Yesterday we published the first part of an extended Xconomy interview with Progress Software CEO Richard Reidy and chief technology officer John Bates. While Bedford, MA-based Progress (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRGS]]) is one of the largest software makers in Massachusetts and was founded just a couple of years after EMC, its profile is nowhere near as high … Continue reading “Reinventing Progress Software—Boston’s Next Billion-Dollar Company? Part 2”
Genomatica Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=73fba2c5-8545-4aa1-a90e-8606ad791934&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name Genomatica Mailing Address 10520 Wateridge Circle San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description Genomatica is a San Diego-based chemical company that, through biotechnology, develops and commercializes innovative bio-manufacturing processes for the sustainable production of high value chemical products. Website http://www.genomatica.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Genomatica Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round”
The Trade Desk Lands $2,500,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a42242d7-eaa0-49bc-b265-861493801300&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name The Trade Desk Mailing Address 505 East Poli Street Ventura, CA 93003 Company Description From the pioneers of the ad exchange and experts from all facets of online advertising—display, search, mobile, ad serving, data protection, and data monetization—The Trade Desk has emerged to change the course of … Continue reading “The Trade Desk Lands $2,500,000 New Financing”
U-Systems Receives $10,000,000 Series F Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1c315d17-10e3-403b-b75c-07c6d29c21f1&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name U-Systems Mailing Address 447 Indio Way Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description U-Systems, Inc., founded in Silicon Valley in 1997, designs, develops, manufactures and markets innovative ultrasound systems to assist the radiologist in the diagnosis of breast cancer. The company has developed a leadership position in advanced ultrasound … Continue reading “U-Systems Receives $10,000,000 Series F Round”
Allocade Receives $5,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2facf102-a274-4258-a7b6-1edfd6170fa8&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name Allocade Mailing Address 3705 Haven Avenue Menlo Park, CA 94025 Company Description Allocade, Inc. was founded in 2004 to develop and provide a solution to one of the healthcare industry’s most pressing problems: capacity utilization. The company’s management team includes former top executives from Siemens Medical Systems, … Continue reading “Allocade Receives $5,000,000 New Funding Round”
Grid Net Secures New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9198d57f-8591-49aa-90d2-8f627f906803&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name Grid Net Mailing Address 340 Brannan St San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description The company develops advanced policy-based networking software for the utility industry. Website http://www.grid-net.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Grid Net said the funding will go towards product … Continue reading “Grid Net Secures New Round”
C$ cMoney Garners $15,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=292c179d-0753-4f46-b89d-9a976190a872&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2010 Company Name C$ cMoney Mailing Address P.O. Box 572335 Houston, TX 77275 Company Description C$ cMoney, Inc. is a Houston-based company that has developed a new and innovative way to send money and pay for goods and services using a cell phone and the text messaging system. It can … Continue reading “C$ cMoney Garners $15,000,000 New Round”
First-Day Trading Lifts MaxLinear Shares 33 Percent Above IPO Price
Eager investors boosted the stock of Carlsbad, CA-based MaxLinear (NYSE: [[ticker:MXL]]) by more than 33 percent today in the company’s debut, with shares closing at $18.70 in first day of trading of nearly 6.9 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Last night, MaxLinear’s IPO underwriters increased the offering to 6.4 million shares (from … Continue reading “First-Day Trading Lifts MaxLinear Shares 33 Percent Above IPO Price”
Optify, Emerging from Stealth, Shows Off Software to Measure Sales and Marketing on the Web
Lead generation. B2B marketing. SEO. Fuh fuh fuh. Forget all these buzzwords. You want more customers? Talk to Optify. This Seattle startup, which came out of stealth mode yesterday, doesn’t have all the answers, but it does have what looks to be a pretty useful software product for marketers who want to track, organize, and … Continue reading “Optify, Emerging from Stealth, Shows Off Software to Measure Sales and Marketing on the Web”
Nathan Myhrvold, Lee Hood Forge Longstanding Partnership at Nexus of IT and Biology
Individuals in today’s world, Nathan Myhrvold once observed, are sort of like single B-cells in the immune system who go about their business oblivious to what’s happening in an entire human organism with 1 trillion cells. Biology, Leroy Hood often likes to say, is becoming an information science built on units of A, C, G, … Continue reading “Nathan Myhrvold, Lee Hood Forge Longstanding Partnership at Nexus of IT and Biology”
Jackson Labs CEO Leaving
The Jackson Laboratory, a Bar Harbor, ME-based nonprofit provider of genetic research and lab mice, said yesterday that its president and CEO Richard Woychik is stepping down from his post. Woychik, who took over as chief executive in 2002, told the nonprofit’s board of trustees that he is open to staying on while the firm … Continue reading “Jackson Labs CEO Leaving”
San Diego’s Xpenser Touts Free Web and Mobile-Based Expense Tracking
At the end of his presentation late yesterday at the DEMO Spring 2010 conference in Palm Desert, CA, Parand Tony Darugar said that when he returns to San Diego following the three-day event, “I will have no receipts in my wallet, and I won’t have to do an expense report.” That’s because he uses Xpenser, … Continue reading “San Diego’s Xpenser Touts Free Web and Mobile-Based Expense Tracking”
Voyager Adds Funding for Placecast
Seattle-based venture firm Voyager Capital has participated in a $3 million follow-on financing for Placecast, a San Francisco-based mobile marketing startup. Existing investors Quatrex Capital and Onset Ventures also participated in the funding, which is an add-on to the $5 million Series B round the company announced last November. Placecast, also known as 1020, is … Continue reading “Voyager Adds Funding for Placecast”
$10.1M for Akorri
Akorri Networks, a Littleton, MA, maker of IT infrastructure management software, has wrapped up a $10.1 million round of equity-based funding, according to an SEC filing. The round included 13 investors. In September, Akorri pulled in $5 million in an equity offering. Akorri’s website lists Matrix Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Globespan Capital Partners, BlueStream … Continue reading “$10.1M for Akorri”
FDA Takes Enforcement Action on Genzyme’s Manufacturing
Genzyme’s manufacturing operations are facing further scrutiny in the aftermath of viral contamination found at its Allston Landing plant last June. The FDA informed the Cambridge, MA-based company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]) yesterday that the agency is taking action to make sure that the firm is making its products in compliance with manufacturing regulations, according to the company. … Continue reading “FDA Takes Enforcement Action on Genzyme’s Manufacturing”
FDA OK’s IMDx H1N1 Test
IntelligentMDx, a Cambridge, MA-based maker of molecular diagnostic tests, has garnered FDA emergency use authorization for its product for detecting the H1N1 virus, the company announced today. No test has been approved for identifying H1N1, but the emergency use authorization allows the IntelligentMDx diagnostic assay to be used while the flu outbreak is still in … Continue reading “FDA OK’s IMDx H1N1 Test”
Epizyme Entices Broad Institute Player, Robert Gould, to Take Over as CEO
Epizyme, a high-flying startup focused on the hot field of epigenetics, has recruited a new CEO and a new chief dealmaker. Robert Gould started work this week as chief executive of the Cambridge, MA-based biotech, having resigned from a big job at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Gould has served on the board … Continue reading “Epizyme Entices Broad Institute Player, Robert Gould, to Take Over as CEO”
OncoGenex Adds New Chairman
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OGXI]]), the Bothell, WA-based developer of cancer drugs, said today it has named Jack Goldstein as its new chairman, and H. Stewart Parker as a member of its board of directors. Current board members Dwight Winstead and Michael Martino plan to step down at the company’s upcoming annual meeting on June 8. … Continue reading “OncoGenex Adds New Chairman”
Wistia Raises $775K
Lexington, MA-based Wistia, whose software helps businesses measure customer interaction with online videos, has raised an additional $775,000 from a group including existing and new angel investors, according to co-founder and CEO Chris Savage. One of the new investors is Renesys CEO Ashton Peery, who is also an investor in BzzAgent and Gazelle. “Raising this … Continue reading “Wistia Raises $775K”
Facing Job Exodus, San Diego IT Execs Launch Council on Globalization and Competitiveness
IT executives from some of San Diego’s better-known employers, including Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Sony Electronics, and Broadcom are banding together to find new ways to retain local IT jobs and to counter the effects of foreign outsourcing. The formation of a new regional business group, the San Diego-based Industry Council for Competitiveness and Globalization (ICCG), comes … Continue reading “Facing Job Exodus, San Diego IT Execs Launch Council on Globalization and Competitiveness”
Reinventing Progress Software—Boston’s Next Billion-Dollar Company?
Most businesspeople around Boston can give you a thumbnail description of anchor companies like EMC (storage devices and information management) or Nuance (speech recognition) or Boston Scientific (medical devices). But what does Progress Software do, exactly? Considering that it’s the largest software-only company headquartered in Massachusetts—with $500 million in annual revenues, 1,800 employees around the … Continue reading “Reinventing Progress Software—Boston’s Next Billion-Dollar Company?”
Future of Online Advertising Looks Like Video, Mobile…and Microsoft
Last night, we heard from a distinguished panel of executives on the opportunities in online advertising, at a TechFlash event in Seattle. The panel comprised some of the top names in the online ad world: —Aaron Finn, founder and chairman of AdReady —Brian McAndrews, former CEO of aQuantive, managing director at Madrona Venture Group —Jeff … Continue reading “Future of Online Advertising Looks Like Video, Mobile…and Microsoft”
Healthcare Reform Gave Biotech Everything It Wanted, and More
And so we embark on a new era of healthcare—one that may take many years to fully reach its potential for good or ill. But there are two small bits in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that are immediately relevant and timely for the biotechnology industry. One provides tax breaks for smaller biotechnology … Continue reading “Healthcare Reform Gave Biotech Everything It Wanted, and More”
Novell Turns Down Buyout Offer, Alnylam Pulls In $20M from Takeda, $16M Stock Deal Goes to RXi, & More Boston-Area Deals News
It was a lighter deals week for us, but we still saw headlines of funding rounds, partnerships, and stock offerings for companies in Internet, software, and life sciences. —Boston-based Swaptree, an online marketplace for trading books, CDs, DVDs, and video games, grabbed $4.8 million of a planned $6 million offering based in equity, options, and … Continue reading “Novell Turns Down Buyout Offer, Alnylam Pulls In $20M from Takeda, $16M Stock Deal Goes to RXi, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Akorri Networks Garners $10,100,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=980a4b5a-0771-488a-b3f6-4f3f832aae86&Preview=1 Date 3/24/2010 Company Name Akorri Networks Mailing Address 305 Foster Street Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description Akorri is the first to enable IT organizations to intelligently balance application performance and infrastructure utilization. Akorri delivers sophisticated analytics software unifying the management of siloed infrastructure components. Website http://www.akorri.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Akorri Networks Garners $10,100,000 New Round”
Capella Intelligent Subsystems Secures $5,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=98268b4a-6143-49d8-b314-120efd07d01f&Preview=1 Date 3/24/2010 Company Name Capella Intelligent Subsystems Mailing Address 5390 Hellyer Ave San Jose, CA 95138 Company Description Capella is the industry leader of wavelength selective switch (WSS) technology for use in reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM) and optical cross connect (OXC) applications. Website http://www.capellainc.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $5,000,000 … Continue reading “Capella Intelligent Subsystems Secures $5,000,000 New Round”
Abiquo Garners $5,100,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6819dfd-a7ba-42a2-831b-ca5812d7f063&Preview=1 Date 3/24/2010 Company Name Abiquo Mailing Address 203 Redwood Shores Parkway Redwood City, CA 94065 Company Description Abiquo is a leading developer of Cloud management solutions founded in 2006. Abiquo envisions a future where private and public Clouds are fully interoperable and vendor neutral. The company embraces an open-source model where … Continue reading “Abiquo Garners $5,100,000 New Round”
BiOptix Diagnostics Receives $9,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=19cd1a88-a78e-4697-9437-733aac0881d7&Preview=1 Date 3/24/2010 Company Name BiOptix Diagnostics Mailing Address 1775 38th St. Boulder, CO 80301 Company Description The company’s mission is to develop its proprietary E-SPR (Enhanced Surface Plasmon Resonance) technology platform for the detection of molecular interactions. Website http://www.bioptix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds … Continue reading “BiOptix Diagnostics Receives $9,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
MaxLinear IPO Prices Stock Above Range at $14 a Share
What began as a modest IPO for Carlsbad, CA-based chipmaker MaxLinear appears to be heating up. In a statement released tonight that MaxLinear increased its initial offering to 6.4 million shares at $14 a share—from 5.4 million shares at a range of $11 to $13 a share. The new stock offering is one of six … Continue reading “MaxLinear IPO Prices Stock Above Range at $14 a Share”
MDRNA Down to $1.7M Cash
[Updated: 5:58 pm Pacific] MDRNA (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MRNA]]), the Bothell, WA-based developer of RNA interference drugs, said today in its fourth quarter financial report that it had just $1.7 million of cash and investments left in the bank heading into 2010. That’s about half as much as the company had at the same time a year … Continue reading “MDRNA Down to $1.7M Cash”
Avvo Follows Amazon and Expedia, Ignition and General Catalyst Back Travel Startup, Gist Goes Networking, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
This was a busy week in the Northwest, with lots of action in consumer software, Internet, mobile, and biotech. The biggest startup deals involved former Expedia executives (see below). —A stealthy Seattle online-travel startup, co-founded by former Expedia execs Rich Barton, Greg Slyngstad, Sunil Shah, and Simon Breakwell, has raised $9.8 million in equity financing. … Continue reading “Avvo Follows Amazon and Expedia, Ignition and General Catalyst Back Travel Startup, Gist Goes Networking, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Limeade Gains Customers, Cash
Bellevue, WA-based Limeade, a Web startup focused on improving corporate health and productivity, announced it had closed a $3 million funding round at the end of January. The investors were not disclosed. Limeade also said its employee subscriber base has grown by a factor of 30 compared to the previous year, and that it has … Continue reading “Limeade Gains Customers, Cash”
SmartCells Grabs $1.75M
SmartCells, a Beverly, MA-based company developing a daily, self-regulating injection for treating diabetes, has raised $1.75 million of a planned $4 million equity offering, according to an SEC filing. The company, whose SmartInsulin product is in pre-clinical testing, declined to comment at this time on what round the funding represents. In July, SmartCells completed the … Continue reading “SmartCells Grabs $1.75M”
RXi Raises $16M in Stock Deal
RXi Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RXII]]), the Worcester, MA-based developer of RNA interference treatments, said today it has raised $16.2 million through a stock offering. Investors have agreed to buy 2.7 million shares at $6 apiece, plus warrants to buy another 540,000 shares. The investors got a 26 percent discount on the stock, based on RXi’s closing … Continue reading “RXi Raises $16M in Stock Deal”
Simmons Leadership Conference
This forum of women business leaders and professionals is in its 31st year, and this year’s speakers will range from media personalities to execs from top corporations. Session topics will include workplace leadership, marketing, the interconnectedness of global markets, and entrepreneurship for women. Register here.
MIT Sustainability Summit
Students, professionals, alumni, and faculty will gather at this MIT event to address sustainability in a gamut of industries, such as architecture, engineering, law, biotech, and chemicals. Panels, breakout sessions, and informal networking slots will allow attendees to connect and explore the environmental and social implications of sustainability. Register here.
ZINO Life Sciences Investment Forum
Venture capitalists, angel investors, and innovation thought leaders will gather to hear entrepreneurs pitch their technologies at this event. Twelve companies in the early stage or seeking an expansion of capital ranging from $250,000 to $5 million will present at this forum put on by ZINO, an organization for connecting entrepreneurs and investors. The deadline … Continue reading “ZINO Life Sciences Investment Forum”
Alnylam Gets $20M From Takeda
Cambridge, MA-based Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]) said today it has earned a $20 million milestone payment from Japan-based Takeda Pharmaceuticals for handing over certain RNA interference documents, materials and know-how. The payment is part of the partnership between the two companies, first formed in May 2008, which could be worth more than $1 billion over … Continue reading “Alnylam Gets $20M From Takeda”
Ironwood Pharma CEO Peter Hecht Breaks Silence on Company’s Big Biotech IPO
Peter Hecht is finally able to speak to the press about Ironwood Pharmaceuticals‘s landmark initial public offering, breaking the silence he was required to keep until last week to comply with quiet-period rules. And the CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Ironwood gave Xconomy a front-row perspective on the most talked about biotech IPO in recent history. … Continue reading “Ironwood Pharma CEO Peter Hecht Breaks Silence on Company’s Big Biotech IPO”
Oncothyreon Stock Plummets as Side Effect Emerges in Cancer Patient, Trials Halted
[Updated: 6 pm Eastern] Bad news out of Seattle-based Oncothyreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONTY]]) today. The company’s partner, the Merck Serono unit of Germany-based Merck KGaA, has halted clinical trials of an immune-boosting treatment for cancer after it saw an unexpected inflammation of the brain in a patient who joined an exploratory trial. Shares of Oncothyreon fell … Continue reading “Oncothyreon Stock Plummets as Side Effect Emerges in Cancer Patient, Trials Halted”
Cyber Security in the Age of the Cloud
TiE Boston sponsors an evening event at the Microsoft NERD Center in Cambridge. From the event description: The iPhone has an AppStore. Google’s Android too. As computing breaks the wire tethers, is our information exposed to “Skippy on his skateboard”? What does the argument between Google and China portend? Driven by cost pressures of the … Continue reading “Cyber Security in the Age of the Cloud”
Cell Therapeutics Looks to Pick up the Pieces After FDA Smacks Down Lymphoma Drug
It’s time to talk about survival strategy if you’re Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CTIC]]) suffered a humiliating public beatdown yesterday from an FDA advisory panel, which said unanimously that the company’s lymphoma drug, pixantrone, isn’t ready for the U.S. marketplace. Even though the FDA doesn’t have to make a formal decision on this … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Looks to Pick up the Pieces After FDA Smacks Down Lymphoma Drug”
Former Targanta CEO Leuchtenberger Lands New Gig at Rib-X, Another Antibiotic Company
The CEO of a Boston biotech company that crashed a little more than a year ago is getting a second chance in the antibiotic business. Mark Leuchtenberger, 53, the former CEO of Cambridge, MA-based Targanta Therapeutics, has been hired as president, CEO, and a member of the board at New Haven, CT-based Rib-X Pharmaceuticals. The … Continue reading “Former Targanta CEO Leuchtenberger Lands New Gig at Rib-X, Another Antibiotic Company”
Torrey Pines Investment Raises $30 Million Toward $150M Target For Next Fund
Torrey Pines Investment, a San Diego life sciences investment firm with close ties in Russia, has raised $30 million for a second venture fund that is targeting $150 million. Nicolay Savchuk, a Russian-born mathematician and Torrey Pines director, was traveling yesterday and said he was not available to comment on the fund-raising effort, which was … Continue reading “Torrey Pines Investment Raises $30 Million Toward $150M Target For Next Fund”
Bill Gates’s Nuclear Miracle? John Gilleland Says TerraPower Needs Discipline, Not Divine Intervention
John Gilleland’s first day on the job was a little different from most people’s. The nuclear physicist showed up at Intellectual Ventures in Bellevue, WA, and sat down at the conference table with his new boss, CEO Nathan Myhrvold, and another, shall we say prominent, techie. “The guy on my left looked familiar,” Gilleland says. … Continue reading “Bill Gates’s Nuclear Miracle? John Gilleland Says TerraPower Needs Discipline, Not Divine Intervention”
Designing for Sixth Sigma and Lean Sixth Sigma in a Globalized Economy
TechAmerica has organized this event on what local companies are doing to improve their new product development processes to succeed in the intense competition of the global economy. Speakers will share some best practices that make product transfer from engineering to manufacturing successful in San Diego. Registration and continental breakfast begins at 7 a.m. Online … Continue reading “Designing for Sixth Sigma and Lean Sixth Sigma in a Globalized Economy”
So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?
TiE San Diego is presenting an evening with Ashok Rao, a serial entrepreneur with four successful high technology startups. He uses his varied experiences—both entrepreneurial and corporate—to tell us about the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur. Rao also is an accomplished story-teller and filmmaker. He is currently the CEO of Excalibur Pictures and … Continue reading “So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur?”
Dodd Bill Could Render Startups Too Small to Succeed
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn) recently introduced sweeping legislation that aims to rein in the excesses that led large financial institutions to become “too big to fail.” Somewhat ironically, it also has the potential, as one commentator put it, to make startups “too small to succeed.” In the rush to prevent future problems, we risk taking … Continue reading “Dodd Bill Could Render Startups Too Small to Succeed”
Calling All Carriers: Mobile Software Startups Question Relevance of CTIA Wireless Expo
The mobile technology extravaganza known as the International CTIA Wireless Conference starts today in Las Vegas. Many thousands will attend. Keynotes will be given by such luminaries as Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint Nextel; John Stanton of Western Wireless and McCaw Cellular fame (also former CEO of T-Mobile USA); Randall Stephenson, the CEO of … Continue reading “Calling All Carriers: Mobile Software Startups Question Relevance of CTIA Wireless Expo”
SmartCells Receives $1,750,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a17cef74-3b6d-4005-bf62-e2ef0fbc44d8&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2010 Company Name SmartCells Mailing Address 100 Cummings Center Beverly, MA 01915 Company Description SmartInsulin™ consists of a layered, biocompatible and biodegradable polymer-therapeutic that is bound to an engineered glucose-binding molecule. Insulin is released from SmartInsulin only when the therapeutic is unbound by the presence of a specific glucose concentration. … Continue reading “SmartCells Receives $1,750,000 New Financing”