From products designed by artificial intelligence to virtual reality systems that help shoppers picture merchandise in their homes, retailers are deploying technology like never before this holiday season, betting that they can win business back from the default of online shopping. These innovations run the gamut, including sensors and cameras that can monitor in-store movements, … Continue reading “Retailers’ Holiday Wishlist? More Sales Powered By New Technologies”
Category: San Diego
San Diego Life Sciences 2022: Photos and Takeaways
Making predictions can be a tricky business. Nevertheless, Xconomy recently brought together some of San Diego’s most prominent life sciences leaders to offer their vision for what the regional biotech cluster will be like in five years. They broadly agreed that San Diego has proven itself as a great seedbed for life sciences startups. The … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences 2022: Photos and Takeaways”
3 A.I. Predictions for 2018: Emotion, Data, Ethics
1. Emotion A.I. will increase our humanity and empathy for each other. In recent years, the smartphones, bots, and devices we spend so much of our time with could be accused of contributing to the desensitization of our society. When a fight breaks out, some teens’ first reaction is to pull out their phones and take … Continue reading “3 A.I. Predictions for 2018: Emotion, Data, Ethics”
Bio Roundup: Tax Cuts, a Funding Rush, Hemophilia Questions & More
In the penultimate week before the end-of-year recess, Congress raced to provide the drug industry—and the rest of corporate America—a massive tax cut, with breaks for investors, too. Racing to finish their own end-of-year budgets, perhaps, investors poured hundreds of millions into private biotechs, too. If that doesn’t get your blood racing, then how about … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Tax Cuts, a Funding Rush, Hemophilia Questions & More”
Ginkgo Bioworks Pulls In $275M as Synthetic Biology Funding Soars
Companies sometimes raise big venture capital rounds to invest in equipment, people, and other tools for growth. Other times they do it to provide the business a cash cushion. And sometimes it’s about giving potential customers and partners more confidence in the fledgling company. For Ginkgo Bioworks, its latest venture funding round is about all … Continue reading “Ginkgo Bioworks Pulls In $275M as Synthetic Biology Funding Soars”
Gene Therapy Advances, But Hemophilia Is No Easy Target
Mark Skinner, the former longtime president of the World Federation of Hemophilia, has had the blood disease on his mind his entire life. He doesn’t have a choice. Skinner, 57, was born with a severe form of hemophilia A, meaning he has a tiny fraction of the necessary cellular machinery to clot blood. His disease … Continue reading “Gene Therapy Advances, But Hemophilia Is No Easy Target”
ASH 2017 Highlights: CAR-T Competition, Myeloma, Hemophilia & More
[Updated, 12/13/17, 1:50 p.m. ET. See below.] The annual American Society of Hematology meeting is nearly over. For now, we’ve chosen updates from three disease areas to highlight, plus the more notable market movements. No surprise, there’s a lot about the genetically engineered cell therapy known as CAR-T. Gene therapy and more standard forms of … Continue reading “ASH 2017 Highlights: CAR-T Competition, Myeloma, Hemophilia & More”
What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?
Whether you think self-driving cars are the stuff of science fiction or a potentially paradigm-shifting new form of transportation, autonomous vehicles are coming—and the companies developing them are spending big money to make it happen. A few years ago, industry analysts seemed to think Silicon Valley would win the race to get self-driving cars on … Continue reading “What Are the Nation’s Top Cities and Regions for Driverless Tech?”
Bio Roundup: Trials to Watch, Mega Deals, Video Game Therapy & More
With 2018 around the corner, this was a week to look ahead. At Xconomy, we zeroed in on several clinical trials that could become major stories in the life sciences. Other healthcare milestones are on the way, too. The FDA will consider for the first time whether a video game should be approved as medicine. … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Trials to Watch, Mega Deals, Video Game Therapy & More”
Clora Reaps $3.3M to Speed Consultant Hunts by Life Sciences Companies
Rahul Chaturvedi worked for 16 years as a life sciences company executive, but he was also an avid consumer tech fan who chafed at the clunky enterprise apps used in his industry. Spoiled by speedy, user-friendly consumer apps, he also wondered why finding a biotech consultant to hire was so much harder than, say, lining … Continue reading “Clora Reaps $3.3M to Speed Consultant Hunts by Life Sciences Companies”
The ‘Amazon Effect’ and the Gender Wage Gap
The battle to land Amazon’s second home is shaping up to be one of the fiercest competitions to lure a corporate headquarters in modern history. From serious incentives like massive tax breaks to headline grabbing stunts like offers of bear wrestling and giant cacti, it’s safe to say cities are pulling out every stop imaginable … Continue reading “The ‘Amazon Effect’ and the Gender Wage Gap”
Metacrine Raises $22M to Advance New Drugs for Chronic Liver Disease
Metacrine, a biotech developing new drugs for treating chronic liver diseases and related metabolic diseases and disorders, said today it has raised $22 million in a Series B financing led by New Enterprise Associates, a new investor. Proceeds will be used to advance Metacrine’s lead drug candidate, MET409, into first-in-human studies during the first half … Continue reading “Metacrine Raises $22M to Advance New Drugs for Chronic Liver Disease”
Propose With a Lab-Made Diamond? Diamond Tech Retailers Say, “Yes”
How do you disrupt an industry that markets itself as the embodiment of “forever?” You bring it back to basics, says Lindsay Reinsmith, co-founder of Ada Diamonds, an online retailer of jewelry with lab-made gemstones in San Francisco. “Science is on our side,” she says. “We confront them with facts.” Machine-made gemstones are created in exactly … Continue reading “Propose With a Lab-Made Diamond? Diamond Tech Retailers Say, “Yes””
Last Chance to Save on San Diego Life Sciences 2022
There’s just one week left before Xconomy’s latest biotech event, “San Diego Life Sciences 2022.” Don’t let the clock run out while you can still save some cash on a ticket. Next Monday, December 11, we’re taking an inside look at what the San Diego life sciences landscape will look like in the year 2022. … Continue reading “Last Chance to Save on San Diego Life Sciences 2022”
15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 2)
[Corrected, 12/11/17, 1 p.m. ET. See below.] On Monday we posted the first part of our look at what should be some of 2018’s most important clinical data, including trials for lung cancer, heart disease, melanoma, Alzheimer’s disease, rare blood disorders, and more. With part two, we’re previewing studies for migraine, brain cancer, lymphoma, peanut … Continue reading “15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 2)”
Case’s $150M Rise of the Rest Fund Aims to Boost Flyover Startups
Author, investor, and AOL co-founder Steve Case today announced a new $150 million venture fund aimed at pumping investment capital into tech companies in so-called flyover states. Contributing to the fund is an impressive group of some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. Called the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, it will … Continue reading “Case’s $150M Rise of the Rest Fund Aims to Boost Flyover Startups”
Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development
The reaction on Wall Street was a little anticlimactic after the FDA approved a new hepatitis B vaccine last month for Berkeley, CA-based Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DVAX]]). Many investors sold stock on the news. In the days following the company’s Nov. 9 announcement, the price of Dynavax shares slipped about 8 percent, from $20.05 a … Continue reading “Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development”
Black Venture Capitalists Are Transforming Tech
Would it surprise you to know that there are more than 100 black venture capitalists or that this nationwide ecosystem is growing? Most of the VCs in this expanding ecosystem made pivots from highly successful careers in other fields. They have very impressive academic credentials, business backgrounds comparable to their Silicon Valley peers, and a … Continue reading “Black Venture Capitalists Are Transforming Tech”
15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)
Many of biotech’s biggest stories in 2017 followed the highly anticipated data from clinical studies. There were monumental successes, like the first-ever approval of a genetically modified living cell therapy, the first FDA application for a gene therapy or a medicine using RNA interference. There were also stinging failures, such as the latest in a long … Continue reading “15 For ’18: Key Clinical Data to Watch For Next Year (Part 1)”
Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World
A momentous step into the atomic age happened around 3:20 p.m. Central War Time on Dec. 2, 1942, seventy-five years ago, in a vast, unheated space (a former squash doubles court) under the abandoned University of Chicago football stands at Stagg Field. A cadmium control rod was pulled out from a huge, painstakingly assembled cube … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 15: Entering the New Atomic World”
Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More
A pair of migraine drugs made a splash in biotech news this week with published data suggesting that they can reduce the frequency of headaches. These drugs still await an FDA decision, and their impact on patients over the long term are being watched closely. As many as 38 million Americans suffer from migraines, according … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Migraine Data, Cancer Drug Combos, Azar Hearing & More”
Connect Marks 30th Year of Most Innovative New Product Awards
In its yearly celebration of entrepreneurship and invention, San Diego’s Connect gave its Most Innovative New Product Award to 10 local companies at a dinner gala Thursday evening. Speaking in an interview before the late-night ceremony, Connect CEO Greg McKee said the awards highlighted the diversity of innovation in San Diego—from an oxygen mask that … Continue reading “Connect Marks 30th Year of Most Innovative New Product Awards”
“Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs
In the wake of the Equifax breach and the global WannaCry ransomware outbreak earlier this year, tensions around cybersecurity are running high. According to a recent study conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Barkly, seven out of 10 organizations are reporting their security risk has significantly increased during the past 12 months. Only … Continue reading ““Responsive” Machine Learning Could Lessen Cybersecurity Tradeoffs”
With $114M Injection, Semma Continues Quest for Diabetes Cell Therapy
For all the excitement surrounding stem-cell based therapies in the early 2000s, the field still has little to show for it in terms of approved therapies. The many technical challenges of working with stem cells have not, however, deterred Semma Therapeutics, which today announced a whopping $114 million Series B round from a sizable list … Continue reading “With $114M Injection, Semma Continues Quest for Diabetes Cell Therapy”
Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing
If Wednesday’s hearing for Health and Human Services Secretary Nominee Alex Azar is any indication, reining in drug prices and insurance premiums are the policy priorities that will guide Congress’s interaction with the department under a new leader. For the better part of the three-hour hearing by the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, … Continue reading “Drug Prices, Industry Ties Take Spotlight at HHS Nominee Azar Hearing”
VCs Put More Dollars Into Exosomes as Codiak Bio Lands $76M
Codiak BioSciences, the startup run by former Biogen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) research chief Doug Williams, has rung up its third big round of cash in two years. The Cambridge, MA, company has closed a $76.5 million Series C round from a large group of investors, among them founding backers Flagship Pioneering and Arch Venture Partners, and … Continue reading “VCs Put More Dollars Into Exosomes as Codiak Bio Lands $76M”
Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations
On Monday, Wisconsin enacted legislation allowing companies to incorporate as benefit corporations. Although this may sound like routine, small-time legislative business, it is just as significant as major policy initiatives being debated in the halls of Congress. On issues from net neutrality to workers’ rights, corporations are perceived to—and often do—engage in practices that maximize … Continue reading “Joining Trend, WI Creates New Business Entity: Benefit Corporations”
After Successful Pilot, Apprenti Expands Tech Training Program
Those of us who keep tabs on the tech world hear a lot about the challenges of hiring and retaining IT talent. According to a forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 1.3 million new computer programming and computer support specialist jobs will be created across the country by 2022, and as businesses … Continue reading “After Successful Pilot, Apprenti Expands Tech Training Program”
Intel Deepens Move into Sports Tech with ScoreStream Investment
ScoreStream, a five-year-old startup that created a social media platform for crowd-sourcing local sports scores, has raised $3.7 million in a Series A round that includes Intel Capital as an investor. According to a recent ScoreStream statement, San Diego’s Avalon Ventures, a longtime ScoreStream investor, led the round, and was joined by Sinclair Broadcasting, Verizon … Continue reading “Intel Deepens Move into Sports Tech with ScoreStream Investment”
Ionis Pharma Promotes Brett Monia to Chief Operating Officer
Brett Monia, a founder of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:IONS]]), is set to become chief operating officer of the Carlsbad, CA, company. Monia is currently head of drug discovery, where his oversight includes inotersen, a potential treatment for transthyretin amyloidosis. The rare disease causes the buildup of amyloid protein in the body’s organs and tissues. Earlier … Continue reading “Ionis Pharma Promotes Brett Monia to Chief Operating Officer”
Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares
Like many tech entrepreneurs, Sean Behr had a young business that was popular with consumers, but was also losing money. So in February of 2016, he decided to refocus his San Francisco startup on the small, but unexpectedly profitable aspect of his service that could operate in the black. That pivot put Behr in a … Continue reading “Stratim CEO Sees Future with Costly Driverless Cars, but Low Ride Fares”
Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More
In our roundup this week, Alzheimer’s disease is in the news, thanks to billionaire Bill Gates and his personal pledge of $100 million toward R&D. That could equal the amount one startup hopes to raise in an IPO to develop drugs for Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases. If a treatment became available, could our health … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: ICER Eyes Cost, Azar at HHS, Gates’s ALZ Cash & More”
Xconomy Peers into Biotech Future with Vividion’s Diego Miralles
What’s new in San Diego life sciences? Diego Miralles, who was named just three months ago as the CEO of San Diego-based Vividion Therapeutics, has a lot to say on that topic. Miralles, an immunologist who previously served as the CEO at Adaptive Therapeutics and before that led innovation and West Coast R&D for Johnson … Continue reading “Xconomy Peers into Biotech Future with Vividion’s Diego Miralles”
Acorda Takes Another Hit, Reports Patient Deaths in Parkinson’s Study
Acorda Therapeutics’ rebuilding plan just suffered another setback, leaving the fate of one of the experimental Parkinson’s disease drugs that is closest to market unclear. Ardsley, NY-based Acorda (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ACOR]]) said Wednesday morning that it has seen troubling safety problems in a Phase 3 trial of its experimental Parkinson’s disease drug tozadenant. Acorda reported cases … Continue reading “Acorda Takes Another Hit, Reports Patient Deaths in Parkinson’s Study”
Raken Aims for Growth in Mobile App for Construction Site Reporting
When it comes to disrupting an industry, Raken founder and CEO Kyle Slager says it would be hard to find a sector that is more resistant to spending money on new technologies than the construction business. As Slager puts it, even bankers and insurers spend more on technology as a percentage of revenue than building … Continue reading “Raken Aims for Growth in Mobile App for Construction Site Reporting”
Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe
Poshmark, a social media e-retail company, has raised $87.5 million in a Series D investment round led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek. That brings the total funding raised by the Redwood City, CA-based company to $160 million. Other investors in the firm include Mayfield, Menlo Ventures, GGV Capital, Inventus Capital, SoftTech VC, Union Grove … Continue reading “Poshmark Picks Up $87.5M to Power the Social, Digital Wardrobe”
DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges
[Updated 11/15/17, 11:10 am. See below.] One of Silicon Valley’s most prominent venture capital firm founders has joined the list of VCs who departed from their positions this year in the wake of sexual harassment allegations. Steve Jurvetson, co-founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), confirmed via a Twitter post Monday that he has left the … Continue reading “DFJ Co-Founder Jurvetson Exits Firm Amid Harassment Charges”
Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw
At exactly 7 a.m. on Nov. 9, 1967, the roof of the press viewing stand at Cape Canaveral began shaking from what was happening more than three miles from us. The sky seemed to be cracking as a gleaming 363-foot tall rocket began pushing up from Launch Pad 39 and eastward over the Atlantic. As … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 14: The Biggest Damn Firecracker I Ever Saw”
Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi
Call it a week of second chances. Multiple biotechs breathed new life into drugs sorely in need of it. Sage Therapeutics proved a drug that had failed a trial a rare form of epilepsy could be the first ever approved therapy for postpartum depression. Otonomy, reviving a hearing loss drug thought to be on the … Continue reading “Bio Roundup: Barron Joins GSK, Sage Bounces Back, Valeant Dumps Addyi”
What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor
Sean Parker, Facebook’s first president, just joined a group that’s a favorite topic of history listicles: He’s an innovator who has become abashed by the breakthrough he helped to create. Parker, in an interview with Axios on Wednesday, said Facebook’s founders consciously exploited “a vulnerability in human psychology,” by luring users into an addictive engagement … Continue reading “What Sean Parker Shares with Einstein and the Labradoodle’s Inventor”
Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure
Aquam, a San Diego company with technology for cleaning out and re-lining aging utility pipelines, has raised $26 million in a growth capital round led by NewWorld Capital Group, a New York private equity firm that makes investments in sustainable energy and natural-resources related deals. As municipalities and utilities confront intractable infrastructure problems that range … Continue reading “Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure”
Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup
Bose, the privately held maker of headphones, loudspeakers, and other electronics for audiophiles, has acquired Hush, a San Diego startup founded by three undergraduate engineering students to develop “smart” noise-masking earbuds designed to help users sleep. The Framingham, MA, audio giant has incorporated the Hush technology in a prototype product that Bose is testing in … Continue reading “Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup”
OncoSec Medical Names Former Advaxis Exec O’Conner as CEO
OncoSec Medical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONCS]]) has named former Advaxis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADXS]]) CEO Daniel J. O’Conner to take over as chief executive at the San Diego-based company, which has been developing technology to enhance the delivery and uptake of its anti-tumor drug therapies. O’Conner resigned in July from Advaxis, a cancer immunotherapy biotech in Princeton, NJ, and … Continue reading “OncoSec Medical Names Former Advaxis Exec O’Conner as CEO”
Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.
[Updated 11/10/17, 10:25 a.m. See below.] Microsoft is applying the same model it used to launch its quantum computing and chatbot efforts to innovation in healthcare, signaling the company’s ambition and optimism about the transformative potential of artificial intelligence technologies in this enormous endeavor. Peter Lee is the Microsoft Research executive in charge of the … Continue reading “Microsoft’s Strategy for Finding What’s Next in Healthcare A.I.”
Super Saver Rate Ending for San Diego Life Sciences 2022 on December 11
When Xconomy gathered a handful of life sciences visionaries in 2010 to predict what the local life sciences landscape would look like in 2030, biotech CEO John Mendlein talked about the intertwining ingredients of people, money, and ideas—how they work together to strengthen a life sciences ecosystem. “We get to peer into the future,” Mendlein … Continue reading “Super Saver Rate Ending for San Diego Life Sciences 2022 on December 11”
Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health
Progenity, a San Diego molecular diagnostics company focused on women’s health, reproductive medicine, and oncology, has raised $125 million in a Series B financing led by New York’s Athyrium Capital Management, an earlier investor. The financing marks one of the biggest life sciences deal involving a San Diego company this year. Proceeds from the financing, … Continue reading “Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health”
At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup
A lot of ink has been spilled on the subject of building tech startups and creating entrepreneurial communities for tech innovation. But to Etienne de Bruin, a disproportionate amount of attention has focused on the tech founder as CEO, and what it takes for a CEO to build a tech business. Search for “CEO books” … Continue reading “At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup”
Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?
Steve Jobs was once famously quoted stating, “the secret of my success is that we have gone to exceptional lengths to hire the best people in the world.” Employees are a critical part of any company’s backbone, no matter the size or industry of the business. They are the driving force that executes the company … Continue reading “Is Your Company Independent or Co-Dependent?”
Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal
One thing to bear in mind with today’s news that Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) has made an unsolicited offer of about $105 billion to acquire San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) is that this deal, if it happens, is going to take time. Aside from the complications involved with combining the global operations of two Fortune … Continue reading “Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal”
New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease
It struck me as a little perplexing when Organovo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONVO]]) announced in April that CEO Keith Murphy was departing to pursue “entrepreneurial opportunities.” The San Diego company, founded a decade ago on 3D bio-printing technology developed by the University of Missouri’s Gabor Forgacs, appeared to be gaining momentum on multiple fronts. Organovo had built … Continue reading “New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease”