Category: New York

Ioxus Receives $21,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6d5ee79e-9b5c-439a-9bf8-4c28edefeb1c&Preview=1 Date 4/14/2011 Company Name Ioxus Mailing Address 118 Winney Hill Road Oneonta, NY 13820 Company Description Ioxus ultracapacitor devices are optimized for higher voltage levels that combine improved materials and provide simple solutions, with significantly enhanced performance. The IP-protected technology improvements offer markets a much higher performing product that is easier … Continue reading “Ioxus Receives $21,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

New York’s New General Assembly Incubator Attracts Entrepreneurs With Camaraderie, Classes, and a College Feel

Brad Hargreaves, co-founder of New York City’s newest tech incubator, was just 19 years old when he learned some bitter lessons about starting companies. He was the chief operating officer of GXStudios, one of the first players in online social gaming. The venture-backed company’s flagship product was GoCrossCampus, a multiplayer, rivalry-themed game played by college kids … Continue reading “New York’s New General Assembly Incubator Attracts Entrepreneurs With Camaraderie, Classes, and a College Feel”

Pfizer Sheds Light on Drug for Rare Neurological Disorder

Pfizer’s (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]) investigational compound, tafamidis, slowed the progression of a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease over 30 months, according to a press release. The disease, called Transthyretin Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP), affects about 8,000 people worldwide. The data came from a late-stage clinical trial of the drug and was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Academy … Continue reading “Pfizer Sheds Light on Drug for Rare Neurological Disorder”

Ford, Chasing Nissan and Chevy, Rolling Out Focus EV in San Diego, Other Key Markets

After investing roughly $1 billion to overhaul a Ford F150 truck factory in Wayne, MI, the Ford Motor Co. has begun to introduce a new generation of electric and hybrid electric automobiles in the United States. Ford has targeted San Diego as a key beachhead for the initial commercial rollout of its all-electric car, following … Continue reading “Ford, Chasing Nissan and Chevy, Rolling Out Focus EV in San Diego, Other Key Markets”

Payfone Lands $19,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=74e6c00b-6886-460a-92e9-55bac66d7d0f&Preview=1 Date 4/13/2011 Company Name Payfone Mailing Address 137 5th Avenue 10th Floor New York , NY 10011 Company Description Payfone, Inc. allows users to pay for online goods and services using mobile credit. Website http://www.payfone.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $19,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Payfone’s new funds will … Continue reading “Payfone Lands $19,000,000 New Financing”

Public Policy Institute on How to Boost Biotech in New York: More Jobs, Better Teamwork, Fewer Taxes

In a scintillating report released today, the Public Policy Institute (PPI) of New York blasts the state’s leaders for failing to support the local biotechnology industry. New York ranks fifth in the nation in biotech employment, for example, and sixth in total capital expenditures made by the industry. And despite churning out more college graduates … Continue reading “Public Policy Institute on How to Boost Biotech in New York: More Jobs, Better Teamwork, Fewer Taxes”

Webby Award Nominees Include New York, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle Internet Innovators

OK, so they’re not quite the Emmys. And this being New York, they’re not even the Tonys. But for the city’s legions of Web developers and interactive advertisers they might as well be the Oscars. That’s right, it’s time for the 15th Annual Webby Awards. The nominees were announced today in New York. The Webby … Continue reading “Webby Award Nominees Include New York, Boston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Seattle Internet Innovators”

BlogWorld and New Media Expo

More than 200 bloggers, podcasters, and other Internet experts will gather at this conference to discuss the latest in technology and tools. Speakers include Amber Naslund, co-author of The Now Revolution and Tom Webster, author of Twitter Users in America. Register here.

Bioaccelerate NYC Panel Discussion

Bioaccelerate NYC provides prize money to scientists at New York academic institutions who are working on commercially promising biomedical projects. During this panel, representatives of the New York City Investment Fund and Columbia University will discuss the factors that make for a suitable entry. Register here.

Variety of Tech Entrepreneurs Panel

This panel, part of Tech@NYU’s Startup Week, feature a variety of technology entrepreneurs, including Spencer Fry, co-founder of Carbonmade; Hilary Mason, chief data scientist at bit.ly; and Vin Vacanti, Yipit co-founder. Register here.

Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit

The first of this planned annual event will feature industry experts, private equity and venture capital investors, corporations, healthcare IT innovators and government officials. Speakers include Todd Park, chief technology officer for the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services. Register here.

Siobhan Quinn Says “Technology is the Underdog” in New York; A Check-In with Foursquare’s First Product Manager

If you’re a software engineer turned product manager who’s overseen the seventh-most-visited website in the world—Google’s Blogger platform—what do you do for an encore? You move to New York to work for a little startup trying to change the world through mobile check-ins, of course. Siobhan Quinn got her BS in computer science at the … Continue reading “Siobhan Quinn Says “Technology is the Underdog” in New York; A Check-In with Foursquare’s First Product Manager”

SocialFlow Raises $7 Million and Secures Twitter Partnership

SocialFlow, a New York based developer of social-media optimization tools, pulled together $7 million in a Series A, according to a press release. Investors included Softbank, RRE, Betaworks, Highline Venture Partners, AOL Venture Partners, and SV Angel. SocialFlow’s product analyzes the Twitter topics that people are most engaged in and their likelihood of taking action … Continue reading “SocialFlow Raises $7 Million and Secures Twitter Partnership”

OrbiMed Raises $203 Million for Israel Biomed Fund

OrbiMed Advisors, a healthcare investment firm in New York, has brought in $203 million for its one-year-old OrbiMed Israel Partners fund—including $40 million from the Israeli government, according to VentureWire. OrbiMed will use the fund to back 15-20 Israeli startups, OrbiMed general partner Jonathan Silverstein told VentureWire. The fund’s first big move is a $10.5 million … Continue reading “OrbiMed Raises $203 Million for Israel Biomed Fund”

Open Source Biology Deserves a Shot

Gene sequencing has gotten incredibly fast and cheap, and researchers around the world are pouring huge volumes of genomic data onto their private servers, in the hope they will sift through it all to make groundbreaking discoveries. Should so much genomic data be so closely guarded, or should it be poured into a free and … Continue reading “Open Source Biology Deserves a Shot”

Mushroom Networks Advances Technology for Live Field Broadcasts

When I profiled San Diego’s Mushroom Networks last June, the venture-backed developer of “broadband bonding” technology had just introduced Teleporter, a hardware package that enables a broadcast journalist to send high-quality digital video over local cellular networks. One year later, the company says its Teleporter technology is now available with HD capability. Mushroom Networks says … Continue reading “Mushroom Networks Advances Technology for Live Field Broadcasts”

About.com Announces Expansion Plans

About.com is expanding its premium content, launching a Spanish-language channel, and doubling its video content, according to a press release. The site, which is part of the New York Times Company (NYSE:[[ticker:NYT]]), also plans to grow its collection of so-called Guide sites, which are run by independent experts and cover popular topics like food, health, … Continue reading “About.com Announces Expansion Plans”

Exclusively.In Launches Discount Asia Travel Offering

Online retailer Exclusively.In, which offers flash sales of discounted Indian clothing and jewelry to its members, has started a luxury travel division, according to a statement from the company. Exclusively.In launched last summer with $2.8 million in funding from Accel Partners India and Helion Venture Partners, and has offices in New Delhi and New York. … Continue reading “Exclusively.In Launches Discount Asia Travel Offering”

Legolas Media Raises $5 Million

Legolas Media, an advertising technology company based in New York City, raised $5 million in an equity-based funding round, an SEC filing shows. There were three investors, according to the document. Legolas’s website defines the company as “not really” an ad exchange, but rather a marketplace that connects advertisers with publishers in a manner that’s … Continue reading “Legolas Media Raises $5 Million”

Biotech in New York: Scientists and Entrepreneurs Gather to Banter About the City’s Challenges and Opportunities

The 20th annual meeting of the New York Biotechnology Association (NYBA) kicked off on April 6 with a panel called “The Global Struggle for the Biopharmaceutical Industry: New York Must Step Up Its Game!” Nathan Tinker, executive director of the NYBA and the panel’s moderator, joked to the gathering crowd at the Marriott Marquis in … Continue reading “Biotech in New York: Scientists and Entrepreneurs Gather to Banter About the City’s Challenges and Opportunities”

With iMovie on the iPad 2, Video Editing Is Fun Again

As much as I loved the original Apple iPad, there was one thing about the device that stuck in my craw: the missing cameras. It was an easy guess when the original product debuted 12 months ago that Apple would rectify the omission in a near-future version. What annoyed me was the certainty that at … Continue reading “With iMovie on the iPad 2, Video Editing Is Fun Again”

Flat World Knowledge Secures New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a85aa11-659b-4eef-a515-37c5d5ec6ff8&Preview=1 Date 4/8/2011 Company Name Flat World Knowledge Mailing Address 1 Bridge Street Irvington, NY 10533 Company Description We preserve the best of the old – books by leading experts that are rigorously reviewed and developed to the highest standards. Then we flip it all on its head. Our books are free … Continue reading “Flat World Knowledge Secures New Round”

SocialFlow Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4140aff1-48eb-4f0d-a935-8668cc3b2a50&Preview=1 Date 4/8/2011 Company Name SocialFlow Mailing Address 416 W. 13th St. New York, NY 10014 Company Description SocialFlow is a social media optimization platform that is used by media companies, retailers and brands to earn greater engagement, clicks, re-tweets, mentions and followers on Twitter. SocialFlow’s software ensures that you enter conversations … Continue reading “SocialFlow Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

Forbes Ranks Detroit, Other Xconomy Cities Poorly In Minority Entrepreneurship

Forbes recently ranked the best cities for minority entrepreneurs and perhaps not surprisingly, Detroit finished near the bottom of the list. Despite Detroit’s large African American population, the magazine ranked the Motor City 47th out of 52 metropolitan areas. You can probably blame the usual suspects: lack of venture capital, the loss of population, downsizing … Continue reading “Forbes Ranks Detroit, Other Xconomy Cities Poorly In Minority Entrepreneurship”

Artsicle Lets Indecisive New Yorkers Rent Art Before They Commit to Buying

Start browsing the artwork available for rent at Artsicle.com, and it won’t be long before a window pops up offering a real live curator to help you make your selection. The live-chat feature is a lot of work for Artsicle founders Alexis Tryon and Scott Carleton because, well, they’re Artiscle’s only full-time curators. That means … Continue reading “Artsicle Lets Indecisive New Yorkers Rent Art Before They Commit to Buying”

Zacharon Nabs $210M Deal With Pfizer to Tackle Orphan Diseases

San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals just struck its first really big partnership. The company, backed by Avalon Ventures, said today it has formed an alliance with New York-based Pfizer that could be worth as much as $210 million to develop drugs for rare diseases. Specific financial terms weren’t provided in today’s statement, but Zacharon will get … Continue reading “Zacharon Nabs $210M Deal With Pfizer to Tackle Orphan Diseases”

The ImClone Alumni: Where Are They Now?

[Updated: 10:20 pm, 4/15/11] ImClone Systems is the biotech company that Martha Stewart made famous, but after the scandalous headlines faded away, it has left a lasting imprint on New York. The ImClone story has been told many times over, about the 2001 insider trading allegation that ended up landing both ImClone CEO Sam Waksal and … Continue reading “The ImClone Alumni: Where Are They Now?”

Founder Collective, Seed-Stage Fund, Betting on Surging NYC Tech Startup Scene

New York is famous in the business world for its large companies in a variety of industries. For the partners at the seed-stage venture fund Founder Collective, however, the focus is on the small tech startups in the city and beyond that have the potential to rapidly grow in value. In fact, managing partners David … Continue reading “Founder Collective, Seed-Stage Fund, Betting on Surging NYC Tech Startup Scene”

SocialGuide Lands $1,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ed085091-f31e-418f-a968-ae86d8eb0c64&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name SocialGuide Mailing Address 68 Jay St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 Company Description The company operates a website that allows users to find out what’s on television in a social network format. Website http://beta.socialguide.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This funding will … Continue reading “SocialGuide Lands $1,500,000 New Funding Round”

WeWork Labs Gives New York Entrepreneurs a Home Before They’re Ready For an Office

New York City’s incubator scene has been exploding of late, with Polaris-backed Dogpatch Labs opening in early 2010, and General Assembly setting up in January of this year with help from a $200,000 city grant. Now it’s time to add a new name to that list: WeWork Labs, which opened in SoHo on April 1. … Continue reading “WeWork Labs Gives New York Entrepreneurs a Home Before They’re Ready For an Office”

Yipit Cuts Through the Noise Of Daily Deals with Kayak-Like Filtering

This is another story of a New York City duo that left the finance industry to start a tech company, but didn’t quite know where to begin. (For our first take on this theme, read my profile on StellaService yesterday.) “The only problem was we didn’t know what we were doing, and realized very early … Continue reading “Yipit Cuts Through the Noise Of Daily Deals with Kayak-Like Filtering”

Phreesia Keeps Data Digital When Patients Check In

The United States is investing billions of dollars to get doctors to use electronic health records for patients at their practices. Why then, Phreesia CEO Chaim Indig asks, are patients being handed the same old clipboards with papers to fill out when they arrive for appointments? New York-based Phreesia, which Indig co-founded in 2005, aims … Continue reading “Phreesia Keeps Data Digital When Patients Check In”

Send the Trend Garners $2,500,011 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ca7dd225-724d-4dc5-822e-d92c121cc4e5&Preview=1 Date 4/6/2011 Company Name Send the Trend Mailing Address 130 Madison Ave. Sixth Floor New York, NY 10016 Company Description We work closely with a variety designers to give you chic, contemporary accessories every month that are chosen for your style profile, at a price that’s hard to beat. Our fashion … Continue reading “Send the Trend Garners $2,500,011 New Financing Round”

Merck Buys Inspire for $430M

Merck (NYSE: [[ticker:MRK]]) said today it has agreed to acquire Raleigh, NC-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISPH]]) for $430 million. Merck agreed to pay $5 a share, or about a 26 percent premium above Inspire’s last closing stock price before the deal was announced. Inspire markets azithromycin ophthalmic solution (Azasite) for the treatment of eye infections.

StellaService, Backed By Big NY Investors, Looks to Recognize E-Tailers For Star Customer Service with Zagat-Style Marks

Jordy Leiser and his friend John Ernsberger left their jobs in the financial industry in 2008 with an appetite for starting a company around the subject of transparency. But that inspiration didn’t turn itself into a company right away. “We spun our wheels for a long time,” says Leiser. So they did what any self-respecting … Continue reading “StellaService, Backed By Big NY Investors, Looks to Recognize E-Tailers For Star Customer Service with Zagat-Style Marks”

Xconomy’s New Frontier of Innovation: New York

You know what they say about New York City: If you can make it here….But let’s skip the clichés and old song lines and get straight to the big news. Welcome to Xconomy New York, the sixth outpost in our rapidly expanding network of local news sites about innovation. So, all you Big Apple entrepreneurs, … Continue reading “Xconomy’s New Frontier of Innovation: New York”

Tom Maniatis, Molecular Biology Pioneer, Seeks to Help Build a Kendall Square in NYC

Tom Maniatis doesn’t fit the profile of a typical New York economic booster, who is usually a politician or big-time businessman. Maniatis is one of the pioneers of modern molecular biology, who wrote a definitive how-to manual on genetic engineering in the early 1980s. He spent 30 years at Harvard University and co-founded one of … Continue reading “Tom Maniatis, Molecular Biology Pioneer, Seeks to Help Build a Kendall Square in NYC”

Logicworks Receives $7,600,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aaf8b41e-d72f-4fea-ac53-978c80493306&Preview=1 Date 4/5/2011 Company Name Logicworks Mailing Address 155 Avenue of the Americas Fifth Floor New York, NY 10013 Company Description Logicworks exclusively delivers enterprise hosting and cloud solutions to sophisticated, high-growth clients in need of high-availability for their most critical applications and content. Clients can reduce capital expenses, operating overhead and … Continue reading “Logicworks Receives $7,600,000 New Financing Round”

Liazon Obtains $12,600,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e277008c-1a01-41f3-9a3b-61c38a1135e3&Preview=1 Date 4/5/2011 Company Name Liazon Mailing Address Undisclosed Buffalo, NY 14203 Company Description The company provides employee benefits services. Website http://www.liazon.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,600,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This capital infusion will allow us to dramatically expand our national sales and marketing footprint and continue to … Continue reading “Liazon Obtains $12,600,000 New Funding”

Columbia University’s Tech Transfer Guru, Orin Herskowitz, on Turning IT, Biotech, and Cleantech Ideas Into Businesses

Orin Herskowitz, executive director of Columbia Technology Ventures, is sipping gourmet coffee at a bistro across the street from the Manhattan Mall, but he hardly needs the caffeine to amplify his excitement about the innovation scene at his college. Columbia Technology Ventures—the Ivy League university’s main technology-transfer initiative—has chalked up an impressive list of accomplishments … Continue reading “Columbia University’s Tech Transfer Guru, Orin Herskowitz, on Turning IT, Biotech, and Cleantech Ideas Into Businesses”

Tobira Pegs Nodality Vet Andrew Hindman as CEO

Tobira Therapeutics, a Manalapan, NJ-based developer of therapies to treat HIV, has named Andrew Hindman president and CEO, according to a news release. Hindman was most recently senior v.p. of development at Nodality, a San Francisco-based developer of molecular diagnostic tools. Tobira is in phase 2b testing of Cenicriviroc, a drug that targets two co-receptors—one … Continue reading “Tobira Pegs Nodality Vet Andrew Hindman as CEO”

The World’s Most Social City Meets Social Media: Why One Hot Investor Thinks New York Is on Fire as a Tech Startup Hub

It’s no secret to anyone looking at venture activity that New York has blossomed over the past few years as a startup mecca. Riding a wave of investments in Web , media, and advertising startups, the city has recently climbed past Boston to become the second greatest center (after the Bay Area) of high-tech deal … Continue reading “The World’s Most Social City Meets Social Media: Why One Hot Investor Thinks New York Is on Fire as a Tech Startup Hub”

Pfizer Sells Drug-Delivery Innovator to KKR

Global investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (NYSE: [[ticker:KKR]]) will purchase Pfizer’s Capsugel unit for $2.375 billion in cash, according to a statement from Pfizer (NYSE: [[ticker:PFE]]). Capsugel, which manufactures hard capsules and other drug-delivery systems, generated $750 million in sales last year, making it the world’s leading capsule maker, Pfizer says. The Peapack, NJ-based … Continue reading “Pfizer Sells Drug-Delivery Innovator to KKR”

Xconomy Expands to New York—the Country’s Hottest Hub of Tech Startups and Entrepreneurship

Every time I visit the Big Apple, a line from Stevie Wonder’s Living for the City flashes in my mind: “New York, just like I pictured it, skyscrapers and everything.” But my mental picture of New York has evolved dramatically in the last few years—not the skyscrapers part, of course, but the “everything” that’s going … Continue reading “Xconomy Expands to New York—the Country’s Hottest Hub of Tech Startups and Entrepreneurship”

Biotechies Need to Get Serious About Antibiotics, Where There is Money to Be Made

There are lots of exceptions to the rules in the biotech business, and a big one jumped out me this past week, related to antibiotics. One day, Reuters ran a story about the overall abysmal state of the world’s pipeline of new antibiotics. Next day, there were reports about how San Diego-based Optimer Pharmaceuticals appears … Continue reading “Biotechies Need to Get Serious About Antibiotics, Where There is Money to Be Made”

New York City Startup Weekend

This 54-hour event is out to bring together developers, designers, and business people to create Web and mobile technologies that could turn into viable companies. Register online for this one.