Back in December 2008 we wrote about the launch of Everypoint, a Boston startup working on a platform that makes it easy for developers to write cool iPhone-like applications for Java-capable phones, which includes most feature phones (i.e. non-smartphones) these days. To seed developer efforts, Everypoint started out by releasing a few of its own … Continue reading “Everypoint Launches News Reader for Java Phones”
Biotech Neighbors, VLST and Novo Nordisk, Forge Alliance in Seattle’s South Lake Union
One of the things we believe at Xconomy is that innovation happens in geographic clusters, especially when people can easily interact across multiple disciplines. I got a sense of how one of those important interactions is starting to blossom in pockets of a massive construction zone otherwise known as Seattle’s South Lake Union. Smack in … Continue reading “Biotech Neighbors, VLST and Novo Nordisk, Forge Alliance in Seattle’s South Lake Union”
Lilliputian Discovers $25M, Biovex Bags $40M, Clinical Data Cedes Cogenics to Beckman Coulter for $17M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
This past week saw a decent amount of venture dealmaking for Massachusetts tech and life sciences firms, with Woburn’s BioVex and Wilmington’s Lilliputian Systems scoring the biggest rounds. —Boston-area biotech startup TargAnox closed a $5.1 million Series A funding round led by Ascent Biomedical Ventures. Partners Innovation Fund contributed $250,000 to the round and helped … Continue reading “Lilliputian Discovers $25M, Biovex Bags $40M, Clinical Data Cedes Cogenics to Beckman Coulter for $17M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Wireless Medicine Gets $45M Booster Shot, Arena’s Weight-Loss Trial Underwhelms Wall Street, Venter’s Synthetic Genomics About to Ramp Up, & Other San Diego BizTech News
We saw first-hand the increasing convergence of advanced information technologies and the life sciences here in San Diego last week. The trend was evident in the formation of a new institute for wireless healthcare, and in a roundtable discussion about personal medicine at UC San Diego that highlighted the need for easy access to electronic … Continue reading “Wireless Medicine Gets $45M Booster Shot, Arena’s Weight-Loss Trial Underwhelms Wall Street, Venter’s Synthetic Genomics About to Ramp Up, & Other San Diego BizTech News”
Washington’s State Budget and Washington State’s Competitiveness
I’d like to throw out a few factoids for your consideration: 1. Washington is a high-tech state. For example, we rank 4th among the 50 states in the number of individuals in science and engineering occupations, as a proportion of our workforce. 2. However, most of these high-tech workers are imported from other states. We … Continue reading “Washington’s State Budget and Washington State’s Competitiveness”
Optimum Energy Wants Buildings to Use More Software, Waste Less Power
If you work in a commercial building, you’re probably familiar with the vagaries of large-scale heating and cooling systems. Hear that whir click on and cold air suddenly gusting through the vents? That’s the sound of your building hemorrhaging money and energy. Seattle cleantech software company Optimum Energy wants to stanch the energy drain of … Continue reading “Optimum Energy Wants Buildings to Use More Software, Waste Less Power”
Ember Raises $8 Million on Strength of Obama Administration’s Smart Grid Plans
Ember, the Boston-based maker of wireless mesh-networking chipsets for communications between devices such as utility meters and thermostats, will announce today that it has topped off its coffers with an $8 million funding round from a group of venture firms and strategic partners. CEO Robert LeFort says that if government stimulus spending on energy efficiency … Continue reading “Ember Raises $8 Million on Strength of Obama Administration’s Smart Grid Plans”
Magen BioSciences Sold for $14.5M, Codon Devices Closing Doors
These probably aren’t the rosy endings that VC backers had in mind when the promising Boston-area life sciences startups Magen BioSciences and Codon Devices were launched in recent years. But the news today is that Waltham-based Magen has been sold for less than it raised in its first round of financing, and the Boston Globe … Continue reading “Magen BioSciences Sold for $14.5M, Codon Devices Closing Doors”
Venter Outlines Progress in Engineering Microbes to Make Fuels
Connect CEO Duane Roth says that when he was organizing an “innovation summit” to showcase San Diego’s prowess in advanced research and innovation, he wanted to start each session of the two-day event with a scientific headliner as keynote speaker. And J. Craig Venter, who gained fame for his sequencing and analysis of the human … Continue reading “Venter Outlines Progress in Engineering Microbes to Make Fuels”
A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 4—Final Installment)
April 2—(I am back aboard Delta Airlines, this time in Seat 7B, slowly moving up in life…much smoother, too). As expected, the two-day junket went quickly. Today was mainly a series of briefs from the Department of Energy’s Program Managers (the professional/career DOE staffers that manage the various technology verticals). In many ways, it was … Continue reading “A Visit to the Capitol Markets (Part 4—Final Installment)”
Xconomy’s Mobile Innovation Forum Coming on Tuesday—Don’t Miss It
If you followed the the CTIA convention in Las Vegas this week, then you’ve been steeped in news about things like the Palm Pre, Skype for the iPhone, Firefox’s Fennec mobile browser, 4G services from Verizon and Clearwire, Kindle competitors from Verizon, AT&T, and News Corp., and new application stores for Blackberry, Nokia, and Windows … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Mobile Innovation Forum Coming on Tuesday—Don’t Miss It”
Mass Medical Angels Forms to Invest in Life Sciences Startups-And Get the Ball Rolling for VCs
Richard Anders, a veteran Boston-area entrepreneur and investor, has long shown an interest in life sciences through his affiliations with the Museum of Science in Boston, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program, and other organizations. Along the way, he’s seen a major problem: many promising life sciences inventions never reach … Continue reading “Mass Medical Angels Forms to Invest in Life Sciences Startups-And Get the Ball Rolling for VCs”
Dendreon Saga Heads Toward Climax, As Cancer Drug Aims to Prove It Prolongs Lives
Dendreon has all the ingredients of a Hollywood thriller: Life and death on the line. Millions of dollars at stake. Fast money in the stock market. Cutting-edge technology that aspires to achieve the impossible. The Seattle biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has gone through a riveting set of twists and turns over the past two years, … Continue reading “Dendreon Saga Heads Toward Climax, As Cancer Drug Aims to Prove It Prolongs Lives”
Seattle Layoff Update: Exide, Expedia, Impinj, Sun Trim Staff; MSN Encarta, Trusera to Close
In the past couple of weeks, we’ve seen further bloodletting in terms of area tech-company layoffs and closures. It really is brutal out there. Here is a quick recap: —Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XIDE]]), a maker of batteries and energy storage devices in Alpharetta, GA, closed its facility in Sumner, WA, and laid off 43 workers … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Exide, Expedia, Impinj, Sun Trim Staff; MSN Encarta, Trusera to Close”
Spotlight on Startups: Finalists for Seattle 2.0 and CNET Webware Awards Announced
‘Tis the season for Seattle startup awards. This week, the finalists have been announced for two separate sets of techie awards—one local, one national. If nothing else, the awards call much-deserved attention to the efforts of some very busy companies around town that we follow closely here at Xconomy. —Finalists for Marcelo Calbucci’s Seattle 2.0 … Continue reading “Spotlight on Startups: Finalists for Seattle 2.0 and CNET Webware Awards Announced”
Will Hunch Help You Make Decisions? Signs Point to Yes
Last week I wrote about Twitter, a flawed and difficult-to-grasp social media technology that nonetheless becomes addictive once you get the hang of it—so much so that it’s quickly changing the way many people communicate. This week I’m going to write about Hunch, a flawed and difficult-to-grasp social media technology that nonetheless becomes addictive once … Continue reading “Will Hunch Help You Make Decisions? Signs Point to Yes”
Skytap, With New VC Bucks in Tow, Takes on Big Boys in the Cloud
A couple of weeks ago, we reported on Seattle startup Skytap’s $7 million funding round. It’s one of the Northwest’s bigger venture deals of the year, and the company is a pretty interesting play in the cloud computing space, so I figured it was worth a closer look. Especially given all the hubbub about cloud … Continue reading “Skytap, With New VC Bucks in Tow, Takes on Big Boys in the Cloud”
The Jet Pilot Entrepreneur Behind Benchmark Software (and the Zoo’s PandaCam)
One of the difficulties in writing about Tyson McDowell is knowing where to begin. McDowell is the 27-year-old CEO and co-founder of Benchmark Revenue Management, a San Diego company that has developed financial management software designed to help hospitals handle billing and collection issues more efficiently. He has been an entrepreneur since he was 14, … Continue reading “The Jet Pilot Entrepreneur Behind Benchmark Software (and the Zoo’s PandaCam)”