A few days after Xconomy New York debuted in April, famed biotech pioneer and Columbia University professor Tom Maniatis gave us a preview of the New York Genome Center, a proposed coalition of academic institutions coming together to support genomics research in the city. His vision is now reality: The Center officially launches tomorrow with … Continue reading “New York Genome Center to Open in February, Supported by $125M in Public and Private Funding”
Category: New York
GramercyOne, Profitably, and Erply Carve Out Territory in Cloud-Based Management Services; VCs Follow
A crop of New York startups is growing by providing other companies niche software via the Internet cloud. By leveraging the lower cost of offering Web-based software, these technology companies are out to attract new business customers and please their investors. In recent weeks, sales and marketing software firm GramercyOne closed $14.5 million in Series … Continue reading “GramercyOne, Profitably, and Erply Carve Out Territory in Cloud-Based Management Services; VCs Follow”
SecondMarket Garners $15,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ac4bdd4b-0054-4a54-8926-95cd8c7912df&Preview=1 Date 11/2/2011 Company Name SecondMarket Mailing Address 26 Broadway 12th Floor New York, NY 10004 Company Description SecondMarket is the largest centralized marketplace and auction platform for illiquid assets, such as auction-rate securities, bankruptcy claims, collateralized debt obligations, limited partnership interests, private company stock, residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities, restricted securities … Continue reading “SecondMarket Garners $15,000,000 Series C Round”
STELLAService Secures $5,000,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=501ab095-e359-4474-9435-f241ae2abba8&Preview=1 Date 11/2/2011 Company Name STELLAService Mailing Address 27 W. 20th St. New York, NY 10011 Company Description We operate with a simple mission: to enhance transparency around the customer service of online businesses. Our goal is to guide online consumers to the sites that maintain the highest quality customer care. We … Continue reading “STELLAService Secures $5,000,000 Series A Financing”
Gilt Groupe Acquires BuyWithMe for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=32a24351-43e8-4d34-97f3-5736b90c9e2b&Preview=1 Date 11/2/2011 Company Name BuyWithMe Mailing Address 345 Hudson St. 13th Floor New York, NY 10014 Company Description We, the BuyWithMe team, are the most avid fans of the businesses featuring deals on this site. We take pride in working to handpick and help curate the promotions, partnering with businesses of … Continue reading “Gilt Groupe Acquires BuyWithMe for Undisclosed Sum”
Levo League Lands New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=da56c46b-ca63-4405-b53c-0e104eefcea7&Preview=1 Date 11/2/2011 Company Name Levo League Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10001 Company Description As young founders, our main aim is to create a medium to help young professionals break through the glass ceiling without compromising their identities as women. Website http://www.levoleague.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction … Continue reading “Levo League Lands New Financing”
Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs
A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way. —Mark Twain Venture capitalists who are serious about turning their firms into more than one-fund wonders may want to have their associates actually start and run a company for a year. Running a company is distinctly different … Continue reading “Steel in Their Eyes—Why VCs should be Startup CEOs”
Truveris Seeks the Truth in Pharmacy Benefit Claims
Anthony Loiacono was hunting around for startup ideas a couple of years back when he came across a statistic he had a hard time believing: Every two weeks, $12 billion worth of pharmacy claims flows through the health-insurance system, and not a single one of those claims is checked for accuracy before it’s paid. “People … Continue reading “Truveris Seeks the Truth in Pharmacy Benefit Claims”
Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices
One or more notices of upcoming biopharma industry conferences arrive in my email every day. I give their agendas a quick glance before deleting them, as they’re seldom in areas I focus on. The vast majority of presenters are plucked from the ranks of top-tier Big Pharma; there’s a seminar from Pfizer, a speaker from … Continue reading “Biopharma Industry Meetings Could Use Some Fresh Voices”
Clearspring Technologies Acquires XGraph for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c1cedfea-25d0-4b8f-b5bd-1ef9a70c40e2&Preview=1 Date 11/1/2011 Company Name XGraph Mailing Address 708 3rd Ave Sixth Floor New York, NY 10017 Company Description XGraph provides Audience Buyers and Sellers with Connected Audience Marketing solutions that identify and target high-value custom audiences who share similar lifestyles, values, and purchasing habits. Website http://www.XGraph.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Clearspring Technologies Acquires XGraph for Undisclosed Sum”
The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy
For the third quarter of 2011, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation leavened its otherwise morose quarterly survey of economics bloggers (PDF) with something new: a haiku contest. The 63 academics, entrepreneurs, investors, and journalists who participated in the survey, including myself, were asked to describe the state of the economy in the form of a haiku, … Continue reading “The Economy in 17 Syllables, All of Them Gloomy”
New Frontiers in Social Media
This full-day workshop provide an in-depth overview of the latest strategies being used by top agencies and leading brands, with plenty of actionable tips for expanding a startup’s social-media presence. Speakers include Jason Mitchell of Movement Strategy, Jayne Wise of the NY Rangers, and Mary Healy of Google/YouTube. Register here.
How to Build a Company With a Multi-Million Dollar Exit
Serial entrepreneur Joe Chin will interview two successful startup CEOs on the secrets of their success at this evening event. The featured speakers are Laurel Touby, founder of Mediabistro, which she sold in 2007 to Jupitermedia for $23 million, and Mark Wachen, founder of Optimost, which he sold in 2007 for $52 million. Register here.
Advances in Adult Stem Cell Therapy For Cardiovascular Disease
This symposium will provide a review of recent advances in the field, and a discussion about how this work is translating into new approaches to treat difficult-to-treat, chronic cardiovascular diseases. Speakers include Ronnda Bartel of Aastrom Biosciences, Arnold Caplan of Case Western Reserve University, and Louis Messina of UMass Memorial Medical Center. Register here.
Pacira Wins FDA Approval of Pain Drug, Cushioning Pain of 3Q Loss
Parsippany, N.J-based Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PCRX]]) announced today that the FDA approved its long-acting form of a pain drug called bupivacaine, which Pacira brands as Exparel. The approval marked a positive end to a bruising drug-development saga that began a dozen years ago. It also brightened up Pacira’s otherwise so-so third-quarter earnings, which the company … Continue reading “Pacira Wins FDA Approval of Pain Drug, Cushioning Pain of 3Q Loss”
Aussie-Born PlayUp Brings its Social Game to U.S. Sports Fans
As the gridiron gladiators of the National Football League continue their march toward the Super Bowl, PlayUp USA in New York has put its mobile social network in the hands of sports fans in the United States. Parent company PlayUp in Australia developed the free iPhone and iPad app for sports fans with the help … Continue reading “Aussie-Born PlayUp Brings its Social Game to U.S. Sports Fans”
The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End
Only a couple stories in the past decade have given advocates of personalized cancer medicines much to brag about. There was Genentech’s Herceptin for a form of breast cancer in 1998, and Novartis’ Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia in 2001. But just a few short weeks ago, in August, we saw a flurry of FDA … Continue reading “The Cancer Drug Dark Ages Are Coming to an End”
Report: Gilt Picking Up Troubled Daily Deals Site BuyWithMe
[Updated 10/28/11 2:00 p.m. See below.] According to BetaBeat, fashion site Gilt Groupe is in the final stages of acquiring its New York neighbor BuyWithMe, a daily deals site that made six acquisitions this year and expanded to Seattle—but then started showing signs of distress. Just last week, reports emerged that BuyWithMe, which started in Boston, … Continue reading “Report: Gilt Picking Up Troubled Daily Deals Site BuyWithMe”
Raising Capital for the Start-Up and Early Stage Biotech Company
MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC and Licensing Executives Society present this panel discussion on the topic of how biotechs can raise money in today’s stringent environment. Speakers include Morrie Simkin, partner at Mclaughlin & Stern, Dennis Purcell, senior managing partner of Aisling Capital, and Andy Bello, managing director of Maxim Group. Register here.
Vinod Khosla Helps Startup Entrepreneurs Think Bigger
I had been planning to talk in today’s column about the shortcomings of the Google Chromebook, which are numerous. But I’m in too good of a mood this week to play the critic, partly because of a terrific Silicon Valley event that I attended Tuesday night called Get Bigger! With Vinod Khosla. So instead, I’m … Continue reading “Vinod Khosla Helps Startup Entrepreneurs Think Bigger”
Toura Secures $3,842,160 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a148f831-9f7f-44a3-b9be-c27338fa9bf7&Preview=1 Date 10/28/2011 Company Name Toura Mailing Address 22 West 21st Street 8th Floor New York, NY 10010 Company Description Toura enables its clients to develop and globally distribute multi-media tours and guides to a variety of mobile devices in a highly efficient and cost-effective manner. Applications built using Toura Mobile App … Continue reading “Toura Secures $3,842,160 New Financing Round”
Investor Feedback Forum and Pitch Showdown
Ultra Light Startups presents an evening of startup pitches and coaching. Panelists include Andrew Cleland, venture partner at Comcast Ventures, John Frankel, partner at ff Venture Capital, and Bradley Harrison, managing partner at Brad Harrsison Ventures. The evening includes pizza and networking. Register here.
mHealthcon Mobile Health Conference
This full-day conference features exhibits, speeches, and workshops on the burgeoning world of applications and devices for diagnosing disease and managing healthcare. Speakers include Newark, NJ Mayor Corey Booker, Simon Samaha, CEO of Summit Medical Group, and Gopal Chopra, CEO of pingmd. Register here.
Better Strategies for Monetizing Digital Offerings
MIT Enterprise Forum of NYC presents this panel discussion on content-related businesses such as publishing, music, and video are changing to achieve economic viability. Speakers include Betsy Morgan, president of The Blaze, Paul Smurl, vice president of NYTimes.com, and Richard Reisman, president of Teleshuttle Corp. Register here.
Fundraising Pitch Coaching Workshop
Learn how to craft an effective venture pitch in this three-hour workshop. The session will be led by pitch coach McAdory Lipscomb, former operating partner at RRE Ventures. Register here.
Sloan-Kettering Spinoff Adjuvance Gains Traction For Vaccine Tech
It’s rare to see an entrepreneur cheering for a direct rival, but that’s exactly what’s been happening over the last week or so in New York. It started on October 18, when shares of Boston-based Agenus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGEN]]) jumped 65 percent to $4.43 on news that a GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: [[ticker:GSK]]) malaria vaccine containing an ingredient that … Continue reading “Sloan-Kettering Spinoff Adjuvance Gains Traction For Vaccine Tech”
Xconomist of the Week: Phil Libin, Evernote, and the Death of the Exit
Xconomist Phil Libin, the CEO of Mountain View, CA-based Evernote, is a little unusual among his Silicon Valley brethren. He’s on the record as saying that the online notekeeping startup doesn’t want to be acquired. “There has never been an exit strategy at Evernote,” he wrote in an FAQ-style blog post after Evernote raised $50 … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Phil Libin, Evernote, and the Death of the Exit”
IBM Names Virginia Rometty CEO and President
On Tuesday, IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]]) in Armonk, NY, said in a press statement there would be a changing of the guard at the onset of 2012. The company’s board elected Virginia Rometty to serve as CEO and president—as well as take a seat on the board—effective January 1. She succeeds Samuel J. Palmisano, who will … Continue reading “IBM Names Virginia Rometty CEO and President”
BIO Investor Forum Roundup: Immune Design, Sorbent Therapeutics, Epizyme
The best thing about coming to the BIO Investor Forum in San Francisco every year is the schmoozing with folks from all over the country in one place. The worst thing? There’s not much in the way of breaking news. Oh well, sometimes you gotta do the spade work on a slow news day if … Continue reading “BIO Investor Forum Roundup: Immune Design, Sorbent Therapeutics, Epizyme”
StarVest Partners’ Laura Sachar Talks About Bringing New York Savvy to the National Investment Scene
The fashion, advertising, and finance sectors are teeming with startups, but it takes more than a catchy gimmick to impress Laura Sachar, general partner with StarVest Partners in New York. She says her venture capital firm this year has made new investments across the country in prosaic but solid companies such as Seattle’s Lucid Commerce, … Continue reading “StarVest Partners’ Laura Sachar Talks About Bringing New York Savvy to the National Investment Scene”
Kgbdeals and Mobile Spinach Hunt for Opportunities in Troubled Daily Deals Market
In spite of companies crumbling in the daily deals space, New York’s kgbdeals and San Mateo, CA’s Mobile Spinach believe they can survive in this now-brutal sector. Kgbdeals, part of directory assistance company kgb, acquired New York’s TheDealist last Wednesday to expand its reach with customers. Before kgbdeals could uncork the champagne, a rival deals … Continue reading “Kgbdeals and Mobile Spinach Hunt for Opportunities in Troubled Daily Deals Market”
Imagen Biotech, Staffed With Eyetech Vets, Launches in NYC With Plan to Tackle Eye Diseases
Nearly a week after announcing its $40 million Series A financing, New York-based Imagen Biotech is still largely in stealth mode. But the startup’s chief medical officer, Matthew Feinsod, took a few minutes yesterday to talk with Xconomy about one of Imagen’s top priorities: finding new drugs to treat “dry” age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a … Continue reading “Imagen Biotech, Staffed With Eyetech Vets, Launches in NYC With Plan to Tackle Eye Diseases”
Subtext Obtains $3,000,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3b09bc7e-938f-434f-b3f6-682132233e5f&Preview=1 Date 10/25/2011 Company Name Subtext Mailing Address 100 Metropolitan Ave Studio 8 Williamsburg, NY 11211 Company Description Subtext powers the first reading community in the pages of ebooks. With Subtext, you can engage in conversations with friends, authors and experts and access all types of information and multimedia in the margins … Continue reading “Subtext Obtains $3,000,000 Seed Funding”
OpenSky Raises $30M in Series C Round with Providence Equity Partners, Others
New York’s OpenSky said in a press release today it raised $30 million in a Series C financing round led by Providence Equity Partners. Existing investors Canaan Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and The Raine Group participated in the round. In two prior funding rounds, OpenSky raised a total of $19 million. OpenSky, which launched its … Continue reading “OpenSky Raises $30M in Series C Round with Providence Equity Partners, Others”
RRE Ventures-Backed Bitly Offers Reputation Monitoring for Professional Users, Plans More Services
The folks at New York’s bitly want to be known for more than shortened links. So the company, funded by investors such as RRE Ventures and AOL Ventures, started a beta trial early this month for a service that monitors the reputations of its enterprise customers. Though it is best-known for those shortened and shared … Continue reading “RRE Ventures-Backed Bitly Offers Reputation Monitoring for Professional Users, Plans More Services”
Biotech VCs Have a Problem, and it Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better
We’ve heard warnings for a couple of years now that the chickens would come home to roost in the biotech venture capital scene. Quite a few VCs just haven’t delivered the returns to back up all their talk, and you can’t wait around forever for things to improve. This drama is going to be long … Continue reading “Biotech VCs Have a Problem, and it Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better”
OpenSky Project Secures $30,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bc9508d2-ef25-4c8b-8cca-d72bd7d261bb&Preview=1 Date 10/24/2011 Company Name OpenSky Project Mailing Address 18 W. 18th St. Ninth Floor New York, NY 10011 Company Description OpenSky is a new way to shop, buy, and sell. We give anyone with an audience — bloggers, editors, celebrities, social media mavens — the chance to discover amazing products in … Continue reading “OpenSky Project Secures $30,000,000 New Financing Round”
From the Lab that Brought You Siri, It’s Trapit—A Personalized Discovery Engine
There are two kinds of people: Those who already own an iPhone 4S, and those who don’t but have seen Apple’s Siri ads and wish they did. Siri, of course, is the voice-operated personal assistant that can read your text messages, schedule appointments, check on the weather, make waffles, and babysit your toddler (just kidding … Continue reading “From the Lab that Brought You Siri, It’s Trapit—A Personalized Discovery Engine”
Biotech Funding in New York: We Have Some Catching Up to Do
According to figures released this morning by Dow Jones VentureSource, 21 NYC-area biotech startups have been funded so far this year, down from 28 by the end of the third quarter of 2010. The dollar amounts have dropped, too: VCs have invested just $200 million in New York biotechs so far this year, compared to … Continue reading “Biotech Funding in New York: We Have Some Catching Up to Do”
Venture Industry Calls for Rules Changes to Reopen IPO Market
There was a time when most growing companies went to the public stock markets for the capital they needed to keep hiring and growing—but that time ended a decade ago. At no point since 2001 has the number of initial public offerings per year reached even the minimum levels set in the 1990s. (The pre-1999 … Continue reading “Venture Industry Calls for Rules Changes to Reopen IPO Market”
BuyWithMe Slashes Staff, Reportedly Looking for a Buyer
According to published reports by BetaBeat, TechCrunch and others, New York group-buying deals site BuyWithMe has laid off about 100 people today—about half of its staff—and is seeking a buyer. BuyWithMe, which started in Boston and has offices there, is backed by Bain Capital Ventures and Matrix Partners. BuyWithMe’s CEO Jim Crowley issued the following … Continue reading “BuyWithMe Slashes Staff, Reportedly Looking for a Buyer”
How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 2 of 2
Read part 1 of this post for background. By the early 1920s General Motors realized that Ford, which was now selling the Model T for $290, had an unbeatable monopoly on low-cost automobile manufacturing. Other manufacturers had experimented with selling cars based on an image and brand. (The most notable was an ad by the … Continue reading “How the iPhone Got Tail Fins—Part 2 of 2”
Life Sciences 2031: What about 2011?
Last week’s Xconomy New York Life Sciences 2031 symposium produced lots of articulate speculation about the distant future of biotechnology and its related industries. But for those of us who work or invest in life sciences, the discussion did little to answer the pressing question: what can and should we do now to meet the … Continue reading “Life Sciences 2031: What about 2011?”
Xconomist of the Week: Joe Chung Says Redstar Ventures Is Creating Companies for “the TechCrunch Crowd’s Mothers”
“There’s sort of an infinite number of good ways to start a company,” says Xconomist Joe Chung. “One of the fundamental rules in startups is that there really aren’t any rules.” But the serial entrepreneur has some pretty specific plans for how his new creation will pop out startups. That would be Cambridge, MA-based Redstar … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Joe Chung Says Redstar Ventures Is Creating Companies for “the TechCrunch Crowd’s Mothers””
Yale Gets Serious About Entrepreneurship
At a university best known for turning out captains of industry and Wall Street hedge fund magnates, Yale is now focusing more attention on nurturing its entrepreneurs. At last week’s inaugural Yale Entrepreneurs Conference, organizers put out a call to alumni to join the efforts of the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute and others to foster entrepreneurship … Continue reading “Yale Gets Serious About Entrepreneurship”
LED Company EcoSense, Flush With $13M From Bain Capital Ventures, Eyes Expansion
Things are looking brighter for New York’s EcoSense Lighting, which on Tuesday said it raised $13 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Ventures in Boston. Jeffrey Glass, managing director of Bain, says his firm was attracted to the experience of EcoSense’s management in the LED lighting sector. EcoSense, founded in 2009 … Continue reading “LED Company EcoSense, Flush With $13M From Bain Capital Ventures, Eyes Expansion”
Founders Fund-Backed Knewton And Other Education-Tech Companies Move to the Head of the Class
School is in session with education technology startups earning good grades from investors. Last Thursday, New York’s Knewton raised $33 million in a funding round led by Founders Fund and education and media company Pearson. The new cash will go towards further development of Knewton’s adaptive learning platform, which customizes education content for each student. … Continue reading “Founders Fund-Backed Knewton And Other Education-Tech Companies Move to the Head of the Class”
Arteaus, With $18M From Atlas and OrbiMed, Forges Ahead on Migraine-Prevention Drug
Cambridge, MA-based Arteaus Therapeutics is emerging from stealth mode today, announcing it is has raised an $18 million funding round and is developing a molecule licensed from drug giant Eli Lilly (NYSE: [[ticker:LLY]]) to prevent migraine headaches. The financing came from Cambridge, MA-based Atlas Venture and New York-based OrbiMed Advisors. Arteaus was founded in June, says … Continue reading “Arteaus, With $18M From Atlas and OrbiMed, Forges Ahead on Migraine-Prevention Drug”
MoneyTree Report Sees Third-Quarter Slowdown in U.S. Venture Investments
Venture capital firms invested $6.95 billion in 876 deals throughout the United States during the three months that ended Sept. 30, according to the MoneyTree Report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. The numbers marked a slowdown from the preceding quarter, when venture capitalists put $7.9 billion in 1,015 deals. But look at … Continue reading “MoneyTree Report Sees Third-Quarter Slowdown in U.S. Venture Investments”
TagMan Receives $5,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=729e9ce9-5e81-4c5e-be0a-602f3322abf0&Preview=1 Date 10/19/2011 Company Name TagMan Mailing Address 260W 35th Street 9th Floor New York, NY 10001 Company Description TagMan is the first independent, universal container tag management system. It is designed specifically to provide online advertisers with greater ability to manage the tracking tags that sit on their web site and … Continue reading “TagMan Receives $5,000,000 Series B Funding”