On Tuesday night, I attended an intriguing event in the Washington Technology Industry Association’s cloud computing series, on “Scaling Into the Cloud with Amazon Web Services.” It was held at Amazon’s Beacon Hill headquarters in Seattle, in a room with gorgeous, sweeping views of the downtown skyline. The talks, given by Amazon and two prominent … Continue reading “How to Turn Cloud Computing Into Big Business—A Peek Inside Amazon Web Services”
Category: National
Novophage Forming to Combat Antibiotic Resistance with Engineered Viruses
A group of biotech veterans and up-and-comers in the Boston area are forming a startup called Novophage to make engineered viruses that may help combat the growing problem of resistance to antibiotics. It’s early days for Novophage. The firm has no office or venture backers to speak of, but it has formed an impressive roster … Continue reading “Novophage Forming to Combat Antibiotic Resistance with Engineered Viruses”
How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn
I have approximately 7,000 baseball cards in my collection. These treasures are arranged in numerical order, in long and slender cardboard “card boxes,” with the typical box containing cards from a single year. The vast majority of my collection hails from the sixties. My heyday covered the years 1962 through 1965, when I collected every … Continue reading “How to Collect Baseball Cards: A Few Thoughts for Coping With the Downturn”
Venrock Launches $194M Healthcare Fund
Venrock Associates says it has formed Venrock Healthcare Capital Partners with a $194 million fund to invest in public and late-stage private healthcare companies. The venture firm, which has offices in Cambridge, MA, New York, Palo Alto, CA, and Israel, now has $2.2 billion under management. Venrock’s previous healthcare investments in Boston, San Diego and … Continue reading “Venrock Launches $194M Healthcare Fund”
Wine, Startups, and VCs—A Report from DEMO
Late last fall, after discussion with some board members, I decided to apply to show some new features from Evri at DEMO 09, which we were about to start active development on. We got accepted, so now we really did have to get the stuff ready to ship. In fact, one of the great reasons … Continue reading “Wine, Startups, and VCs—A Report from DEMO”
Verivue Launches Media Delivery System, Scores $40 Million B Round
These days, there’s no sense in producing video for just one platform, like cable TV. Media companies also want to get their content out to consumers via the Web, mobile phones, game consoles, video-on-demand networks, and other platforms. The problem is that all of these channels use different video formats, protocols, and resolutions, which makes … Continue reading “Verivue Launches Media Delivery System, Scores $40 Million B Round”
Regulus Therapeutics Follows Through on Fundraising, Independence Plans
Regulus Therapeutics, the fledgling biotech firm developing microRNA-based drugs, wasn’t kidding when it told Xconomy earlier this year that it planned to gain a more independent corporate charter and raise a significant round of financing. The Carlsbad, CA-based startup says this morning that it has raised $20 million in a Series A round of financing; … Continue reading “Regulus Therapeutics Follows Through on Fundraising, Independence Plans”
The Oregon Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players
(Updated) Yesterday, we provided a rundown of about 80 companies we identified in Washington as players in the alternative energy industry. Today, it’s Oregon’s turn. For those who missed the first installment, here’s the idea: We thought it would be useful for people across the Northwest (and elsewhere) to have a detailed list of who’s … Continue reading “The Oregon Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players”
Geoff Entress Joins Voyager Capital, Looks to Strengthen the VC Firm’s Internet Plays
The newest face at Seattle-based Voyager Capital is a familiar one to Northwest techies. Voyager is announcing today that Geoff Entress, one of the region’s most active and prominent angel investors, has joined the firm as a venture partner. He will focus primarily on consumer Internet and digital media investments in Washington state. Entress was … Continue reading “Geoff Entress Joins Voyager Capital, Looks to Strengthen the VC Firm’s Internet Plays”
Permabit: Storing Enterprise Data Unerasably, At Bargain Prices
If you ate on your best china every night, flew first class even on puddle jumpers, and habitually drove your Mercedes rather than your minivan to the grocery store, it would be a lot like what most big companies do with their data, according to Tom Cook. More and more of the information that e-commerce … Continue reading “Permabit: Storing Enterprise Data Unerasably, At Bargain Prices”
Synta Melanoma Drug Trial Halted, Drug Regulators Hand Genzyme Mixed Bag, Ariad and ImmunoGen Reach Milestones, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
It was a bit of a rollercoaster for New England’s biotech firms this last week, with Synta Pharmaceuticals taking the worst dip. —Clinical Data (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]) of Newton, MA, has raised $50 million in a convertible debt financing aimed at supporting late-stage development of its depression drug, vilazodone, and its cardiac imaging agent apadenoson (Stedivaze). —There … Continue reading “Synta Melanoma Drug Trial Halted, Drug Regulators Hand Genzyme Mixed Bag, Ariad and ImmunoGen Reach Milestones, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs Passes Chairman’s Role to Son
Qualcomm said today that CEO Paul Jacobs is succeeding his father, co-founder Irwin Jacobs, as chairman of the San Diego wireless giant. Irwin Jacobs, 75, started the digital wireless company with Andy Viterbi and a handful of others in 1985 and served as CEO for 20 years. He plans to remain on the board. The … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Irwin Jacobs Passes Chairman’s Role to Son”
Vertex Acquires Virochem for $375M to Make Cocktail Treatments For Hepatitis C
Vertex Pharmaceuticals sees combination treatments as the future of hepatitis C treatment, just as is the case with HIV already, and today it made a big move to beef up that cocktail approach. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said it has agreed to acquire Laval, Quebec-based ViroChem Pharma, a privately held company, for an estimated … Continue reading “Vertex Acquires Virochem for $375M to Make Cocktail Treatments For Hepatitis C”
Akamai Mum on Presidential Video Plans
Rather than sending President Obama’s weekly Web video address to YouTube for hosting, as it has in past weeks, the White House published last Saturday’s video on its own website, Whitehouse.gov, which is hosted by Akamai. But an Akamai official says the company can’t comment on whether the widely discussed decision signals a permanent turn … Continue reading “Akamai Mum on Presidential Video Plans”
Highland Program Offers No-Strings Stipends to Student Entrepreneurs
With the departure of Paul Graham’s Y Combinator startup school, Boston-area entrepreneurs have one less local source for seed funding and mentorship. With the advent of a Boston clone of Boulder, CO-based TechStars, they have one more—so things have evened out. But Highland Capital Partners‘ “Summer@Highland” program has been a constant in the area throughout … Continue reading “Highland Program Offers No-Strings Stipends to Student Entrepreneurs”
Evoke Pharma Developing its Drug Candidate in Stealth Mode
San Diego-based Evoke Pharma has managed to maintain a low profile since early 2007, when the specialized drug development company got started with the help of some prominent names in the local biotech industry. Cam Garner, who is listed on Evoke’s web site as a co-founder and chairman, has been on the ground floor of … Continue reading “Evoke Pharma Developing its Drug Candidate in Stealth Mode”
The Washington Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players
(Updated) The venture capitalist John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said three years ago that “greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century.” Since then, voters in the U.S. have elected a President and Congress that have vowed to break the country’s addiction to oil. So here in the Northwest, … Continue reading “The Washington Cleantech Cluster: The A-to-Z List of Alternative Energy Players”
Arzeda Scores VC, Intellectual Ventures Teams with Telcordia, Twilio Gets Founders Funding, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a relatively busy week for deals in the Northwest, with plenty of action in software, biotech, and alternative energy. —Seattle and San Francisco-based Twilio, a startup that provides cloud-based tools for building voice applications over the phone, raised its first institutional round of funding from Founders Fund and computing pioneer Mitchell Kapor. The … Continue reading “Arzeda Scores VC, Intellectual Ventures Teams with Telcordia, Twilio Gets Founders Funding, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser
Three quiet and unknown Finnish engineers in their late thirties, Kim Nyberg, Kari Sydänmaanlakka, and Teemu Rantanen, have spent their working careers at the engineering software company Tekla in Finland. Their clients have used the software they created to model several well-known buildings, including Frank Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, New York’s … Continue reading “The Greatest Internet Pioneers You Never Heard Of: The Story of Erwise and Four Finns Who Showed the Way to the Web Browser”
Digital Reef’s Similarity-Based Search Helps Corporate Data “Speak For Itself”
Sometimes (just sometimes) it pays to look behind the jargon in press releases. One glance at yesterday’s coming-out-of-stealth-mode announcement from Boxborough, MA-based Digital Reef, which starts off talking about “massively scalable unstructured data management platforms” and “capabilities [that] improve eDiscovery outcomes,” was enough to make even a nerd like me want to tune out. But … Continue reading “Digital Reef’s Similarity-Based Search Helps Corporate Data “Speak For Itself””
Twilio Raises Venture Funding, Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Phone Services
Seattle and San Francisco-based Twilio, a software startup focused on telephone applications, closed its first institutional round of funding today, according to co-founder Jeff Lawson. The investment was led by San Francisco-based venture firm Founders Fund (which includes founders of PayPal, Facebook, and Napster) and computer industry pioneer Mitchell Kapor, the creator of Lotus 1-2-3 … Continue reading “Twilio Raises Venture Funding, Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Phone Services”
Genzyme Fails to Win FDA Approval for Large-Scale Production of Pompe Drug
Genzyme got some bad news today from the FDA. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said that U.S. regulators determined its drug for Pompe disease made in large-scale vats isn’t ready to be approved for the market. Plus, the FDA sent the company an additional warning letter after its inspectors spotted “deficiencies” at the company’s Allston … Continue reading “Genzyme Fails to Win FDA Approval for Large-Scale Production of Pompe Drug”
Ex-Microsoft Vets Gearing Up New Incubator, 8ninths, and New Social Startup, Lolligift
There’s a new tech-startup incubator in Seattle, and it’s called 8ninths. It doubles as an R&D lab, focused on social media and Web development software. The lab was established in September, and so far it’s still pretty stealthy. The principals aren’t talking to the press just yet, but their ideas and track record are intriguing … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoft Vets Gearing Up New Incubator, 8ninths, and New Social Startup, Lolligift”
Qualcomm Absorbs Digital Fountain’s Streaming Media Technologies
Qualcomm, with its abiding interest in streaming video technologies, has acquired key assets of Digital Fountain, a Freemont, CA, startup that has developed software to optimize digital media transmitted over any network. Qualcomm made no announcement about its purchase, which was reported by PE Hub and several blogs. The San Diego wireless technology giant did not … Continue reading “Qualcomm Absorbs Digital Fountain’s Streaming Media Technologies”
Principle Power Raising $20M to Build World’s First Floating Wind Farm
Seattle wind energy startup Principle Power is in the process of raising $20 million to develop wind farms in the deep waters off the coast of Oregon and other locations. The financing deal is expected to close in the second quarter of this year, according to Principle Power CEO Alla Weinstein. “We’re talking to a … Continue reading “Principle Power Raising $20M to Build World’s First Floating Wind Farm”
Oasys Water Aims to Make Desalination Cheap Enough to Crack Mainstream Market, Relieve Shortages
We hear a lot about the bioengineered enzymes, switch grass, and multiple feedstocks needed to provide the massive amounts of raw material for the clean energy era. Another key ingredient is water—and lots of it. So after launching clean energy firms in recent years, entrepreneur Aaron Mandell started Cambridge, MA-based Oasys Water last year. Oasys, … Continue reading “Oasys Water Aims to Make Desalination Cheap Enough to Crack Mainstream Market, Relieve Shortages”
Pacira and Histogen Disclose Layoffs, Optimer Advances Diarrhea Drug, Torrey Path Comes to Town, & More SD BizTech
Between President Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress and California’s jobless data reported Friday, economics dominated the news last week. We saw the effects with a couple of layoffs here in San Diego’s innovation community, along with news about local startups, clinical trials, and new technologies. Read on! —The unemployment rate in California … Continue reading “Pacira and Histogen Disclose Layoffs, Optimer Advances Diarrhea Drug, Torrey Path Comes to Town, & More SD BizTech”
Harnessing the Crowd to Make Better Drugs: Merck’s Friend Nails Down $5M to Propel New Open Source Era
Biology has never really had a social-networking movement like open-source computing, where thousands of loosely-affiliated people around the world pool brainpower to make better software. If Merck’s Stephen Friend gets his way, about five years from now, he will have ushered in a new era in which biologists work together to make drugs that are … Continue reading “Harnessing the Crowd to Make Better Drugs: Merck’s Friend Nails Down $5M to Propel New Open Source Era”
The Summer Internship Shuffle
If you are a student enrolled in a MBA program these days, phrases like “Boy, your timing in going back to school has been perfect!” and/or “This is the best time to be a <fill in your standard business school career choices>” are serenaded quite often in your direction. Typical reactions to this would range … Continue reading “The Summer Internship Shuffle”
New Business Association Looks to the Future of Kendall Square, “The Product Cambridge Offers to the World”
Companies, merchants, and residents in the Kendall Square neighborhood of Cambridge banded together last week to form the Kendall Square Association, a non-profit group whose mission, according to its new president Tim Rowe, is to “improve, protect, and promote” the technology-saturated neighborhood. After several months of informal discussions, representatives from dozens of area organizations, including … Continue reading “New Business Association Looks to the Future of Kendall Square, “The Product Cambridge Offers to the World””
Is E Ink Working on Hearst’s New E-Reader?
According to a report today in Fortune, publishing giant Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, the San Francisco Chronicle, and many other prominent newspapers and magazines, is developing an e-reading device similar to the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony PRS-700. Kenneth Bronfin, head of Hearst’s interactive media group, wouldn’t give Fortune details about … Continue reading “Is E Ink Working on Hearst’s New E-Reader?”
A Laser Focus: Three Questions With nLight CEO Scott Keeney
If anyone can ever build a real lightsaber like the ones from “Star Wars,” it will be Scott Keeney. The co-founder and CEO of Vancouver, WA-based nLight has expertise in high-powered semiconductor lasers, and he has shown some serious business chops by leading his company from early uncertainty to profitability in the past few years. … Continue reading “A Laser Focus: Three Questions With nLight CEO Scott Keeney”
Nuance Ending Pursuit of Zi with $35M Deal
Burlington, MA-based Nuance Communications is wrapping up its long and sometimes contentious crusade to acquire Zi, a Canadian competitor in the market for text messaging software, which has agreed to Nuance’s $35 million buyout offer. The deal, announced today, provides shareholders of Calgary-based Zi (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ZICA]]) with 34 cents in cash and 0.4 shares of Nuance … Continue reading “Nuance Ending Pursuit of Zi with $35M Deal”
Cell Therapeutics Closing Italian Branch, Cutting 62 Jobs
Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics is shutting down its drug research center in Italy to try to hold onto what little cash it has left. The company is starting a collective dismissal procedure under Italian law, and negotiations with trade unions, at its facility in Bresso, outside of Milan, where it has 62 employees. Cell Therapeutics has … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Closing Italian Branch, Cutting 62 Jobs”
San Diego Celebrates Its Breakout Companies of 2008
The San Diego Venture Group hailed three local companies for their breakout year in 2008, then put an executive from each company on stage yesterday with a newspaper reporter asking them to explain how they did it. It could have made for a hesitant and stilted panel discussion, but the format actually was informative and … Continue reading “San Diego Celebrates Its Breakout Companies of 2008”
Ariad Arranges for Another $24.3M, Dismal Economy Doesn’t Stop Aveksa and Apparent Networks, Selecta Biosciences Chooses to Reveal Itself, & More Boston-Area Deals News
It was a mixed week for New England’s tech and life sciences firms, with several sizeable venture deals closed and a few less happy transactions as well. —Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ARIA]]) cut a $24.3 million deal with new and existing institutional investors, who bought 14.37 million shares of the Cambridge, MA-based firm’s common stock. Ariad’s lead … Continue reading “Ariad Arranges for Another $24.3M, Dismal Economy Doesn’t Stop Aveksa and Apparent Networks, Selecta Biosciences Chooses to Reveal Itself, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Arzeda, Maker of Designer Enzymes, Prepares to Leave UW Roots with New Leader and VC Bucks
One of the biggest startup ideas at the University of Washington is getting ready to leave the academic nest. Arzeda, which designs custom-built enzymes on computers that can do things Mother Nature never could, has recruited Michael Martino as its CEO and secured commitments from OVP Venture Partners and WRF Capital to anchor its founding … Continue reading “Arzeda, Maker of Designer Enzymes, Prepares to Leave UW Roots with New Leader and VC Bucks”
Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand
If Silicon Valley didn’t exist, Boston would have to invent it in order to have someplace to feel inferior to. That’s the thought that occurred to me when I read an article in the Boston Globe last week about the Information Technology Collaborative. This new posse of industry, government, and academic leaders met in Cambridge … Continue reading “Massachusetts Technology Industry Needs a New Deal, Not a New Brand”
Here’s An Idea to Stimulate Massachusetts Innovation: Focus on Substance, Not Image
Unless you’ve been on an innovation vacation in recent months, it’s been hard to miss all the talk here in Massachusetts about finding a new “brand” for the state’s IT community—you know, as a way to compete with those who’ve gone to (or were already on) the Dark Side, aka Silicon Valley. I’ve got lots … Continue reading “Here’s An Idea to Stimulate Massachusetts Innovation: Focus on Substance, Not Image”
Innovation Index: Bay State Leads on Some R&D Scores, But Fed Grants Decline
Massachusetts bested many of its rival states in research and development funding and maintaining a healthy supply of college graduates, but the Bay State is falling behind in several key areas of its innovation economy, according to a new index released today by the quasi-public nonprofit Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC). The annual report, dubbed the … Continue reading “Innovation Index: Bay State Leads on Some R&D Scores, But Fed Grants Decline”
FDA Rejects Somaxon’s Application for Insomnia Drug
San Diego specialty drugmaker Somaxon Pharmaceuticals, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SOMX]] said today the FDA turned down its application to market a new drug for insomnia. Somaxon says the FDA raised a number of issues related to the interpretation of the efficacy data in its new drug application. The company says the FDA did not specifically ask it … Continue reading “FDA Rejects Somaxon’s Application for Insomnia Drug”
Synta Melanoma Drug Fails Disastrously in Clinical Trial, As Patients Show Higher Death Rate
Synta Pharmaceuticals reported some disastrous news this afternoon. The Lexington, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNTA]]) said it has halted a clinical trial involving more than 630 cancer patients because a greater number of people died after taking the company’s experimental drug along with traditional chemotherapy, compared with those who got the chemo alone. The trial, … Continue reading “Synta Melanoma Drug Fails Disastrously in Clinical Trial, As Patients Show Higher Death Rate”
VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group
It’s always good to hear an outside perspective. Last night, Boulder, CO-based entrepreneur and investor Brad Feld, the co-founder of Foundry Group, Mobius Venture Capital, and TechStars, gave a talk at the Palace Ballroom in Seattle. The event was organized by Dave Schappell of TeachStreet and T.A. McCann of Gist. The crowd amounted to well … Continue reading “VC Model Is Not Broken: Insights from Brad Feld of TechStars and Foundry Group”
BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up
Lobbying for the biotech industry in Washington DC doesn’t sound like fun now. The industry is being left for dead by Wall Street, the IPO market has closed down, and about half of the 370 public companies are reporting they have run down to less than a year’s worth of cash on hand. Many of … Continue reading “BIO Boss Plays Defense as Member Companies Struggle to Survive, Political Heat Cranks Up”
Genzyme Nabs Two Key Regulatory Approvals, Expected to Trigger Revenue Growth
Genzyme has picked up a pair of long-awaited regulatory approvals for two products that are key to the firm’s growth. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech powerhouse (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) says that the European Commission has approved its Belgium plant to produce Pompe disease drug alglucosidase alfa (Myozyme) in 4,000-liter batches. Separately, the firm garnered FDA approval of its … Continue reading “Genzyme Nabs Two Key Regulatory Approvals, Expected to Trigger Revenue Growth”
Eyeing $12B Market, Clinical Data Raises $50M to Develop Lead Drug and Pipeline
Hungry for cash to advance its lead depression drug to the market, Newton, MA-based biotech firm Clinical Data (NASDAQ:[[ticker:CLDA]]) has raised $50 million in a convertible debt financing. The funding came from investment affiliates of Clinical Data’s chairman, Randal Kirk, according to the company. Clinical Data says that the new funding will support the firm … Continue reading “Eyeing $12B Market, Clinical Data Raises $50M to Develop Lead Drug and Pipeline”
Enerdyne Adds Technology to Thwart Possible UAV Eavesdroppers
I was a little surprised yesterday when Enerdyne Technologies, a subsidiary of Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat, said encryption technology is now available for its digital data link systems to unmanned military surveillance aircraft. Isn’t the video transmitted from robotic spy planes already encrypted? Not necessarily, says Enerdyne general manager Steve Gardner. As it turns out, it’s … Continue reading “Enerdyne Adds Technology to Thwart Possible UAV Eavesdroppers”
Actress Glenn Close, “Dream Team” at Fetchdog Aim to Bite Into $40 Billion Pet Market
The story of FetchDog begins with a small group of pet owners who saw a need for an online hub for people like them to buy merchandise, read about trends, and socialize. And the founders of the Portland, ME-based firm, besides their affinity for pets, are also what one investor called a “dream team” of … Continue reading “Actress Glenn Close, “Dream Team” at Fetchdog Aim to Bite Into $40 Billion Pet Market”
Having Scoured the Ocean for Cancer Drugs, Nereus Aims to Prove Its Concept Works
Off the coast of the Bahamas, in sea grass more than a half-mile deep, San Diego-based Nereus Pharmaceuticals found a fungus that may be the key ingredient for an innovative new cancer drug. This will be a key year for gathering evidence that will either support or debunk the idea. I got the download on … Continue reading “Having Scoured the Ocean for Cancer Drugs, Nereus Aims to Prove Its Concept Works”
Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing
Almost as soon as Amazon released the Kindle e-book reader in November 2007, I settled in to wait for the Kindle 2. Like many other observers, I thought Amazon had made a good first stab at building a usable e-book device, but that it needed a sleeker profile, better ergonomics, new features such as text-to-speech … Continue reading “Kindling a Revolution: E Ink’s Russ Wilcox on E-Paper, Amazon, and the Future of Publishing”