Houston—Christmas has come early for Billy Cohn this year. Cohn, the renowned Houston heart surgeon and inventor, doesn’t bother to contain his excitement as he shows me around the Center for Device Innovation. The center opens today at the Texas Medical Center’s innovation campus, located in an old Nabisco cookie factory. The center is a … Continue reading “JNJ’s First-Ever Center for Device Innovation Opens at Houston’s TMC”
Category: National
Sage Bounces Back, Eyes FDA Filing for Postpartum Drug
There may be a new treatment on the horizon for postpartum depression, an often severe form of depression that affects women after childbirth. Sage Therapeutics reported this morning that an experimental neurological drug known as brexanolone succeeded in two Phase 3 trials, setting the stage for an FDA approval filing next year. Cambridge, MA-based Sage … Continue reading “Sage Bounces Back, Eyes FDA Filing for Postpartum Drug”
ScaleFactor Nabs $2.5M as A.I. Marches into Business Services
Austin—ScaleFactor, a company that sells small businesses a machine learning-based program that automates accounting work like bookkeeping, has raised $2.5 million in seed funding from a group of investors that include Next Coast Ventures and Techstars Ventures. ScaleFactor plans to use the funding on product development. The company participated in the Austin Techstars accelerator earlier … Continue reading “ScaleFactor Nabs $2.5M as A.I. Marches into Business Services”
Enview Raises $6M Series A to Monitor Safety of Energy Infrastructure
Silicon Valley residents are unlikely to forget the deadly 2010 explosion and fireball in San Bruno, CA, which was caused by the breakdown of a gas pipeline that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. was later convicted of failing to identify as high-risk. Now, San Francisco startup Enview is using artificial intelligence and 3D computer vision … Continue reading “Enview Raises $6M Series A to Monitor Safety of Energy Infrastructure”
Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup
Bose, the privately held maker of headphones, loudspeakers, and other electronics for audiophiles, has acquired Hush, a San Diego startup founded by three undergraduate engineering students to develop “smart” noise-masking earbuds designed to help users sleep. The Framingham, MA, audio giant has incorporated the Hush technology in a prototype product that Bose is testing in … Continue reading “Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup”
Texas Medical Center Steps Into the Venture Arena with $25M Fund
Houston—The Texas Medical Center announced Wednesday it has created the TMC Venture Fund, a $25 million fund to support early stage biotech and life sciences companies. The companies don’t need to have been part of the medical device or health IT cohorts in TMCx, the medical center’s accelerator, but do need to have some sort … Continue reading “Texas Medical Center Steps Into the Venture Arena with $25M Fund”
Microsoft Ups Its Wisconsin Investments, Backs New Gener8tor Program
Microsoft is deepening its efforts to help Wisconsin foster more high-growth startups. The Seattle-based tech giant’s latest move in the Badger State is a new partnership with Gener8tor, an organization based in the state that runs training programs for early-stage companies, and invests in them. Gener8tor said Wednesday that its collaboration with Microsoft is aimed … Continue reading “Microsoft Ups Its Wisconsin Investments, Backs New Gener8tor Program”
Cheddar Is on a Mission to Help Software Developers Monetize Faster
It’s a tale as old as tech startups: A software developer creates a new app that she’s convinced will take the world by storm. The only problem? She has no idea how to monetize her brilliant creation. A startup based in Bloomington, IN, called Cheddar aims to solve that problem by changing the way developers … Continue reading “Cheddar Is on a Mission to Help Software Developers Monetize Faster”
Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.
[Updated 11/10/17, 10:25 a.m. See below.] Microsoft is applying the same model it used to launch its quantum computing and chatbot efforts to innovation in healthcare, signaling the company’s ambition and optimism about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies in this enormous endeavor. Peter Lee is the Microsoft Research executive in charge of the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.”
OncoResponse Buys Paganini Biopharma to Add Cancer Drug to Pipeline
Houston—OncoResponse has acquired biotech startup Paganini Biopharma in a move that brings a clinical trial-ready compound to the Houston cancer drug developer. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which was announced Tuesday. But the acquisition complements the pipeline of OncoResponse, whose research focuses on antibody cancer drugs. Los Angeles-based Paganini’s lead drug, ONCR-201, … Continue reading “OncoResponse Buys Paganini Biopharma to Add Cancer Drug to Pipeline”
With $40M for Exonics, Duchenne’s Gene Therapy, CRISPR Race Heats Up
Exonics Therapeutics, one of the players in an emerging race to use gene therapy or gene editing techniques to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has just landed a big round of funding to take its first treatment into clinical testing. The Cambridge, MA, company, seeded last year by a subsidiary of the nonprofit group CureDuchenne, will … Continue reading “With $40M for Exonics, Duchenne’s Gene Therapy, CRISPR Race Heats Up”
JumpFiber Gives San Antonio Cord Cutters New Internet Option
San Antonio—Starting a new Internet service business is no easy task, from building the technological infrastructure to wooing customers away from ubiquitous cable companies. But JumpFiber, a new wireless Internet service provider in San Antonio, isn’t shying away from the challenge, and it will now attempt to follow in the footsteps of similar companies like … Continue reading “JumpFiber Gives San Antonio Cord Cutters New Internet Option”
Super Saver Rate Ending for San Diego Life Sciences 2022 on December 11
When Xconomy gathered a handful of life sciences visionaries in 2010 to predict what the local life sciences landscape would look like in 2030, biotech CEO John Mendlein talked about the intertwining ingredients of people, money, and ideas—how they work together to strengthen a life sciences ecosystem. “We get to peer into the future,” Mendlein … Continue reading “Super Saver Rate Ending for San Diego Life Sciences 2022 on December 11”
WSU’s New Innovation Hub Aims to Boost Entrepreneurship, Engagement
David Tarver is many things: a former telecom engineer with Bell Labs who left to start his own born-in-the-basement company that later sold for $30 million, author of the book “Proving Ground,” founder of the Urban Entrepreneurship Initiative, a University of Michigan professor, and all-around booster and mentor for Southeast Michigan’s startup ecosystem. In July, he took … Continue reading “WSU’s New Innovation Hub Aims to Boost Entrepreneurship, Engagement”
Boston Tech Watch: TripAdvisor, MassChallenge, Twine Health & More
This week in Boston tech, we’re tracking trouble at TripAdvisor, the closure of a co-working space in Harvard Square, the winners of the latest MassChallenge Boston accelerator program, a pair of acquisitions, and venture investments that span cleantech, edtech, cannabis tech, and more. Read on for details. —It’s been a challenging past few days for … Continue reading “Boston Tech Watch: TripAdvisor, MassChallenge, Twine Health & More”
Waymo, Global Firms Start Their Engines For Self-Driving Future
In a pile-up of news about self-driving vehicles early this week, Alphabet unit Waymo led the pack by announcing that its autonomous fleet, operating in an area of Phoenix, is now without humans in the driver’s seat. Soon, Waymo will be testing a business model for its driverless cars, while it continues to test its … Continue reading “Waymo, Global Firms Start Their Engines For Self-Driving Future”
Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health
Progenity, a San Diego molecular diagnostics company focused on women’s health, reproductive medicine, and oncology, has raised $125 million in a Series B financing led by New York’s Athyrium Capital Management, an earlier investor. The financing marks one of the biggest life sciences deal involving a San Diego company this year. Proceeds from the financing, … Continue reading “Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health”
Five Prime Shares Dive on Latest Hiccup For Cancer Immunotherapy Combos
Another prospective combination of cancer immunotherapy drugs has shown its warts in clinical testing. The latest example: an experimental treatment from Five Prime Therapeutics fell short of expectations when combined with one of the leading immunotherapy drugs, nivolumab (Opdivo), from Bristol-Myers Squibb, in a small study. In a Phase 1 clinical trial of pancreatic cancer … Continue reading “Five Prime Shares Dive on Latest Hiccup For Cancer Immunotherapy Combos”
Panorama Education Gets $16M for “Social-Emotional Learning” Tools
Panorama Education announced Tuesday that it raised $16 million from several high-profile tech investors to accelerate the adoption of its software tools aimed at boosting K-12 students’ social and emotional skills and college readiness. The Series B funding round was led by Emerson Collective, whose founder and president is Laurene Powell Jobs, the billionaire entrepreneur … Continue reading “Panorama Education Gets $16M for “Social-Emotional Learning” Tools”
At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup
A lot of ink has been spilled on the subject of building tech startups and creating entrepreneurial communities for tech innovation. But to Etienne de Bruin, a disproportionate amount of attention has focused on the tech founder as CEO, and what it takes for a CEO to build a tech business. Search for “CEO books” … Continue reading “At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup”
ThirdChannel Collects $7M to Boost Analytics for Physical Stores
Despite talk that e-commerce is killing brick-and-mortar retail, the vast majority of shopping still takes place in physical stores. But it’s often easier to monitor inventory, analyze consumer spending habits, and make on-the-fly adjustments for digital storefronts than it is for their real-world counterparts. A Boston-area startup called ThirdChannel wants to help change that, aiming … Continue reading “ThirdChannel Collects $7M to Boost Analytics for Physical Stores”
Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future”
Raizlabs, one of the Boston area’s best-known mobile app development shops, has been acquired by Rightpoint, a Chicago-based consulting firm. The purchase price wasn’t disclosed. With the addition of Raizlabs, the combined companies employ 400 people across nine U.S. offices. The two firms’ Boston offices will consolidate, while Raizlabs’ Oakland, CA, office adds a new … Continue reading “Rightpoint Buys Mobile Firm Raizlabs to Form “Agency of the Future””
Spawned by Harvey, Entrepreneurs For Houston Hires Inaugural Leader
Houston—Born out of the destruction and dislocation caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Entrepreneurs for Houston group has taken a step to codify itself as it plans its mission for the long term. Elena White, a former management consultant and native Houstonian, has been appointed executive director of E4H, as the philanthropic group calls itself. “The … Continue reading “Spawned by Harvey, Entrepreneurs For Houston Hires Inaugural Leader”
FDA Lifts Hold on Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T, With Caveats
The FDA has cleared Cellectis to resume testing an experimental “off the shelf” type of cell therapy, so long as it follows a new set of measures meant to quell the safety concerns that caused the company to halt a pair of clinical trials. Cellectis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLLS]]) said late Monday night that the agency will … Continue reading “FDA Lifts Hold on Cellectis’s “Off the Shelf” CAR-T, With Caveats”
Lunar Aims to Offer Budget Phone Service, Premium User Experience
Most of us can’t imagine going back to a time without smartphones. Having an Internet-enabled phone on one’s person makes life easier, and many of us would feel a bit naked without one. Paying for them, however, is another matter. The prices keep going up as the phones get more sophisticated, and with myriad fees … Continue reading “Lunar Aims to Offer Budget Phone Service, Premium User Experience”
Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?
Steve Jobs was once famously quoted stating, “the secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” Employees are a critical part of any company’s backbone, no matter the size or industry of the business. They are the driving force that executes the company … Continue reading “Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?”
Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal
One thing to bear in mind with today’s news that Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) has made an unsolicited offer of about $105 billion to acquire San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) is that this deal, if it happens, is going to take time. Aside from the complications involved with combining the global operations of two Fortune … Continue reading “Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal”
With New Fund, Aurora Looks to Deepen Support for Health Startups
When Milwaukee-based Aurora Health Care announced plans invest $5 million in local startups over the next five years through its new InvestMKE fund, Aurora president and CEO Nick Turkal said the new fund will help the organization “deliver high-quality, cost-effective healthcare, ultimately helping people live well here at home.” What Turkal’s comments accompanying last week’s InvestMKE … Continue reading “With New Fund, Aurora Looks to Deepen Support for Health Startups”
$1B For Nothing? Valeant Sells Sex Drug to Sprout Backers for a Pittance
Two years after Sprout Pharmaceuticals sold itself, and its sex drive-boosting drug for women, to Valeant Pharmaceuticals in a $1 billion deal, the small company’s former owners are set to reacquire the drug for a fraction of the price. Valeant (NYSE: [[ticker:VRX]]) announced Monday an agreement to sell Sprout back to its some of its … Continue reading “$1B For Nothing? Valeant Sells Sex Drug to Sprout Backers for a Pittance”
Xconomy Newcomer Award Winner Amy Schulman on Boston Biotech Life
Amy Schulman is relatively new not just to Boston, but also to biotech. Before she moved to Boston in 2014 to join Polaris Partners, she was a partner at a major law firm and then worked at Pfizer in New York, where she served as general counsel and also headed up its huge consumer healthcare … Continue reading “Xconomy Newcomer Award Winner Amy Schulman on Boston Biotech Life”
AgTech Accelerator Brings Biopharma Models to Ag Investing Strategy
For many early-stage companies, raising money is the hard part. But after raising $10 million last spring, Boragen ran into another obstacle common to agtech startups: There are few greenhouses available for companies to run their tests. John Dombrosky, CEO of the Research Triangle Park, NC, company checked with universities and agricultural companies and found, … Continue reading “AgTech Accelerator Brings Biopharma Models to Ag Investing Strategy”
New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease
It struck me as a little perplexing when Organovo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONVO]]) announced in April that CEO Keith Murphy was departing to pursue “entrepreneurial opportunities.” The San Diego company, founded a decade ago on 3D bio-printing technology developed by the University of Missouri’s Gabor Forgacs, appeared to be gaining momentum on multiple fronts. Organovo had built … Continue reading “New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease”
Rockwell, Sift, Fund of Funds, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist
Catch up on the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation (NYSE: [[ticker:ROK]]) declined two takeover offers made by Emerson Electric (NYSE: [[ticker:EMR]]) in the past three months, including one in October that valued Rockwell at more than $27 billion, CNBC reported. Rockwell develops software and provides services for … Continue reading “Rockwell, Sift, Fund of Funds, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist”
With $11M in New Funding, Mcity Looks Ahead to 2018 and Beyond
Mcity, the autonomous vehicle research center on the University of Michigan campus, announced this week that it has raised $11 million in new funding from 11 industry partners. (See list below.) These partners help Mcity identify opportunities as well as the challenges in bringing them to fruition, and weigh in on the direction of the … Continue reading “With $11M in New Funding, Mcity Looks Ahead to 2018 and Beyond”
Black Duck Aims to “Build a Powerful Company” Under Wing of Synopsys
Synopsys thinks it has found a beautiful swan in Black Duck Software. While the 14-year-old Boston-area company was by no means an “ugly duckling” before, it has transformed several times on the way to its half-billion-dollar sale to Synopsys—and it will likely continue to grow and change under its new parent company. Mountain View, CA-based … Continue reading “Black Duck Aims to “Build a Powerful Company” Under Wing of Synopsys”
Klotho Therapeutics Raises $10M to Test Drug in Kidney Disease
Klotho Therapeutics, a virtual biotech developing a kidney disease treatment based on its proprietary engineered version of the human klotho enzyme, said Thursday it has raised $10 million in Series A financing from San Diego’s Thynk Capital. Thynk Capital founder and principal Jim Plante also is Klotho’s founder and CEO. Plante is a technology industry … Continue reading “Klotho Therapeutics Raises $10M to Test Drug in Kidney Disease”
Austin Digerati “Awaken” To Opportunities in Civic Tech Innovation
Austin—Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Austin earlier this year were a wake-up call for Dan Webb. Webb is director of strategic partnerships at edtech startup Civitas Learning, and his wife is an immigrant who had just become a U.S. citizen in February. “We were getting calls from friends of ours asking, ‘If my wife … Continue reading “Austin Digerati “Awaken” To Opportunities in Civic Tech Innovation”
Indiana’s Open Data Hub Allows Public to Address State’s Challenges
Municipalities and state governments tend to generate reams of data pertaining to their residents. However, trying to peel back the layers of bureaucratic red tape to reveal something meaningful from government datasets has been a longstanding challenge throughout the country. Government IT departments are often hampered by outdated technology and cumbersome chains of command, but … Continue reading “Indiana’s Open Data Hub Allows Public to Address State’s Challenges”
Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More
The rising death toll from opioids has prompted policymakers to try various ways to take on the problem. President Trump’s opioid commission released its final report this week, calling for expansion of drug courts, better physician training, and penalties for insurers that don’t cover treatment. But the commission did not say how much its recommendations … Continue reading “Biotech Roundup: Opioid News, ASH Preview, Boston Bio IPOs & More”
Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms
At Congressional hearings this week on Russia’s use of social media to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election, lawmakers pressed Facebook, Twitter, and Google to take exhaustive measures to stop the same thing from happening again. Lawmakers urged the companies to scour their networks to root out foreign advertisers, trolls, and bots; to eliminate messages … Continue reading “Congress Urges Tech Firms to Control Content—But With Qualms”
Etzioni on A.I. Hype, Reality, Lifesaving Potential, and More
Oren Etzioni, CEO of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2), still isn’t worried about nefarious A.I. taking over the world, but says there are real and growing concerns about its potential impacts on society and the economy. That said, he is an A.I. optimist and sees potentially lifesaving applications emerging in autonomous vehicles and … Continue reading “Etzioni on A.I. Hype, Reality, Lifesaving Potential, and More”
Black Duck Software to Be Acquired by Synopsys for $565M
Over the summer, Black Duck Software CEO Lou Shipley told Xconomy that a potential acquirer would have to propose a “really good deal” for his company to agree to a sale. Apparently, Black Duck got that offer. The Burlington, MA-based cybersecurity company announced Thursday it has agreed to be acquired by Mountain View, CA-based Synopsys … Continue reading “Black Duck Software to Be Acquired by Synopsys for $565M”
PathAI Grabs $11M to Build A.I. Tools for Pathology
Investors continue to pour millions of dollars into startups attempting to apply artificial intelligence technologies to various problems in healthcare. The latest beneficiary is PathAI, a Cambridge, MA-based company developing A.I. software aimed at helping pathologists be more efficient and accurate in diagnosing disease. PathAI co-founder and CEO Andy Beck tells Xconomy that his company … Continue reading “PathAI Grabs $11M to Build A.I. Tools for Pathology”
Optimus Ride Drives Off With $18M for Autonomous Vehicle Tech
[Updated 11/2/17, 10:01 am, with CEO comments.] Boston’s self-driving vehicle startups are on a roll. This morning, Optimus Ride said that investors have pumped $18 million into the company in a new funding round. The news follows the announcement last month that global auto parts supplier Delphi (NYSE: [[ticker:DLPH]]) agreed to purchase NuTonomy for up … Continue reading “Optimus Ride Drives Off With $18M for Autonomous Vehicle Tech”
UpCurve Buys Closely to Boost ThriveHive’s Marketing Tech Offerings
The trend of consolidation in the marketing technology sector continues: Quincy, MA-based UpCurve announced this morning it has acquired Closely, the Denver-based startup behind the social marketing mobile app, Perch. Terms weren’t disclosed. Eight-year-old Closely, led by MapQuest co-founder Perry Evans, previously raised at least $3.6 million from investors, according to SEC filings. UpCurve, formerly … Continue reading “UpCurve Buys Closely to Boost ThriveHive’s Marketing Tech Offerings”
Spero, Allena Nab $152M As Bio IPOs, With Insider Help, Continue Roll
Two biotechs, Spero Therapeutics and Allena Therapeutics, are headed for the Nasdaq this morning at valuations they’d been aiming for. Their stock offerings are the latest sign of the health of the biotech IPO market, and the willingness of insiders to make sure these deals succeed. Spero, of Cambridge, MA, raised $77 million late Wednesday … Continue reading “Spero, Allena Nab $152M As Bio IPOs, With Insider Help, Continue Roll”
Scangos Heats Up Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech Lineup
To biopharmaceutical companies, FDA approval of a new drug brings the opportunity to sell a product in the biggest pharmaceutical market in the world. But disease knows no borders, and many treatments launched in the U.S. market could also have global applications. George Scangos says he joined Vir Biotechnology to bring new infectious disease therapies … Continue reading “Scangos Heats Up Xconomy’s What’s Hot in Bay Area Biotech Lineup”
Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007
Austin—The South by Southwest technology conference draws executives from countless companies worth billions of dollars to Austin every year and, with them, investors that want a piece of their equity. But the companies that often get the most attention are the ones that aren’t worth much at all—yet. One way SXSW attendees get to see … Continue reading “Pitchbook Report: SXSW Accelerator Investments, Exits Since 2007”
Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention
As opioid-related deaths skyrocket across the U.S., momentum to combat the epidemic has been mounting in Washington. But the crisis has also highlighted a glaring problem that no amount of politics or policymaking will solve soon: The lack of non-addictive pain medicines. “What is disappointing over the last half-century is that we haven’t really created … Continue reading “Few Opioid Alternatives In Sight as Crisis Gains Political Attention”
Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell & Other Milwaukee Firms Fund gBETA
Advocates of entrepreneurship in the Milwaukee area have long argued that forging more connections between startups and old-line businesses headquartered there could lead to more people starting and building companies in the city. Lately, business leaders in greater Milwaukee have been taking steps to help the city realize that vision. The latest example is an … Continue reading “Northwestern Mutual, Rockwell & Other Milwaukee Firms Fund gBETA”