Nuclea Biotechnologies, the Pittsfield, MA-based developer of genomic tests for cancer research, has raised $3.4 million in new equity financing, according to a regulatory filing. The company, which says on its website that it has collaborations with the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, is seeking to … Continue reading “Nuclea Nabs $3.4M Deal”
Isilon, Forged in Fire of Last Recession, Looks to Expand Its Data Storage Business in This One
Some tech companies seem to be at their best when things are at their worst. Those are the ones you really need to keep an eye on, especially in a recession. Isilon Systems is one of those companies. The Seattle-based data storage firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISLN]]) is announcing its third-quarter earnings this afternoon, and it will … Continue reading “Isilon, Forged in Fire of Last Recession, Looks to Expand Its Data Storage Business in This One”
STR Holdings Sets IPO Terms
STR Holdings, an Enfield, CT-based maker of sheets and film that encapsulate solar cells, said today that the company and its shareholders propose to sell 12.3 million shares of common stock for $13 to $15 in its planned initial public offering, according to an SEC filing. There are a total of 14.1 million shares registered … Continue reading “STR Holdings Sets IPO Terms”
Quips and Tips: Panel Searches for Signs of Recovery
A breakfast discussion on “Getting Ready for the Rebound” held yesterday by the San Diego Venture Group might have been more aptly billed as “Waiting for the Rebound: A Tragicomedy in Two Acts.” But then again, with San Diego News Network CEO Neil Senturia serving as moderator, there really can only be one act. The … Continue reading “Quips and Tips: Panel Searches for Signs of Recovery”
Patrick Details Plans for Holyoke Computing Center
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick traveled to Holyoke, MA, yesterday to talk about the next steps for the planned Holyoke High Performance Computing Center, a massive project designed to advance the state of the art in “green computing” for life sciences, cleantech, and other applications, while also bolstering business development in economically depressed western Massachusetts. Construction … Continue reading “Patrick Details Plans for Holyoke Computing Center”
Luminus Devices: Finding Its Way Toward the Light With High-Efficiency LEDs
Luminus Devices in Billerica, MA, may hold the record among Massachusetts technology companies for the shortest time between conception and launch. But the journey since then has been anything but straightforward. One summer day in 2002, recent MIT PhD graduate Alexei Erchak and his former advisor, physicist John Joannopolous, were meeting to talk about whether … Continue reading “Luminus Devices: Finding Its Way Toward the Light With High-Efficiency LEDs”
Verdezyne and Cardium Therapeutics Get Funding, Illumina Fires New Volley in Patent War, a New Stem Cell Technology Surfaces, and Other San Diego Life Sciences News
Word that several San Diego companies successfully raised funds punctuated an otherwise light week for life sciences news here. A rundown of the highlights: —Synthetic biology company Verdezyne received a $1.7 million Small Business Technology Transfer grant to develop mutant gene libraries for its computational and bioinformatics programs. The Carlsbad, CA startup, previously named CODA … Continue reading “Verdezyne and Cardium Therapeutics Get Funding, Illumina Fires New Volley in Patent War, a New Stem Cell Technology Surfaces, and Other San Diego Life Sciences News”
Five Red Flags of a Biotech, Pathway Medical Learns Lessons, Amgen Faces FDA Delay, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This week we were jamming on our big event on the 20-year outlook for Seattle’s life sciences hub, but we still found a way to squeeze in a lot of news and features. —Biotech pioneer Chris Henney offered an insightful and entertaining talk about how to invest in biotech at a recent speech before the … Continue reading “Five Red Flags of a Biotech, Pathway Medical Learns Lessons, Amgen Faces FDA Delay, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Inside the Mascoma Labs: Tracking Ethanol-Making Microbes from Lebanon to Rome
Microbiologist Larry Feinberg has dug into piles of waste from paper factories and explored hot springs in the West for microbes that he calls “tough bugs,” because of their ability to thrive in adverse conditions. The fierce bacteria are now shipped to the new labs and headquarters of Mascoma, a developer of cellulosic ethanol, in … Continue reading “Inside the Mascoma Labs: Tracking Ethanol-Making Microbes from Lebanon to Rome”
Nuclea Biotechnologies Lands $3,400,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cdaca9bc-ace9-4bb6-99c6-670a2332138a&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name Nuclea Biotechnologies Mailing Address 105 South Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 Company Description Nuclea Biotechnologies’ primary mission is to conduct genomic research in the oncology field so as to discover biomarkers and gene or protein expression profiles that are unique to oncologic diseases. Nuclea Biotechnologies seeks to harness … Continue reading “Nuclea Biotechnologies Lands $3,400,000 New Funding”
EnglishCentral Lands $3,500,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5abb9c9a-a536-408c-bae4-69af1b853594&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name EnglishCentral Mailing Address 30 Hancock St. Lexington, MA 02420 Company Description EnglishCentral aims to become the premier, web-based conversational English language learning destination for desktop and mobile users. Website http://www.englishcentral.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “EnglishCentral Lands $3,500,000 New Financing Round”
Ensphere Solutions Garners $4,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a43670af-84de-4e61-a708-b94ad89b4c8e&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name Ensphere Solutions Mailing Address 2900 Lakeside Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054 Company Description Ensphere solution Inc., a privately held company, offers advanced communications semiconductor ICs, IP cores and professional design services. Based in Silicon-Valley, CA, the company specializes in the development of standard and custom Mixed Signal, … Continue reading “Ensphere Solutions Garners $4,000,000 New Financing”
XOJET Receives $470,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8a4b44c0-a38d-42b7-95b8-e9fbabc17e32&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name XOJET Mailing Address 959 Skyway Road San Carlos, CA 94070 Company Description XOJET was engineered from the ground up to be the world’s best private aviation company. Website http://www.xojet.com Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $470,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes XOJET will use the additional … Continue reading “XOJET Receives $470,000,000 New Financing Round”
Tellabs Acquires Wichorus for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20bbaf60-d37f-4d9d-9a3e-9604599a19df&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name Wichorus Mailing Address 3590 N. 1st Street San Jose, CA 95134 Company Description WiChorus provides a new class of intelligent wireless core platform that enables service providers to deploy large scale, profitable WiMAX and LTE networks. Leveraging this platform, our Intelligent ASN Gateway solution provides content management, … Continue reading “Tellabs Acquires Wichorus for Undisclosed Sum”
Bing Partners with Twitter, Facebook to Bring Real-Time Updates to Search Capabilities
Microsoft announced the integration of real-time status updates from Twitter and Facebook into its Bing search engine this morning at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. Senior vice president Yusuf Mehdi and Online Services Group president Qi Lu confirmed the company’s non-exclusive partnerships with the two social media networks on stage, followed by a … Continue reading “Bing Partners with Twitter, Facebook to Bring Real-Time Updates to Search Capabilities”
The Knowledge Economy in Providence: Measuring Progress One Year Later
The Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce and the Innovation Providence and Implementation Council (IPIC) sponsor a briefing on, and a celebration of, progress on efforts to realign Rhode Island around a robust knowledge economy “that not only fosters entrepreneurship locally, but makes our state the location of choice when attracting new and emerging business.” For … Continue reading “The Knowledge Economy in Providence: Measuring Progress One Year Later”
Rapid7 Absorbs Metasploit
Rapid7, the Boston- and El Segundo, CA-based startup that makes software to protect corporate networks, databases, and Web applications from hostile outsiders, said today that it has acquired the Metasploit Project, which has developed an open-source penetration testing system as well as a large public database of tested exploits against computer systems. HD Moore, the … Continue reading “Rapid7 Absorbs Metasploit”
Revolution Computing Raises $9M
Revolution Computing, which has offices in New Haven, CT, and Seattle, said today that it has raised $9 million in venture financing from North Bridge Venture Partners of Waltham, MA, and Intel Capital, based in Santa Clara, CA. The startup, which provides software and support for the statistical programming language known as “R,” also announced … Continue reading “Revolution Computing Raises $9M”
Enroute, MicroGreen Win Zino Prizes
Seattle-based Zino Society has announced the winners of its 2009 Zino Zillionaire Investment Funds. Bellevue, WA-based Enroute Systems, a maker of analytics and transportation management software for parcel-shipping businesses, received $60,000. Arlington, WA-based MicroGreen Polymers, a company focused on making plastic products more environmentally sustainable, also took home $60,000. The companies presented to investors back … Continue reading “Enroute, MicroGreen Win Zino Prizes”
Burnham Hires Paul Laikind
The La Jolla, CA-based Burnham Institute for Medical Research said it has hired Paul Laikind, the co-founder of Gensia Pharmaceuticals, Viagene, and Metabasis, to be the institute’s senior vice president of business development and chief business officer. The hiring is a sign of the Burnham’s increasing emphasis on spinning out technologies, and forming deals with … Continue reading “Burnham Hires Paul Laikind”
Antigenics Shares Plummet as Cancer Vaccine Application Rejected in Europe
Antigenics, the Lexington, MA-based developer of a personalized treatment to stimulate the immune system to fight cancer, saw its shares plummet today after a European regulatory commission told the company that its lead drug candidate isn’t ready for the marketplace. Shares of Antigenics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AGEN]]) dropped 40 percent to $1.25 at noon Eastern time after … Continue reading “Antigenics Shares Plummet as Cancer Vaccine Application Rejected in Europe”
OVP Leads $12M Investment in RedSeal
Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners has led a $12 million investment in San Mateo, CA-based RedSeal Systems, a security software firm. OVP managing director Mark Ashida has joined the company’s board. Existing investors Venrock, Jafco Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures, and Leapfrog Ventures also participated in the deal, which brings RedSeal’s total funding to more than … Continue reading “OVP Leads $12M Investment in RedSeal”
Illume Software Adds to Series A to Stop Driving While Texting and Talking on Mobile Phones
Many of us have seen cars swerving on the road ahead and later pull up to catch the driver gabbing on his or her mobile phone. Perhaps a few of us are guilty of the practice, too. Well, Illume Software, based in Concord, MA, said this morning that it has raised an additional $1 million … Continue reading “Illume Software Adds to Series A to Stop Driving While Texting and Talking on Mobile Phones”
Solving San Diego’s Venture Capital Crisis is Mission for New Task Force of Tech Leaders
The evaporation of much of San Diego’s hometown venture capital base has prompted the city’s technology community to organize a business task force to find new ways of getting startup capital to early stage companies. Creating the task force is part of a broad initiative that Connect, a local non-profit organization for technology and entrepreneurship, … Continue reading “Solving San Diego’s Venture Capital Crisis is Mission for New Task Force of Tech Leaders”
Executives Through Experimentation: The B-School Internship Experience
Business school applications require many thousands of words’ worth of essay questions, usually dealing with those universal but ephemeral corporate themes of Teamwork, Impact, and Dealing With Difficult Situations. Somewhere within this morass the applicant is generally expected to answer the question, “What are you going to do with an MBA?” To this there are … Continue reading “Executives Through Experimentation: The B-School Internship Experience”
Seattle Biotech Needs More Bars, Less University Red Tape, and the Same Daring Attitude, & Other Highlights from Seattle Life Sciences 2029
Seattle has more than its share of brilliant biologists for a medium-sized American city. But if people and ideas are going to properly mix to create a thriving local biotech industry over the next two decades, we could use a few more common places with intellectual sparks—like bars. At least according to one of the … Continue reading “Seattle Biotech Needs More Bars, Less University Red Tape, and the Same Daring Attitude, & Other Highlights from Seattle Life Sciences 2029”
Isis CEO Vows that Cholesterol Drug, Partnered With Genzyme, Will be “Remarkable” Advance
Isis Pharmaceuticals CEO Stanley Crooke is a man who knows how to make a grand gesture. The market may have been underwhelmed by what Isis and its partner, Genzyme, had to say about their first-of-a-kind cholesterol-lowering drug back in May, but to him that just means they’re missing the point. When I stopped by to … Continue reading “Isis CEO Vows that Cholesterol Drug, Partnered With Genzyme, Will be “Remarkable” Advance”
VC Playoffs: Red Sox (MA) Vs. Yankees (NY)—A Graphic Comparison
[Corrected, October 22, 2009 — see below] I really hate the Yankees (sorry Bijan). Nothing good has come of them for me, except the time back in the early 90s when I was at Yankee Stadium with Trip Hawkins of Electronic Arts fame and Richard Nixon was sitting across the aisle, and two Secret Service … Continue reading “VC Playoffs: Red Sox (MA) Vs. Yankees (NY)—A Graphic Comparison”
HelpHive Tests “Pay Per Job” Model, Connects Home-Service Businesses with Consumers
Doing some home remodeling? Need someone to clean that pesky gutter? Karim Meghji has an offer for you. Meghji and Dave Richards, both veterans of Seattle-based RealNetworks (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RNWK]]), have been busy working on their home-services networking site, HelpHive, since it was first publicly introduced in May. The community site helps people find reputable businesses … Continue reading “HelpHive Tests “Pay Per Job” Model, Connects Home-Service Businesses with Consumers”
AudienceScience Raises $20M, Sequoia Re-ups with Jive Software, Visible Gets Spooky, & More Seattle-Area Deals News
It was a light week for deals in the Northwest, but there were still some big investments in online advertising and social business software. (Not to mention we’re all trying to confirm the rumors of an Ontela acquisition of Photobucket.) —Venture capital stats for the quarter ending Sept. 30 were released from multiple sources in … Continue reading “AudienceScience Raises $20M, Sequoia Re-ups with Jive Software, Visible Gets Spooky, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”
Flexion Pulls in $33M, Cubist Teams With Hydra, Charles River Makes Cuts, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
There was a steady serenade of news from New England’s life sciences companies this past week, with both the startups and the public firms chiming in. —Ryan profiled Boston BioCom, a Pfizer-backed startup aiming to commercialize life science discoveries from Russia. Based in, of course, Boston, the firm is also developing technology from the Massachusetts … Continue reading “Flexion Pulls in $33M, Cubist Teams With Hydra, Charles River Makes Cuts, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
Synageva BioPharma Corp Receives $12,000,000 Series F Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4842d742-829e-4fed-b1ad-a1163cf9359e&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2009 Company Name Synageva BioPharma Corp Mailing Address 60 Hickory Drive Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Synageva BioPharma’s ultimate goal is to improve patient lives by providing access to breakthrough novel, next generation (i.e. significantly improved), and certain follow on protein therapeutics. Synageva’s proprietary platform technologies, including SEPTM, provide a … Continue reading “Synageva BioPharma Corp Receives $12,000,000 Series F Financing Round”
Copanion Receives $10,200,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fc94429a-5829-4f0e-a3ea-da23ffae173e&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2009 Company Name Copanion Mailing Address One Tech Drive Andover, MA 01810 Company Description With breakthrough innovations in image processing, biometric pattern recognition, and machine learning technology, Copanion GruntWorx “reads” and classifies data from paper-based forms and PDF files with greater than 90% accuracy. That’s far higher than any previous … Continue reading “Copanion Receives $10,200,000 Series B Funding Round”
Canesta Lands $16,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=06adf697-0bee-4790-91ee-30dbe06726ec&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2009 Company Name Canesta Mailing Address 1156 Sonora Court Sunnyvale, CA 94086 Company Description The company develops electronic perception technology. Website http://www.canesta.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $16,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor The Carlyle Group Venture Investor Venrock Venture … Continue reading “Canesta Lands $16,000,000 New Round”
RedSeal Systems Lands $12,000,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b939d4b5-d204-452e-86ba-d24b1d6feea6&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2009 Company Name RedSeal Systems Mailing Address 2121 S. El Camino Real 3rd Floor San Mateo, CA 94403 Company Description RedSeal Systems gives the concrete answer with a Security Risk Management (SRM) system that provides unified and measurable insight to network security and its effectiveness. Website http://www.redseal.net Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “RedSeal Systems Lands $12,000,000 New Round”
RiseSmart Secures $4,600,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=293362eb-cfbb-4efb-a289-f3995ed9de15&Preview=1 Date 10/21/2009 Company Name RiseSmart Mailing Address 2055 Gateway Place San Jose, CA 95110 Company Description Based in Dallas, RiseSmart is a human-powered job search service that prescreens online search results for time-starved managers and executives. The RiseSmart team matches opportunities with jobseekers based on each member’s unique profile, freeing senior-level … Continue reading “RiseSmart Secures $4,600,000 Series A Funding Round”
Recent Launch of Onemarketplace.com Enables Multiple and Simultaneous Sales Listings
Brendan Boyd, a San Diego Internet entrepreneur, gave me an update today on the venture we discussed last April, when Boyd and his partners were developing ideas for a website that enables users to sell merchandise through multiple online venders. The website that Boyd had created with partners Jan Anton and Eric Jacobson was in … Continue reading “Recent Launch of Onemarketplace.com Enables Multiple and Simultaneous Sales Listings”
Reaction Design Gets $817K Grant
The Department of Energy is awarding an $817,384 grant to San Diego-based Reaction Design, which uses advanced computer-based modeling technology to simulate the fiery combustion reactions in turbines and other engines. The grant from the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory is one of seven awards totaling $7 million that are intended to advance highly efficient … Continue reading “Reaction Design Gets $817K Grant”
Entrepreneur University 2009 (NWEN)
Information and registration here. NWEN is pleased to announce its signature annual event, uniting all the movers and shakers in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, for a day of speakers who will inspire you, networking opportunities that will connect you, and workshops that will empower you to turn thought into action. We surveyed our entrepreneur members for … Continue reading “Entrepreneur University 2009 (NWEN)”
AudienceScience Confirms $20M Funding
Bellevue, WA-based AudienceScience (formerly Revenue Science) has confirmed it has raised $20 million from Silicon Valley investors Mohr Davidow Ventures, Mayfield Fund, Meritech Capital Partners, and Integral Capital Partners. The online advertising firm says it will use the money to hire new staff, do R&D for products in targeted advertising, and expand internationally. Last week, … Continue reading “AudienceScience Confirms $20M Funding”
Seattle Life Sciences 2029 Photo Gallery
Thanks to everyone who made last night’s Xconomy event on Seattle’s 20-year outlook for life sciences such a big success. The house was packed at Seattle Biomedical Research Institute; we had a highly interactive conversation between the audience and a distinguished panel, and brief introductions to some of the most exciting life sciences startups in … Continue reading “Seattle Life Sciences 2029 Photo Gallery”
Cleantech Incubator Opens in Lynn
North Shore Innoventures, a Beverly, MA-based network of technology incubators, announced today that it has opened a new “Cleantech Innoventure Center” in Lynn, MA. Established with funding from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and sponsorship from the Lynn Economic Development and Industrial Corporation, the new incubator space is located at 20 Wheeler Street in Lynn, and … Continue reading “Cleantech Incubator Opens in Lynn”
Top 10 Northwest Venture Deals of the Third Quarter—and VC Color Commentary
Woe is me, said the VC. With the exit markets all but closed, fundraising in a logjam, and portfolio companies struggling to stay afloat, it is a tough time to be a venture capitalist. Yet the good ones will survive, and thrive. As will the companies they are building. That’s the message I got from … Continue reading “Top 10 Northwest Venture Deals of the Third Quarter—and VC Color Commentary”
Jive Rakes In $12M from Sequoia Capital to Improve Social Business Software
Social media monitoring and business networking software just got a little hotter. Jive Software, the Portland, OR-based maker of social business software, announced last night it has raised a $12 million Series B round from Sequoia Capital. Sequoia previously invested $15 million in Jive in 2007. Jive says the money will be used to expand … Continue reading “Jive Rakes In $12M from Sequoia Capital to Improve Social Business Software”
Arbor Networks Reports on the Rise of the Internet “Hyper Giants”
For 15 years now, we’ve all thought of the World Wide Web as a near-literal web of connections between millions of servers in different locations, with each machine hosting just a tiny slice of the Web’s overall content. But that’s not the new shape of the Web, according to Arbor Networks of Chelmsford, MA. Today, … Continue reading “Arbor Networks Reports on the Rise of the Internet “Hyper Giants””
Mintera Finds $4.1M
Mintera, an Acton, MA-based developer of next-generation optical switches, has raised $4.1 million of a potential $5 million round of equity and options financing, according to an SEC filing. The company could not immediately be reached for comment this morning. Though the SEC document does not list investors in the deal, the company says on … Continue reading “Mintera Finds $4.1M”
The Past and Future of Venture Capital
This is Terry McGuire’s fifth big economic downturn as a venture capitalist, the first being Black Monday in 1987. But when he gets together to chat with Peter Brooke tomorrow night, he’ll be the inexperienced one. That’s why I’m incredibly excited about our Xconomy Forum tomorrow night, which will be held at the offices of … Continue reading “The Past and Future of Venture Capital”
E Ink Partners with Freescale
In a joint announcement, Austin, TX-based Freescale Semiconductor and Cambridge, MA-based E Ink–which makes the “electronic ink” displays used in the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and other e-book devices—said today they will work together to integrate the electronics that control E Ink’s displays with Freescale’s MX processors to create a single “system on a … Continue reading “E Ink Partners with Freescale”
Top 10 (+ 1) New England Venture Deals of Q3 2009
We’ve brought you a lot of third-quarter venture data in the last week or so—and we’re not done yet (hint: I have something special coming up for you baseball fans). But we haven’t gotten around to our usual Top 10 deals list. So let me remind you, it was a pretty good quarter here in … Continue reading “Top 10 (+ 1) New England Venture Deals of Q3 2009”
Synageva Finishes $45M Round
Synageva BioPharma, a Waltham, MA-based developer of new and generic biotech drugs, said this morning that it has raised $12 million, on top of $33 million announced in May, to complete a $45 million round of financing. The round included previous investors as well as a new investor, New Leaf Venture Partners, of New York … Continue reading “Synageva Finishes $45M Round”