Delta-Q Raises $17M from Tandem Expansion to Push Electric Vehicle Technologies

Burnaby, BC-based Delta-Q Technologies has raised $17 million in growth capital from Canadian firm Tandem Expansion, the company said yesterday. Delta-Q makes power conversion and power management systems for electric vehicles. Delta-Q was founded in 1999 to develop battery charging technologies for electric-drive vehicles. The company has since expanded its products to include power electronics … Continue reading “Delta-Q Raises $17M from Tandem Expansion to Push Electric Vehicle Technologies”

Xconomy Sets Up Entrepreneurs’ Rate for Events—Starting with XSITE on June 17

We here at Xconomy love startups (we’re one ourselves). We pride ourselves on writing great stories about great entrepreneurs and startup companies—and on showcasing interesting startups at our events. We also occasionally hold impromptu pizza parties here in our headquarters for entrepreneurs in the ‘hood. (And we’ll be doing one again soon.) Now, thanks in … Continue reading “Xconomy Sets Up Entrepreneurs’ Rate for Events—Starting with XSITE on June 17”

Electric Cycles and Software For The Soul: A Tale of Two Startups—and Whether They Plan to Stay in Michigan

Peter Scott, president of Current Motor, an electric scooter and motorcycle company based in Ann Arbor, MI, had just finished his 10-minute pitch on the opening day of this week’s Michigan Growth Capital Symposium, when he was immediately taken aside by Lauren Flanagan of Douglas, MI, who is with Phenomenelle Angels Fund in Madison, WI. … Continue reading “Electric Cycles and Software For The Soul: A Tale of Two Startups—and Whether They Plan to Stay in Michigan”

Genzyme in “Tough Spot” with Icahn Proxy Challenge—CEO Termeer Courting Key Shareholders

With his leadership under attack and FDA regulators cracking down on his company’s manufacturing, Genzyme chairman and CEO Henri Termeer is traveling to meet with the firm’s top 30 shareholders over the next month. The road trip, discussed yesterday in an interview with Genzyme spokesman Bo Piela, comes just over a month before the company’s … Continue reading “Genzyme in “Tough Spot” with Icahn Proxy Challenge—CEO Termeer Courting Key Shareholders”

Five Ways Michigan Can Become a High Tech and Life Sciences Powerhouse

Although I have lived in the Boston area for more than half my life, I grew up in the Detroit area and still have strong connections to my alma mater—the University of Michigan. I serve on the Board and Leadership Council of the Life Sciences Institute at U-M. In that capacity, I have kept in … Continue reading “Five Ways Michigan Can Become a High Tech and Life Sciences Powerhouse”

Sequenom Restarts Down Syndrome Test, Cytori Upbeat About Cardiac Study, Pathway Genomics Mass Markets Genome Tests, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

The sector was firing on all burners in the past week with fresh developments in devices, drug development, wireless health, and weight loss (just ask Larry Smarr). You can catch all the latest here. —Sequenom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SQNM]]), which scrubbed the launch of its diagnostics test for Down syndrome a year ago over “mishandled data,” is … Continue reading “Sequenom Restarts Down Syndrome Test, Cytori Upbeat About Cardiac Study, Pathway Genomics Mass Markets Genome Tests, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Alder Seeks to Treat Cancer in a Radical Way, Fighting Inflammation, Not Tumors

There are a lot of radical ideas for treating cancer, and most are pure bunk. But now one of Seattle’s most promising biotech startups, Alder Biopharmaceuticals, says it has the first hard evidence to support a concept that would have gotten them laughed out of the room by most cancer physicians a year ago. Alder’s … Continue reading “Alder Seeks to Treat Cancer in a Radical Way, Fighting Inflammation, Not Tumors”

New England Startups Collect $203M in April; Life Sciences and Internet Sectors Top the List

The Boston-area pollen count surged in April, but venture financings experienced a more modest increase. New England’s tech and life sciences startups raised a total of $202.9 million in 21 equity-based deals, compared to March’s $194.5 million raised in 17 deals, according to data provided by our partner, private company intelligence platform, CB Insights. (Note, … Continue reading “New England Startups Collect $203M in April; Life Sciences and Internet Sectors Top the List”

Create Regulatory Exemptions for Small Vehicles

Get your legislators to create regulatory exemptions for vehicles that are sold in small annual volumes. Right now, it costs about $250 million to bring a new vehicle through all the safety and other regulatory requirements and $1 billion to build the factory that can produce such vehicles in volume. Is it any wonder that … Continue reading “Create Regulatory Exemptions for Small Vehicles”

Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston

Boston’s Rockport Capital has chipped in $12.5 million as part of a $40 million financing round for Think, the Oslo, Norway-based company building long-range electric vehicles. Think said in an May 11 announcement that it plans to use the new funds to expand operations and sales in North America, including opening a planned assembly facility … Continue reading “Norway’s Think Plans to Build Electric Cars in Indiana and Test Them in Southern California with Additional Funding from Boston”

LocaModa Lands $150,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=866a37a5-080a-4775-92fb-ab6b7ff81e50&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name LocaModa Mailing Address 160 Sidney St. Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description LocaModa turns screens that people normally ignore into screens they can’t resist. By connecting digital networks with social media and mobile messaging, we enable over 100,000,000 people a month to interact with their environments in thousands … Continue reading “LocaModa Lands $150,000 New Financing”

Sequent Medical Receives $15,600,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d1286999-8c76-4d33-aa3e-2c7c241e5591&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Sequent Medical Mailing Address 11A Columbia Aliso Viejo, CA 92656 Company Description The company is dedicated to the development of innovative devices to advance the endovascular treatment of neurovascular disease conditions. Website http://www.sequentmedical.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,600,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes We … Continue reading “Sequent Medical Receives $15,600,000 Series B Funding Round”

Sprout Social Garners Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c604d5a5-09ae-4ce7-854c-6179d5097e4f&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Sprout Social Mailing Address Undisclosed Chicago, IL 60601 Company Description The company provides social relationship management tracking and services. Website http://www.sproutsocial.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Sprout Social, which is currently in closed beta, says it will use the … Continue reading “Sprout Social Garners Series A Round”

Exercise.com Obtains $1,740,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e4544e2-60b1-4a66-a8eb-109879ddaee7&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Exercise.com Mailing Address 274 Castro St. Mountain View, CA 94041 Company Description The company operates a website that helps users find gyms, fitness equipment and activities for their physical health. Website http://www.exercise.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,740,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Exercise.com Obtains $1,740,000 New Funding Round”

iRhythm Technologies Obtains $10,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20f3ec7c-a933-4064-881a-61ce09816a74&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name iRhythm Technologies Mailing Address 650 Townsend Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Company Description iRhythm Technologies has developed a novel cardiac rhythm monitoring device that is dramatically superior to any currently available monitor due to its radically simplified design and ease-of-use. Website http://www.irhythmtech.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “iRhythm Technologies Obtains $10,000,000 New Financing Round”

Jelli Garners $7,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a548b8e5-59d7-4c85-ae9a-b5e6209ea44c&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Jelli Mailing Address 4 West 4th Avenue San Mateo, CA 94402 Company Description Jelli is 100% user-controlled radio, enabling users to take over a radio station using their web browsers. Leveraging the power of the web to reinvent traditional broadcasting, Jelli empowers the community to interact with … Continue reading “Jelli Garners $7,000,000 Series A Round”

RedPrairie Holding Acquires SmartTurn for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ec8df710-2f94-4535-b179-5cfacc4144ba&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name SmartTurn Mailing Address 177 Fremont St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description SmartTurn™ Inventory and Warehouse Management System is the first true on-demand warehouse management system to provide enterprise-class functionality at a fraction of the cost of traditional license and install software. Designed for quick implementation, ease-of-use, … Continue reading “RedPrairie Holding Acquires SmartTurn for Undisclosed Sum”

Palmaz Scientific Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2eb89507-5124-49e9-8c65-89582c973b28&Preview=1 Date 5/13/2010 Company Name Palmaz Scientific Mailing Address 2828 N. Harwood Dallas, TX 75201 Company Description The Palmaz technology uses physical vapor deposition processes to deposit layers of atoms on a substrate to produce very strong, high purity metals which are then fabricated into low profile implantable medical devices for many … Continue reading “Palmaz Scientific Garners $3,000,000 New Funding Round”

C-Crete Wins MIT $100K for Making Cleaner Concrete

You can’t win them all, but you can sure win a few. Ask C-Crete Technologies, the winner of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition this year. Team founder Rouzbeh Shahsavari, a MIT civil engineering PhD candidate, also won the Elevator Pitch Contest segment of the $100K in November for his 60-second pitch of his technology, which … Continue reading “C-Crete Wins MIT $100K for Making Cleaner Concrete”

Gary and Mary West Add $20M to Their $45M Donation For Wireless Health Institute

The namesake family foundation that launched San Diego’s West Wireless Health Institute last year with a $45 million donation has just announced another $20 million grant to support biomedical engineering research in mobile health. Word of the latest bequest from the Gary and Mary West Foundation came out of today’s closed session of the Wireless-Life … Continue reading “Gary and Mary West Add $20M to Their $45M Donation For Wireless Health Institute”

David Berry of Flagship Ventures on Funding Advice, Investment Themes, Trends in Biofuels

A rising star of the Boston-area venture capital scene is in Seattle today. He’s David Berry, a partner with Flagship Ventures, and he’s speaking on a panel tonight that will tackle a question on every young company’s mind, when it comes to financing: to VC or not to VC? The event is organized by the … Continue reading “David Berry of Flagship Ventures on Funding Advice, Investment Themes, Trends in Biofuels”

Third Annual Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology Leadership Awards

Nonprofit organization Woman Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology (WEST for short) will be honoring four women that have demonstrated leadership as tech entrepreneurs. They’re spotlighting Mara Aspinall of On-Q-ity, Katrine Bosley of Avila Therapeutics, Nancy Briefs of Elemè Medical, and Sue Welch of TradeStone Software. You can register here for what the organization calls its … Continue reading “Third Annual Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology Leadership Awards”

Sequenom Raises $51.6 Million As It Prepares to Restart Down Syndrome Test

Sequenom can cross off another item on its long to-do list. The San Diego-based developer of diagnostic tests is announcing today that it has raised $51.6 million in a private placement, an important step toward regaining the confidence of investors. The much-needed funds will go toward R&D, product commercialization and general corporate purposes, Sequenom (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Sequenom Raises $51.6 Million As It Prepares to Restart Down Syndrome Test”

See You This Afternoon at Seattle Health IT Event

The Xconomy Seattle team will soon be heading across the street to the Frye Art Museum for our afternoon event on how information technology is transforming healthcare. This is the fourth consecutive sell-out event we’ve convened over the past eight months in Seattle. In October, we examined the 20-year outlook for local life sciences. November … Continue reading “See You This Afternoon at Seattle Health IT Event”

MassTLC Social Media Summit 2010: Candid Conversations about Social Media for the Enterprise: What’s Working & Why

This event aims to help you sift through all the noise surrounding social media and find out what works when it comes to marketing and tapping into customer communities. Marketing personnel from area tech and Internet companies will speak on overcoming resistance to social media, and what innovations are occurring beyond Facebook and Twitter. Register … Continue reading “MassTLC Social Media Summit 2010: Candid Conversations about Social Media for the Enterprise: What’s Working & Why”

Boston’s Litl to Bring Simplicity–and Flash—to Big-Screen Televisions

[Updated 1:30 p.m. 5/13/10 with product images] Litl, the Boston-based startup behind the unconventional Webbook home information appliance, is about to jump into the tumultuous and competitive “connected TV” market. At the Flash and the City conference this weekend in New York, the company will announce plans for a set-top box designed to let people … Continue reading “Boston’s Litl to Bring Simplicity–and Flash—to Big-Screen Televisions”

Wireless-Life Sciences Investor Meeting Puts Innovation on Stage—Boston Sleep Company Zeo Claims a Top Prize

As Qualcomm’s vice president of health and life sciences and as chairman of the San Diego-based Wireless Life Sciences Alliance (WLSA), Don Jones is attuned to subtle disturbances in the field of mobile health. He tells me that one of the auspicious signals for the still-emerging industry is that the 200 people who registered for … Continue reading “Wireless-Life Sciences Investor Meeting Puts Innovation on Stage—Boston Sleep Company Zeo Claims a Top Prize”

General Compression Gets $3M

General Compression,  a Newton, MA-based developer of technology for using compressed air to store energy from wind turbine systems, announced it has wrapped up another $3 million in Series A financing, bringing the round’s total to $20.9 million. The newest tranche comes from the Northwater Intellectual Property Fund, managed by Northwater Capital Management, a private … Continue reading “General Compression Gets $3M”

Four Things Michigan Can Do to Reinvigorate its Economy (And One Thing to Avoid)

The interesting thing about Michigan is that as a state it has already implemented many forward-thinking economic development strategies and policies. Michigan has been much more innovative than Washington state has been in this respect. Washington’s success has frankly been in spite of, rather than because of, state policy much of the time. We in … Continue reading “Four Things Michigan Can Do to Reinvigorate its Economy (And One Thing to Avoid)”

Can academia bridge the gap between bench and bedside?

A few weeks ago I heard a pharmaceutical executive say at an industry meeting that academia shouldn’t be trying to develop drugs. They don’t know how to do it, his message was. Now, he didn’t specify what he meant: Was it that academics do not know how to discover and optimize promising drug candidates, or … Continue reading “Can academia bridge the gap between bench and bedside?”

How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self”

Larry Smarr is one of the people who had a vision in the 1980s for a high-speed computer network that grew to become the Internet of today. So sharing data is important to him. Now he has found a new source of data that he believes has great potential if shared widely: information from his … Continue reading “How Internet Pioneer Larry Smarr Lost 20 Pounds by Becoming a “Quantified Self””

Intellectual Ventures President Adriane Brown on Global Impact, Benefits of Being Uncomfortable, and “Positive Change Through People”

Adriane Brown was the CEO of Honeywell Transportation Systems, based in the Los Angeles area, when she got a call from a headhunter last year. The next thing she knew, she was talking with Intellectual Ventures, the Bellevue, WA, company focused on the business of invention. One thing led to another, and Brown is now … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures President Adriane Brown on Global Impact, Benefits of Being Uncomfortable, and “Positive Change Through People””

Sanofi-Aventis Backs Mass Life Sciences Center, Redline Raises $7.45M, Swipely Launches with $7.5M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

We saw a few contributions in the life sciences sector, but for the most part, Internet and software companies have been dominating with deals headlines in the last week. —Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) got $69 million in cash from Merck, for revising a 2007 agreement with a unit of the drug giant. The revisions give … Continue reading “Sanofi-Aventis Backs Mass Life Sciences Center, Redline Raises $7.45M, Swipely Launches with $7.5M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Capital Climate Is Mean In Michigan, VCs Say at Symposium, But We’re Used to Dealing With Bad Weather

Only in Michigan can you take some pretty dismal-sounding numbers and make them sound like a good thing. That’s what’s happening now at the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium taking place in Ypsilanti, MI—the 29th annual meet-up of Michigan entrepreneurs and potential funders. The theme here, broadly speaking, is that, yes, Michigan may be near the … Continue reading “Capital Climate Is Mean In Michigan, VCs Say at Symposium, But We’re Used to Dealing With Bad Weather”

Michigan as the Distribution and Logistics Hub of the Midwest

It strikes me that Michigan could be in a terrific position to become the next major distribution and logistics-type hub in the Midwest. —There is a looming shortage of hourly direct labor around the country prepared to work at the $12-15/hr warehouse functions. —Seems Michigan would have an abundant direct labor force and access to … Continue reading “Michigan as the Distribution and Logistics Hub of the Midwest”

Sand 9 Finds $12M to Improve Wireless Devices

Sand 9 has secured enough venture capital to grow from a pre-revenue startup to—if all goes as planned—a profitable company, Vince Graziani, the firm’s CEO, says. His Cambridge-based startup, a developer of tiny timer and frequency control technology for wireless devices, has raised $12 million in a Series B round of funding led by a … Continue reading “Sand 9 Finds $12M to Improve Wireless Devices”

Is the Venture Model Really Broken?

Proclaiming the venture model broken is in vogue. The lingering aftereffects of the Internet bubble have cast a shadow over the industry for a decade now; and while venture capital has consistently outperformed most equity asset classes for years, recent returns have not lived up to historical norms. Despite the grim headlines, there are signs … Continue reading “Is the Venture Model Really Broken?”

Sand 9 Receives $12,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=726e5b20-bb99-4fab-b899-36b25e9afa26&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Sand 9 Mailing Address 8 St. Mary’s Street Room 628 Boston, MA 02215 Company Description Sand 9, Inc. is a venture funded startup company, dedicated to the design of Radio Frequency components that will dramatically improve the performance and increase the capabilities of wireless devices. Our disruptive … Continue reading “Sand 9 Receives $12,000,000 Series B Funding”

General Compression Obtains $3,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f2c49016-26cd-4004-8bcb-96b53d3c4fa5&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name General Compression Mailing Address 275 Washington Street Newton, MA 02458 Company Description We are engineers, scientists, investors, and project developers, all committed to expanding clean power. General Compression’s systems are being developed to provide utility-scale storage and firming services for clean energy sources such as wind and … Continue reading “General Compression Obtains $3,000,000 New Round”

Ticketfly Obtains $3,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=749c0e2a-a9a0-4e01-87e0-57ee3c198153&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Ticketfly Mailing Address 490 2nd St. San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Ticketfly offers event promoters and venues next-generation ticketing and powerful website and social marketing tools, saving them time and money. Website http://www.ticketfly.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Ticketfly … Continue reading “Ticketfly Obtains $3,000,000 New Round”

Inquisitive Minds Secures $2,600,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=12968d58-967f-4a0a-9f95-752ff95fe3cc&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Inquisitive Minds Mailing Address 655 W. Evelyn Ave. Mountain View, CA 94041 Company Description The company provides a web browser that is designed for children. Website http://www.zoodles.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,600,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes from the funding round were not … Continue reading “Inquisitive Minds Secures $2,600,000 New Funding Round”

Project Slice Garners $5,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=39fd807b-2bed-4ded-bd04-909bc6d6ef6f&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Project Slice Mailing Address 360 Bryant St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 Company Description The company is currently in stealth mode. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor DCM – Doll Capital … Continue reading “Project Slice Garners $5,000,000 New Funding Round”

SAP Corporation Acquires Sybase for $5,800,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ac933a32-bdb0-4787-9c80-1202d27cd723&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Sybase Mailing Address One Sybase Drive Dublin, CA 94568 Company Description Today, Sybase (NYSE: SY) is the largest global enterprise software company exclusively focused on managing and mobilizing information from the data center to the point of action. Our open, cross-platform solutions securely deliver information anytime, anywhere, … Continue reading “SAP Corporation Acquires Sybase for $5,800,000,000”

BuzzFeed Obtains $8,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=64abf8a8-0938-4f10-914e-93c4597651ed&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name BuzzFeed Mailing Address 167 Canal Street New York, NY 10013 Company Description The web is a 24/7 popularity contest. We help the good stuff win.We feature the kind of things you’d want to pass along to your friends: an outrageous video that’s about to go viral, an … Continue reading “BuzzFeed Obtains $8,000,000 Series B Financing”

Exosome Diagnostics Receives $20,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=96079754-1491-4966-973d-d36084bc7af9&Preview=1 Date 5/12/2010 Company Name Exosome Diagnostics Mailing Address 3960 Broadway New York, NY 10032 Company Description Exosome Diagnostics, Inc. is focused on commercializing minimally invasive molecular diagnostics using body fluids. Website http://www.ExosomeDX.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The purpose of the funding will … Continue reading “Exosome Diagnostics Receives $20,000,000 Series A Round”