GSI Commerce Acquires Retail Convergence for $350,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=31cc936f-902c-489b-a647-66498d7587fa&Preview=1 Date 10/27/2009 Company Name Retail Convergence Mailing Address 10 Milk St Boston, MA 02108 Company Description Retail Convergence is a newly formed corporation that is comprised of e-commerce companies including SmartBargains.com and RueLaLa.com, which officially launched on April 9th. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $350,000,000 Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “GSI Commerce Acquires Retail Convergence for $350,000,000”

Dilithium Networks Lands $10,900,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c8ab928d-d14f-4f3e-a2f9-177cc584510a&Preview=1 Date 10/27/2009 Company Name Dilithium Networks Mailing Address 5401 Old Redwood Highway Petaluma, CA 94954 Company Description Dilithium Networks is the leader in 3G video telephony solutions for the world’s mobile and broadband industries. Website http://www.dilithiumnetworks.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,900,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “Dilithium Networks Lands $10,900,000 New Funding Round”

Netpulse Secures $3,100,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c5c852d-9697-4c81-a0e0-296d0c57b1c6&Preview=1 Date 10/27/2009 Company Name Netpulse Mailing Address 2331 Third Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Netpulse provides an interactive media platform for fitness centers and active lifestyle consumers. The Netpulse platform enables a customizable entertainment experience that offers live HDTV, on-demand video and music, iPod/iPhone connectivity, personalized workout data and … Continue reading “Netpulse Secures $3,100,000 Series A Financing Round”

ResponseLogix Obtains $5,600,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3b35a8ce-770b-4a15-aa7d-4327557525cd&Preview=1 Date 10/27/2009 Company Name ResponseLogix Mailing Address 932 Hamlin Ct Sunnyvale, CA 94089 Company Description ResponseLogix is a start-up headquartered in Sunnyvale, CA. Our business has been incubated on the premises of Toyota Sunnyvale, a Top-25 Internet dealership. As a result, we have directly experienced the impact of a quick, relevant … Continue reading “ResponseLogix Obtains $5,600,000 New Round”

Cisco Systems Acquires ScanR for $183,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f02fd03b-05a4-45dd-9635-079b2b3d5407&Preview=1 Date 10/27/2009 Company Name ScanR Mailing Address 100 Hamilton Palo Alto, CA 94301 Company Description scanR develops applications that make it easy to capture information using camera phones. scanR’s services are based on proprietary image processing and data refinement technology and are designed to work with any mobile phone platform. Website … Continue reading “Cisco Systems Acquires ScanR for $183,000,000”

Boston-Bred Geothermal Innovator, Foro Energy, Wins Biggest ARPA-E Energy Grant

The list of 37 companies named by the Department of Energy today as grant recipients in the federal government’s first-ever ARPA-E competition contained many local companies, but was topped by a name that virtually no one has heard: Foro Energy. The Littleton, CO, startup is developing a “hybrid thermal/mechanical drilling technology” that could make it … Continue reading “Boston-Bred Geothermal Innovator, Foro Energy, Wins Biggest ARPA-E Energy Grant”

Infinia, Backed by Paul Allen and Vinod Khosla, Raises $3M For Engines of the Sun

Infinia, the Kennewick, WA-based company developing solar-powered engines that generate electricity, has raised $3.25 million in new debt financing as it pushes through the final year before it starts selling its product on the market. The company raised $3.25 million in debt and options out of a total financing round worth as much as $10.5 … Continue reading “Infinia, Backed by Paul Allen and Vinod Khosla, Raises $3M For Engines of the Sun”

Layoffs at GamerDNA

GamerDNA, the Cambridge, MA-based startup building an online community where avid gamers can find recommendations for new games, has cut its staff nearly in half, shrinking from 13 employees to seven, according to a story today in Mass High Tech. Jon Radoff, the company’s founder and CEO, confirmed the layoffs in an e-mail to Xconomy, … Continue reading “Layoffs at GamerDNA”

Axeda Adds $9M from JMI, MMV

Axeda, the Waltham, MA-based startup that makes a cloud-based system for wireless tracking of company assets, announced today that it has completed a $5 million Series B funding round led by JMI Equity of San Diego and Baltimore. At the same time, the company raised $4 million in venture debt from MMV Financial of Toronto.

Five Things Nathan Myhrvold Taught Us About Cooking

He is one of those people who defies description in a few pages, let alone paragraphs. Sure, Nathan Myhrvold is the founder of Microsoft Research and CEO of the Bellevue, WA-based “invention firm” Intellectual Ventures. But besides information technology and business innovation, he’s a renowned expert in such ridiculously diverse fields as astrophysics, mathematics, paleontology, … Continue reading “Five Things Nathan Myhrvold Taught Us About Cooking”

American Well Goes to Well for $10M

American Well, the Boston-based company that provides a Web-based system in use by several large health plans to let their members consult with doctors over the Internet, has raised $10 million in new equity funding, according to a regulatory filing today. The documents don’t name the funders in the round, continuing the company’s track record … Continue reading “American Well Goes to Well for $10M”

Qualcomm Forms New Subsidiary to Keep Pace With Open Software Development

San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) says it has established a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, Qualcomm Innovation Center, (QuIC), to ensure that certain open source software operates seamlessly with Qualcomm technology. The company says it has transferred experienced software engineers to the innovation center, where they will focus on open source initiatives such as Linux and Webkit, … Continue reading “Qualcomm Forms New Subsidiary to Keep Pace With Open Software Development”

FloDesign, Five Other Local Organizations Win Multimillion-Dollar ARPA-E Awards

The Department of Energy this morning announced that FloDesign Wind Turbine of Wilbraham, MA, and five other Massachusetts startups and laboratories are among the 37 companies and organizations awarded research and development grants under the department’s new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program. FloDesign has tentatively been awarded $8,325,400 to advance its research on radical … Continue reading “FloDesign, Five Other Local Organizations Win Multimillion-Dollar ARPA-E Awards”

Bezos, Spark Invest $7M in Aviary

Boston-based Spark Capital has led a $7 million Series B investment in Aviary, a creative design software startup based in Long Island, NY. Bezos Expeditions, the Seattle-based investment firm of Jeff Bezos from Amazon, participated in the round as an existing investor. Aviary makes cloud-based software for graphic design, audio editing, and other digital creation … Continue reading “Bezos, Spark Invest $7M in Aviary”

BioAssets Inks $30M Option Deal

Frazer, PA-based Cephalon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CEPH]]) has agreed to pay $30 million for an option to acquire BioAssets Development Corporation, a Wellesley, MA-based company investigating spinal uses for existing and experimental drugs, according to a press release. Under the terms of the agreement, BioAssets will be eligible for an additional payment if Cephalon exercises the option, … Continue reading “BioAssets Inks $30M Option Deal”

NetProspex Nets $2 Million

NetProspex, a three-year-old Waltham, MA-based startup that provides marketers with sales leads using contact information contributed by users, has completed a new equity financing round led by American City Business Journals of North Carolina, the startup announced on Friday. Mass High Tech—which, along with the Boston Business Journal, is part of the American City Business … Continue reading “NetProspex Nets $2 Million”

VC Task Force Looks to Expand Early-Stage Capital, MojoPages Gets Strategy Advice, Founder Institute Enrolls First Area Class, & More San Diego BizTech News

Much of last week’s San Diego business news involved venture capital—how much VC cash was recently invested in this area, and how the local tech community is working to get more. Read on, gentle reader, for all the VC wranglings and the rest of the biz tech happenings: —The decline in San Diego-based venture capital … Continue reading “VC Task Force Looks to Expand Early-Stage Capital, MojoPages Gets Strategy Advice, Founder Institute Enrolls First Area Class, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Kendall Square Adopts a Motto: “The Future Lives Here”

There is arguably no other place on Earth with the concentrated innovation power of Kendall Square. Within a few-block radius of the Kendall Square T station on Main Street on the edge of the MIT campus, you can find an unprecedented collection of startups, large company labs and offices, and non-profit organizations, from the One … Continue reading “Kendall Square Adopts a Motto: “The Future Lives Here””

ZymoGenetics’ Former Medical Boss Leads Rival Startup, ProFibrix, With Drug For Bleeding

One of the key people who transformed ZymoGenetics from a basic research institute into a more balanced biotech company with both R and D, has set up shop in a rival startup just a few blocks away on Seattle’s Eastlake Avenue. If he plays his cards right, this little company will surpass his former employer, … Continue reading “ZymoGenetics’ Former Medical Boss Leads Rival Startup, ProFibrix, With Drug For Bleeding”

Microsoft and Its Competitors Still In Search of Mainstream User Base for Personal Health Records

Microsoft hasn’t yet attracted the millions of patients it would like to its personal health data service, HealthVault, says Peter Neupert, corporate vice president of the company’s Health Solutions Group. Though HealthVault and other products like Google Health that enable patients to store their health information online are free and available to anyone with Internet … Continue reading “Microsoft and Its Competitors Still In Search of Mainstream User Base for Personal Health Records”

Burnham Recruits Michael Jackson (No Relation) To Create New Drugs

The Burnham Institute for Medical Research just recruited a big name guy from the pharmaceutical industry. His job is to move basic discoveries along the treacherous next few steps to make them into a pill in a bottle that helps patients. It’s important work, but if you don’t know him, don’t even bother trying to … Continue reading “Burnham Recruits Michael Jackson (No Relation) To Create New Drugs”

Axeda Corporation Garners $9,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9ac9f1a5-8feb-4e11-948b-4c5a2003d4b2&Preview=1 Date 10/26/2009 Company Name Axeda Corporation Mailing Address 25 Forbes Boulevard Foxboro, MA 02035 Company Description Axeda’s products and services are designed with one purpose in mind: to enable you to get the maximum results out of your remote service initiative. We work with you to understand your business goals, and … Continue reading “Axeda Corporation Garners $9,000,000 Series B Round”

NetProspex Obtains $2,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=075e328c-abd4-4641-97ce-5d26f06b3fa9&Preview=1 Date 10/26/2009 Company Name NetProspex Mailing Address 318 Bear Hill Road Waltham, ME 02451 Company Description Get accurate, targeted contacts for your sales and marketing needs. Find the right person, or people, at a target company who will respond to your message. NetProspex was founded with the mission to provide leads … Continue reading “NetProspex Obtains $2,000,000 New Round”

IngBoo Obtains $800,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=974841ae-f147-41c2-a261-7cd39564135a&Preview=1 Date 10/26/2009 Company Name IngBoo Mailing Address 440 North Wolfe Road Sunnyvale, CA 94084 Company Description IngBoo is an online marketplace for information updates-where consumers receive timely updates on relevant topics and web publishers compete effectively for consumer attention. We facilitate the most productive business-to-consumer relationship with a pioneering solution that … Continue reading “IngBoo Obtains $800,000 New Round”

PacketMotion Receives $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5fa9ce8c-b887-4542-a427-82e80b80da2b&Preview=1 Date 10/26/2009 Company Name PacketMotion Mailing Address 110 Baytech Drive 2nd Floor San Jose, CA 95134 Company Description PacketMotion is the developer of the industry’s first security appliance that gives businesses the ability to see user activity inside their networks as it happens, allowing them to identify improper actions in real … Continue reading “PacketMotion Receives $5,000,000 Series B Financing Round”

Unity Technologies Receives $5,500,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=33221937-adf2-4859-8feb-c4702dbeea1d&Preview=1 Date 10/26/2009 Company Name Unity Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed San Francisco, CA 94101 Company Description Unity is all about technology that’s both uniquely usable and extremely powerful. Focusing on clear interplay of features and functionality – from your perspective. As a company we are all about building that technology, driving it … Continue reading “Unity Technologies Receives $5,500,000 Series A Financing”

Watercooler Garners $5,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=33c182d4-5ddd-43fe-b428-df4fc4970e4e&Preview=1 Date 10/25/2009 Company Name Watercooler Mailing Address 153 Castro St. 3rd Floor Mountain View, CA 94041 Company Description The Watercooler platform enables fans to connect with other fans in entertainment and sports communities inside their favorite social networks: Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and Friendster. Website http://www.watercooler-inc.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Watercooler Garners $5,500,000 New Funding”

Internet Archive Opens 1.6 Million E-Books to Kids with OLPC Laptops

[Updated 10/24/09 5:30 p.m. with additional interview material] All 1.6 million books digitized so far by the Internet Archive, the San Francisco-based non-profit dedicated to the universal sharing of knowledge, will be available free to children around the world who have laptops built by the Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation (OLPC), Internet Archive … Continue reading “Internet Archive Opens 1.6 Million E-Books to Kids with OLPC Laptops”

Senomyx Ready to Commercialize Sweetness Enhancer

Senomyx (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNMX]]), the San Diego company using biotechnology to develop proprietary flavor enhancers and blockers, says that S6973, a compound it has been developing to enhance the intensity of sucrose, can now be commercialized. In a statement today, Senomyx says it has learned that an expert panel that operates under the auspices of the Flavor … Continue reading “Senomyx Ready to Commercialize Sweetness Enhancer”

SDG&E Installing Pyron Solar System

San Diego Gas & Electric, a public utility operated by San Diego-based Sempra Energy (NYSE: [[ticker:SRE]]), says it is planning an 18-month field demonstration of a solar power system that floats in a shallow pool of water. When operational later this year, the 20-kilowatt system developed by San Diego’s Pyron Solar is expected to generate … Continue reading “SDG&E Installing Pyron Solar System”

McKinstry to Build Cleantech Incubator

Seattle-based McKinstry, the construction, consulting, and energy firm, announced today it is developing an innovation center for new and emerging cleantech and green energy startups. The 24,000-square-foot incubator will be housed at McKinstry headquarters in Seattle’s Georgetown neighborhood, and is slated to be finished in the spring of 2010.

Three Recently Acquired Seattle Startups, and How Their Founders Are Faring

Working for the man. It’s what most entrepreneurs want to avoid at all costs. But if their startup gets bought by a big company, that’s often just what happens—at least for a while. Although the acquisitions market for tech startups has been relatively soft during the recession, there have been a few recent local examples … Continue reading “Three Recently Acquired Seattle Startups, and How Their Founders Are Faring”

Reactions to President Obama’s Energy Speech from Boston Technology Leaders

Xconomy didn’t score a ticket to President Obama’s speech on clean energy at MIT today, so we can’t bring you a first-hand report. But we’ve got something that’s arguably even better: perspectives from a range of local community members who were inside MIT’s Kresge Auditorium for the speech, which took place at about 12:45 p.m. … Continue reading “Reactions to President Obama’s Energy Speech from Boston Technology Leaders”

Classes Set as Founder Institute’s “Training Camp for Startup CEOs” Launches in San Diego

The Founder Institute’s program for startup CEOs is forging ahead in San Diego, according to Jeanine Jacobson, who is heading the new business mentoring program with fellow startup enthusiast Cliff Currie. Jacobson tells me they have received about 30 applications for their training camp in entrepreneurship, and 15 have met the selection criteria so far. Jacobson … Continue reading “Classes Set as Founder Institute’s “Training Camp for Startup CEOs” Launches in San Diego”

TechStars Event in Seattle to Draw Top VCs and Angel Investors

TechStars, the startup incubation and seed investment fund based in Boulder, CO, and Boston (as of this year), is holding its annual reunion event in Seattle on November 4. (See a couple of local VC blogs here and here.) As part of the event, a number of TechStars companies that are raising money will make … Continue reading “TechStars Event in Seattle to Draw Top VCs and Angel Investors”

Biogen Shares Drop as Tysabri PML Cases Climb to 23, Europe May Seek Drug ‘Holiday’

[Update: 10/23/09, 1:10 pm Eastern] Shares of Biogen Idec and its Irish partner Elan dropped this morning after European regulators said they are taking a new look at the risk and benefit of natalizumab (Tysabri) for multiple sclerosis, now that 23 patients on the drug have been diagnosed with a rare, potentially fatal brain infection … Continue reading “Biogen Shares Drop as Tysabri PML Cases Climb to 23, Europe May Seek Drug ‘Holiday’”

Wind Power Holdings Aims to Raise $45M

[Corrected 3:35 p.m 10/23/09] Wind Power Holdings, the parent company of Barre, VT-based wind turbine developer Northern Power Systems, intends to raise $45 million in a new private equity offering, according to regulatory documents filed October 21. [A previous version of this news brief stated that the company had already raised the funds; in fact … Continue reading “Wind Power Holdings Aims to Raise $45M”

Spread the Mojo: San Diego Web Startup MojoPages Gets Real World Advice on Building Communities to Review Local Businesses

One advantage of attending a presentation at the San Diego MIT Enterprise Forum is that the people who ask questions are a lot smarter than I am. And so it was Wednesday night, when MojoPages founding CEO Jon Carder laid out the strategy of his three-year-old San Diego Internet startup. MojoPages, which got $5 million … Continue reading “Spread the Mojo: San Diego Web Startup MojoPages Gets Real World Advice on Building Communities to Review Local Businesses”

A Report from Boston’s First “Big Data Summit”

The first meeting of the Boston Big Data Summit was held yesterday. Since the announcement on October 2, the event has had a great reception. Just over a hundred people attended, with an almost even split between “end users” and “vendors.” By a significant margin, the vendors were entrepreneurs or self described “startup types.” Many … Continue reading “A Report from Boston’s First “Big Data Summit””

Tim Berners-Lee Joins Twitter

The inventor of the World Wide Web has arrived, somewhat belatedly, in the Twitterverse. Tim Berners-Lee, head of the Cambridge, MA-based World Wide Web Consortium, set up a Twitter account shortly before making an appearance at O’Reilly Media’s Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco yesterday. Normally it wouldn’t be news when Twitter gains a new … Continue reading “Tim Berners-Lee Joins Twitter”

President Obama Speaks on Clean Energy Today at MIT; Here’s How to Watch

[Update, 12:05 p.m., 10/23/09: The time for President Obama’s speech has been pushed back to 12:25 p.m., according to the White House. It appears that MIT’s video servers are being overwhelmed by traffic; if you want to watch the speech online, we recommend trying the White House’s own live video stream.] When Air Force One … Continue reading “President Obama Speaks on Clean Energy Today at MIT; Here’s How to Watch”

Big Connected Health Symposium: What Video Games, Social Networking, and Other Tech Innovations Are Doing for Healthcare

Partners HealthCare’s Center for Connected Health is holding its sixth big Connected Health Symposium in Boston this week, and there’s definitely more optimism here that information technology is becoming more mainstream in healthcare than in years past. The big focus of the conference is on technology that is used to extend healthcare outside of traditional … Continue reading “Big Connected Health Symposium: What Video Games, Social Networking, and Other Tech Innovations Are Doing for Healthcare”

HubSpot Spots $16M, Synageva BioPharma Secures $12M, Currensee Sews Up $6M, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Lots of venture news this week, with more than the usual number of software and Web companies making appearances. —Flexion Therapeutics raised $33 million in a Series A round led by Versant Ventures and joined by 5AM Ventures and Sofinnova Partners. The Woburn, MA-based startup believes it can cut the shepherd drugs from early development … Continue reading “HubSpot Spots $16M, Synageva BioPharma Secures $12M, Currensee Sews Up $6M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Neuros Medical Obtains $8,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=511e41f1-759f-46ec-92c3-3ddf73b10920&Preview=1 Date 10/23/2009 Company Name Neuros Medical Mailing Address 4230 Route 306 Willoughby, OH 44094 Company Description Neuros Medical is focused on developing neurostimulation therapies for unmet needs to patients worldwide. The Company’s platform technology, Nerve Block, provides patients with elimination of chronic pain and spasticity in a variety of applications including … Continue reading “Neuros Medical Obtains $8,000,000 Series A Funding”

Google, Bing, VCs, and Startups on One Stage: Xconomy Forum to Tackle the Future of Search

Search is hot again. Just when you thought Google had it all figured out, the Internet landscape has changed. Microsoft’s Bing has debuted to a generally positive reception, and signaled that the search war is far from over. The rise of Twitter and social media has spawned intense competition in the emerging field of “real-time … Continue reading “Google, Bing, VCs, and Startups on One Stage: Xconomy Forum to Tackle the Future of Search”

Xconomy Forum: The Future of Search and Information Discovery **SOLD OUT**

Search is hot again. Just when you thought Google had it all figured out, the landscape has changed. Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, has debuted to a generally positive reception, and signaled that the game is far from over. The rise of Twitter and social media has spawned intense competition in the new field of “real-time … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: The Future of Search and Information Discovery **SOLD OUT**”

Influenza: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Global Health 101

The Seattle Biomedical Research Institute is planning to host an event titled “Influenza: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow?” as part of its Global Health 101 series of events. The event will be moderated by SBRI board chair Todd Patrick, and will feature some of the region’s top infectious disease researchers, including Alan Aderem of the Institute … Continue reading “Influenza: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? Global Health 101”

Delve Wins Keiretsu Angel Capital Prize

Seattle-based Delve Networks won the “best presenting company” award from the attendees of the first annual Angel Capital Expo, hosted by Keiretsu Forum Northwest on Tuesday. More than a dozen companies across different fields presented to investors, including Humanity Interactive, Iverson Genetic Diagnostics, and Exro Technologies. Delve Networks started in 2006 (formerly called Pluggd) and … Continue reading “Delve Wins Keiretsu Angel Capital Prize”

San Diego Connect’s 22nd Annual Most Innovative Products Awards

Winners of the 2009 Most Innovative Products, San Diego’s “Oscars” for local technology innovation, will be announced before 800 of the area’s top executives, entrepreneurs, service providers and academics. Finalists have been selected in eight categories from entries submitted by more than 100 companies of all sizes. The finalists’ exhibits open at 10 a.m. More … Continue reading “San Diego Connect’s 22nd Annual Most Innovative Products Awards”