Category: San Diego

EdenIQ Receives $16,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5dd87b77-bea1-4476-851c-53c1385fc4f6 Date 1/20/2015 Company Name EdenIQ Mailing Address 2505 N. Shirk Road Visalia, CA 93291 USA Company Description EdenIQ’s scientists are pursuing solutions that cost-effectively convert abundant, non-food biomass into fuels. Making fuels from agricultural waste such as corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, rice straw and woodchips takes the controversy out of biofuels … Continue reading “EdenIQ Receives $16,000,000 New Financing Round”

J.P. Morgan 2015: Notes, Thoughts, And Conversations From the Vortex

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”

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”

TVC Capital Raises $115M, Keeps Focus on Software, Value Investing

San Diego-based TVC Capital, a small private equity firm that specializes in growth-stage investments in software companies, has closed its third investment fund with $115 million in capital commitments. All of the firm’s existing institutional investors participated in the fund, TVC Capital III, along with three new investors, according to Jeb Spencer, a co-founder and … Continue reading “TVC Capital Raises $115M, Keeps Focus on Software, Value Investing”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Tobira, Novartis, NantCell, & More

Whew. J.P. Morgan is almost over. (The healthcare conference, that is, not the investment bank.) Opening the week’s proceedings at the Biotech Showcase, a satellite conference that features small, private, often European companies that would get trampled at the main event, Sangamo Biosciences CEO Ed Lanphier greeted the early crowd: “Welcome to Hell Week.” We’ll … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Tobira, Novartis, NantCell, & More”

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”

Qualcomm-Novartis Deal Portends Wave of Clinical Trial Innovation

The significance of a deal announced last week during the 2015 International CES in Las Vegas went largely unnoticed amid the hubbub of the world’s biggest consumer technology show, packed as it was with 3,600 exhibitors and over 170,000 attendees. The deal creates a new collaboration in clinical trials between Qualcomm Life, the wireless health … Continue reading “Qualcomm-Novartis Deal Portends Wave of Clinical Trial Innovation”

PlaySwell Obtains $1,000,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c571d66-8683-47fd-8183-2ca16fb96e44 Date 1/15/2015 Company Name PlaySwell Mailing Address 2120 Jimmy Durante Blvd. Del Mar, CA 92014 USA Company Description You see, we honestly believe that if everyone just took the time to identify and share the products that they personally think are special, worthy, important or just plain awesome and don’t get … Continue reading “PlaySwell Obtains $1,000,000 Seed Funding Round”

Sense360 Receives $2,750,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f8c74c30-9b5c-474f-8dfe-4468e0588b28 Date 1/15/2015 Company Name Sense360 Mailing Address 3710 S. Robertson Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90034 USA Company Description For the first time in human history we are all carrying around powerful computers jam packed with sensors. These sensors can understand where we are, what we are doing, and what is happening … Continue reading “Sense360 Receives $2,750,000 New Funding”

Sensory NeuroStimulation Lands $1,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0226aa20-d088-4fc8-b89a-7948280b6263 Date 1/15/2015 Company Name Sensory NeuroStimulation Mailing Address 1235 Puerta del Sol San Clemente, CA 92673 USA Company Description Sensory Medical has the only device that is indicated to improve the quality of sleep in patients with primary Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) through the use of vibratory counterstimulation as stated by … Continue reading “Sensory NeuroStimulation Lands $1,500,000 New Financing”

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”

Ubix Labs Receives $2,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=23283a1d-4ae5-4196-9831-47716ea3bdb1 Date 1/14/2015 Company Name Ubix Labs Mailing Address 31910 Del Obispo San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 USA Company Description Ubix Labs, Inc., a disruptive technology company, develops a processing platform that unifies real-time analytics, dynamic visualizations, and in-memory computing. The company was founded in 2011 and is based in San Juan … Continue reading “Ubix Labs Receives $2,000,000 New Round”

RingDNA Garners $5,648,838 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d0e2609a-20f4-478e-94ce-6d2578de61cf Date 1/14/2015 Company Name RingDNA Mailing Address 15250 Ventura Boulevard Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 USA Company Description RingDNA offers intelligent telephony for companies interested in improving sales, marketing and support performance through access to real-time consumer data. Website http://www.ringdna.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,648,838 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “RingDNA Garners $5,648,838 New Funding”

Lynda.com Obtains $186,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5b1acb29-d211-4a10-bed5-a57fb6a4630d Date 1/14/2015 Company Name Lynda.com Mailing Address 6410 Via Real Carpinteria, CA 93013 USA Company Description Lynda.com is an online learning company that helps anyone learn software, creative, and business skills to achieve personal and professional goals. Members receive unlimited access to a vast library of high quality, current, and engaging … Continue reading “Lynda.com Obtains $186,000,000 New Financing Round”

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”

Local Store Identity Obtains $1,569,998 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=89148363-77d0-4d34-8989-6dfb5f085cb4 Date 1/13/2015 Company Name Local Store Identity Mailing Address Undisclosed Venice, CA 90293 USA Company Description Local Store Identity, Inc. offers cloud-based platform which provides marketers visibility into their local stores by creating unique profiles for each store composed of historic, real-time. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,569,998 … Continue reading “Local Store Identity Obtains $1,569,998 New Funding”

Buddytruk Secures $570,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=80b5effd-da5b-4846-9d22-ff920c2932bd Date 1/13/2015 Company Name Buddytruk Mailing Address 604 Arizona Ave. Santa Monica, CA 90401 USA Company Description Social Hauling is ridesharing for your things. The Buddytruk app allows any user with a moving or hauling need to connect with a local person and their truck. The Company believes that the Moving … Continue reading “Buddytruk Secures $570,000 Seed Funding”

Qualcomm Ventures Forms Joint Investment Business with Novartis

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the San Diego wireless technologies giant, plans to form a joint investment business through its corporate ventures arm with the Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis. The joint investment entity would make as much as $100 million available for innovative health startups. In a statement, the partners say they would invest in early stage … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ventures Forms Joint Investment Business with Novartis”

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”

10X Genomics Emerges With $80M and Toaster-Sized Sequencer Upgrade

Making Illumina’s industry-leading gene sequencing machines better? There’s an app for that. That’s the shorthand pitch from fresh-from-stealth sequencing company 10X Genomics, which is unveiling itself today with $80 million in venture funding. It has already raised two rounds, the latest being a $55.5 million Series B led by Foresite Capital Management, with Venrock, the … Continue reading “10X Genomics Emerges With $80M and Toaster-Sized Sequencer Upgrade”

Genentech Redux? Roche Buys Majority Stake in Foundation Medicine

In a deal that shakes up the full-steam-ahead world of cancer diagnostics, the world’s top oncology drug company, Roche, said today it’s spending more than $1 billion for a majority stake in Foundation Medicine and creating a powerful drug-diagnostic collaboration. It’s a significant gamble on the as-yet-unrealized potential of tests that aim for broad genetic … Continue reading “Genentech Redux? Roche Buys Majority Stake in Foundation Medicine”

Everbridge Secures $1,900,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=eaec1458-8ccc-444a-8dc1-514b0f4634a5 Date 1/12/2015 Company Name Everbridge Mailing Address 505 N. Brand Blvd. Glendale, CA 91203 USA Company Description Everbridge is the leading global provider of mass notification solutions to Global 2000 corporations, government agencies and municipalities, healthcare systems, and educational institutions in more than 70 countries with the ability to communicate in … Continue reading “Everbridge Secures $1,900,000 New Financing Round”

Venture Investor Bob More of the Gates Foundation

Bob More, who heads venture investing for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will provide an overview of the foundation’s key areas of interest, and describe best practices for those seeking funding. More leads the foundation’s global health division, which aims to harness advances in science and technology to save lives in developing countries. The … Continue reading “Venture Investor Bob More of the Gates Foundation”

Plato at The Googleplex, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein at UC San Diego

Author and philosopher Rebecca Newberger Goldstein argues that there is a place for philosophy and the humanities in today’s data-driven, technology-obsessed world. In her 2014 book, Plato at The Googleplex: Why Philosophy Won’t Go Away, Goldstein imagines what Plato would say if he were to come to life in the 21st century. More information is … Continue reading “Plato at The Googleplex, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein at UC San Diego”

CalBio 2015

CalBio is the annual industry conference sponsored by San Diego-based Biocom and San Francisco-based BayBio. To discuss how CEOs and entrepreneurs perceive and manage risk within the turbulent life science industry, CALBIO 2015 offers a platform for industry leaders in California to share ideas ranging from science to business and relevant global issues and events. … Continue reading “CalBio 2015”

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”

Nurulize Garners $2,000,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9decf9c8-0656-465e-87e1-5628f8aa657f Date 1/9/2015 Company Name Nurulize Mailing Address 8500 Steller Dr. Culver City, CA 90232 USA Company Description Nurulize is a virtual reality software developer founded in 2013 by software development and VFX industry veterans Philip Lunn and Scott Metzger, to create disruptive applications for the emerging virtual reality revolution. Website http://www.nurulize.com … Continue reading “Nurulize Garners $2,000,000 Seed Financing”

Silver Spring Networks Acquires Escondido’s Detectent for $12M

Silver Spring Networks (NYSE: [[ticker:SSNI]]), which makes smart grid technologies for electric utilities, says it has agreed to pay $12 million in cash to acquire Detectent, an Escondido, CA-based company that provides analytic software to utilities. Detectent initially began in 2004 as a research project, when ConEdison asked founder Mike Madrazzo to analyze the New … Continue reading “Silver Spring Networks Acquires Escondido’s Detectent for $12M”

West Coast Biotech Roundup: Hep C, 23andMe, Kite, Cash, Isis & More

What a week for life sciences news, and it’s not even over. Perhaps we’ll get a slight break as the healthcare and biopharma worlds get on airplanes and descend upon San Francisco starting in 3…2…1…. Two requests from this veteran attendee: Leave your colds and flu at home, and wear bright colors if the weather’s … Continue reading “West Coast Biotech Roundup: Hep C, 23andMe, Kite, Cash, Isis & More”

Seismic Raises $20M in Round Led by Software Growth Equity Fund

After tripling revenues in 2014, Encinitas, CA-based Seismic says today it has closed a $20 million round in Series B funding led by JMI Equity, the growth equity firm that specializes in software and services. Seismic was founded in 2010 to advance what co-founder and CEO Doug Winter calls “sales enablement software” that helps sales … Continue reading “Seismic Raises $20M in Round Led by Software Growth Equity Fund”

Seismic Receives $20,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=135e7a12-cfb9-4610-b7f4-8f435164d2f8 Date 1/8/2015 Company Name Seismic Mailing Address 505 Lomas Santa Fe Drive Solana Beach, CA 92075 USA Company Description Seismic is the creator of the LiveDoc platform for brand-approved, real-time enterprise content management. Seismic’s cloud-based platform enables business professionals to quickly create customized materials with the most up-to-date content and real-time … Continue reading “Seismic Receives $20,000,000 Series B Financing”

GlySens Raises $12M for Wireless Implantable Glucose Sensor

San Diego-based GlySens says it has raised $12 million in Series C funding to advance its wireless technology for an implantable sensor that could be used to monitor blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. No investors were identified in the statement issued by GlySens, which says only that several new investors participated in the … Continue reading “GlySens Raises $12M for Wireless Implantable Glucose Sensor”

MadCap Acquires Doc-to-Help, Expands Lineup of Authoring Tools

San Diego’s MadCap Software, which specializes in software used to create help documents, owners’ manuals, user guides, and other types of professional documentation, says today it has acquired longtime rival Doc-to-Help from GrapeCity, the Japanese software and services provider. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Privately held MadCap was founded in 2005 by … Continue reading “MadCap Acquires Doc-to-Help, Expands Lineup of Authoring Tools”

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”

GlySens Secures $12,000,000 Series C Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=43b0d4e1-0b6b-4c85-91c6-0cb3e60c8b85 Date 1/7/2015 Company Name GlySens Mailing Address 6450 Lusk Boulevard San Diego, CA 92121 USA Company Description GlySens Incorporated is a privately held corporation devoted to developing the world’s first truly long term continuous glucose monitoring system. Website http://www.glysens.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds … Continue reading “GlySens Secures $12,000,000 Series C Round”

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”

Lawn Love Raises $1.9M to Provide On-Demand Gardening Services

Lawn Love, a San Diego Web startup that emerged from the Y Combinator accelerator in August, has raised $1.9 million in seed funding from Launch Capital, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Binary Capital, and other investors. “We’re bringing software and tech to a traditionally low-tech space,” says Jeremy Yamaguchi, a San Diego entrepreneur who started Lawn … Continue reading “Lawn Love Raises $1.9M to Provide On-Demand Gardening Services”

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?)”

Tracon Files for $57.5M IPO to Move Cancer Drugs to Next Stage

San Diego-based Tracon Pharmaceuticals, which raised $27 million in a Series B financing round in September, plans to raise a total of $57.5 million in an IPO, according to a recent regulatory filing. The company was founded in 2004 to develop new drugs for treating cancer, age-related macular degeneration, and fibrotic diseases. Curiously, this is … Continue reading “Tracon Files for $57.5M IPO to Move Cancer Drugs to Next Stage”

Solarflare Communications Receives $30,137,941 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=075e427b-571d-45ae-8ace-4126921bfea3 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Solarflare Communications Mailing Address 7505 Irvine Center Drive Irvine, CA 92618 USA Company Description Solarflare Communications Inc. is a leading silicon vendor delivering Ethernet products that enable the rapid adoption of 10 Gigabit for data center and enterprise networks. Our products include 10GBASE-T PHYs and high-performance Ethernet … Continue reading “Solarflare Communications Receives $30,137,941 New Funding”

Local Market Launch Obtains $1,318,112 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=91e75ae9-1103-4dfb-9fed-6093b81de7c3 Date 1/6/2015 Company Name Local Market Launch Mailing Address 7 W Figueroa St. Santa Barbara, CA 93101 USA Company Description We make local search optimization simple, easy, and effective with guaranteed results so your local business gets found online. Our team has been helping businesses like yours navigate the complexities of … Continue reading “Local Market Launch Obtains $1,318,112 New Round”

NeuLion Acquires DivX for $62,500,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ce35b432-37fc-4bf8-92e6-819b35d5c73f Date 1/6/2015 Company Name DivX Mailing Address 4780 Eastgate Mall San Diego, CA 92121 USA Company Description DivX is a digital media format that puts the tools of digital expression directly into the hands of the people. Website http://www.divx.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $62,500,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms … Continue reading “NeuLion Acquires DivX for $62,500,000”

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?”