The word “story” gets ill treatment at events like the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. It often means an elevator pitch from a harried CEO to a distracted investor, or a few observations a journalist strings together with a headline, or Twitter snark trying to pass for insight. But we heard a real story on Sunday … Continue reading “J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex”
Category: New York
A Year Later, Tech Education Startup Thinkful Has More Cash, New Plans
When we last caught up with Thinkful, a New York-based technology education company, it was dabbling in adding offline lessons to its curriculum. This week, the startup announced it raised $4.25 million, in a round led by Floodgate Fund, and has plans to more directly help its students find new jobs. Thinkful offers primarily online … Continue reading “A Year Later, Tech Education Startup Thinkful Has More Cash, New Plans”
It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation
The buzz from day one of the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco earlier this week was the announcement on Sunday night by Roche that it was acquiring a majority interest in Foundation Medicine (NASDAQ: [[ticker:FMI]]) for a bit more than $1 billion in cash, which translates into $50 a share. Those were just … Continue reading “It Had to be You: Why Roche Was The Lone Suitor For Foundation”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Foundation, Biogen, Moderna, & Lots More
Well, the circus (the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference) is over. After a few days running around in sunny Union Square in San Francisco, it’s back to reality for us East Coasters—three more months of thick coats and blustery wind. Alex Lash and I will be emptying the notebook from the conference in the weeks and … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Foundation, Biogen, Moderna, & Lots More”
MIT MBA Students Tour Silicon Valley As Tech Campuses Expand
It’s easy to catch the technology bug. After all, tech companies are pretty much everywhere. I became hooked when I worked as an IT consultant at Accenture after college, and plan to work at a technology company after I finish my MBA. So when I had the opportunity to participate in a Technology Trek at … Continue reading “MIT MBA Students Tour Silicon Valley As Tech Campuses Expand”
Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science
On December 24 2009, Xconomy published a column in which I reflected on the preceding decade and predicted for the coming one. I still quote that column in talks, because it’s the one time I can remember when I was actually right: I said that this would be the decade in which computer scientists put … Continue reading “Ideas for Diversity, Education, and Computer Science”
Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity
Venture capital firms invested more than $47.3 billion in U.S. startups in 2014, marking the highest funding level of VC funding since 2001, according to data being released today by CB Insights, the New York-based venture capital database. The $47.3 billion was 62 percent more than the $29.2 billion that venture firms invested in 2013. … Continue reading “Uber-Size Deals Dominate Mega Year in U.S. Venture Activity”
Attacking Parkinson’s Via Gaucher Link, LTI Ready for Its Series A
When his company raised nearly $5 million in seed funding last year, Lysosomal Therapeutics founder, president, and CEO Kees Been said he had two goals: learn more about the underlying connection between the rare Gaucher disease and Parkinson’s disease, and sort through compounds licensed from the National Institutes of Health to find the best one … Continue reading “Attacking Parkinson’s Via Gaucher Link, LTI Ready for Its Series A”
Classpass Obtains $40,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fb265ba6-83ad-47b4-a48e-80e764c806dc Date 1/15/2015 Company Name Classpass Mailing Address 121 West 27th Street New York, NY 10001 USA Company Description Classpass is a membership program for fitness classes across multiple gyms and studios, making working out more accessible. Since launching in early 2013, ClassPass has facilitated over 60,000 reservations at 1,000+ different classes … Continue reading “Classpass Obtains $40,000,000 Series B Financing”
IRX Therapeutics Lands $31,567,743 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ef6df677-2e5f-497d-8df6-d84eafee917a Date 1/15/2015 Company Name IRX Therapeutics Mailing Address 140 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 USA Company Description IRX Therapeutics’ mission is to discover and commercialize drugs that stimulate a coordinated TH1-specific cellular immune response to treat human diseases. This immune response is essential for the eradication of most viruses … Continue reading “IRX Therapeutics Lands $31,567,743 New Funding Round”
Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers
All metro areas are not created equal. If you’re looking at job markets in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)—a major indicator of economic growth and innovation—the U.S. is a study in contrasts. That’s according to a survey by WalletHub, a financial information site based in Washington, DC. The analysis looked at metrics such as … Continue reading “Houston, Austin, Raleigh, Denver Tops in U.S. for STEM Workers”
Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts
The great challenge facing higher education is to prepare students to navigate a world of accelerating uncertainty and faster churn. Training students to re-invent themselves every few years, as is already required in the world today, is an objective that legacy approaches to higher education is not optimized for. I’m convinced, however, that the University … Continue reading “Colleges Must Mix Entrepreneurial Skills, Traditional Liberal Arts”
In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening
As a venture investor in the healthcare sector, I see a lot of new medical technologies that promise improvement over the current standard of care. Opportunities that represent truly transformational change in medicine are rare, and those that address a major clinical challenge affecting tens of millions of lives are rarer still. Breast cancer screening … Continue reading “In Search of a Better Approach to Breast Cancer Screening”
Finomial Obtains $1,083,305 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f311f1c1-6326-4840-bb3c-09eefdf164b7 Date 1/14/2015 Company Name Finomial Mailing Address 244 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10001 USA Company Description Finomial transforms the buy side investment process, investor analytics, and regulatory compliance by automating the current manual hedge fund subscription process between investor, fund manager and administrator. Website http://www.finomial.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Finomial Obtains $1,083,305 New Funding”
Curemark Receives $5,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=667c6ccf-dff4-432f-8152-0cdeff4af973 Date 1/14/2015 Company Name Curemark Mailing Address 411 Theodore Fremd Ave. Rye, NY 10580 USA Company Description Curemark is a socially driven biotechnology and development company whose focus is addressing the unmet health needs of individuals in the areas of neurology and gastrointestinal/pancreatic secretory deficiencies. Website http://www.curemark.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction … Continue reading “Curemark Receives $5,000,000 New Financing Round”
Boxed Receives $25,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=53bd9da6-bd61-45e5-beb5-2ef69389897f Date 1/14/2015 Company Name Boxed Mailing Address 3181 Wilson Blvd. New York, NY 22201 USA Company Description Boxed makes wholesale savings convenient for you; whether you’re a college student without a car, a busy professional without time, or a new parent without the ability to make an all-day warehouse club trek. … Continue reading “Boxed Receives $25,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
More Green For Moderna as Merck Makes $50M Equity Grab, mRNA Deal
Even a week after a $450 million round, the cash keeps flowing into Moderna Therapeutics. The Cambridge, MA-based company announced this morning that Merck has become the latest company angling for a piece of Moderna’s messenger RNA therapeutics. The pharma giant is signing on for a three-year research collaboration to develop mRNA-based treatments and vaccines … Continue reading “More Green For Moderna as Merck Makes $50M Equity Grab, mRNA Deal”
To OLED, or Not to OLED for the Future of High-End Television Screens
The fight to own the living room is getting more convoluted, as LG Electronics doubles down on organic LEDs (OLEDs) for its future screens while rival Samsung turns to a competing technology. Each year, television makers attempt to introduce some new feature or gimmick, from 3D to curved screens, to draw consumer attention. Less than … Continue reading “To OLED, or Not to OLED for the Future of High-End Television Screens”
Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship
I think the most important change we could make in education would be to put more emphasis on exposing kids to entrepreneurship, starting very early on. I’ve found that kids have a natural inclination towards entrepreneurship—we just need to give them the opportunity to learn and practice the skills they need to act on their … Continue reading “Schools Should Nurture Kids’ Natural Knack for Entrepreneurship”
Thinkful Lands $4,250,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2387d015-68d2-4f92-b5dc-2ecc30176f87 Date 1/13/2015 Company Name Thinkful Mailing Address 598 Broadway 5th Floor New York, NY 10012 USA Company Description We believe that the best way to learn is through apprenticeship. We provide curricula to structure your learning and mentorship to accelerate it. That combination – self-directed, online learning and frequent, one-on-one help … Continue reading “Thinkful Lands $4,250,000 New Funding”
MakerBot CEO Jenny Lawton Talked New 3D Printing Materials at CES
The New Year brings new ingredients for desktop 3D printer maker MakerBot Industries to work with. Last week, the New York-based company rolled out new composite materials which mimic the look and feel of metal, stone, and wood, and can be used with some of MakerBot’s desktop 3D printers. The company also showed off the … Continue reading “MakerBot CEO Jenny Lawton Talked New 3D Printing Materials at CES”
Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know
Over the past two years, there has been an explosion of the use of convertible notes for seed rounds. It used to be these debt instruments that convert to equity later at a discount to the price of the next round were only for small initial financings of, say, $250,000 for a company to get … Continue reading “Seven Surprises About Convertible Notes That Founders Should Know”
NPS Pharma’s Long Road Ends With a $5.2B Shire Buyout
It’s been rumored for awhile that NPS Pharmaceuticals was on the verge of a buyout. So perhaps it’s no surprise that the Bedminster, NJ-based company just cut a $5.2 billion deal with Shire on the eve of the healthcare industry’s biggest annual conference—the JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, which kicks off tomorrow in San Francisco. Dublin-based … Continue reading “NPS Pharma’s Long Road Ends With a $5.2B Shire Buyout”
East Coast Biotech Roundup: Pre-J.P. Morgan Preening Edition
It’s here again: J.P. Morgan week. Over the next few days, most everyone in healthcare will head to San Francisco for the industry’s biggest annual conference (a blessing for us East Coasters, who get a reprieve from the sub-zero wind chills). Typically there’s a big deal or two preceding the conference. This year? A stampede … Continue reading “East Coast Biotech Roundup: Pre-J.P. Morgan Preening Edition”
Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit
Today is the 225th anniversary of a milestone in the history of American innovation. On January 9, 1790, the 35-year-old secretary of the Treasury of the United States sent the House of Representatives a 40,000-word blueprint for the new nation’s financial system. The report was produced just four months after Congress commissioned it. Proposing the … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 1: Hamilton’s 1790 Report on the Public Credit”
MongoDB Secures $79,999,962 Series F Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1371be29-0be8-4ac6-9253-55e42c2adc8b Date 1/9/2015 Company Name MongoDB Mailing Address 229 West 43rd Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10036 USA Company Description MongoDB (from humongous) is reinventing data management and powering big data as the leading NoSQL database. Designed for how we build and run applications today, MongoDB empowers organizations to be more … Continue reading “MongoDB Secures $79,999,962 Series F Financing Round”
Xconomy Xchange: New York’s Life Science Disruptors
It’s no secret that the life sciences ecosystem in New York is undergoing a radical transformation. A new environment of collaboration has created a wellspring of initiatives aimed at taking advantage of the city’s research might and turning scientific ideas to commercial reality. The groundwork has been laid for the formation of a vibrant startup … Continue reading “Xconomy Xchange: New York’s Life Science Disruptors”
Startup to Watch at CES: A Chat with Captureproof’s CEO Meghan Conroy
Medical diagnosis may get more mobile and visual through Captureproof’s app. The San Francisco-based startup is trying to reduce the need for patients to see their doctors in person. Through an iPhone app and mobile Web portal, Captureproof lets people send images and video to their physicians to help assess their recovery from surgery, as … Continue reading “Startup to Watch at CES: A Chat with Captureproof’s CEO Meghan Conroy”
Welltok Raises Additional $12M, Readies for Debut With IBM’s Watson
Welltok, a Denver-based health software startup, just closed the books on a very successful 2014, announcing today it raised $12 million from two new investors. Welltok also is already setting the stage for a big 2015, with plans to unveil a new app that relies on IBM’s Watson supercomputer next week. The investors are Hearst Health … Continue reading “Welltok Raises Additional $12M, Readies for Debut With IBM’s Watson”
GE Ventures, Goldman Sachs Are New Investors in Rethink Robotics
Rethink Robotics is trying to become the preeminent robot company of its generation—and in doing so, reinvent the fields of manufacturing and logistics. The company certainly has interesting technology—a two-armed, dexterous robot named Baxter—but the question is whether it can gain widespread adoption in factories and warehouses, and if so, how quickly. Now the company … Continue reading “GE Ventures, Goldman Sachs Are New Investors in Rethink Robotics”
One Week Into The New Year, Five Biotechs Reel in $220M Venture Cash
Is everyone in biotech putting out news this week so they won’t be distracted from their partying next week at the J.P. Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco? That’s a joke, of course, but the news flow of the new year is serious enough to merit an extra round-up from us. We’ll still have our … Continue reading “One Week Into The New Year, Five Biotechs Reel in $220M Venture Cash”
Surface Oncology Raises $35M to Develop Cancer Immunotherapies
Surface Oncology of Cambridge, MA, announced today a $35 million Series A round led by Atlas Venture, Fidelity Biosciences, New Enterprise Associates, and Lilly Ventures. Surface wants to develop cancer immunotherapies, but acting CEO Dave Grayzel (pictured) says it’s got different ideas than Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JUNO]]), Novartis (NYSE: [[ticker:NVS]]), Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]), Amgen … Continue reading “Surface Oncology Raises $35M to Develop Cancer Immunotherapies”
StormBlok Systems Obtains $2,601,751 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4628fe45-8100-43c6-a3b9-0d0cae426cbe Date 1/8/2015 Company Name StormBlok Systems Mailing Address 972 Alderman Road Palmyra, NY 14522 USA Company Description StormBlok products provide protection for exposed areas of man-made structures during storms and severe weather. Through portal protection (windows, doors and access points) and electronic protection (ATMs, menu boards, exposed speakers and lights), StormBlok … Continue reading “StormBlok Systems Obtains $2,601,751 New Financing Round”
TodayTix Secures $4,981,377 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b8c91509-78b2-45d2-80a7-923b5a41cee9 Date 1/8/2015 Company Name TodayTix Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10014 USA Company Description TodayTix is a new app and service created by Broadway producers and ticketing veterans, providing customers with insider access to last-minute tickets for New York’s hottest shows, right from their mobile device. Website http://www.todaytix.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “TodayTix Secures $4,981,377 New Funding Round”
TodayTix Garners $945,837 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fdc403d8-8332-4e89-ab02-c60ebbc018e1 Date 1/8/2015 Company Name TodayTix Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10014 USA Company Description TodayTix is a new app and service created by Broadway producers and ticketing veterans, providing customers with insider access to last-minute tickets for New York’s hottest shows, right from their mobile device. Website http://www.todaytix.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “TodayTix Garners $945,837 New Financing”
Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply
Last month Juno Therapeutics closed a $250 million IPO, bringing the total raised since it was founded in Seattle in 2013 to close to $600 million. The money is earmarked to support more than ten clinical trials over the next 12 months. Last year, 133 biotech companies around the world raised $11 billion in initial … Continue reading “Even When Money is Easy, Rules of Biotech Finance Still Apply”
Veenome Lands $389,970 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be3de8de-c9c6-4786-8826-93ab4adfba65 Date 1/7/2015 Company Name Veenome Mailing Address 419 Park Ave S 2nd Floor New York, NY 10016 USA Company Description Veenome translates video content into data for superior organization, publishing, sharing, searching and monetization. In doing this Veenome makes the “stuff” in videos clickable. Utilizing proprietary automated video recognition technology (patents … Continue reading “Veenome Lands $389,970 New Financing”
Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015
The annual J.P. Morgan healthcare conference starts this weekend in San Francisco. Pundits are predicting a much higher tally of shoulder injuries than usual. You know, from all the people patting themselves on the back. After a year filled with medical promise and cash raining down from everywhere, the self-congratulation could be thicker than the … Continue reading “Don’t Get Comfortable: 5 Biopharma Flashpoints to Consider in 2015”
Need for New Approaches to Encourage Women to Join, and Stay in, Tech
The ongoing paucity of women in the technology world has led to various efforts to tackle this imbalance—but so far the results of such campaigns have been debatable. Now many voices are rising to share their thoughts on what more needs to be done. Despite the emergence across the country of advocacy organizations such as … Continue reading “Need for New Approaches to Encourage Women to Join, and Stay in, Tech”
Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)
I was having coffee with a friend recently and the subject of word processing software came up. My friend related how he was happily using WordStar. WordStar? I hadn’t thought about it in years, but it was the first computer program I ever used, way back in 1984. I was surprised to find that not … Continue reading “Technology Upgrades: Welcome to My Nightmare (Yours Too?)”
Reonomy Lands $13,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c8e45c0-6f43-4493-b1e7-166c307096a6 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Reonomy Mailing Address 37 West 26th Street New York, NY 10010 USA Company Description Reonomy’s research platform enables CRE investors and lenders to conduct quant-based analyses that currently take hours, days, or even weeks and execute them in a matter of clicks. Website http://www.reonomy.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Reonomy Lands $13,000,000 Series B Financing”
X.ai Receives $9,200,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=beefb5c4-a823-4fd5-adca-9f26bd071906 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name X.ai Mailing Address 48 Wall Street 5th Floor New York, NY 10005 USA Company Description x.ai is a personal assistant who schedules meetings for you. Website http://www.x.ai Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,200,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The investment will expand data and science … Continue reading “X.ai Receives $9,200,000 Series A Funding Round”
Citelighter Receives $1,068,300 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ba8606ca-32f8-46df-bdb8-c65b49e70bee Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Citelighter Mailing Address 175 Varrick St. 3rd Floor New York, NY 10014 USA Company Description Citelighter is a virtual highlighter that automates the research and paper writing process. It allows the user to find and capture unique facts online, automatically generate citations, and write better quality papers … Continue reading “Citelighter Receives $1,068,300 New Round”
Happy Cloud Lands $250,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1af447ef-9a2b-4f9b-9c2f-db3e8b251550 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Happy Cloud Mailing Address 1 Union Square South New York, NY 10003 USA Company Description The Happy Cloud network lets you play games on demand, much like video on demand for your cable TV–no more waiting for long downloads! Our patent-pending technology pre-installs and pre-packages the game … Continue reading “Happy Cloud Lands $250,000 New Financing”
VHX Garners $4,250,010 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=267aa9b7-4242-4d64-b063-ff36186591ff Date 1/6/2015 Company Name VHX Mailing Address 902 Broadway 4th Floor New York, NY 10010 USA Company Description VHX lets independent video-makers sell their work online, from their own websites, direct-to-fans and restriction-free. Our mission is to provide the tools for the creative class to break out of the traditional TV … Continue reading “VHX Garners $4,250,010 New Funding”
Reonomy Secures $13,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c8e45c0-6f43-4493-b1e7-166c307096a6 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Reonomy Mailing Address 37 West 26th Street New York, NY 10010 USA Company Description Reonomy’s research platform enables CRE investors and lenders to conduct quant-based analyses that currently take hours, days, or even weeks and execute them in a matter of clicks. Website http://www.reonomy.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Reonomy Secures $13,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
Larry Corey, Cofounder of 2014 Top Biotech Juno: “It’s No Outlier”
Xconomy doesn’t have annual awards (the X-ies, anyone?), but I don’t have any hesitation naming Juno Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JUNO]]) the biotech company of the year for 2014. This is neither a prediction of future success nor an endorsement. Rather, it’s an acknowledgment that hands-down, Juno was the most atypical biotech I’ve seen in years, perhaps … Continue reading “Larry Corey, Cofounder of 2014 Top Biotech Juno: “It’s No Outlier””
Implications of the Oil Price Collapse
Instead of developing a warmed over list of “Top 10 Predictions for 2015,” over the past few months I have been most interested in the implications from the collapse of oil prices around the world. We will see the obvious and direct benefit to the U.S. consumer (November retail sales were up a surprising 0.7 … Continue reading “Implications of the Oil Price Collapse”
How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?
It’s been one of the hottest-button topics of the past year—and it’s not going away anytime soon. The under-representation of women and minorities in technology and innovation jobs is a real issue, particularly at the highest levels of organizations. The question, as I see it, is what to do about it. But not everyone sees … Continue reading “How Should the Innovation Community Solve Its Gender and Diversity Problems?”
Apploi Receives $7,407,800 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7073dce4-92bc-401a-885f-9f7ffd7ce8c4 Date 1/5/2015 Company Name Apploi Mailing Address 243 West 30th St. 11th Floor New York, NY 10001 USA Company Description Apploi is an ecosystem that allows job-seekers to shine, grow, and find jobs; and organizations to effectively reach the people they need. Website http://www.apploicorp.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,407,800 … Continue reading “Apploi Receives $7,407,800 Series A Funding”