Billerica, MA-based NEXX Systems, a manufacturer of semiconductor equipment, has filed for an initial public offering that could be worth as much as $42 million. The filing lists the company’s top stakeholders as Enterprise Partners, Sigma Partners, and NEXX chairman Richard Post. Canaccord Adams and CIBC will co-lead the undewriting for the IPO; the price and … Continue reading “NEXX Systems Files for IPO”
Excelimmune Raises $1M
Excelimmune, a Woburn, MA developer of human antibody-based therapies, announced that it has raised $1 million in Series B funding from a group of existing and new investors. The funding will go to research for its first drug candidate, Staphguard, designed to treat methicillin-resistant staph infections. Greenheart was the sole investor in Excelimmune’s 2007 Series A … Continue reading “Excelimmune Raises $1M”
ARC Energy Raises $5M
Advanced RenewableEnergy Company, a Nashua, NH maker of equipment for growing and processing the sapphire crystals used in LEDs, has raised $5 million of a $10 million equity round, according to an SEC filing. The filing lists Hemant Taneja, managing director of Cambridge, MA-based General Catalyst Partners, as a director of the stealthy ARC Energy.
Xconomy Forum: San Diego Life Sciences 2030
San Diego biotech has taken its share of lumps lately, but beyond the next quarter or next year, what kind of life sciences potential really exists here? What will the San Diego life sciences landscape look like 20 years from now? Will the region have grown as a world leader in university and corporate research, … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: San Diego Life Sciences 2030”
Zafgen Plans Weight-Loss Study, Infinity CEO Perkins Plans for Growth, Boston Scientific Cuts 1000+ Jobs, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
This week we’ve got another crop of great interviews with the founders and executives of some of New England’s most fascinating life sciences companies. —Zafgen CEO Tom Hughes filled Luke in on his Cambridge, MA-based startup’s plans to begin human tests of its anti-obesity drug, which the company hopes will be the first drug to … Continue reading “Zafgen Plans Weight-Loss Study, Infinity CEO Perkins Plans for Growth, Boston Scientific Cuts 1000+ Jobs, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Paragon Lake, Out to Ring in a New Era of Jewelry Customization, Changes Name to Gemvara and Shifts Focus to the Web
Paragon Lake, a jewelry virtualization and customization company, is looking to add a new layer of sparkle to its business. It’s renaming itself Gemvara and revamping its business model to to focus on allowing customers to personalize jewelry pieces directly from their own computers and not from computer stations inside retail stores as it had … Continue reading “Paragon Lake, Out to Ring in a New Era of Jewelry Customization, Changes Name to Gemvara and Shifts Focus to the Web”
The First Rule of FounderDating, and More Takeaways from the Group’s First Seattle Event
The next big startup out of Seattle might have been conceived on the top floor of the Washington Athletic Club this past Tuesday. That’s where 35 carefully selected tech entrepreneurs and business people gathered over drinks and light appetizers for the first-ever FounderDating session in Seattle. The idea, as we reported on a couple weeks … Continue reading “The First Rule of FounderDating, and More Takeaways from the Group’s First Seattle Event”
Why Biomedical Jobs Are Recession Resilient
Biomedical employment has held remarkably steady in San Diego and throughout California, even though other parts of our economy saw steep declines and the highest unemployment levels since the Great Depression. That was the top-line finding of the 2010 California Biomedical Industry Report, just released by the California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers. San Diego … Continue reading “Why Biomedical Jobs Are Recession Resilient”
Why Biotech Innovators Are Beating a Path to Seattle
As the life sciences sector continues to navigate the changing seas of innovation in the new economy, we’ve trained our gaze toward a few beacons. Seattle and the Pacific Northwest have become a light shining on the horizon. In March, the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association and Burrill & Company will together present Life Science … Continue reading “Why Biotech Innovators Are Beating a Path to Seattle”
The $14.99 E-Book: Publishing’s Salvation, Or Just the Last Nail in the Coffin?
Last summer, when the UK National Portrait Gallery and the Wikimedia Foundation got into a kerfuffle over whether the foundation had the right to copy thousands of the gallery’s high-resolution digital images to the Wikimedia site without paying, I wrote that the foundation may have been within its rights, since the original portraits are in … Continue reading “The $14.99 E-Book: Publishing’s Salvation, Or Just the Last Nail in the Coffin?”
ARC Energy Lands $5,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=044b5b36-2e26-403f-97ad-d27a669e50e8&Preview=1 Date 2/12/2010 Company Name ARC Energy Mailing Address 144 Clay Ave San Francisco, CA 94080 Company Description The Advanced RenewableEnergy Company, LLC (ARC Energy), was founded in 2007 to enable commercialization of cutting edge solid state lighting technologies. ARC Energy is developing highly automated turn-key sapphire crystal growth and processing equipment … Continue reading “ARC Energy Lands $5,000,000 New Round”
Verdezyne Raises $9M
Carlsbad, CA-based Verdezyne, an industrial biotechnology company developing methods for using yeast to make industrial chemicals, has raised $9 million in an ongoing $15.2 million venture round, according to spokeswoman Risa Goldman Burgess. She said today the funding is being used to validate technology, which Verdezyne recently disclosed, for making adipic acid, a key feedstock … Continue reading “Verdezyne Raises $9M”
Seattle Applying for Google Fiber Network
Seattle mayor Mike McGinn announced today that the city will respond to Google’s request for information from communities across the U.S. that want to partner with Google to build ultra-high-speed fiber broadband networks. The experimental idea is to connect homes to the Internet via ultra-fast fiber optics (100 times faster than a conventional broadband network), … Continue reading “Seattle Applying for Google Fiber Network”
RealNetworks Acting CEO Bob Kimball Speaks on Rebuilding the Company, Transforming the Culture, and Spinning Off Music and Games
In today’s RealNetworks earnings call, we heard from president and acting CEO Bob Kimball for the first time. Kimball recently took over from founder Rob Glaser, who stepped down as CEO a month ago. Kimball originally joined RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]) in 1999 and served for 10-plus years as the senior executive responsible for all legal … Continue reading “RealNetworks Acting CEO Bob Kimball Speaks on Rebuilding the Company, Transforming the Culture, and Spinning Off Music and Games”
Shutdown Reported at Veoh Networks, Backed by Boston’s Spark Capital and Other VCs
The lights are on, but is anybody left at Veoh Networks? We’re seeing multiple accounts of sweeping layoffs at Veoh, the San Diego-based Internet TV service, with several citing a report by Media Memo’s Peter Kafka, who says a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation is expected soon. I sent a quick e-mail to Veoh CEO Dmitry … Continue reading “Shutdown Reported at Veoh Networks, Backed by Boston’s Spark Capital and Other VCs”
Cadence Pharmaceuticals’ Pain Reliever Handed Second Regulatory Setback
Cadence Pharmaceuticals’ plans to market an intravenous form of acetaminophen received another regulatory setback today. The FDA told the San Diego-based company that it could not approve the drug because of manufacturing problems at a plant where the drug is made. The company’s shares dove nearly nine percent to close at $9.46. Cadence (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CADX]]) … Continue reading “Cadence Pharmaceuticals’ Pain Reliever Handed Second Regulatory Setback”
An Innovations Agenda for Massachusetts
Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Gregory Bialecki will discuss aspects of his agenda to fuel innovation in the state, at this Rappaport Institute of Greater Boston event. He’s previously announced initiatives to support startups at all stages, from marketing to funding, and will reveal some of the preliminary results of these moves, as … Continue reading “An Innovations Agenda for Massachusetts”
The Geography of Innovation: Why Do Clusters of Entrepreneurs Exist in Some Areas and Not in Others?
Ever wonder why certain cities seem to attract and nurture innovation and others simply don’t? Economist Edward Glaeser will look at how entrepreneurs are influenced by and in turn influence local economies, and what role regional policy plays in that cycle, at this lecture put on by the Rappaport Institute of Greater Boston at Harvard’s … Continue reading “The Geography of Innovation: Why Do Clusters of Entrepreneurs Exist in Some Areas and Not in Others?”
“International M&A’s: Seizing Strategic Opportunities in 2010”
This panel, put on by the Boston chapter of the International Executive Resources Group, explores how companies can position themselves in a climate of mergers and acquisition, and benefit from global partnerships. Registration is free, but limited to business professionals.
Envision Solar Reveals Move to Become Public Company
San Diego architect (and Xconomist) Bob Noble says that Envision Solar, the solar development firm that he founded in 2005, will soon begin trading shares over the counter after completing a reverse merger with a dormant public company. He announced the move at a reception held last night for about 75 friends and colleagues, which … Continue reading “Envision Solar Reveals Move to Become Public Company”
CEO Christian Chabot on Tableau Software’s New Consumer App for Making Data Social
“I make the bold claim that this will be of interest to anyone who posts content online,” says Christian Chabot, the co-founder and chief executive of Seattle-based Tableau Software. We were talking recently about his company’s big move into consumer software, which was just announced today. “The target is really bloggers, journalists, writers, critics, researchers, … Continue reading “CEO Christian Chabot on Tableau Software’s New Consumer App for Making Data Social”
CloudSwitch Details Plans to Bridge Corporate Data Centers, Cloud Resources
Doing your business computing on cloud systems owned by companies like Amazon sounds like a great idea, on the surface of it. Who wouldn’t want to rent computing resources just for the time they’re needed, rather than shelling out for expensive on-premises equipment that might sit idle half of the time? The problem is that … Continue reading “CloudSwitch Details Plans to Bridge Corporate Data Centers, Cloud Resources”
HBS Alumni Club Cleantech Panel & Intro to Ignite Clean Energy Competition
This is the unofficial kickoff for the Ignite Clean Energy (ICE) business plan competition (the more formal launch is later this month). The evening starts with the Harvard Business School Alumni’s 3rd annual Cleantech Panel, where investors and industry experts will give an outlook on jobs and opportunities in the clean energy space. The ICE … Continue reading “HBS Alumni Club Cleantech Panel & Intro to Ignite Clean Energy Competition”
Announcing Mass Mobile Month: A Celebration of New England Mobile Innovation in March 2010
Ever wondered how “official” events like National Poetry Month or National Corndog Day or International Talk Like a Pirate Day get started? We did too. Turns out all you have to do is get some people together and make a declaration. So that’s what we’re doing. In recognition of the fact that there’s an unusually … Continue reading “Announcing Mass Mobile Month: A Celebration of New England Mobile Innovation in March 2010”
Halozyme Pursues Anti-Cellulite Drug, Optimer’s Antibiotic Kills C. Difficile Germs, Tragara Pharmaceuticals Raises Funds & More San Diego Life Sciences News
There was a steady flow of drug development and funding news from San Diego’s life sciences industry over the past week. Here are the highlights. —Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) CFO Kurt Gustafson talked with me about the experimental anti-cellulite drug that company is testing in preclinical studies. —Connect, a non-profit that supports local technology and … Continue reading “Halozyme Pursues Anti-Cellulite Drug, Optimer’s Antibiotic Kills C. Difficile Germs, Tragara Pharmaceuticals Raises Funds & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Happy 2010: Bay State Startups Ring in the New Year with $355M in January Venture Funding
Apparently, Massachusetts venture investors aren’t like most American consumers in January, when purse strings tighten and spending comes to a halt following the previous month’s holiday shopping excesses. By contrast, they significantly upped their investments in the state’s tech and life sciences startups, investing $355.2 million across 28 equity deals, according to information provided by … Continue reading “Happy 2010: Bay State Startups Ring in the New Year with $355M in January Venture Funding”
SinglePoint Buys M2Junction, Wants to Become Mobile Advertising Leader in India
Bellevue, WA-based SinglePoint, a mobile messaging software company, announced today it has acquired M2Junction, a leading mobile advertising startup based in Hyderabad, India. Financial terms of the deal weren’t given. The move should make it easier for SinglePoint to connect with and sell its services to content publishers, mobile operators, brands, and ad agencies in … Continue reading “SinglePoint Buys M2Junction, Wants to Become Mobile Advertising Leader in India”
Former CombinatoRx CEO Alexis Borisy Lands at Third Rock Ventures, Launches New Startup
Alexis Borisy is back in company-building mode. The former CEO of the drug developer CombinatoRx tells Xconomy that he has joined Third Rock Ventures in Boston as an entrepreneur in residence—and he’s already at the helm of a secretive new life sciences firm called Foundation Medicine. Borisy gave few details on the startup, other than … Continue reading “Former CombinatoRx CEO Alexis Borisy Lands at Third Rock Ventures, Launches New Startup”
Ready, Set, Go Public—The 10 Things You Need to Do Now
The IPO market is open for business. The IPO market window has slammed shut. Which is it? Unless your IPO is pricing in the next week or two, it doesn’t matter. The reality is that IPO planning typically takes six to 12 months. If you hope to go public in the next year-and want to … Continue reading “Ready, Set, Go Public—The 10 Things You Need to Do Now”
Excelimmune Garners $1,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d04ce05b-dd4a-48d0-88d1-66d664ee97e3&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Excelimmune Mailing Address 12-B Cabot Road Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description Excelimmune Inc., based in Cambridge, is a biotechnology company developing therapuetic applications of human recombinant polyclonal antibodies. Website http://www.excelimmune.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds from the financing … Continue reading “Excelimmune Garners $1,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
WebVisible Receives $20,000,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=524517b4-4779-4f38-93e6-6a70428f7ca8&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name WebVisible Mailing Address 121 Innovation Drive Irvine, CA 92617 Company Description That local business owners are too busy minding their stores to successfully navigate the complexities of buying and managing their own online advertising, whether pay-per-click, banner ads, call-based solutions or ROI measurement tools. WebVisible solves this … Continue reading “WebVisible Receives $20,000,000 Series C Financing”
Zenverge Secures New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fdf7b967-c26b-4306-a80d-7d00b9570a97&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Zenverge Mailing Address 10181 Bubb Road Cupertino, CA 95014 Company Description Zenverge makes media integrated circuits that are used in devices like HD televisions, Blu-ray players and PCs. Website http://www.zenverge.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The financing will support production … Continue reading “Zenverge Secures New Financing”
Mixpanel Lands $500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=73415e2f-268f-4ec2-8d32-e9f71d4ff41e&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Mixpanel Mailing Address 507 Central Ave Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Mixpanel is a real-time analytics service that helps companies understand how users interact with web applications. Website http://www.mixpanel.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Mixpanel Lands $500,000 New Funding Round”
Calisolar Garners $20,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d47e754-a616-42b9-9f91-fbc60e867803&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Calisolar Mailing Address 985 Almanor Ave Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description CaliSolar is a photovoltaic (PV) company that designs, patents, manufactures and markets solar cells in high volumes for the largest segments of the PV industry. Website http://www.calisolar.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Calisolar Garners $20,000,000 New Funding Round”
1BOG Lands $5,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8434a5ef-5a67-41d3-a156-ffa6d44ec9cd&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name 1BOG Mailing Address 164 South Park San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Our goal is to provide information you need to decide if solar is right for your home. We try to keep it simple so you’re not overwhelmed with too many technical details. Website http://www.1BOG.org Transaction … Continue reading “1BOG Lands $5,000,000 Series A Round”
Zynga Game Network Acquires Serious Business for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a513be0f-8203-408a-a81f-07d013d5830e&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Serious Business Mailing Address 649 Mission St San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Serious Business leverages the core competencies of our world renowned team to create revolutionary new synergies which tap in to blue ocean markets in the social platform mashup internets. Serious Business will forever redefine … Continue reading “Zynga Game Network Acquires Serious Business for Undisclosed Sum”
Google Acquires Aardvark for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f100a32c-9c83-4465-bf73-27b447efbb71&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Aardvark Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94100 Company Description Aardvark is easy: just send Aardvark a question in plain English, like you do when talking to a friend. Aardvark figures out who might be able to answer, and asks on your behalf — Aardvark is the … Continue reading “Google Acquires Aardvark for Undisclosed Sum”
Dell Acquires Kace Networks for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c1e8f1ab-a7d9-40eb-b2d9-a7fc5b8b174f&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name Kace Networks Mailing Address 1616 North Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description KACE, a privately-held technology company, is the leader in IT automation appliances. Our KBOX product line delivers easy-to-use, comprehensive IT automation appliances that are affordable and really work. Website http://www.kace.com Transaction Type M&A … Continue reading “Dell Acquires Kace Networks for Undisclosed Sum”
TuneSat Secures $975,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b612c03f-f1a0-42e7-a950-1c7911232911&Preview=1 Date 2/11/2010 Company Name TuneSat Mailing Address 1650 Broadway New York, NY 10019 Company Description Do you know where your music is being broadcast? TuneSat does… We are listening. Whether you’re a composer, publisher, artist, or record label, tracking the use of and protecting your copyrighted music has been nearly impossible … Continue reading “TuneSat Secures $975,000 New Funding”
A Good Start? WA Companies Raised $57M in January, Up from $22M in Previous Month
Last month, companies based in Washington state raised a total of about $57 million in venture capital, in eight deals. That’s up from about $22 million in December 2009 (four companies), and $44 million (10 companies) in the month before that. The VC stats are courtesy of private company intelligence platform CB Insights. See the … Continue reading “A Good Start? WA Companies Raised $57M in January, Up from $22M in Previous Month”
Lifevantage Raises $2.6 Million
Lifevantage (OTCBB: [[ticker:LFVN]]), a San Diego-based nutraceuticals company, raised $2.6 million of a $5 million securities offering that included debt and options, warrants or other rights to acquire another security, according to a regulatory filing. The filing didn’t say how the funds would be used.
Boston Scientific Cutting up to 1,300 Jobs
Boston Scientific, the Natick, MA-based medical devices giant, says today that it plans to cut 1,000 to 1,300 employees or 8 percent to 10 percent of its total work force, as part of a company-wide restructuring initiative. The company (NYSE:[[ticker:BSX]]) expects pre-tax charges of $180 million to $200 million from the layoffs and restructuring plans, … Continue reading “Boston Scientific Cutting up to 1,300 Jobs”
Propel Fuels Gets Cash for CA Expansion
Propel Fuels, the alternative fuel company founded in Seattle but now based in Sacramento, CA, announced today it has raised $12 million in Series C equity financing led by new investor Craton Equity Partners, along with $8 million in debt financing. Previous investors Nth Power and @Ventures also participated in the equity round. The money … Continue reading “Propel Fuels Gets Cash for CA Expansion”
Boston Beats Seattle for Hospitality, At Least for Heavy Metal Techies
We were really stoked when we received the e-mail from Greg asking if we’d be interested in playing at the Boston Xconomy Battle of the Tech Bands. We had a great time at the Seattle battle, but we really thought that was the end of a fun gig… Traveling out to Boston to play a … Continue reading “Boston Beats Seattle for Hospitality, At Least for Heavy Metal Techies”
Veolia Energy Buys Comfort Link
Veolia Energy North America, a Boston-based company that provides “district energy” or centralized heating, cooling, and power generation for 1,100 government and industry customers, said today that it has acquired Comfort Link of Baltimore, MD. Formerly a partnership between Baltimore Gas and Electric and Monumental Investment Corporation, Comfort Link uses an 11-mile network of chilled … Continue reading “Veolia Energy Buys Comfort Link”
Wind Power Industry Convenes in San Diego Amid Howls Over Which Way Stimulus Funds Are Blowing
The movers and shakers in wind power are gathering in San Diego this week for what some renewable energy advocates view as the U.S. industry’s most important annual meeting—the Wind Power Finance & Investment Summit. They may be in for a chilly reception, though, with recent news accounts that foreign energy companies have been reaping … Continue reading “Wind Power Industry Convenes in San Diego Amid Howls Over Which Way Stimulus Funds Are Blowing”
Genzyme and Isis Report Positive Results for Cholesterol-Lowering Drug, Liver Safety Issue Lingers
[Updated 2/10/10 12:15 pm. See below] Genzyme and Isis Pharmaceuticals are making progress in the clinic with their cholesterol-lowering therapy mipomersen, a major potential moneymaker for both firms. Today the companies, which are collaborating on the development of the drug, report that the treatment significantly lowered the cholesterol of patients with a rare condition called … Continue reading “Genzyme and Isis Report Positive Results for Cholesterol-Lowering Drug, Liver Safety Issue Lingers”
Join Xconomy on March 9 as We Come to Grips with the Mad Pace of Change in Mobile Computing
When people started lugging around the first brick-sized, 2G mobile phones in the late 1980s, I said to myself, “Eventually, those will be small enough and cheap enough that everyone will have one.” And what do you know—by 1999 I was carrying around a slim little Nokia candybar phone. When the Enterprise crew started using … Continue reading “Join Xconomy on March 9 as We Come to Grips with the Mad Pace of Change in Mobile Computing”
As Advertisers Expand Online, Covario Adds Web-Based Tools to Measure Their Success
A new generation of corporate marketing executives was in attendance last week when San Diego-based Covario convened its fourth annual corporate partners conference at the downtown Hard Rock Hotel. As a rock band jammed onstage, the gathering crowd included JP Morgan Chase’s vice president of search governance, Amgen’s senior marketing manager for oncology, and the … Continue reading “As Advertisers Expand Online, Covario Adds Web-Based Tools to Measure Their Success”
PatientsLikeMe Growing as Pharma Customers Boost Focus on Patients
There’s a quilt hanging on the wall at PatientsLikeMe, made with different patches of fabric from members of the firm’s online community of multiple sclerosis patients. “We have it hanging in our office because it represents so much of what our site is about—individual experiences that, when pulled together, give you a very powerful collective … Continue reading “PatientsLikeMe Growing as Pharma Customers Boost Focus on Patients”