The house was packed with investors big and small (only one limo was waiting outside, though), the food tasty, the mood upbeat, the rain hardly fell—and, most importantly, a score of very intriguing startups stood ready to present. It was Demo Day at Y Combinator, the bi-coastal incubator/venture firm that’s based in Cambridge, MA, in … Continue reading “Demo Day at Y Combinator Offers Glimpse of Web’s Future”
Category: National
Is Your City or Town BioReady? Mass Biotech Council Wants to Make It Happen
I have to admit this idea made me snicker when I first heard it. The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, a trade group for state biotech companies, has set up a new program to advise cities and towns on how best to lure life sciences companies to expand into their jurisdictions. It sounded to me more than … Continue reading “Is Your City or Town BioReady? Mass Biotech Council Wants to Make It Happen”
Daily TIPs: Military Mind Tech, Cellulosic Plans, Bugs in the Subway, & More
Cyber Command Offline for Now An Air Force project to coordinate the defense of military computer systems and launch offensives against enemy systems has been put on hold while higher-ups review the plan. The so-called Cyber Command was scheduled to go operational in less than two months before the Pentagon called a time out. InformationWeek … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Military Mind Tech, Cellulosic Plans, Bugs in the Subway, & More”
Backed by Washington Venture Firms, Connecticut’s InstallFree Could Help Remake the Fabric of Computing
Lately I’ve been hearing a lot about how software startups don’t need as much venture capital as they used to. But someone forgot to tell Stamford, CT-based InstallFree, which last week closed an $8.5 million financing round led by Ignition Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners, both of Bellevue, WA. It was a second-round deal to … Continue reading “Backed by Washington Venture Firms, Connecticut’s InstallFree Could Help Remake the Fabric of Computing”
Taligen CEO Aims to Develop Drugs For Inflammatory Diseases, Build Company in Cambridge
Abbie Celniker has been climbing biotech’s corporate ladder for much of her career. Higher and higher she went, in senior R&D jobs at Genentech, Wyeth Biopharma, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and most recently as global head of Novartis Biologics in Cambridge, MA. Now, at 49, she has taken a detour to become CEO of a growing startup … Continue reading “Taligen CEO Aims to Develop Drugs For Inflammatory Diseases, Build Company in Cambridge”
Busting the “Idea Investor” Myth, and Other Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
“Startups are desirable again,” says Tony Wright. That sums up the feeling I get whenever I meet with innovators and investors these days. We’re sitting at the Caffe Umbria in Pioneer Square, Seattle. I’m sipping the best latte I’ve had since Le Panier and Espresso Vivace got inconsistent last month. Wright’s drink of choice is … Continue reading “Busting the “Idea Investor” Myth, and Other Tips for Aspiring Entrepreneurs”
Y Combinator Goes Open-Source With Legal Funding Documents
If you’ve ever launched a startup with funding from a venture firm or angel group, you know the bank-account-draining toll those startup legal bills can take. I still feel the pain: an amazing $25K each from my lawyer and the lead investor’s lawyer for a simple angel deal. And guess who paid for it all? … Continue reading “Y Combinator Goes Open-Source With Legal Funding Documents”
Daily TIPs: Gore-Tex for Platinum, Batteries From Waste Water, Low-Speed High-Speed, & More
California Considers Cyberbullying Law Using the Internet or text messages to harass one’s fellow students could become illegal under a bill making its way through the California legislature. The Associated Press reports that the cyberbullying bill passed the state Senate on a 21-11 vote and is headed to the Assembly. U.S. High-Speed Internet Not All … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Gore-Tex for Platinum, Batteries From Waste Water, Low-Speed High-Speed, & More”
University of Washington, Allied Minds Team Up to Launch Biofuel Company, AXI
I first heard of a Seattle startup called Voltan Biofuel two months ago, when I talked to Jim Roberts, head of business development at UW Tech Transfer’s LaunchPad, a program to promote university spinoffs. Voltan was a LaunchPad company that won $5,000 for “best cleantech idea” in UW’s 2008 CIE Business Plan competition. Yesterday the … Continue reading “University of Washington, Allied Minds Team Up to Launch Biofuel Company, AXI”
Seattle Non-Profit PATH Set to Launch “Ultra Rice” to Fight Global Malnutrition
Duffy Cox and his dad, James, had a great idea that went nowhere for years. Their quest to develop Vitamin-A fortified rice, which could put a dent in global malnutrition, started in 1985. That’s when the father-and-son inventors at Bellingham, WA-based Bon Dente International, a research and development firm, were asked to give it a … Continue reading “Seattle Non-Profit PATH Set to Launch “Ultra Rice” to Fight Global Malnutrition”
Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News
I haven’t done a careful analysis, but I have the impression that there were a few more life sciences venture financings last week than has been typical as of late. Or maybe it just seems that way because this first one made such a splash with our readers. —Fast on the heels of its $5.5 … Continue reading “Follica’s Fortunes Growing, Icahn’s Biogen Holdings Mounting, Genzyme’s Mipomersen Work Progressing, & More Life Sciences News”
Dendreon Gives Update on Clinical Trials of Prostate Cancer Drug
As Luke reported a couple weeks ago, Seattle-based Dendreon is in the midst of a crucial clinical trial of its cancer drug, Provenge, against prostate cancer. Interim results from 500 patients in the trial, called Impact, are expected in October. In a conference call this afternoon, Dendreon announced its second-quarter 2008 financial stats, as well … Continue reading “Dendreon Gives Update on Clinical Trials of Prostate Cancer Drug”
Daily TIPs: Loose Lips, Virtual Housecalls, Humless Turbines, & More
Web Surfers Give Away Secrets Online Most Internet users—84 percent—say they don’t give out personal data online, but actually 89 percent of them do, according to a study done by AOL. ComputerWorld reports that the study found that, while people seem to be aware of the dangers of giving away data, they don’t actually take … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Loose Lips, Virtual Housecalls, Humless Turbines, & More”
A123 Systems Co-founder Confirms Lucky 8 Influenced Timing of IPO Filing
Turns out our hunch was correct. On Friday, Watertown, MA-based maker of advanced batteries A123 Systems filed for its long-anticipated IPO. Since the filing came on August 8, 2008—an exceedingly lucky date, according to Chinese numerology—and because A123 has big operations in China and was co-founded by Taiwan-born MIT professor Yet-Ming Chiang, we speculated that … Continue reading “A123 Systems Co-founder Confirms Lucky 8 Influenced Timing of IPO Filing”
Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake to 6 Percent—Bought Big on Tysabri Woes
Perhaps there was no way that Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) would see a major drop in its stock price without activist investor Carl Icahn working his way into the storyline. SEC documents filed Monday show that Icahn went on a Biogen stock-buying binge beginning on August 1, the day after Biogen and its partner, Ireland’s Elan, … Continue reading “Icahn Ups Biogen Idec Stake to 6 Percent—Bought Big on Tysabri Woes”
New Fundraising for Hair-Raising: Follica Takes in $11 Million for Baldness-Treatment Approach
If only hair could grow as fast as Follica’s pot of money. Just seven months after its $5.5 million Series A financing round, the Boston-based startup today announced it has raised an additional $11 million to bolster its efforts to develop new methods of treating male- and female-pattern baldness and other hair-follicle disorders such as … Continue reading “New Fundraising for Hair-Raising: Follica Takes in $11 Million for Baldness-Treatment Approach”
Healionics Gets Kudos in Congress, Contracts from Companies
When I stopped by Buddy Ratner’s office at the University of Washington yesterday, he looked like a proud papa. He had just gotten word that the National Science Foundation, in a report to Congress, is using one of his group’s companies, Healionics, as an example of a successful biomedical startup. Here at Xconomy, we’ve come … Continue reading “Healionics Gets Kudos in Congress, Contracts from Companies”
Microsoft Entertains Idea of Funding Startups, Probably Won’t Take the Plunge
Last week I highlighted Kevin Merritt’s original blogpost in which he proposed that Microsoft develop a Y Combinator-like program to fund early-stage startups. Merritt also posted a follow-up in which he clarified that he worked at Microsoft for a year, owns some stock but remains “neutral” to the company, and doesn’t use Microsoft technologies at … Continue reading “Microsoft Entertains Idea of Funding Startups, Probably Won’t Take the Plunge”
Daily TIPs: Power from Heat, Robots Over Beijing, Watch Those Passports, & More
Car Exhaust Could Be Turned Back to Power Several cars companies, including General Motors, are looking for ways to turn the heat that comes out of a car’s tailpipe into electricity that can be used to power systems in the car and improve gas mileage. The Discovery Channel reports that researchers are working on thermoelectric … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Power from Heat, Robots Over Beijing, Watch Those Passports, & More”
The Boston and Seattle iPhone Apps Catalog
It’s been one month to the day since Apple simultaneously released the iPhone 3G, pushed the 2.0 version of the iPhone firmware to all iPhone owners, started distributing native iPhone applications through the App Store, and launched its MobileMe communications service. Of all these changes, the most momentous, in the context of the mobile industry … Continue reading “The Boston and Seattle iPhone Apps Catalog”
An Accelerator, By Any Other Name…Does Not Smell as Sweet
Carl Weissman shook his head in disbelief when he got the e-mail. A couple years ago, the Cambridge Healthtech Institute in Massachusetts was inviting him to speak on a panel that wasn’t about how to start successful life sciences “incubators.” Instead, this discussion was about how to put together the same thing, but called a … Continue reading “An Accelerator, By Any Other Name…Does Not Smell as Sweet”
Three Ways (Times Three) for Entrepreneurs to Blow It
Nobody likes to fail. No entrepreneur or venture capitalist thinks a particular venture is going to be the one to fail. As veteran venture capitalist Bob Crowley at the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation says, “we’ve never made a bad investment; just investments that have gone bad.” If we as investors or entrepreneurs thought the odds … Continue reading “Three Ways (Times Three) for Entrepreneurs to Blow It”
A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News
New England tech firms ended last week right where the Beijing Olympics began—with a much-anticipated event timed to the lucky number eight. That, and the rest of the week’s biz-tech dealings below. —Observers have been waiting for some time now for A123 Systems—the Watertown, MA-based maker of advanced batteries whose customers include GM and Black … Continue reading “A123 Files For “Lucky” IPO, BP Shells out $90M for Verenium’s Biofuel Tech, Alnylam Ventures into New RNA Realm, & More Deals News”
Daily TIPs: Biking with Batteries, Tracking Your Cell, Tracking Stem Cells, & More
Electric Bikes Look More Appealing A new generation of electric bicycles hasn’t quite caught on yet, but if gas prices continue to rise, they just might, one dealer tells the Chicago Sun Times. This isn’t your father’s moped; the new bikes have smaller motors and batteries that can propel riders for 20 miles before recharging, … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Biking with Batteries, Tracking Your Cell, Tracking Stem Cells, & More”
CA Reaffirms that Non-Competes are Non-Starters—Will MA and WA Listen?
Updated with additional comment, see below: The arguments have been piling up against non-compete agreements here in the Bay State (and they’re not unknown in our sister city of Seattle, either). Over the past year, we’ve chronicled the debate several times, including an advance look at a debate about the debate held at the Berkman … Continue reading “CA Reaffirms that Non-Competes are Non-Starters—Will MA and WA Listen?”
A123 Systems Files for IPO Seeking Up to $175 Million (and Betting on Lucky No. 8?)
August 8, 2008. The Olympics Games begins in Beijing. A123 Systems, the Watertown, MA-based advanced battery maker with big operations in China, files for an IPO. Coincidence? Maybe not. The number 8 is considered lucky in China because it is similar to the Mandarin word for “wealth.” That’s why the opening cermony for the Olympics … Continue reading “A123 Systems Files for IPO Seeking Up to $175 Million (and Betting on Lucky No. 8?)”
In Defense of the Endangered Tree Octopus, and Other Web Myths
This March marked the 10th anniversary of the campaign to save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus from extinction. If you’re not familiar with the elusive tree octopus, it’s an arboreal cephalopod found in the temperate rainforests of the Olympic National Park west of Seattle. Every spring the creatures migrate from their lairs in the forest … Continue reading “In Defense of the Endangered Tree Octopus, and Other Web Myths”
Y Combinator Model “Too Messy” for Microsoft, Says YC Founder
On Wednesday, Greg highlighted the provocative suggestion of Kevin Merritt, CEO of Seattle startup Blist, that Microsoft should return to its “risk taking, entrepreneurial roots…” by investing in early-stage startups along the lines of the Y Combinator model. By supporting the startups in return for some stock and a commitment to use Microsoft development software, … Continue reading “Y Combinator Model “Too Messy” for Microsoft, Says YC Founder”
Daily TIPs: Chertoff Chats, Scammers Scam Scammers, Cloud Consortium, & More
No Honor Among Internet Thieves Even phishers—people who fake legitimate-seeming sites to trick people out of their financial information—are subject to phishing attacks, according to the Wall Street Journal. Apparently more seasoned scam artists are targeting newbie hackers and stealing the same credit card numbers they steal. For instance, they’ll sell would-be criminals software to … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Chertoff Chats, Scammers Scam Scammers, Cloud Consortium, & More”
Will Popcuts Out-Surrge Surrge with Music Rewards Program?
The news in TechCrunch last night about the public beta launch of Popcuts, a startup founded by Cambridge, MA- and Mountain View, CA-based Y Combinator that proposes to reward music buyers by giving them a slice of the revenue every time someone else buys a song they already bought, sounded awfully familiar. Then it came … Continue reading “Will Popcuts Out-Surrge Surrge with Music Rewards Program?”
If You Can Beat BeatThat.com’s Prices, They’ll Pay You
For many online shoppers, no sooner have they hit the “buy” button than they’re struck by angst over whether they missed out on a better deal at another site. But at BeatThat.com, a consumer electronics shopping site that emerged from beta testing yesterday, there’s less reason to worry: the site digs up the Web’s best … Continue reading “If You Can Beat BeatThat.com’s Prices, They’ll Pay You”
Software Startups No Longer Need As Much Venture Capital, Says Founder of RescueTime
Venture financing—who needs it? Not early-stage software and Web startups, if you ask Tony Wright. I sat down with the serial entrepreneur and founder of Seattle-based RescueTime yesterday, and he had some intriguing thoughts about recent trends in the innovation community. “The nature of VC is changing,” he said. “The notion of a ‘big launch’ … Continue reading “Software Startups No Longer Need As Much Venture Capital, Says Founder of RescueTime”
Amgen Looks to Biomarkers to Boost Its Batting Average in Developing New Drugs
Amgen had an epiphany of sorts a little more than four years ago. The world’s largest biotech company decided clinical trials had become too much of a crapshoot, and it needed to shake up its way of developing new drugs. This really isn’t unique to Amgen, it’s more like an industry emergency. Drug companies spent … Continue reading “Amgen Looks to Biomarkers to Boost Its Batting Average in Developing New Drugs”
Verdiem Encourages the “Greening” of Personal Computers, Starting with Yours
I’ll admit it. The planet would be better off if you stopped reading this and shut down your computer. That’s because your desktop or laptop PC wastes roughly half the energy it consumes and puts out 1,000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year. Multiply that by something like a billion PCs worldwide, and you get … Continue reading “Verdiem Encourages the “Greening” of Personal Computers, Starting with Yours”
Alnylam’s In the Money: Expects $500 Million in Bank at Year-End
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals is building one big cash horde for a company with no moneymaking products. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company said today that it expects to sign two or more “major new alliances” in the next six to 18 months, and it is now telling Wall Street it will have $500 million in cash in … Continue reading “Alnylam’s In the Money: Expects $500 Million in Bank at Year-End”
Daily TIPs: Noisier Hybrids, the MySpace Debates, Energy Bubble, & More
Internet Deluge Not Likely, Study Finds Some Internet service providers are worried that the growing demand for large files, such as videos, is going to produce more data traffic than the Internet can handle. But one Internet expert says traffic growth rates are actually falling. Ars Technica reports that Andrew Odlyzko of the University of … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Noisier Hybrids, the MySpace Debates, Energy Bubble, & More”
How To Save Microsoft, and Other Valuable Insights from Blist
OK, it’s taken me a few weeks, but I finally have a chance to highlight a couple of entries in a local blog I’ve been following. It’s from the guys at Blist, a Seattle startup that makes Web-based software that lets people manage large lists and databases as easily as a spreadsheet. That may not … Continue reading “How To Save Microsoft, and Other Valuable Insights from Blist”
Verenium, BP in $90 Million Ethanol Deal
Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]), a Cambridge, MA-based biofuel firm, and BP, the United States’ largest oil and gas producer, announced a strategic partnership today under which Verenium will receive up to $90 million over the next year and a half for work on facilities producing low-cost cellulosic ethanol. Verenium controls the rights to a class of … Continue reading “Verenium, BP in $90 Million Ethanol Deal”
In Coda to Robotic FX Lawsuit, iRobot Introduces Its Own Version of Negotiator Robot
The last time I saw a Negotiator robot was in a federal courtroom in Boston, where Jameel Ahed—the founder and CEO of Robotic FX and the defendant in an intellectual-property-theft lawsuit brought by his former employer, iRobot—was driving the nimble little device around the judge’s bench via remote control. Robotic FX lost that suit last … Continue reading “In Coda to Robotic FX Lawsuit, iRobot Introduces Its Own Version of Negotiator Robot”
Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Program on the Rise, Biogen and Partner Fall on Tysabri News, Alnylam Stakes RNAa IP Claim, & More Life Sciences News
Last week was a mixed one for Boston-area life sciences firms—Biogen Idec got the news the market’s been dreading, while several of its neighbors announced pipeline progress. —Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and Ireland’s Elan (NYSE: [[ticker:ELN]]) took a big hit on the news that two multiple sclerosis patients taking the companies’ … Continue reading “Vertex Cystic Fibrosis Program on the Rise, Biogen and Partner Fall on Tysabri News, Alnylam Stakes RNAa IP Claim, & More Life Sciences News”
ZymoGenetics Drug Getting Off to Slow Start in Marketplace
ZymoGenetics executives have been tamping down sales expectations for months about the company’s first marketed product, and they weren’t kidding. Recothrom, a genetically engineered treatment for surgical bleeding approved by the FDA in January, eked out $1.4 million in net sales in the second quarter, the company said yesterday. Even Kevin DeGeeter, an analyst with … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Drug Getting Off to Slow Start in Marketplace”
Novo Nordisk Returning to Seattle, Hiring 80 People by 2010
Novo Nordisk, the world’s biggest insulin producer for diabetes, apparently has a thing for Seattle. The Denmark-based drug maker is establishing a new research site in Seattle, that aims to employ 80 people by 2010, according to this job posting at nwsource.com. The news, first reported by the Seattle P-I’s Joe Tartakoff, represents a bit … Continue reading “Novo Nordisk Returning to Seattle, Hiring 80 People by 2010”
Investing in the New Electricity Economy—A Primer
There’s a revolution coming in electric power. Passive, one-way power distribution will become a marketplace with real-time transactions. Centralized will become networked. Demand will become supply. And large-scale energy storage will finally become a reality. So what does all this mean for companies and investors? That’s the topic of a 55-page white paper prepared by … Continue reading “Investing in the New Electricity Economy—A Primer”
Daily TIPs: Hydrogen Sports Car, Broadband in Every Pot, Wi-Fi in Flight, & More
Hydrogen-powered Sports Car on the Way The prototype of a sports car that burns a mixture of gasoline and hydrogen should be ready by November, according to Earth2Tech. Ronn Motors, of Austin, TX, plans to unveil its Scorpion sports hybrid, with a body made of carbon fiber, in Las Vegas. The company is also working … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Hydrogen Sports Car, Broadband in Every Pot, Wi-Fi in Flight, & More”
RFID Kits Go On Sale at ThingMagic Store
Last week we wrote about ThingMagic’s compact new RFID reader, Astra, which is designed to fit into small spaces such as office ceilings, allowing more kinds of organizations to use RFID technology to track tagged items. This week ThingMagic is bringing out an additional set of products intended to help organizations experiment with RFID technology. … Continue reading “RFID Kits Go On Sale at ThingMagic Store”
Xerox Moves R&D Headquarters to Boston (Kind Of)—Looking to Network, Develop Green Technologies, and Hit the Airport Faster
Talk about telecommuting. As of a few weeks ago, Sophie Vandebroek has been running Xerox’s global R&D organization—comprised of the famous Palo Alto Research Center and three other centers in the U.S., France, and Canada—out of her new home office in Lincoln, MA. As chief technology officer of Norwalk, CT-based Xerox and president of its … Continue reading “Xerox Moves R&D Headquarters to Boston (Kind Of)—Looking to Network, Develop Green Technologies, and Hit the Airport Faster”
Navilyst Medical, Boston Scientific Spin-Off, Aiming to Tap Veins Without Causing Infections
Much has been written about Boston Scientific’s retrenching, in light of the decline in its business with stents, the tiny wire mesh devices that prop open clogged arteries. Now as Boston Scientific focuses on its core businesses, one of the units that has been spun off has a new name, Navilyst Medical. The company has … Continue reading “Navilyst Medical, Boston Scientific Spin-Off, Aiming to Tap Veins Without Causing Infections”
WTIA’s Ken Myer Aims to Get VC Views on Future, Not Past
Every quarter, we journalists do the national story about trends in venture capital investing. We slice and dice numbers that tell the narrative of where money went over the past three months. Less than a year ago, Ken Myer and the folks at the Washington Technology Industry Association thought they’d try something different: a survey … Continue reading “WTIA’s Ken Myer Aims to Get VC Views on Future, Not Past”
Four Layoffs and a Funeral: Vivendi, Northstar, Imperium, and CarDomain Cut Staff, Dipiti Shuts Doors
Heading into the dog days of August, just a reminder that not all is happy in sunny Seattle. In the past week, we’ve seen four area tech companies confirm significant layoffs and one startup close its doors. The bad news is not limited to one or two tech sectors, either: it cuts across a wide … Continue reading “Four Layoffs and a Funeral: Vivendi, Northstar, Imperium, and CarDomain Cut Staff, Dipiti Shuts Doors”
Daily TIPs: Who’s Invading Your Privacy?, Bioterrorism, Building Green, & More
How Much Does Your ISP Know About You? One perhaps overlooked aspect of the Federal Communications Commission’s warning to Comcast to stop slowing down file-sharing traffic is the way Comcast went about its throttling. In order to figure out who was using peer-to-peer services to share files, Comcast had to study the data packets machines … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Who’s Invading Your Privacy?, Bioterrorism, Building Green, & More”