The world’s leading pharmaceutical and medical device companies are going to be in town this week for a meeting known as Summer in Seattle, and they’re not just here to catch some scenery and sun. The eighth annual conference, running Thursday through Sunday, is drawing 350 cardiologists, heart surgeons, radiologists, neurologists, and industry representatives from … Continue reading “Summer in Seattle: Cardiologists Gather in Town to Learn State-of-the-Art Treatment”
Category: National
Perhaps Seeing a Crack in the IPO Clouds, GT Solar Expands its Offering
GT Solar has evidently spied a few rays of sunshine on the overcast IPO market. In a filing with the SEC yesterday, the Merrimack, NH, maker of equipment for producing photovoltaic solar cells dusted off—and expanded—15-month-old plans to go public. The company now plans to offer 30.3 million shares of common stock at a price … Continue reading “Perhaps Seeing a Crack in the IPO Clouds, GT Solar Expands its Offering”
DepotPoint Digs Up $7M, Goes After Foreclosure Market
In tough economic times, some see hardship while others see opportunity. Speaking of which—want a good deal on a house? Bellevue, WA-based DepotPoint, a real-estate technology company specializing in the foreclosure market, announced today that it has closed a $7 million round of Series C funding. OVP Venture Partners led the round, and Trident Capital … Continue reading “DepotPoint Digs Up $7M, Goes After Foreclosure Market”
Daily TIPs: Polluting TVs, Zeppelins Redux, Paging Dr. Bacon, & More
FCC Considers How to Save Birds from Cell Towers No one is quite sure how many migrating birds are killed when they slam into cell phone towers at night, but the number could be in the millions. So five conservation groups attended a mini-conference sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission to urge the FCC to … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Polluting TVs, Zeppelins Redux, Paging Dr. Bacon, & More”
Agios, Developer of Drugs That Starve Cancer Cells, Scarfs Up $33 Million in Venture Funds
Agios Pharmaceuticals has made some noise coming out of the holiday weekend. The Boston-area company, a developer of new drugs that starve cancer cells of essential nutrients, has snagged $33 million in an initial round of venture capital from Third Rock Ventures, Flagship Ventures, and Arch Venture Partners. Agios plans to take advantage of new … Continue reading “Agios, Developer of Drugs That Starve Cancer Cells, Scarfs Up $33 Million in Venture Funds”
VC McDermott Rocks to Cleantech
Our latest Who Knew? list of quirky details on prominent members of the Boston-area innovation community included this one: “Chuck McDermott, general partner at RockPort Capital Partners, dropped out of Yale University to pursue a career as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. McDermott led a country rock band, Chuck McDermott and Wheatstraw, which drew huge … Continue reading “VC McDermott Rocks to Cleantech”
Immune Design Aiming To Make Vaccines That Work Better in a Single Shot
Steve Reed sums up his goal for Immune Design, his new vaccine company, in a few bullet points: Better protection, fewer doses, less raw material. The Seattle-based company got started last month with $18 million in first-round financing from The Column Group, Alta Partners, and Versant Ventures. The idea is to make vaccines loaded with … Continue reading “Immune Design Aiming To Make Vaccines That Work Better in a Single Shot”
PermissionTV Gives Video Publishers Permission to Get Creative
Interactive video is finally being reborn. In the mid-1990s, multimedia artists publishing on CD-ROMs developed a huge catalog of techniques for letting viewers interact with digital video. But as I noted in a column a couple of months go, all of that wisdom seemed to go out the window around 2000, when the broadband Web … Continue reading “PermissionTV Gives Video Publishers Permission to Get Creative”
Ignition’s John Zagula Offers Three Tips For Making a Winning Pitch to a VC
One out of 100: that’s roughly how many business plans are considered promising enough to generate a meeting with a venture capitalist, according to John Zagula, a partner at Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners. The firm invests in software and services for large businesses, as well as consumer tech and communications. The competition for a VC’s … Continue reading “Ignition’s John Zagula Offers Three Tips For Making a Winning Pitch to a VC”
The Collaboration Paradox: Why So Many Leaders Sabotage Their Own Collaborations—and Some Tactics for Getting Things Right
In high-tech fields such as nanotechnology and “smart” devices, breakthroughs increasingly demand the integration of multiple technical fields. Knowing how to achieve real collaboration will make the difference between success and failure. But many people are very skeptical when asked to join collaborations, because the majority of these end up being dominated by the same … Continue reading “The Collaboration Paradox: Why So Many Leaders Sabotage Their Own Collaborations—and Some Tactics for Getting Things Right”
Sonics Leave “High-Tech Shining City of the Future;” How Will Innovation Fare?
It is a gloomy day in Seattle. First real rain in weeks, eerie echoes of thunder in the air—the city is in mourning. Yesterday, the Seattle Supersonics’ deal went down, with the NBA team set to leave town for Oklahoma next season. I had thought when I moved here that I’d get to enjoy at … Continue reading “Sonics Leave “High-Tech Shining City of the Future;” How Will Innovation Fare?”
Daily TIPs; Green Car Competition, Questions for Candidates, What You Watched on YouTube, & More
Japan Challenges Detroit on Green Cars General Motors is working hard at putting its electric car, the Volt, on the streets by 2010. But Business Week wonders if Detroit will be able to catch up to Japan’s lead on green cars. Toyota, for instance, is planning to double its sale of hybrids in the early … Continue reading “Daily TIPs; Green Car Competition, Questions for Candidates, What You Watched on YouTube, & More”
Halosource, Maker of Low-Cost Water Purifying Technology, Cracking Consumer Market In India
A million people in India are getting clean, cheap drinking water every day because of technology from a little company in Bothell, WA, that few people in the Northwest have ever heard of. The company, Halosource, has started getting traction in the Indian market this year with its technology that makes water safe to drink. … Continue reading “Halosource, Maker of Low-Cost Water Purifying Technology, Cracking Consumer Market In India”
Resolvyx Experiment Shows Fish-Oil Derivative Tamps Down Asthma, Inflammation
Fish oil is good for you, we get it. Now we also know, thanks to scientists connected to Bedford, MA-based Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, that if you give mice tiny doses of a fish oil derivative, you can suppress two specific proteins that play a role in asthma, and other inflammatory diseases. Researchers at Brigham & Women’s … Continue reading “Resolvyx Experiment Shows Fish-Oil Derivative Tamps Down Asthma, Inflammation”
Northstar Neuroscience Huddles to Consider Unsolicited Takeover Bid
Northstar Neuroscience is in one tight spot. The Seattle-based medical device company’s lead product candidate for stroke patients failed in clinical trials on Jan. 22, and 83 percent of its stock value (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NSTR]]) evaporated in a heartbeat. Then yesterday, San Diego-based Tang Capital Partners, its largest shareholder, made an unsolicited bid to buy the … Continue reading “Northstar Neuroscience Huddles to Consider Unsolicited Takeover Bid”
Totspot, WebNotes, Zeer Get Top Billing at Next Web Inno
If you’re feeling like it’s been a long time since the last Web Innovators Group gathering in Cambridge, you’re right. The series has been on hiatus since the last meeting on April 2. The main reason: organizer David Beisel, a vice president at venture firm Venrock, got married and went honeymooning. (Congratulations, David!) If you’ve … Continue reading “Totspot, WebNotes, Zeer Get Top Billing at Next Web Inno”
Daily TIPs: Wireless Autos, Capturing Carbon, Solar Energy Freeze, & More
Wireless Goes Mobile as Vehicles Tie into the Internet A recent announcement by Chrysler that it will begin installing wireless connections in all Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge models signals that the Web is truly going worldwide, argues the Christian Science Monitor. Meahwhile, several airlines hope to make money by providing wireless access on flights, and … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Wireless Autos, Capturing Carbon, Solar Energy Freeze, & More”
Allied Minds Finances Harvard-Northeastern Startup
In March, we wrote about local investment firm Allied Minds, which has a strategy of investing very early in technology developed in university research labs. Today, Allied Minds announced that it has invested in CryoXtract, a startup launched by researchers from Harvard University and Northeastern University. The inventors of the technology around which CryoXtract was … Continue reading “Allied Minds Finances Harvard-Northeastern Startup”
VLST Hires Paul Carter, Antibody Drug Expert, as New Chief Scientist
VLST has landed a big scientific fish. The Seattle biotech startup has hired Paul Carter, a top scientist at Bothell, WA-based Seattle Genetics, as its new chief scientific officer. Carter, 47, has a reputation as a leader in the world of antibody drugs, which zero in on specific targets on cells. In a 14-year run … Continue reading “VLST Hires Paul Carter, Antibody Drug Expert, as New Chief Scientist”
Zink’s Mobile Photo Printer Hits Stores This Weekend
Back in January we profiled Zink Imaging, a Bedford, MA, startup breathing new life into an inkless photo printing technology first developed (pardon the pun) at Polaroid before that company’s bankruptcy and dismantlement. This weekend, the first commercial printer based on Zink’s technology will reach consumers—and ironically, it bears the Polaroid brand. The Polaroid PoGo … Continue reading “Zink’s Mobile Photo Printer Hits Stores This Weekend”
In Smart Energy, Seattle Isn’t as Smart as It Thinks, Says Energy X Prize Guru
Within five minutes of sitting down to lunch, Jesse Berst has burst my bubble. “I’m not sanguine about Seattle as a big leader in the area,” he says. “I don’t know if we’ll have a cluster here.” He’s talking about smart energy and cleantech, and he knows a thing or two about the space. As … Continue reading “In Smart Energy, Seattle Isn’t as Smart as It Thinks, Says Energy X Prize Guru”
Looking at the World Through a Paper-Towel Tube: the Future of the Mobile Web Browser
If you want to search the Internet, you’ll probably use your PC rather than your cell phone. But that’s likely to change in the future, I was told the other night at this month’s Mobile Monday Boston event, which focused on how to make better Web browsers for mobile devices. This month’s venue was Orange … Continue reading “Looking at the World Through a Paper-Towel Tube: the Future of the Mobile Web Browser”
The Future of Online Video Ads, from Microsoft’s adCenter Labs
I had an interesting chat yesterday with Ying Shan, an applied researcher at Microsoft’s adCenter Labs in Redmond. Formed in 2006, the 120-strong lab is dedicated to researching and incubating new digital advertising technologies—primarily to compete with Google’s AdSense in the realm of online contextual ads. Shan, an expert in computer vision and machine learning, … Continue reading “The Future of Online Video Ads, from Microsoft’s adCenter Labs”
Daily TIPs: Bandwidth Trading, LED Standards, Curbing Cows, & More
Call Out for Next-Generation Web Standards The OpenAjax Alliance, an industry group trying to promote standards for the future of the Internet, is asking its members to vote for their favorite Web features and suggest ways of encouraging their spread. Ars Technica has its own suggestions of “things that need fixing” to secure the Web’s … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Bandwidth Trading, LED Standards, Curbing Cows, & More”
IRobot Grand Opening Pretty Grand
Updated with photos from the event: I missed all the speeches, sorry about that. But I still had a great time yesterday afternoon at the grand opening of iRobot’s new headquarters—touring the offices, with its multiple coffee stations and places for employees to hang bikes, examining the Seaglider underwater vehicle, watching a demo of the … Continue reading “IRobot Grand Opening Pretty Grand”
Xconomy’s Cloud Computing Forum—Speaker Slides
Updated: A number of information-hungry attendees of our cloud computing event came up to me during and after the event to request that we post speaker slides. Only about half the speakers actually used slides, and for various reasons they weren’t always comfortable with posting them. But a few—starting with former IBM executive Irving Wladawsky-Berger … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Cloud Computing Forum—Speaker Slides”
Technology Alliance Tallies Up Economic Impact of Washington’s Tech Industry
We’re Number Four. That is, in terms of concentration of technology-based employment and R&D activity in the state, Washington ranks fourth in the nation (after Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia), largely on the strength of its aerospace and software publishing industries. The concentration is defined as the number of jobs in a given sector relative … Continue reading “Technology Alliance Tallies Up Economic Impact of Washington’s Tech Industry”
At Mascoma, Taxpayers Foot Much of the Biofuel Bill
As part of a strategy to accelerate development of its biomass-to-ethanol technology, Cambridge, MA-based Mascoma appears to be sparking a little competition between state governments anxious to host the facilities that will bring the technology to market first. On Friday, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm announced an agreement between Mascoma, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, forestry … Continue reading “At Mascoma, Taxpayers Foot Much of the Biofuel Bill”
ZymoGenetics Takes on First Debt. Deerfield Bets Recothrom Will Pay Dividends
ZymoGenetics is growing up. For the first time, the Seattle-based biotech company has raised capital by borrowing it, instead of following the usual industry playbook—getting it by selling more equity shares to investors. The latter technique, which creates more supply of available shares and therefore dilutes the value of existing ones, would certainly have raised … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics Takes on First Debt. Deerfield Bets Recothrom Will Pay Dividends”
Who’s Afraid of an IPO? Everybody, At the Moment
There are two main doors that a venture-backed company can go through to provide a payday for its early investors: go public, or get acquired. And for the time being, the first door has slammed shut. In the second quarter of 2008, which ended yesterday, there were no initial public offerings by venture-backed companies in … Continue reading “Who’s Afraid of an IPO? Everybody, At the Moment”
Daily TIPs: Ethanol Policy, Data Security, Mercury Mop-Up, & More
Is Ethanol Policy Counterproductive? Citing a pair of wire stories, Salon asks whether current policies to promote the production of ethanol amount to bad economics. Federal ethanol mandates are driving up the price of corn, which makes it hard to make a profit by selling ethanol. High corn prices have driven about a dozen biofuel … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Ethanol Policy, Data Security, Mercury Mop-Up, & More”
Boston VCs Beam $13 Million into California Firm Out to Bridge Cellular and WiFi Networks
Two Boston area venture capital firms, Castile Ventures and Battery Ventures, both of Waltham, MA, have invested big in Agito Networks, a mobile technology company based in Sunnyvale, CA, the companies announced today. Castile led the $13 Million series B round, which also includes Japan’s ITX International. Battery led Agito’s $9 million Series A round … Continue reading “Boston VCs Beam $13 Million into California Firm Out to Bridge Cellular and WiFi Networks”
What is Reed Sturtevant Up to in Microsoft’s Cambridge Development Lab?
Back in September, we talked to former Eons chief technology officer Reed Sturtevant just before his first day on the job as the head of a special Microsoft advanced development lab opening in Kendall Square, right next to MIT and a stone’s throw from Google’s own lab. An update late last year brought the news … Continue reading “What is Reed Sturtevant Up to in Microsoft’s Cambridge Development Lab?”
SpreadingScience, Web 2.0 Startup for Biologists, Aims To Get Drugmakers Talking
Richard Gayle is one of those rare individuals who can really carry a conversation with a molecular biologist and a software developer. He’s a Caltech-trained biochemist, with 16 years of experience at Seattle-based Immunex. While doing his wet-lab experiments, he built that company’s first Intranet in the early 1990s. Why? To make it easier for … Continue reading “SpreadingScience, Web 2.0 Startup for Biologists, Aims To Get Drugmakers Talking”
Emerging Healthcare Delivery Paradigm for the 21st Century
The current U.S. healthcare system faces serious challenges on multiple fronts. Although the United States is considered the best place for patients to obtain accurate diagnoses and high-quality treatment, nearly 45 million Americans do not have health insurance. Healthcare expenditure in the U.S. has more than doubled from $966 billion in 1994 to $2.2 trillion … Continue reading “Emerging Healthcare Delivery Paradigm for the 21st Century”
Skyhook Blends GPS, Cellular into Wi-Fi Location-Finding System
Imagine if Microsoft admitted that people might like to run the Macintosh operating system on their Windows computers. Or if Apple made it possible to run Windows alongside Mac OS X. (Oh wait, they already did that.) Well, that’s a little bit like what Boston’s Skyhook Wireless is announcing this week. After spending five years … Continue reading “Skyhook Blends GPS, Cellular into Wi-Fi Location-Finding System”
Going Wireless at the W: A Few Thoughts From a Mobile Mixer
On Thursday night I found myself at the too-hip W Hotel in downtown Seattle, taking in a paidContent mixer hosted by publisher Rafat Ali and mocoNews.net principal correspondent Tricia Duryee. The topic was “mobile advertising in a 4G world.” John Cook of the Seattle P-I did a nice writeup of the event, catching up with … Continue reading “Going Wireless at the W: A Few Thoughts From a Mobile Mixer”
Propel Launches Biodiesel Fuel Station in South Lake Union
Not in my back yard. Just kidding, always wanted to say that. This morning I stopped by the media launch of Seattle-based Propel‘s new biodiesel station on the corner of Westlake Avenue and Valley Street, which becomes Broad Street—just blocks from my home in South Lake Union. (In fact, I can see the green canopy … Continue reading “Propel Launches Biodiesel Fuel Station in South Lake Union”
Lessons From a Year of (Our) Startup Life
You know how, in the excitement of a new relationship, you often find yourself celebrating dozens of little “anniversaries?” The day you met, first date, first… You get the idea. Building a company is like that, with so many milestones to be passed and, a year hence, commemorated. First business plan. First viable business plan. … Continue reading “Lessons From a Year of (Our) Startup Life”
Daily TIPs: Tech Czar, Nanoparticles, Hackers, & More
Who Should Be Obama’s Tech Czar? Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has proposed creating a Cabinet-level position for a chief technology officer. Washingtonian.com finds the idea intriguing, and reviews some of the names being kicked around among techies. Should the czar be Google’s Vint Cerf, Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, or someone else. Foreign … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Tech Czar, Nanoparticles, Hackers, & More”
Jingle Jumps Back to Bay State—From Silicon Valley
Jingle Networks, the company behind the advertising-supported directory assistance service 1-800-FREE411, is returning to its Massachusetts roots. The venture-funded startup, which was founded in Burlington, MA, in 2005, announced yesterday that it’s moving its corporate headquarters to Bedford, MA, after several years in Menlo Park, CA. The move coincides with a change in leadership at … Continue reading “Jingle Jumps Back to Bay State—From Silicon Valley”
Bill Gates’s Departure From Microsoft Won’t Hurt Innovation, Seattle Entrepreneurs Say
Unless you’ve been buried under a rock for weeks, you’ve heard that this is Bill Gates’s last week at Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]). There has been a ton of national and international coverage—almost a lovefest, really, full of memoirs and anecdotes from people who’ve known him over the years. Love him or hate him, everyone has … Continue reading “Bill Gates’s Departure From Microsoft Won’t Hurt Innovation, Seattle Entrepreneurs Say”
Moon Madness: Multimedia Treasures from the Apollo Era
Last October marked the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. And next month, Sputnik’s American offspring, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will also hit its 50th birthday. The milestone has occasioned the biggest flurry of media retrospectives on the space program since Ron Howard’s 1995 film … Continue reading “Moon Madness: Multimedia Treasures from the Apollo Era”
Daily TIPs: Universal Gigabit, Better Batteries, Kill Switches, & More
Everyone Needs a Gigabit by 2015 The government must take steps to push the availability of broadband Internet access if the U.S. is to remain competitive, a telecom law firm is recommending. The Baller Herbst Law Group, in a report to a North Carolina agency, calls for 100 megabits per second of affordable access for … Continue reading “Daily TIPs: Universal Gigabit, Better Batteries, Kill Switches, & More”
Notes From Xconomy’s Cloud Computing Extravaganza
“Ask not just what the cloud can do for you, but what you can do with the cloud.” — Sim Simeonov, Polaris Venture Partners “My opinion is this is a land grab.” — John Landry, former CTO of Lotus, founder, Lead Dog Ventures “The key is the location of your data. The land grab is … Continue reading “Notes From Xconomy’s Cloud Computing Extravaganza”
CVS Caremark, Microsoft Form Partnership To Help Consumers Track Their Health Data
CVS Caremark, the nation’s largest provider of prescription drugs, is joining forces with Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) to help consumers keep better track of their health information, the companies said today in a statement. The deal allows consumers to do things like download a full list of their prescriptions filled at a pharmacy or by mail … Continue reading “CVS Caremark, Microsoft Form Partnership To Help Consumers Track Their Health Data”
Kraft Group Backs Online Talk-Radio Platform
The Kraft Group in Foxborough, MA—which not only owns the New England Patriots but invests heavily in technology ventures such as the Matchmine recommendation engine and the Patriots’ own media-rich website—is the lead investor in a $4.6 million Series A funding round announced yesterday for New York-based social media site BlogTalkRadio. BlogTalkRadio’s Web-based software allows … Continue reading “Kraft Group Backs Online Talk-Radio Platform”
The Cloud Crowd: Photos from Xconomy’s June 24 Cloud Computing Forum
Bob just finished a writeup of our June 24 forum, “The Promise and Reality of Cloud Computing,” which was held at Akamai Headquarters in Kendall Square and was a huge success, with over 150 people in attendance. But we also wanted to offer you a few photos from the event, which had a stellar lineup … Continue reading “The Cloud Crowd: Photos from Xconomy’s June 24 Cloud Computing Forum”
Fear, Competition, and Greed: A Checklist for Making Your Deal Hot to VCs
An entrepreneur asked me at a recent networking event, “So, what makes a deal ‘”hot’” to a venture capitalist?” Of course I told her the stock answer that you would likely get from every VC when presented with that question, something like, “It is a great team with domain experience solving a tough problem in … Continue reading “Fear, Competition, and Greed: A Checklist for Making Your Deal Hot to VCs”
Founder of nPost Puts His Finger on the Pulse of What Seattle Tech Entrepreneurs Really Need
Nathan Kaiser is connected. His office is wherever he feels like working. He walks into shared startup digs on Alaskan Way, and people flash him knowing hand signals. I probably shouldn’t even be talking to him, given my lack of an iPhone; my Nokia brick looks like it’s from 1998. (I’m 10 years behind when … Continue reading “Founder of nPost Puts His Finger on the Pulse of What Seattle Tech Entrepreneurs Really Need”