Analytics technologies are growing exponentially, and are being deployed in every industry and market, including finance, national security, medicine, entertainment, travel, and others. This conference features the software executives, investors, researchers, analysts and developers who make San Diego one of the nation’s leading communities for software analytics. The San Diego Software Industry Council and UCSD’s … Continue reading “San Diego Forum on Software Analytics”
Category: San Diego
The Economics of Internet Crime
Despite the fact that online crime is economically motivated, the underlying economics are poorly understood and even more poorly quantified. UCSD computer security expert Stefan Savage says that makes computer security efforts inherently unfocused. San Diego Connect has organized this presentation by Savage, who is director of the Cooperative Center for Internet Epidemiology and Defenses … Continue reading “The Economics of Internet Crime”
4th Annual Biocom Investor Conference
More than 60 local life sciences companies will make presentations at the 4th Annual Biocom Investor Conference. The event also features talks by top financial experts, including a keynote address by Fred Frank, vice chairman, Peter J. Solomon Co. More information and online registration is available here.
MojoPages Case Study: Building a Viral Marketing Machine
After an unhappy consumer experience, Jon Carder began thinking that the Internet offered an opportunity to create an online community where people could share their knowledge and experiences of local businesses. He founded MojoPages as the next generation of online yellow page services by combining a social network with a business search engine. A panel … Continue reading “MojoPages Case Study: Building a Viral Marketing Machine”
Adobe, Omniture, and the End of the “Mad Men” Marketing Era
I’ve been predicting for a while that the marketing agencies and website developers that don’t have deep technical capabilities in search engine optimization will be left by the side of the road. Now we’re seeing it come to pass with Adobe’s $1.8 billion buyout of Omniture. [Adobe Systems announced the acquisition on Sept. 15, and … Continue reading “Adobe, Omniture, and the End of the “Mad Men” Marketing Era”
Oracle Corp. Acquires Sophoi for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a501ba8c-e2f4-4105-9fb5-e2c550eef37d&Preview=1 Date 10/12/2009 Company Name Sophoi Mailing Address 1000 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90017 Company Description SOPHOI, Incorporated is a leading provider of enterprise intellectual property management software that allows corporations to efficiently manage and license Intellectual Property assets. SOPHOI provides enterprise intellectual property management software to address the growing need … Continue reading “Oracle Corp. Acquires Sophoi for Undisclosed Sum”
Mobile App Startups From Seattle to Washington DC Make Pitch at CTIA Fund Fest
A lot of fingers were crossed behind the scenes at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment conference, which ended today at the San Diego Convention Center. Many extraneous factors can affect attendance at big industry shows, but organizers did not want a repeat of the last time the CTIA came to San Diego, when the … Continue reading “Mobile App Startups From Seattle to Washington DC Make Pitch at CTIA Fund Fest”
Eastbourne Capital Dumps Entire Stake in Amylin After Partial Victory in Proxy Battle
[Updated: 10/9/09, 3:51 pm Pacific] Eastbourne Capital, one of the powerful dissident shareholders who won a partial victory in a proxy fight this spring against San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals, has sold its entire stake in the company, according to a regulatory filing released late today. Eastbourne unloaded all of its holdings in Amylin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) … Continue reading “Eastbourne Capital Dumps Entire Stake in Amylin After Partial Victory in Proxy Battle”
From a Trickle to Flash Flood: Qualcomm’s Father-Son Dynasty Follows Course of Mobile Data Services
The co-founders who introduced San Diego-based Qualcomm’s wireless digital technology in 1989 envisioned from the early days that it would be ideal for the Internet. But Irwin Jacobs says now even he’s amazed at how many things a cell phone can do today. A new generation of innovators is now using Qualcomm’s proprietary technology to … Continue reading “From a Trickle to Flash Flood: Qualcomm’s Father-Son Dynasty Follows Course of Mobile Data Services”
Facing Up to Facebook
My friend Brad King, a journalism professor at Ball State University, makes fun of me for being such a Web and gadget geek while at the same time shunning social networking tools like Facebook. He’s got a point. I’ve written a lot about Facebook, MySpace, and their predecessors, but I’ve never wholeheartedly joined in, the … Continue reading “Facing Up to Facebook”
Fundraising Tide Remains Low for Venture Capital Firms
Fundraising by U.S. venture capital firms continues to lag. A survey released overnight by Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst shows that 26 VC funds raised about $3.5 billion during the three months that ended September 30—down about 51 percent from the same quarter last year. The findings nevertheless represented an improvement over the previous quarter, … Continue reading “Fundraising Tide Remains Low for Venture Capital Firms”
‘Restraint’ an Unspoken Watchword of Algae Biomass Sessions
A few basic themes seemed to emerge in the first few presentations yesterday afternoon during the 3rd Annual Algae Biomass Summit. One theme is that the algae biofuels industry remains at a nascent stage of development, despite widespread enthusiasm over the size of San Diego-based Synthetic Genomics’ deal with ExxonMobil, and venture funding for Sapphire … Continue reading “‘Restraint’ an Unspoken Watchword of Algae Biomass Sessions”
Justice Department Joins Sequenom Probe, Accumetrics Raises $16.5, Transdel’s Topical Pain Reliever Gets Mixed Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
The life sciences news was relatively light over the last week, except perhaps for Sequenom, the medical diagnostics company that has yet to publicly disclose much about its misconduct in handling clinical trial data. —Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) disclosed that it met with the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Diego in connection with … Continue reading “Justice Department Joins Sequenom Probe, Accumetrics Raises $16.5, Transdel’s Topical Pain Reliever Gets Mixed Results, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Venture Model Makeover & Diet Plan—Step Two
The venture capital model is being remade. It must happen from the ground up, via its relationship with entrepreneurs, as Daphne Zohar has previously described here. But it must also happen from the top down, via its relationship with limited partners (the investors in venture funds). Limited partners in venture capital funds aren’t very happy … Continue reading “Venture Model Makeover & Diet Plan—Step Two”
Fresco Garners $9,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2dde2b63-d644-4ec7-a19c-17c6af8def68&Preview=1 Date 10/8/2009 Company Name Fresco Mailing Address 6 Jenner Street Irvine, CA 92618 Company Description Fresco Microchip is an innovative fabless semiconductor company that has taken a new approach to an old problem – the challenge of converting analog to digital. Focused on the broad consumer electronics market, the company uniquely … Continue reading “Fresco Garners $9,500,000 New Funding”
Gary West on San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute and ‘Always On’ Medicine
As the international wireless industry group CTIA convenes its 2009 conference on information technology and entertainment in downtown San Diego this week, one of the emerging sectors claiming much of the agenda and industry attention is wireless healthcare. San Diego, with its concentration of both life sciences and wireless technology startups, also has emerged as … Continue reading “Gary West on San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute and ‘Always On’ Medicine”
As Algae Summit Begins, San Diego Yearns to Make Houston Green With Envy
The 2009 Algae Biomass Summit gets underway in San Diego today, offering the latest sign of the algae biofuels sector that has bloomed in San Diego in recent years. Cleantech San Diego president Lisa Bicker told reporters at a pre-summit news conference last night that more than 625 cleantech companies are now based in the … Continue reading “As Algae Summit Begins, San Diego Yearns to Make Houston Green With Envy”
Breach Security Garners $5,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22c06904-234a-4eb6-a62f-993662bade87&Preview=1 Date 10/7/2009 Company Name Breach Security Mailing Address 2141 Palomar Airport Road Carlsbad, CA 92011 Company Description Breach Security, Inc. provides next-generation web application security to protect privileged information. Breach, a leader in the emerging market for Intelligent Web Application Security, addresses todays security needs by delivering solutions for enterprises and … Continue reading “Breach Security Garners $5,000,000 New Funding”
Gen-Probe Pays $60M for Prodesse
San Diego’s Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GPRO]]), which uses nucleic acid testing of blood samples to diagnose human diseases, says it has agreed to pay $60 million in cash to acquire Prodesse, a privately held medical diagnostics company in Waukesha, WI. Gen-Probe says it could eventually pay as much as $85 million if Prodesse meets certain financial … Continue reading “Gen-Probe Pays $60M for Prodesse”
Xconomy San Diego’s First Year Anniversary Brings the Benefits of Hindsight on the Local Innovation News with the Biggest Global Impact
Those of us who are lucky enough to work as journalists (and who get to write the first draft of history) often remember the dates when the important and even not-so-important events went down. After 30 years in the news business, it’s become almost second nature for me. Today marks a special day, both personally … Continue reading “Xconomy San Diego’s First Year Anniversary Brings the Benefits of Hindsight on the Local Innovation News with the Biggest Global Impact”
San Diego’s Accumetrics Raises $16.5M in Fifth Round of Venture Funding
Loyalty has its rewards, and in the case of San Diego’s Accumetrics, that means the company’s existing investors have just completed a fifth round of venture funding—putting another $16.5 million into the medical diagnostics company. The Series E funding brings Accumetrics’ overall investment close to $68 million, although, as I explained in June, that includes … Continue reading “San Diego’s Accumetrics Raises $16.5M in Fifth Round of Venture Funding”
As Mobile Phones Overtake Cameras, Consumers Still Struggle to Use Them, Says Ontela Survey at CTIA
An interesting tidbit from the mobile industry: Film cameras are going out of style, while camera phones have become ubiquitous. But even as the popularity of things like mobile data plans and text messaging continues to grow in the U.S., people still have problems doing simple things with photos on their phones. That’s according to … Continue reading “As Mobile Phones Overtake Cameras, Consumers Still Struggle to Use Them, Says Ontela Survey at CTIA”
Transdel’s Topical Pain Reliever Falls Short on One Goal, Hits Another
[Updated: 10/06/09, 10:55 am Pacific] San Diego’s Transdel Pharmaceuticals released a mixed bag of clinical trial results this morning. The company’s topical pain reliever fell short on one of its two primary goals in a 364-patient study, but was successful for about two-thirds of patients who followed the study rules. Transdel (OTC BB: [[ticker:TDLP]]) reported … Continue reading “Transdel’s Topical Pain Reliever Falls Short on One Goal, Hits Another”
Sequenom Meets With FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office Investigators
Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]), the San Diego medical diagnostics company that disclosed earlier this year it had “mishandled data” from a clinical trial, has met with investigators from the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s office looking into the matter, according to a regulatory filing today. The company previously acknowledged the Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating, so … Continue reading “Sequenom Meets With FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Office Investigators”
Achates Power Raises $12.1M in Venture Capital to Develop Cleaner, More Efficient Engine
It’s getting harder for San Diego’s stealthy cleantech startup Achates Power to continue flying beneath the radar. In a regulatory filing today, Achates discloses it has raised $12.125 million out of a $20 million venture round. The company, which says in its filing that it was founded in 2007, has been developing a radical new … Continue reading “Achates Power Raises $12.1M in Venture Capital to Develop Cleaner, More Efficient Engine”
J. Craig Venter Cancels Algae Summit Keynote for White House Ceremony
You always hate to see a keynote speaker pull out of a major conference attracting wide attention, especially when the conference is focused on a hot emerging field like algae-based technologies and the speaker is J. Craig Venter, the renowned human genome pioneer and founding CEO of San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics. The brash Venter, who … Continue reading “J. Craig Venter Cancels Algae Summit Keynote for White House Ceremony”
Larry Smarr on the Internet, Past and Future; ViaSat Acquiring WildBlue Communications; SAIC’s Retired Founder Calls HQ Move ‘Inevitable;’ & More San Diego BizTech News
San Diego’s biztech news was tilted heavily toward the Internet last week, anchored by two in-depth stories about the Internet and Larry Smarr, the director of the California Institute for Information Technology and Communications. You can get that and more below—and you don’t need to listen for the Internet dial tone to get it either. … Continue reading “Larry Smarr on the Internet, Past and Future; ViaSat Acquiring WildBlue Communications; SAIC’s Retired Founder Calls HQ Move ‘Inevitable;’ & More San Diego BizTech News”
Making Science Cool: Inspiring Students and Giving Society Something to Celebrate
Just a few days before we kicked off the month-long San Diego Science Festival in March, I wrote a post for the Xconomist Forum that concluded, “if we mean to achieve the essential goal of reviving American Science, the San Diego Science Festival is poised to provide an important start.” It proved to be a … Continue reading “Making Science Cool: Inspiring Students and Giving Society Something to Celebrate”
Novalar Tests Market, Learns a Few Things, Before National Rollout of Dental Drug
While making small talk on my last trip to the dentist, I mentioned that as a biotech journalist, I sometimes interview entrepreneurs who create new dental products, like the Sonicare toothbrush. The dentist, maybe to test if I knew what I was talking about, asked me what cool ideas I’ve seen lately. I stammered a … Continue reading “Novalar Tests Market, Learns a Few Things, Before National Rollout of Dental Drug”
“Don’t Touch My Bags If You Please, Mr. Customs Man”
Imagine the following scenario for a minute: A middle-aged man books a round trip ticket from San Francisco to Shanghai. His reservation indicates this will be a short trip; he is going to be in China less than one full day. Upon arrival at the airport in Shanghai, the immigration control officer asks him “What … Continue reading ““Don’t Touch My Bags If You Please, Mr. Customs Man””
‘Ardi’ Scientists Used LifeModeler’s Software to Understand How Earliest Hominid Moved
Researchers who spent 15 years studying the skeletal remains of “Ardi,” a hominid who lived 4.4 million years ago, turned to a specialized software developer in San Clemente, CA, to help them understand how the 110-pound, 4-foot female walked and moved. Scientific papers about the nearly complete fossilized skeleton that were published this week have … Continue reading “‘Ardi’ Scientists Used LifeModeler’s Software to Understand How Earliest Hominid Moved”
Marval Biosciences, San Diego’s Latest Virtual Biomedical Startup, Raises $2.5M to Develop Next-Generation Contrast Agents for Medical Imaging
Marval Biosciences, which was established in Houston two years ago with medical imaging technology from the University of Texas, has raised $2.5 million in a secondary round of venture funding—and CEO Russell Lebovitz tells me he has moved to San Diego. The startup, which has a half-dozen key people, operates virtually, with some employees in … Continue reading “Marval Biosciences, San Diego’s Latest Virtual Biomedical Startup, Raises $2.5M to Develop Next-Generation Contrast Agents for Medical Imaging”
How to Launch a Professional-Looking Blog on a Shoestring
Maybe you’d like to have a sleek, attractive blog or website for yourself or your business. Maybe you’ve looked around at some of the free blogging or lifestreaming platforms like Blogger, Posterous, Tumblr, TypePad, and WordPress.com and you’ve been underwhelmed by the cookie-cutter sameness of the sites you see there. If either of those things … Continue reading “How to Launch a Professional-Looking Blog on a Shoestring”
San Diego Agri-Biotech Startup Moves to Challenge Monsanto on its Own Turf
San Diego’s little Cibus Global is preparing to one day take on Monsanto, the Fortune 500 agri-industry colossus and leading producer of genetically engineered seed. The bioscience company last month formed a joint partnership with an agricultural products company based in Tel Aviv to spur development of new strains of crops. High on Cibus’ to-do … Continue reading “San Diego Agri-Biotech Startup Moves to Challenge Monsanto on its Own Turf”
ViaSat Pays $568M to Buy WildBlue and Connect Its Satellite With High-Speed Internet Customers
Satellite Communications specialist ViaSat Inc. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]) says it is buying WildBlue Communications, a suburban Denver company that provides high-speed Internet access to mostly rural areas in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $568 million. Until now, Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat has specialized in developing satellite-based communications hardware and software, including modems, radios, and ground stations, for … Continue reading “ViaSat Pays $568M to Buy WildBlue and Connect Its Satellite With High-Speed Internet Customers”
Neurocrine Cuts Office Costs
One-time biotech darling Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]]) says it is vacating one of two buildings at its headquarters campus to save $27 million a year. The company paid an immediate $4 million release fee to the landlord, and agreed to make certain rent payments and rent differential payments. Neurocrine has been struggling to regain its … Continue reading “Neurocrine Cuts Office Costs”
Xconomy Channels Startups and Life Sciences
Notice anything new here? Over to the right a little… Little more… Next to the map? (Bear with me, loyal RSS and e-mail subscribers, this will all make sense in a minute.) Today marks the official launch of our new Startups and Life Sciences channels, whose homepages you can access via those handy new buttons … Continue reading “Xconomy Channels Startups and Life Sciences”
Calit2’s Larry Smarr (Part 2): Insights on the Path Ahead and 4 Big Ideas for the Future of Health, Energy, Environment, and Culture
When California Gov. Gray Davis created the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology in 2000, it was part of a broad state initiative that spawned four new centers for science and innovation with a shared mission “to invent the future.” The specific mission for the institute known as Calit2 (Cal IT2), which is based … Continue reading “Calit2’s Larry Smarr (Part 2): Insights on the Path Ahead and 4 Big Ideas for the Future of Health, Energy, Environment, and Culture”
Sequenom Starts Over After Purge, Patent Lawsuits Flying Over Gene Sequencing Technologies, Zogenix Prepares for Needle-Free Injections, & More San Diego Biotech News
Sequenom had the big story for San Diego’s life sciences community this week. We have the latest developments about that, as well as other biotech news. —Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]) now faces a long rebuilding process after the San Diego medical diagnostic company ousted president and CEO Harry Stylli and a senior vice president of research … Continue reading “Sequenom Starts Over After Purge, Patent Lawsuits Flying Over Gene Sequencing Technologies, Zogenix Prepares for Needle-Free Injections, & More San Diego Biotech News”
Nexus Dx, Stealthy San Diego Company with Kleiner Perkins and Bay City Ties, Raises $15M
Nexus Dx, a stealthy San Diego biotechnology company that appears to be an emerging diagnostics maker, has raised $9 million in new equity funding and $6 million in debt and options, according to a pair of regulatory filings. The documents don’t say who is providing the money, but they list Risa Stack, a partner with … Continue reading “Nexus Dx, Stealthy San Diego Company with Kleiner Perkins and Bay City Ties, Raises $15M”
Vertex Raises $155M Through Debt Financing for Hepatitis C Drug in Europe
Vertex Pharmaceuticals said today it will bring in $155 million in cash through a pair of deals related to the potential commercialization of its lead hepatitis C drug in Europe, the company said this afternoon. In both transactions, investors are betting on telaprevir, a projected multibillion-dollar seller, to win European approval. The Cambridge, MA-based drug … Continue reading “Vertex Raises $155M Through Debt Financing for Hepatitis C Drug in Europe”
SD News Network Expanding to OC
Neil Senturia, the entrepreneur and investor who launched the San Diego News Network in March (and a Riverside news site in August), plans to debut a similar website in Orange County before the end of the year, according to a report on SDNN. Senturia tells Forbes he also plans to raise $40 million over the next two years … Continue reading “SD News Network Expanding to OC”
Calit2’s Larry Smarr on the Origins of the Internet, Innovations in IT, and Insights on the Path Ahead (Part I)
After establishing himself as a leading expert on computing and information technology, including the Internet and World Wide Web, Larry Smarr left the comfort of a job that was tailored for him at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, for a position in San Diego that offered an even better fit. In 2000, Smarr was hired … Continue reading “Calit2’s Larry Smarr on the Origins of the Internet, Innovations in IT, and Insights on the Path Ahead (Part I)”
Fate Therapeutics Growing Fast on “Industrialized” Stem Cell Technology
Want to know how fast Fate Therapeutics is growing? When I toured the La Jolla, CA, company’s labs to get an update last week, one young scientist stood up from his desk, looked me in the eye, offered a firm handshake, and said “Welcome aboard.” I understood why a visiting journalist in a button-down shirt … Continue reading “Fate Therapeutics Growing Fast on “Industrialized” Stem Cell Technology”
VMIX Raises $2M
San Diego-based VMIX, which specializes in video hosting technology and services, has raised $2 million in additional venture capital, according to a regulatory filing with the SEC today. When I checked in with VMIX about two months ago, CEO Mike Glickenhaus was in the second year of heading a new VMIX business strategy that’s focused … Continue reading “VMIX Raises $2M”
SAIC Founder J. Robert Beyster Calls Moving Company HQ from San Diego to D.C. ‘Inevitable’—But Says He Probably Would Not Have Done It
The timing of my lunch yesterday with SAIC founder J. Robert Beyster was pretty close to impeccable, since it came just four days after the defense contractor formally announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from San Diego to McLean, VA. The departure of a Fortune 500 headquarters with a 40-year history in one city … Continue reading “SAIC Founder J. Robert Beyster Calls Moving Company HQ from San Diego to D.C. ‘Inevitable’—But Says He Probably Would Not Have Done It”
Amylin CEO, Putting Boardroom Coup Behind Him, Turns Up Heat on New Diabetes Drug
The first half of this year, Amylin Pharmaceuticals CEO Dan Bradbury was absorbed in the closest thing corporate America has to political warfare—a boardroom challenge from billionaire Carl Icahn and another unhappy shareholder, Eastbourne Capital. The second half has been more about doing the basics Amylin (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) must do if the San Diego diabetes … Continue reading “Amylin CEO, Putting Boardroom Coup Behind Him, Turns Up Heat on New Diabetes Drug”
vMix Media Receives $2,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=59849952-cfc8-4422-a5e3-d32e4f7a7a56&Preview=1 Date 9/29/2009 Company Name vMix Media Mailing Address 12707 High Bluff Drive San Diego, CA 92130 Company Description vMix was founded by artists, musicians and executives from the original MP3.com. At vMix.com we are creating that venue for the artist in all of us. Website http://www.vmix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “vMix Media Receives $2,000,000 New Funding Round”
Sequenom Shares Tank After Executives Ousted Over Data Mishandling
Sequenom shares plummeted 44 percent today in after-hours trading after the San Diego-based company said it has ousted CEO Harry Stylli and its head of R&D in the wake of an investigation into mishandling of data for its prenatal genetic test for Down Syndrome. Chairman Harry Hixson, 71, the former president of Amgen, has assumed … Continue reading “Sequenom Shares Tank After Executives Ousted Over Data Mishandling”
Sequenom Ousts CEO Harry Stylli, After Investigating Mishandling of Down Syndrome Test
[Update: 1:58 pm Pacific, 9/28/09] San Diego-based Sequenom has ousted president and CEO Harry Stylli after an investigation by independent members of the company’s board raised “serious concerns” about the mishandling of data to support the company’s non-invasive prenatal test for Down Syndrome, the company said today in a statement. Besides terminating Stylli, the board … Continue reading “Sequenom Ousts CEO Harry Stylli, After Investigating Mishandling of Down Syndrome Test”