Category: San Diego

Growth by Acquisition for Even Small Software Companies

Beyond organic growth, growth by acquistion can be a viable strategy for even very small software companies. The San Diego Software Industry Council has organized this event for “C” level executives. A panel discussion with Luminex Software founding CEO Art Tolsma and Red Door Interactive co-founder Reid Carr is intended to cover real-world strategies and … Continue reading “Growth by Acquisition for Even Small Software Companies”

The 2009 3G CDMA Americas Regional Conference

The wireless industry conference will provide a venue for sharing the current progress and success of CDMA2000 EV-DO Rev. A, and for exploring future opportunities with mobile broadband and broadcast solutions, including CDMA2000 network interoperability with LTE and Mobile WiMAX. Online information and registration is here.

A Conference on “Everywhere Healthcare” Within the CTIA Conference

A conference sponsored by San Diego’s Wireless-Life Sciences Alliance and others has been organized within the CTIA mobile business conference on wireless IT and entertainment. Sessions include a panel discussion on best practices, understanding the wireless health regulatory framework, health records on the mobile phone, and enabling mobile health-based interoperability. The event is open to … Continue reading “A Conference on “Everywhere Healthcare” Within the CTIA Conference”

Demysifying the Cloud

Separate myth from reality, and learn what the opportunities and challenges are for doing business in the cloud. Gain an overview of the multi-vendor, multi-product cloudscape combined with real-world examples and insights from John Igoe of Dell, Peter Coffee of Salesforce.com, Ned Curic of Microsoft and Alyssa Henry of Amazon.com. Networking and registration begin at … Continue reading “Demysifying the Cloud”

TheFunded to Bring Startup “Training Camp” to San Diego—Eyeing Other Cities From Seattle to Boston to Paris

The inaugural class of the TheFunded Founder Institute, a San Francisco-based training camp for startup CEOs, isn’t graduating until Sept. 8—but the institute’s founder, Bay Area serial entrepreneur Adeo Ressi, is already expanding the program to San Diego and elsewhere. Ressi, who previously founded the VC rating site TheFunded and operates the institute as an … Continue reading “TheFunded to Bring Startup “Training Camp” to San Diego—Eyeing Other Cities From Seattle to Boston to Paris”

Amylin and Biogen Idec Make Board Changes, Inovio Catches Wave of Investor ‘Swine Flu’ Fervor, Ligand Buys Neurogen, & Other San Diego Life Sciences News

Fallout from two of the proxy battles we followed earlier this year has become more apparent on the boards at San Diego’s Amylin Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMLN]]) and Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), which has operations in San Diego. We’ve got that and more life sciences news. —Diabetes drug maker Amylin Pharmaceuticals said its board … Continue reading “Amylin and Biogen Idec Make Board Changes, Inovio Catches Wave of Investor ‘Swine Flu’ Fervor, Ligand Buys Neurogen, & Other San Diego Life Sciences News”

Xconomy Had a Bad Internet Day—But We’re Up and Running Again

Fingers crossed—it looks like we finally have our site back up and running. Most stories reposted, most lost comments restored. It has been a long, not-so-fun day here at Xconomy. Our site crashed around 11:30 am EDT and we didn’t get things back up and running until some eight or nine hours later. We have … Continue reading “Xconomy Had a Bad Internet Day—But We’re Up and Running Again”

All Green on the Western Front: San Diego Algae Pioneers Provide Glimpse of the Future of Biofuels

[Corrected 9/03/09, 7:20 am. See below.] It felt almost anti-climactic when retired Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn arrived in San Diego last week to meet with some of San Diego’s leading algae biofuels scientists and tour a local biofuel research facility. McGinn, a former commander of the Navy’s Third Fleet in San Diego, is a member … Continue reading “All Green on the Western Front: San Diego Algae Pioneers Provide Glimpse of the Future of Biofuels”

ValenTx Lands $20,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4ad487e7-ef4c-4869-864c-571025bb3a71&Preview=1 Date 8/27/2009 Company Name ValenTx Mailing Address 200 Homedale Rd Carpinteria, CA 93013 Company Description The company is developing less invasive treatments for morbid obesity. Website http://www.valentx.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

MyShape Secures $10,560,000 Series C Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=45c9d94b-9f8a-439a-9b0d-896354e30729&Preview=1 Date 8/27/2009 Company Name MyShape Mailing Address 225 South Lake Avenue Pasadena, CA 91101 Company Description The company operates an online apparel retail shop. Website http://www.myshape.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,560,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson … Continue reading “MyShape Secures $10,560,000 Series C Round”

Biogen Idec Research Boss Quits Board, Giving Icahn Shot at Pushing R&D Agenda

[Update: 8:20 pm Eastern time with Biogen comments] One of the Biogen Idec executives who was criticized earlier this year for displaying “failed leadership,” in the words of billionaire investor Carl Icahn, is resigning from the company’s board after an earlier pledge to keep the seat. Cecil Pickett, Biogen’s president of research and development, will … Continue reading “Biogen Idec Research Boss Quits Board, Giving Icahn Shot at Pushing R&D Agenda”

A123Systems Wanted for Huge Grid Battery

Rosemead, CA-based utility Southern California Edison wants A123Systems to build the world’s largest lithium-ion grid storage battery for a substation in the Tehachapi Mountains of southern California to stabilize the flow wind power, Greentech Media reported today. The report says that the utility is asking for a $25 million grant from the Department of Energy … Continue reading “A123Systems Wanted for Huge Grid Battery”

Biotechs Go Back to the Future by Re-Innovating Old Drugs

Biotechnology start-ups have long been seen as fearless innovators, embracing experimental technologies, like gene therapy, that big pharmaceutical companies won’t touch. But the news flow from San Diego this summer suggests the industry may have become a bit more cautious. More and more companies, it seems, are focused on reviving or repurposing older drugs – … Continue reading “Biotechs Go Back to the Future by Re-Innovating Old Drugs”

Slacker Founder Mudd Out as CEO

Slacker, the San Diego-based online music streaming service, confirms today that founding CEO Dennis Mudd has stepped down, handing over his duties to Jim Cady, Slacker’s president and chief operating officer. Anders Steele, a spokesman for the three-year-old startup, says Mudd will stay on Slacker’s board and plans to remain involved at the company. “With … Continue reading “Slacker Founder Mudd Out as CEO”

CEO Says Sequoia’s Extinction Reflects Why Semiconductor Startups Are an Endangered Species

Sequoia Communications CEO Dave Shepard was out of town last week when the demise of the San Diego fabless semiconductor design company came to light. I was told he was furious over the shutdown, as Sequoia had finished its product, a chip for use in cellphones and wireless devices, had secured customers, and was roughly … Continue reading “CEO Says Sequoia’s Extinction Reflects Why Semiconductor Startups Are an Endangered Species”

Making Connections, Managing Risk in Startup Deals: A Visit to Boston Law Firm Mintz Levin

If you’ve seen from the inside how technology startups get created and funded, you know that law firms are involved at every step in the process. But to outside observers, it might be surprising just how central a role the attorneys can play—not just by helping entrepreneurs with incorporation papers and the other legal rigmarole … Continue reading “Making Connections, Managing Risk in Startup Deals: A Visit to Boston Law Firm Mintz Levin”

Inovio, Fueled By Swine Flu Fear, Comes Back From Brink With ‘Universal’ Vaccines

Just three months ago, San Diego-based Inovio Biomedical looked like one of the many biotechs with big ambitions that were headed for the dustbin of history. The company has been burning cash for 15 years and it was down to its last $5 million in working capital. Inovio tried to merge with another little biotech … Continue reading “Inovio, Fueled By Swine Flu Fear, Comes Back From Brink With ‘Universal’ Vaccines”

Former Novartis CEO Elected as Amylin Chairman

Amylin Pharmaceuticals’ board of directors has unanimously elected former Novartis CEO Paulo Costa as chairman, an appointment that was supported by Eastbourne Capital Management of San Rafael, CA, an institutional investor that had voiced concerns about the vacancy in the chairman’s role. An Eastbourne spokesman says the firm supported Costa’s election to Amylin’s board and … Continue reading “Former Novartis CEO Elected as Amylin Chairman”

Connect With CleanTech San Diego

Get an opportunity to meet hundreds of San Diego’s cleantech business leaders, political advocates, innovators, engineers, scientists, and entrepreneurs at this annual networking event, sponsored by Connect and CleanTech San Diego. More information and online registration is here.

A Vision for Wireless Healthcare

Gary West, founder and chairman of San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute, Dr. Eric J. Topol, the institute’s chief medical officer, and Donald Jones, Qualcomm vice president of health and life sciences, will discuss their vision for moving wireless health technologies quickly into the hands of doctors, healthcare organizations and consumers. By bringing together the … Continue reading “A Vision for Wireless Healthcare”

MindTouch: A Case Study in Open Source Collaboration

San Diego’s MIT Enterprise Forum is sponsoring a presentation by Aaron Fulkerson, the founder and CEO of MindTouch, a company which has grown from a small open-source project into a financially sound and successful leader in open-source, enterprise-scale collaboration—with 20 million users and 1,000 customers. Networking and registration begin at 5 p.m., or you can register … Continue reading “MindTouch: A Case Study in Open Source Collaboration”

Emerging Company Showcase: Starting, Sustaining, & Succeeding in Today’s Economy

The San Diego section of the American Chemical Socienty is sponsoring an evening that focuses on new views of the biotech startup business model, with presentations by Richard Heyman of Aragon Pharmaceuticals, Peppi Prasit of Amira Pharmaceuticals, and Jeffrey Stein of Trius Therapeutics. The event is free and open to the public. Information and registration … Continue reading “Emerging Company Showcase: Starting, Sustaining, & Succeeding in Today’s Economy”

Ligand Gets Neurogen for $11M

San Diego’s Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LGND]]) has agreed to acquire Branford, CT-based Neurogen, in a stock deal valued at $11 million. The transaction gives Neurogen shareholders a 3 percent ownership stake in the combined company, and a variety of contingent cash payments, such as net proceeds from the sale of Neurogen real estate. Ligand gains … Continue reading “Ligand Gets Neurogen for $11M”

Chipmaker Sequoia Communications Out of Business, DivX Settles Yahoo Lawsuit, Connect Proposes Venture Initiative, & Other San Diego BizTech News

San Diego wind turbine maker Helix Wind made some more acquisitions, and out-of-business chipmaker Sequoia Communications arranged to sell its equipment in an online auction tomorrow. So it was a good news, bad news week for technology here. —San Diego’s Sequoia Communications, which gained attention in the wireless chip industry when it introduced a multimode … Continue reading “Chipmaker Sequoia Communications Out of Business, DivX Settles Yahoo Lawsuit, Connect Proposes Venture Initiative, & Other San Diego BizTech News”

Venture Model Makeover & Diet Plan—Step One

A lot of people have been asking lately if the venture model is broken. But it seems to me that it’s just decrepit. Like an aging, rotund former football star, the venture industry is scratching its head and realizing that its glory days are long past. The industry collectively doesn’t really know how to handle … Continue reading “Venture Model Makeover & Diet Plan—Step One”

Can The Genome Be Cracked for $5,000? OVP, Enterprise Partners Say Yes in $45M Round

Complete Genomics, the Mountain View, CA-based company that says it can sequence entire human genomes for as little as $5,000, has pinned down a $45 million venture round which includes support from two of its founding backers—Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and San Diego-based Enterprise Partners Venture Capital. The rest of the capital is coming … Continue reading “Can The Genome Be Cracked for $5,000? OVP, Enterprise Partners Say Yes in $45M Round”

Zumbox Receives $8,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=575afbd1-e3ad-4a25-ae1c-0a9919cf5f0c&Preview=1 Date 8/24/2009 Company Name Zumbox Mailing Address 31364 Via Colinas Westlake Village, CA 91362 Company Description Zumbox provides the first all-digital postal system that is free for qualified senders of regular mail, such as billers, governments and community organizations. Zumbox delivers mail electronically based on the same street addresses as traditional … Continue reading “Zumbox Receives $8,000,000 Series A Round”

AppFolio Garners $8,000,000 Series C Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a29fc42b-7d75-4a4a-a7ec-dcaa4c06ba06&Preview=1 Date 8/24/2009 Company Name AppFolio Mailing Address 55 Castilian Dr. Goleta, CA 93117 Company Description AppFolio, Inc. is dedicated to premier customer service and innovative applications that are custom-designed for property management organizations, whether small or growing businesses. We blend the latest in Web-based software technology with carefully researched user-friendly designs … Continue reading “AppFolio Garners $8,000,000 Series C Financing”

AltheaDx Raising $6M

AltheaDx, a San Diego company previously known as Althea Diagnostics, has garnered $3.57 million in a recent venture round that aims to raise a total of $6 million, according to a recent regulatory filing. The company provides services and technologies to streamline drug development. The paperwork does not identify the investors, although AltheaDx identifies Telegraph … Continue reading “AltheaDx Raising $6M”

San Diego’s Connect Takes Offensive, Sets Agenda for Stoking the Region’s Innovation Economy

Lots of people have been saying the VC model for funding technology innovation is broken. Now San Diego’s Duane Roth has some ideas for ways the regional technology community can try to do things differently. Roth, who is chief executive of Connect, the non-profit organization that helped create San Diego’s innovation economy, laid out some … Continue reading “San Diego’s Connect Takes Offensive, Sets Agenda for Stoking the Region’s Innovation Economy”

Why It’s Crazy for Authors to Keep Their Books Off the Kindle

In June, I wrote a column about the problem of “On Demand Disorder“—my name for the narrowing of vision that can occur when people get addicted to the instant experiences available over the Internet and other digital media. If you only listen to the music you can find on iTunes or Pandora or Last.fm, if … Continue reading “Why It’s Crazy for Authors to Keep Their Books Off the Kindle”

[x+1] Secures $2,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aeb07ae7-6c25-464e-a9a6-60d1f4ff82cc&Preview=1 Date 8/21/2009 Company Name [x+1] Mailing Address 130 W. Union St Pasadena, CA 91103 Company Description [x+1] has helped marketers achieve greater return on their online marketing investment by driving conversion through improved visitor engagement and ad relevance. Website http://www.x1.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “[x+1] Secures $2,000,000 New Financing”

Mobile TV Gets Audience Tracker

FLO TV, San Diego-based Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) satellite-based mobile TV service and Portland, OR-based Rentrak Corp. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RENT]]) say they are collaborating on a system that will provide comprehensive data on mobile TV viewership and advertising. Using Rentrak’s TV Essentials media measurement system, the partners plan to deliver reports to provide a basis for setting … Continue reading “Mobile TV Gets Audience Tracker”

San Diego’s Platformic Adds Mobile Blogging Capability to Web Development and Management Tools

Platformic, a San Diego web development startup, is introducing a new mobile blogging tool, which, according to the company, simplifies the process of adding video, photos, and text to websites based on Platformic’s technology and content management system. Platformic says new content can be added to a website using an iPhone, Blackberry, or other mobile … Continue reading “San Diego’s Platformic Adds Mobile Blogging Capability to Web Development and Management Tools”

Wireless Chipmaker Sequoia Communications Shuttered; Auctioneers Move in

San Diego’s Sequoia Communications, a venture-backed semiconductor company founded in 2001, has shut down—ending the startup’s effort to develop an innovative microchip for cellular phones. The company’s demise was reported yesterday by the website SoCalTech.com, which noted that Sequoia has raised more than $50 million from BlueRun Ventures, Cadence Design Systems, Gabriel Venture Partners, Huntington … Continue reading “Wireless Chipmaker Sequoia Communications Shuttered; Auctioneers Move in”

Anadys Moves Hepatitis C Drug Ahead on its Own, Intellikine Casts a Broad Net, Sequel Pharma Raising $8.4M, & Other San Diego Life Sciences News

It’s been relatively slow for San Diego life sciences news, except for a flurry of funding deals for local drug development companies. Get the scoop on who’s getting money, along with some biotech profiles and more. —CEO Steve Worland of San Diego’s Anadys Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANDS]]) says the company has stabilized following some mercurial advances … Continue reading “Anadys Moves Hepatitis C Drug Ahead on its Own, Intellikine Casts a Broad Net, Sequel Pharma Raising $8.4M, & Other San Diego Life Sciences News”

San Diego Biotech Startups Raise New Cash to Treat Anemia, Heart Disease and More

Three life sciences companies in the San Diego region have raised venture capital lately, according to our scan of filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission. All three are concentrating on developing new drugs. Here’s a roundup: —Palkion, a San Diego developer of anemia drugs, has raised $2.5 million from investors, according to an SEC … Continue reading “San Diego Biotech Startups Raise New Cash to Treat Anemia, Heart Disease and More”

State of Venture Quiz 2: Answers and Commentary

Do you get the feeling deal flow is picking up a bit? Well, you might be right. But does that make things better for entrepreneurs? Not necessarily. As Boston lawyer John Hession sums up: “The market is improving. That doesn’t necessarily mean that deal terms are improving or valuations are improving. It means the number … Continue reading “State of Venture Quiz 2: Answers and Commentary”

Anadys, Biotech’s Roller Coaster Story, Gears Up for Next Big Step with Hepatitis C Drug

If there were a prize for the whiplash-inducing roller coaster story of the year in San Diego biotech, Anadys Pharmaceuticals would have to be a contender. But if CEO Steve Worland has his way, some of that stomach-turning drama of the past eight months will soon just be a memory. “You might say we’ve been … Continue reading “Anadys, Biotech’s Roller Coaster Story, Gears Up for Next Big Step with Hepatitis C Drug”

Why Big Pharma Wants To Be Like Big Biotech

Why would a Big Pharma company want to remake itself as a biotech? In a recent Xconomy piece, I discussed the changes in Roche’s corporate culture brought on by their recent acquisition of Genentech, along with recommendations for creating an innovative biotech research culture. What I didn’t have the space to dive into was a … Continue reading “Why Big Pharma Wants To Be Like Big Biotech”

Xconomy Goes Mobile at m.xconomy.com

We’re happy to announce that there’s now an easier to way to read Xconomy on your mobile phone. Go to http://m.xconomy.com for the new mobile-friendly version of our site, which we’ve simplified for easy navigation on small screens. All the usual content is there: our Boston, San Diego, and Seattle news stories, along with Xconomist … Continue reading “Xconomy Goes Mobile at m.xconomy.com”

Intellikine, Stocked With Cash, Pushes Portfolio of Drugs Against Biology’s Hot Targets

Intellikine has the kind of story you rarely see in 2009. Few biotech companies can rustle up $28 million in venture capital in this year of the Great Recession, especially when they don’t have a single drug candidate in human clinical trials. Either investors are having a bout of 1999-style insanity, or the company has … Continue reading “Intellikine, Stocked With Cash, Pushes Portfolio of Drugs Against Biology’s Hot Targets”

State of Venture Quiz No. 2: Deal Terms

A couple weeks ago, I colluded with Michael Greeley, general partner at Flybridge Capital Partners and chairman of the New England Venture Capital Association, to round up some statistics about venture capital here in the Boston area. I then tested readers’ knowledge of the trends with the inaugural State of New England Venture Quiz. The … Continue reading “State of Venture Quiz No. 2: Deal Terms”

Unmanned Vehicles, a Silver Lining for Video Service, and Other SD BizTech News

Not many deals made news in San Diego last week, although we had a few national stories that were of local interest. —Bruce reported on some of the companies from Xconomy cities going to the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference last week, including three from San Diego. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems gave a … Continue reading “Unmanned Vehicles, a Silver Lining for Video Service, and Other SD BizTech News”

Qualcomm Ventures Uses QPrize to Fill VC Void, Seed Wireless Startups Around the World

[Editors note: Revises and corrects the terms of QPrize convertible note funding] When San Diego-based Qualcomm Ventures announced it was organizing a new international prize competition last May, the economy was already reeling and the venture capital industry had slammed on the brakes. That slowdown in VC activity—especially for early stage startups—was probably the key … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures Uses QPrize to Fill VC Void, Seed Wireless Startups Around the World”

Startups Give E-mail a Big Boost on the iPhone with ReMail and GPush

As a device for managing your e-mail, the Apple iPhone isn’t bad, but it does have a few quirks and limitations. This week, I want to write about two brand-new applications that work around those failings, making the iPhone into a far more powerful tool for staying connected. The first app grabbed my attention because … Continue reading “Startups Give E-mail a Big Boost on the iPhone with ReMail and GPush”