Targeted Growth has a business strategy that leads straight to your morning bowl of cereal. The Seattle-based biotech company is taking its technology to the market with a high-yield seed crop that can be turned into biodiesel, but it sees a bigger future in boosting production of what it calls “small grain cereals,” the type … Continue reading “Targeted Growth Sees Future in Your Breakfast Bowl”
Category: National
Wiggio Offers Free Groupware for Harried College Students
When I was in college in the late 1980s, the apex of communications technology was the answering machine. Nobody had a mobile phone. Nobody even had an e-mail account, aside from a few computer-science majors. (And since there was no data connectivity in the dorms, even the geeks had to go to the computer room … Continue reading “Wiggio Offers Free Groupware for Harried College Students”
Living Proof’s Frizz-Busting Technology Unveiled, Sort Of
When I wrote last month that MIT professor Robert Langer and Polaris Venture Partners had teamed with veterans of the beauty industry, the burning question on my mind was: What would their product be? Well, I’ve just learned the answer (most of it, anyway). Living Proof, the Cambridge, MA, startup formed to apply innovations in … Continue reading “Living Proof’s Frizz-Busting Technology Unveiled, Sort Of”
Game On: The Greater Seattle Gaming Cluster
The Seattle area is known for many things. But right up there with the coffee, the weather, and the music scene would have to be the gaming community. If you’ve ever played a video game like Halo on an Xbox console, or a multiplayer online game like World of Warcraft, or an online “casual” game … Continue reading “Game On: The Greater Seattle Gaming Cluster”
How IRobot Took the Plunge into Underwater Vehicles
Every company chairman likes to grow her business—and one common way to do that is by finding new revenue streams. It’s just that for most companies, that stream doesn’t turn out to be the ocean. IRobot isn’t most companies. On Monday, the Bedford, MA-based maker of land-based military and consumer robotics dived deeper into the … Continue reading “How IRobot Took the Plunge into Underwater Vehicles”
Why Startups Should Quit Silicon Valley
I couldn’t help but notice that Yankee Group founder and Xconomist Howard Anderson, in a blatant act of disloyalty (just kidding, Howard), has blogged today for GigaOm, penning a post entitled: “5 Reasons to Move Your Startup Out of Silicon Valley.” The post is vintage Anderson, quippy and pointed—just the way he teaches at MIT’s … Continue reading “Why Startups Should Quit Silicon Valley”
Daily TIPs: Hurricane Software, Stem Cell Fights, Animal Dating, & More
Software Could Aid in Hurricane Evacuations Researchers at MIT are testing new software that uses vast amounts of information to guide officials in planning how and when to evacuate a city if a hurricane is coming. After Katrina, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency started using software that estimates how long it would take … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Hurricane Software, Stem Cell Fights, Animal Dating, & More”
EmergInvest Emerges, UpDown Raises More Dough, Geezeo Grows—Is Boston a New Hub for Finance and Investing Sites?
Here at Xconomy, there are a lot of mornings when we have to decide whether to publish a bunch of brief stories, or lump the related ones together into what we call “roundups” or trend stories. Today was a pretty clear roundup/trend day, as news piled up from several Boston-area websites that help customers manage … Continue reading “EmergInvest Emerges, UpDown Raises More Dough, Geezeo Grows—Is Boston a New Hub for Finance and Investing Sites?”
New(ish) on Xconomy: More Venture and M&A Deals Than You Can Shake a Stick At, Thanks to Our Friends at VentureDeal
Habitual visitors to our Boston and Seattle homepages might have noticed something new about a month ago—a pretty blue box perched right on top of the event-listings box and packed full of headlines about venture financings and M&A deals. Click a headline, and you get a tidy little summary of the transaction, complete with information … Continue reading “New(ish) on Xconomy: More Venture and M&A Deals Than You Can Shake a Stick At, Thanks to Our Friends at VentureDeal”
X-Prize Goes Energy—With “Crazy Green Idea” Prize to Debut at MIT Today
A prize for a prize. That’s essentially the reason a trio of heavyweights—Ray Kurzweil, Xconomist George Church, and Saul Griffith—will be on hand at MIT this afternoon, as they help announce a $25,000 prize for whomever comes up with the best idea for a $10 million energy and environment prize to be awarded by the … Continue reading “X-Prize Goes Energy—With “Crazy Green Idea” Prize to Debut at MIT Today”
The Infinite Canvas: An Interview with Scott McCloud, the Google Chrome Comic Guy
Over the last week, I’ve had several people tell me that the most interesting thing about Google Chrome isn’t the browser itself, but the way Google chose to present it to the world: via a comic book. Indeed, for at least a day or two, Scott McCloud’s Google Chrome comic—which was accidentally leaked to journalists … Continue reading “The Infinite Canvas: An Interview with Scott McCloud, the Google Chrome Comic Guy”
Millennium CEO Dunsire Juggles Growing Pipeline, Works to Maintain Nimble Culture—as New Owner Takeda Makes the Company its Center for Cancer Drug Development
Four months have passed since Cambridge, MA-based Millennium Pharmaceuticals was taken over by Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceutical for $8.8 billion. Now that some of the dust has settled, we checked with CEO Deborah Dunsire to see just how much has changed at one of Cambridge’s leading biotech companies. Quite a bit, although it’s not the usual … Continue reading “Millennium CEO Dunsire Juggles Growing Pipeline, Works to Maintain Nimble Culture—as New Owner Takeda Makes the Company its Center for Cancer Drug Development”
AVI Biopharma Out to Reinvent Itself, Making RNA-based Drugs for Ebola and Other Nasty Things
The first five minutes of digging on Portland, OR-based AVI Biopharma turns up some jaw-dropping facts. It’s been in business since the dawn of biotechnology in 1980. Never has it developed an FDA-approved drug. Never has it become profitable. It has burned through $243 million in investor capital in its history, according to its most … Continue reading “AVI Biopharma Out to Reinvent Itself, Making RNA-based Drugs for Ebola and Other Nasty Things”
Alnylam Adds Another RNA Approach, Vertex Tackles Hardest Hep C Cases, Zafgen Places Big Bet on Fat Shrinkers, & More Life Sciences News
New England life sciences firms have been making some fascinating strategic moves recently, and a lot of our coverage this last week was focused on understanding these new strategies. —Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) made its name with technology for turning genes off with a technique called RNAi, but now the company is also working on … Continue reading “Alnylam Adds Another RNA Approach, Vertex Tackles Hardest Hep C Cases, Zafgen Places Big Bet on Fat Shrinkers, & More Life Sciences News”
Ontela Signs Up Wireless Carriers and Websites, Wants To Send Your Camera-Phone Pictures with Nary a Click
Today marks the start of CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment 2008, the world’s largest wireless-data event, in San Francisco. A host of local wireless companies are peddling their products there, and at least one of them has some interesting news. Seattle startup Ontela, which makes software to transmit digital photos from camera phones, is announcing … Continue reading “Ontela Signs Up Wireless Carriers and Websites, Wants To Send Your Camera-Phone Pictures with Nary a Click”
New York Times Looks Under VMware’s Hood
If EMC CEO Joe Tucci’s dismissal this summer of VMware founder Diane Greene was intended to shore up investor confidence in the Hopkinton, MA, company’s once high-flying virtualization subsidiary, it backfired: VMware’s stock has been trading this week at roughly $35 per share, down about 33 percent from its price before Greene’s firing was announced … Continue reading “New York Times Looks Under VMware’s Hood”
The Sky Isn’t Falling on Venture Capital in Washington State, VCs Say
The national economy may be limping along, and IPOs seem like a distant dream, but that doesn’t mean it’s doomsday for the people who invest in startup businesses. Two prominent local venture capitalists—Chad Waite of OVP Venture Partners in Kirkland, WA, and Matt McIlwain of Madrona Venture Group in Seattle—both said their industry is getting … Continue reading “The Sky Isn’t Falling on Venture Capital in Washington State, VCs Say”
Daily TIPs: New Bugs for Ethanol, Satellite Internet, Cloud-Spewing Ships, & More
Debate Continues on Biofuels Versus Food Some critics of biofuels contend that the growing demand for ethanol made from corn is helping to drive up food prices and could divert farmland from growing food to growing fuel. Others argue that much of the recent spike in food prices was caused by soaring oil costs and … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: New Bugs for Ethanol, Satellite Internet, Cloud-Spewing Ships, & More”
If You Want a Faster Internet Connection, Move to Delaware, Akamai Report Says
The global network of 34,000 content distribution servers built by Cambridge, MA-based Akamai allows the company to gather massive amounts of data on Internet usage—information that it distilled and published for the first time back in May. Now the company has published its second quarterly “State of the Internet” report, detailing trends such as the … Continue reading “If You Want a Faster Internet Connection, Move to Delaware, Akamai Report Says”
Battery Ventures Promotes Battery of Investors
It’s a good day to be an investor at Battery Ventures. The Waltham, MA-based VC and private equity firm announced today four promotions on its investment team. The four are part of Battery’s global team of more than 40 investors in Waltham, Silicon Valley, and Israel. —Jesse Feldman, based in Waltham, has been promoted to … Continue reading “Battery Ventures Promotes Battery of Investors”
Healionics Signs Deal To Make Components for Glaucoma Device in Dogs
First come dogs, then people—at least in the Pacific Northwest. Redmond, WA-based Healionics is announcing today that it has signed an agreement to manufacture bioengineered components for Chandler, AZ-based TR BioSurgical so it can make implants used in dogs with glaucoma. Healionics will provide TR BioSurgical with its bioengineered material, which will be incorporated into … Continue reading “Healionics Signs Deal To Make Components for Glaucoma Device in Dogs”
Zafgen, Developer of Fat-Shrinking Drugs, Hires Novartis Scientist as New CEO and Emerges From Stealth Mode
Zafgen is creating drugs to shrink fat. Today, the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company took an early step toward its goal by hiring its first permanent CEO, Tom Hughes, the former vice president and global head of cardiovascular and metabolism research at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Cambridge. Hughes, 49, says he was drawn … Continue reading “Zafgen, Developer of Fat-Shrinking Drugs, Hires Novartis Scientist as New CEO and Emerges From Stealth Mode”
Vertex Fending Off Competitors By Treating the Toughest Patients With Hepatitis C
Vertex Pharmaceuticals is being chased by a couple of deep-pocketed competitors—Schering-Plough and Roche—in the race to develop the next big thing for patients with the hepatitis C virus. Now Vertex, the Cambridge, MA-based biotech company, thinks it has found a way to fend off the challengers. It intends to show its drug—telaprevir—can cure patients who … Continue reading “Vertex Fending Off Competitors By Treating the Toughest Patients With Hepatitis C”
Seattle Entrepreneurs Call Bay Area VCs, Amazon Sells XOs, Tableau Taps $10M, ZymoGenetics Gives Up Drug Rights, & More Deals News
Everybody should be back from vacation, and the deal flow surging—but someone forgot to tell the dealmakers, as the past week was pretty light for Seattle tech and life sciences action. —In a deal worth approximately $131 million, Bellevue, WA-based Captaris (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CAPA]]), which makes business and documents management software, announced it is being acquired … Continue reading “Seattle Entrepreneurs Call Bay Area VCs, Amazon Sells XOs, Tableau Taps $10M, ZymoGenetics Gives Up Drug Rights, & More Deals News”
Hangout Lets It All Hang Out, Wants to Become a 3-D, Interactive MySpace
A Boston startup transposing MySpace-style teen social networking into a 3-D virtual environment is one of the companies making its public debut at this week’s TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco. Executives from Hangout Industries, which has raised $6 million in venture funding from Polaris Ventures and Highland Capital Partners, went onstage at the conference today … Continue reading “Hangout Lets It All Hang Out, Wants to Become a 3-D, Interactive MySpace”
Daily TIPs: Sunlight for Everyone, Happy Birthday Google, Facebook for Spies, & More
Solar Power Provides Enough Energy for Everything, Expert Argues Solar power has the potential to provide for all the world’s energy needs, the research director of a Paris-based institute told a European energy conference, according to Agence France Presse. Daniel Lincot, research director for the Institute for Research and Development of Photovoltaic Energy, says solar … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Sunlight for Everyone, Happy Birthday Google, Facebook for Spies, & More”
Carbonite Puts Its Online Backup Software on Lenovo Computers, Raises $20 Million
Automatic Internet-based backup services—the first form of “cloud computing” to hit the mainstream market—have been making news lately. Last Wednesday, the Mozy division of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) announced that its software will power an online backup service available to buyers of Thinkpad SL notebook computers, the newest line of business laptops from Lenovo. … Continue reading “Carbonite Puts Its Online Backup Software on Lenovo Computers, Raises $20 Million”
IRobot Dives Deeper into “Next Frontier” of Underwater Robotics with $10M Acquisition of NC Firm
Calling the undersea market “the next frontier” for robotics, iRobot announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire unmanned underwater robot and technology company Nekton Research of Raleigh-Durham, NC. IRobot said that it will pay $10 million up front for Nekton, with the potential to pay an additional $5 million if certain … Continue reading “IRobot Dives Deeper into “Next Frontier” of Underwater Robotics with $10M Acquisition of NC Firm”
British Biotech Antisoma Sees Buyout of Xanthus as Beginning of U.S. Commercial Hub in Cambridge, MA
Glyn Edwards, CEO of British biotech firm Antisoma, has found just the tonic for both the particularly gloomy weather in London this year and the business risk his company once faced with only one experimental drug close to market approval: Cambridge, MA, drug developer Xanthus Pharmaceuticals. Xanthus, which Antisoma (LON:[[ticker:ASM]]) acquired in May for $52.2 … Continue reading “British Biotech Antisoma Sees Buyout of Xanthus as Beginning of U.S. Commercial Hub in Cambridge, MA”
Seattle Genetics’ Medical Point Man, Tom Reynolds, Aims to Capitalize on Hodgkin’s Drug
The people at Seattle Genetics think they have a blockbuster-drug-in-the-making for Hodgkin’s disease. Tom Reynolds is the guy whose job it is to prove it to the world. Few drugs ever demonstrate the kind of promise SGN-35 did in its initial clinical trial in June, says Reynolds, the company’s chief medical officer. The drug showed … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics’ Medical Point Man, Tom Reynolds, Aims to Capitalize on Hodgkin’s Drug”
Discovery: The Soul of Biotech, the Place For True Believers, and a Retro Way to Bring it Back
Not so long ago, there was a day when biotechnology companies were built to last. They were founded and directed by pioneering scientists who were courageous, true-believers in their respective technologies. Their drive, creative spirit, and dedication to discovery positioned their companies in ways that could create multiple opportunities for success in therapeutic discovery and … Continue reading “Discovery: The Soul of Biotech, the Place For True Believers, and a Retro Way to Bring it Back”
Rod Brooks Follows His Heart(land), Amazon Helps Out OLPC, the Broad Gets $400M, GT Solar Shines Over Big Contract, & More Deals News
Summer’s over, school’s back in session, and the deals were jumping in just about every sector as September got underway. —IRobot announced co-founder Rod Brooks was stepping down as the company’s CTO (but remaining on the board of directors) to devote full time to his new company, Heartland Robotics. Cambridge, MA-based Heartland will focus on … Continue reading “Rod Brooks Follows His Heart(land), Amazon Helps Out OLPC, the Broad Gets $400M, GT Solar Shines Over Big Contract, & More Deals News”
Tableau Raises $10M in Second Venture Round, Wants To Be the “Adobe of Data”
Apparently it’s a good time to be in the business of data visualization. Wade wrote in July about Visual I|O, a Newton, MA-based business-analytics startup, and Hans Rosling’s splashy Trendalyzer software, which was acquired by Google last year. Not to be outdone, Seattle-based Tableau Software is announcing today it has closed a Series B round … Continue reading “Tableau Raises $10M in Second Venture Round, Wants To Be the “Adobe of Data””
Simon and the Google Chrome Logo: Separated at Birth?
Has anyone else noticed the resemblance between Google’s logo for its new Web browser, Chrome, and the electronic game Simon, launched by Milton Bradley in 1978? Scroll down for a side-by-side comparison. Simon and its cousin Merlin were two of my favorite toys as a kid. Knowing how Googlers also love their games, I’m betting … Continue reading “Simon and the Google Chrome Logo: Separated at Birth?”
A Good Deal for Captaris and Open Text—but Impact on Seattle-Area Innovation Is Less Clear
Yesterday we reported on the $131 million acquisition of Bellevue, WA-based Captaris by Open Text, a Canadian software company, and wondered how good a deal it really is for the companies and their employees. (Captaris, a $90 million public company, eked out $220,000 in net income last year, down from nearly $4 million the year … Continue reading “A Good Deal for Captaris and Open Text—but Impact on Seattle-Area Innovation Is Less Clear”
Daily TIPs: Googling the Candidates, Power from Dirt, Greener PCs, & More
Comcast Sues FCC Over Bandwidth Cap Comcast is suing to overturn a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission, Ars Technica reports. The FCC ruled in July that Comcast could not slow down the Internet access of users who share files over peer-to-peer networks. The dispute is part of a growing controversy over whether the Internet … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Googling the Candidates, Power from Dirt, Greener PCs, & More”
Amazon to Manage XO Laptop Giveaway Program
The “Give One, Get One” program introduced last holiday season by the Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation—which gave consumers in the United States and Canada the opportunity to buy two of the foundation’s XO laptops for $400, and have one sent to a child in a developing nation—was a success in several respects. … Continue reading “Amazon to Manage XO Laptop Giveaway Program”
Pathway Medical, With FDA Clearance in Hand, Starts Selling Device for Wiping Out Blockages in Leg Arteries
Pathway Medical Technologies is in the marketing game for real now. The Kirkland, WA-based company has started selling its Jetstream device for clearing out fatty blockages in leg arteries, after winning FDA clearance for a modified version of the device, hiring its initial sales team, and stocking up on inventory for what it expects will … Continue reading “Pathway Medical, With FDA Clearance in Hand, Starts Selling Device for Wiping Out Blockages in Leg Arteries”
What Web Journalists Can Learn from Comics
While the tech-blog world is exhausting itself testing and writing about Google Chrome, the new open-source Web browser released by the search giant on Tuesday, I’m still just having fun paging back and forth through the 38-page Scott McCloud Web comic that Google commissioned to explain the whole project. A lot of Silicon Valley companies, … Continue reading “What Web Journalists Can Learn from Comics”
The Wild World of Wireless According to Tom Huseby, a Well-Connected Seattle VC
Tom Huseby has a fairly normal-looking BlackBerry phone. No fancy software on it, he says—not even from Ontela, SnapIn, or Zumobi, local mobile-tech companies for which he serves as chairman of the board. It rang two or three times during our meeting at his downtown Seattle office, and he dealt with the calls right then … Continue reading “The Wild World of Wireless According to Tom Huseby, a Well-Connected Seattle VC”
Alnylam Sees Opportunity in Turning Genes On, And Off
A lot has been written about how Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, and plenty of other companies, see a gold mine in turning off problem genes through drugs based on the biological phenomenon called RNA interference, or RNAi. It turns out that Alnylam (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), the highflying Cambridge, MA-based biotech company built around RNAi, sees another big opportunity … Continue reading “Alnylam Sees Opportunity in Turning Genes On, And Off”
Broad Institute Will Sever Administrative—Not Research—Ties with MIT and Harvard, Becoming “Stand-Alone” Organization
When we reported yesterday that the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was set to receive a whopping endowment of $400 million from Los Angeles-based billionaire philanthropists Edythe and Eli Broad, we noted that it was rumored that the institute—originally structured as an administrative unit of MIT—was also set to become independent of both MIT … Continue reading “Broad Institute Will Sever Administrative—Not Research—Ties with MIT and Harvard, Becoming “Stand-Alone” Organization”
Management Guru Michael Hammer Dies at Age 60
Updated: Michael Hammer, the business management guru and author of the 1990s business bestseller Reengineering the Corporation (co-authored by James Champy) and three other books, has died at age 60 after collapsing from apparent cranial bleeding on August 22 while he was on vacation in the Berkshires, his company and various news organizations are reporting. … Continue reading “Management Guru Michael Hammer Dies at Age 60”
Captaris Acquired by Open Text for $131M—but How Good a Deal Is It?
Another big acquisition has come to town. Bellevue, WA-based software firm Captaris said today it is being acquired by Open Text, a business-software company based in Waterloo, Ontario. The deal is worth about $131 million, and is expected to close by the end of the year. The purchase, for $4.80 a share, represents a 31 … Continue reading “Captaris Acquired by Open Text for $131M—but How Good a Deal Is It?”
Daily TIPs: Mobile Fish Farms, Cars of the Candidates, Eureka Grants, & More
Carriers Upgrading Long-Distance Networks Telecommunications carriers are upgrading their networks by replacing equipment designed to carry 10 gigabits of data per second with 40 gigabit equipment. GigaOm reports that 23 companies have purchased 40-Gb equipment since Nortel started selling it in April. The need to upgrade the core is being driven by the increase in … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Mobile Fish Farms, Cars of the Candidates, Eureka Grants, & More”
Xconomy Needs An Entrepreneur-Tennis Player to Take on the VCs
With the second annual VC vs. Entrepreneur Davis Cup 2008 Challenge just around the corner—set for the afternoon of September 16 on the grass at Longwood—Xconomy is looking for one more entrepreneur to round out its doubles team. This is a golden opportunity to serve up your message to top VCs (pun intended). More importantly—really, … Continue reading “Xconomy Needs An Entrepreneur-Tennis Player to Take on the VCs”
The Answer, My Friend, Is Certainly Not Blowing in the Wind—or the Corn
This is the last of my articles taking cleantech investing to task sector by sector (keep the hate mail coming, hippies!). The next few will focus on some areas I really like, including storage, solar thermal, water, and others. But first, a bit more constructive bludgeoning. This is a bit of a “two for one … Continue reading “The Answer, My Friend, Is Certainly Not Blowing in the Wind—or the Corn”
Pharmas Flock to Sermo, Biogen Idec Takes Another Tack with MS, $400M More for the Broad Institute, & More Life Sciences News
This week’s Boston-area life sciences news has a little bit of everything—venture deals, new drugs, lawsuits, and a big-time donation. And for the entrepreneurs among you looking for an alternative to the typical venture capital firm, check out Ryan’s directory of corporate VC operations. —The ranks of New England life sciences companies with their own … Continue reading “Pharmas Flock to Sermo, Biogen Idec Takes Another Tack with MS, $400M More for the Broad Institute, & More Life Sciences News”
The “Augmenix” Question: Can Amar Sawhney Do It Again with Latest Hydrogel Startup?
Amar Sawhney has turned a number of products based on his hydrogel inventions into FDA-approved products and rich paydays for his investors. With several successful hydrogel ventures already under his belt, Sawhney is at it again with Augmenix, a Waltham, MA, medical-devices startup developing the versatile materials for an unproven use: To prevent radiation damage … Continue reading “The “Augmenix” Question: Can Amar Sawhney Do It Again with Latest Hydrogel Startup?”
Calling Bay Area Investors: Seattle Entrepreneurs Want To See More of You, and Help Build Your Brand
Lately I’ve been hearing from the tech-startup community about the need to get venture capitalists from the San Francisco Bay Area to spend more time in Seattle—and with the companies they invest in here. The topic first came up during a coffee chat with Kevin Merritt, founder and CEO of the social-database site Blist. (Back … Continue reading “Calling Bay Area Investors: Seattle Entrepreneurs Want To See More of You, and Help Build Your Brand”