Getty Images Invests $4M in Daylife, Report Says

Seattle-based Getty Images, the creator and distributor of online photos, videos, and other digital media, announced today it has made a strategic investment in Daylife, a media and content services company based in New York City. The two companies have also formed a partnership to create products that let customers more easily incorporate visual content … Continue reading “Getty Images Invests $4M in Daylife, Report Says”

A Map of Venture Investments Around the U.S.

It’s no secret to those in the innovation community that venture-backed companies are central to America’s economic prosperity. But in its ongoing effort to help reinforce that message—perhaps particularly in light of its current efforts to fight President Obama’s idea of regulating venture capital firms as investment advisers—the National Venture Capital Association this morning released … Continue reading “A Map of Venture Investments Around the U.S.”

$75M Financing for Neurocrine

San Diego’s Neurocrine Biosciences (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NBIX]] says it has arranged $75 million in available financing under a three-year agreement with Kingsbridge Capital, a private investment group. Neurocrine, which is developing drugs for treating endometriosis, anxiety, diabetes, and other diseases, says it is not obligated to draw on any of the available financing. The agreement enables … Continue reading “$75M Financing for Neurocrine”

Sonian Closes Series A

Sonian, a Needham, MA, provider of cloud-based e-mail archiving services for businesses, announced on its website earlier this week that it has closed a $5.6 million Series A round of financing. The institutional investors in the round include Prism VentureWorks and SummerHill Venture Partners. Greg Arnette, founder and chief technology officer of Sonian, told me … Continue reading “Sonian Closes Series A”

Xconomy Forum: Peter Brooke and Terry McGuire Discuss A Global Vision for Venture Capital and Private Equity

Peter A. Brooke has been called “the Johnny Appleseed of venture capital.” The chairman and founder of Advent International and TA Associates, Brooke is one of the pioneers of the venture industry in New England and the first to successfully introduce venture capital and private equity globally. At the age of 80, he remains one … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum: Peter Brooke and Terry McGuire Discuss A Global Vision for Venture Capital and Private Equity”

Helicos Biosciences, Running Low on Cash, Snaps Up $10M Lifeline

[Update: 09/16/09, 11:15 am] Helicos Biosciences has gotten a lifeline, at least temporarily. The Cambridge, MA-based maker of genetic analysis instruments which hired an investment banker two weeks ago to seek “strategic alternatives” as it ran low on cash, has raised $10 million from new and existing investors and CEO Ron Lowy. [The deal includes … Continue reading “Helicos Biosciences, Running Low on Cash, Snaps Up $10M Lifeline”

Yale startup 3PrimiR Raises $2.1M

Westport, CT-based diagnostics startup 3PrimiR has raised $2.1 million of a proposed $4 million round of equity financing, according to an SEC filing. Yale scientists launched the startup based on their research that involves how mutations in micro RNA molecules can be used in cancer diagnostics, according to the Yale University Office of Cooperative Research … Continue reading “Yale startup 3PrimiR Raises $2.1M”

Boiling it Down: 5 CEOs Describe Their Corporate Culture and San Diego’s Status as a Digital Media Cluster

Xconomy Seattle’s editor Greg Huang got this idea going last month when he conducted an informal and wholly anecdotal survey about the startup culture in the woodsy Pacific Northwest. His premise was that you can tell a lot about a company’s corporate culture from its chief executive. Within a couple of weeks, Xconomy’s founder and … Continue reading “Boiling it Down: 5 CEOs Describe Their Corporate Culture and San Diego’s Status as a Digital Media Cluster”

Ascent Therapeutics’ Blood Cancer Drug Could Rival Genzyme’s Mozobil

Ascent Therapeutics is advancing several of its proprietary “pepducin” drugs through early testing, with a lead candidate emerging as a potential rival to Genzyme’s drug plerixafor (Mozobil) for patients with certain types of blood cancer. Cambridge, MA-based Ascent is touting some of its early research at a biotechnology conference in Zurich, Switzerland this week in … Continue reading “Ascent Therapeutics’ Blood Cancer Drug Could Rival Genzyme’s Mozobil”

HipCricket Makes Noise in Mobile Marketing, Heads for Profitability This Year

A small Seattle-area company is blazing a trail in the crowded field of mobile marketing. Kirkland, WA-based HipCricket, a company founded in 2004 to do mobile marketing for brands and media companies, has been growing its revenue significantly from quarter to quarter and aims to be profitable for the first time by the end of … Continue reading “HipCricket Makes Noise in Mobile Marketing, Heads for Profitability This Year”

MicroRNA Drug Developer Santaris Establishes Toehold in San Diego With Isis Veteran

Santaris Pharma, the Danish company that has pushed the first microRNA therapy into clinical trials, is opening a U.S. subsidiary in San Diego to take advantage of the talent pool of people familiar with cutting-edge RNA-based therapies. As it turns out, that includes Art Levin, a former leader of drug development at Carlsbad, CA-based Isis … Continue reading “MicroRNA Drug Developer Santaris Establishes Toehold in San Diego With Isis Veteran”

Nimbit’s MyStore Lets Bands Tap the Power of Facebook to Promote Music and Merchandise

It’s not getting any easier to write and perform great music. But for up-and-coming artists, it is getting easier to build a fan base—especially if they can get their fans to do part of the work for them. That’s the idea behind MyStore, a new Facebook application launched last week by Framingham, MA-based Nimbit. The … Continue reading “Nimbit’s MyStore Lets Bands Tap the Power of Facebook to Promote Music and Merchandise”

Four WA Cleantech Firms—AltaRock, Infinia, Powerit, Verdiem—Crack Global Top 100 List

Four companies from Washington state have been selected to a list of the world’s 100 most promising private cleantech firms. That’s according to a report released yesterday, in a joint effort by The Guardian (the UK-based newspaper) and the Cleantech Group, a global company that provides research, data, and advisory services for the clean technology … Continue reading “Four WA Cleantech Firms—AltaRock, Infinia, Powerit, Verdiem—Crack Global Top 100 List”

Acceleron Aims for Anemia Cure, Mascoma to Pump Out Biofuels For Chevron, Genzyme Chief to Head Boston Fed, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

This week saw the demise of a couple of New England life sciences firms and the rise of several others. —Luke profiled the efforts of Cambridge, MA-based Acceleron Pharma to bring its lead drug candidate to market as a treatment for anemia. Previous experiments suggested the drug, ACE-011, would actually cause anemia, but in its … Continue reading “Acceleron Aims for Anemia Cure, Mascoma to Pump Out Biofuels For Chevron, Genzyme Chief to Head Boston Fed, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

3PrimiR Secures $2,100,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=126db216-6132-4daa-a8fc-647a62da57bc&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2009 Company Name 3PrimiR Mailing Address Undisclosed Westport, CT 06880 Company Description 3PrimiR is a Connecticut-based diagnostics startup. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,100,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed

Nuveta Lands $800,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a6101fe4-908d-43cc-a69b-717729e8e715&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2009 Company Name Nuveta Mailing Address 3 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 Company Description Nuveta, Inc., the leading In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) medical technology company, is focused on the development and commercialization of new applications that significantly improve IVF therapy. The Company explores key scientific questions of in vitro … Continue reading “Nuveta Lands $800,000 Series A Financing Round”

Google Acquires reCAPTCHA for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ff9245d5-8ffe-4366-bcfc-ee4b492eaca7&Preview=1 Date 9/16/2009 Company Name reCAPTCHA Mailing Address 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description reCAPTCHA security features on their websites. A CAPTCHA is a program that can tell whether its user is a human or a computer. You’ve probably seen them — colorful images with distorted text at the … Continue reading “Google Acquires reCAPTCHA for Undisclosed Sum”

State Hands Out $5.1M Biotech Grants

The state’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund announced today that six new research projects will receive $5.1 million combined in funding. The projects will finance research into bone healing, improving limb amputation procedures, enhancing cancer treatment, and generating a wheat variety that’s safe for people with celiac disease. The grants are going to scientists at the … Continue reading “State Hands Out $5.1M Biotech Grants”

Pervasis Therapeutics Secures $10M in New Financing

Pervasis Therapeutics, a Cambridge, MA-based developer of drugs to heal blood vessels, has raised $10 million of a proposed $17.4 million round of private equity financing, according to an SEC filing. The startup names the prolific MIT inventor Bob Langer among its board members. The SEC filing does not say who invested in the round, … Continue reading “Pervasis Therapeutics Secures $10M in New Financing”

Report: Lucid Commerce Lands $3M

Seattle-based Lucid Commerce, a startup focused on business intelligence for direct marketers, has raised a round of equity funding, according to a regulatory filing. The total offering amount is listed as about $4 million. TechFlash reports that Lucid has raised $3 million from Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners and European venture firm Adinvest. OVP previously … Continue reading “Report: Lucid Commerce Lands $3M”

Others Online, Led by Jordan Mitchell, Gets Bought by the Rubicon Project

[Updated 9/15/09 1:20 pm. See below.] Seattle-based Others Online, a Web advertising and optimization startup led by founder and CEO Jordan Mitchell, has been acquired by the Rubicon Project in Los Angeles for an undisclosed price. Mitchell has become vice president of data intelligence for the Rubicon Project, which automates the buying and selling of … Continue reading “Others Online, Led by Jordan Mitchell, Gets Bought by the Rubicon Project”

Nokia Acquires Vulcan-Backed Plum, Uptake Raises Cash, Smilebox Buys Preclick, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

It was another fairly quiet week for Northwest deals, as summer officially winds down. Activity in wireless, software, and biotech led the way. —The Oregon Angel Fund, based in Portland, said it has closed a new $3 million fund this summer, raised from 60 individual investors and the Oregon Growth Account, a state-run fund dedicated … Continue reading “Nokia Acquires Vulcan-Backed Plum, Uptake Raises Cash, Smilebox Buys Preclick, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

The Coming Revolution in Healthcare—From Reactive to Proactive Medicine

Leroy Hood, the president of the Institute for Systems Biology, will kick off a discussion on how increasing understanding of the genome will lead the way for a switch from reactive to proactive healthcare. Gregory Foltz, a neurosurgeon at Swedish Neuroscience Institute will discuss how he is using a form of personalized medicine to treat … Continue reading “The Coming Revolution in Healthcare—From Reactive to Proactive Medicine”

The Resurgence of Biotechnology in the Northwest–Chris Henney and Chris Rivera

Christopher Henney, the co-founder of Immunex, Icos and Dendreon, will be the keynote speaker at “The Resurgence of Biotechnology in the Northwest,” a luncheon event organized by the CFA Society of Seattle on Oct. 8. He will be joined by Chris Rivera, the president of the Washington Biotechnology & Biomedical Association, who will provide an … Continue reading “The Resurgence of Biotechnology in the Northwest–Chris Henney and Chris Rivera”

Report: San Diego’s Innovation Economy Shows Q2 Uptick in Startups, Patents, and Investments

A just-released report on San Diego’s innovation economy shows 102 new technology companies were created during the three months that ended on June 30—a 53 percent increase over the 66 startups launched during the first three months of 2009, and 34 percent more than the 76 companies started during the second quarter of 2008. A … Continue reading “Report: San Diego’s Innovation Economy Shows Q2 Uptick in Startups, Patents, and Investments”

Altus Pharma to Shut Doors

Waltham, MA-based Altus Pharmaceuticals, a developer of protein-based drugs, revealed in an SEC filing yesterday that it decided last week “wind down” the company’s operations. The company (NASDAQ:[[ticker:ALTU]]) is also ending a mid-stage clinical trial to test its growth hormone deficiency drug ALTU-238 in children. The firm plans to let go “substantially all” of its … Continue reading “Altus Pharma to Shut Doors”

Termeer to Chair Boston Fed Reserve

Henri Termeer, chairman and CEO of Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm Genzyme (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GENZ]]), has been named chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Federal Reserve reported yesterday. His term as chairman of the federal bank begins in 2010. Termeer is now serving as deputy chairman of the Fed board in Boston.

BeyondTrust Acquired by Symark

BeyondTrust, a provider of software for managing IT access privileges for large businesses, has has been acquired by Symark International, according to a press release. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Dow Jones VentureWire has estimated the deal to be worth about $30 million, according to peHUB. The combined company will be called BeyondTrust and be … Continue reading “BeyondTrust Acquired by Symark”

Thermo Fisher Names New CEO

Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:[[ticker:TMO]]) said today that Marc Casper has been appointed to become president and CEO of the company on October 15. Casper now serves as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Waltham, MA-based Thermo Fisher, a maker of scientific research products that reported 2008 revenue of $10.5 billion. He will replace … Continue reading “Thermo Fisher Names New CEO”

Video Games Add $2 Billion to Massachusetts Economy, Tech Group Says

Massachusetts “digital gaming” companies have total revenues exceeding $2 billion, according to a survey being released today by the Mass Technology Leadership Council. And those companies are hiring aggressively, with plans to increase their head counts by an average of 20 percent in 2009, the survey found. The gaming industry employs roughly 1,200 people across … Continue reading “Video Games Add $2 Billion to Massachusetts Economy, Tech Group Says”

Vivox, Bringer of Voice to Virtual Worlds, Strikes Major Deal with Electronic Arts

For a long time, Second Life was stuck in the cyber equivalent of the silent-movie era: people communicated by typing, and their words showed up in little thought bubbles above their avatars’ heads. All of that changed drastically around 2007, when Linden Lab, the company behind Second Life, hired an obscure outfit called Vivox to … Continue reading “Vivox, Bringer of Voice to Virtual Worlds, Strikes Major Deal with Electronic Arts”

Gist Opens to the Public, Wants to Own the Nexus of E-mail, Search, and Social Networks

Every time I look at Gist, it’s a little different. Given it’s a scrappy startup trying to navigate the worlds of e-mail, social networking, business software, and Web search—each a huge market opportunity, each hugely competitive—this is probably a good thing. The Seattle company, backed by Paul Allen’s Vulcan Capital and Colorado-based Foundry Group, is … Continue reading “Gist Opens to the Public, Wants to Own the Nexus of E-mail, Search, and Social Networks”

Celladon, Developer of Gene Therapy for Heart Failure, Secures Part of $24.6M Venture Round

Investors haven’t completely turned their backs on gene therapy, at least not on Celladon. The San Diego-based company raised another $2.8 million in recent weeks to keep operating until it sees results from a clinical trial that will show whether it has a groundbreaking gene therapy for people with congestive heart failure. The latest financing … Continue reading “Celladon, Developer of Gene Therapy for Heart Failure, Secures Part of $24.6M Venture Round”

As Shift to Internet TV Accelerates, DivX CEO Positions Company to Offer ‘Any to Any’ Solution

San Diego’s DivX has been on something of a roll since June, when CEO Kevin Hell talked about the capability of someday moving television seamlessly from the living room TV screen to the computer screen and to the screens of wireless mobile devices. The digital media company, which takes its name from the DivX codec … Continue reading “As Shift to Internet TV Accelerates, DivX CEO Positions Company to Offer ‘Any to Any’ Solution”

Medical Device Pioneer David Auth Seethes Over $40 Billion Industry Tax Idea, FDA Delays

One of Seattle’s medical device industry pioneers has a beautiful view of Lake Washington from his home office in Kirkland, but a few minutes after I arrived, he was steaming mad. “Our government rewards dummies and punishes geniuses,” says David Auth, the inventor of a less-invasive way to clear out blockages in arteries, called Rotablator. … Continue reading “Medical Device Pioneer David Auth Seethes Over $40 Billion Industry Tax Idea, FDA Delays”

Brown U. and Johns Hopkins Researchers Form Sentient Bioscience to Improve Liver Cancer Treatment

Most people diagnosed with liver cancer are unlikely to live more than a few years, so there’s plenty of room for new innovative treatments. That’s why Tim Murphy, an interventional radiologist at Rhode Island Hospital and his colleagues at Brown University and Johns Hopkins University have formed Providence, RI-based Sentient Bioscience to develop treatments that … Continue reading “Brown U. and Johns Hopkins Researchers Form Sentient Bioscience to Improve Liver Cancer Treatment”

Tesla Motors Receives $82,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0b44995-bf44-416e-bdc7-3b62fa9b8908&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2009 Company Name Tesla Motors Mailing Address 1050 Bing Street San Carlos, CA 94070 Company Description Tesla Motors was founded in June 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning to create efficient electric cars for people who love to drive. The company currently employs 70 people, including teams in California, … Continue reading “Tesla Motors Receives $82,500,000 New Funding”

Ruckus Wireless Receives $10,800,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=116748b6-fcd1-44d1-8695-5ad6e15c894e&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2009 Company Name Ruckus Wireless Mailing Address 880 West Maude Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description Ruckus Wireless is a wireless equipment supplier focused on the next generation of home networking. The Company is credited with developing the world’s first in-home wireless multimedia system, MediaFlex, which it introduced in October … Continue reading “Ruckus Wireless Receives $10,800,000 New Round”

Accept Software Corporation Garners $15,400,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4ae78538-9756-4e95-8b42-7c0a3d419ed4&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2009 Company Name Accept Software Corporation Mailing Address 42840 Christy Street Fremont, CA 94538 Company Description Accept Software provides the leading solution for enterprise-class product planning in its Accept 360° application suite. Accept integrates Requirements Management, Customer Needs Management, Strategic Planning, and Portfolio Management into a single solution that helps … Continue reading “Accept Software Corporation Garners $15,400,000 New Financing Round”

Alvine Pharmaceuticals Obtains $21,500,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=11c4a41f-5a6f-4641-8f8a-c4d8ab55bbe7&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2009 Company Name Alvine Pharmaceuticals Mailing Address 75 Shoreway Rd. San Carlos, CA 94070 Company Description Alvine Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing therapeutics for the treatment of Celiac sprue. Website http://www.alvinepharma.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $21,500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Alvine Pharmaceuticals Obtains $21,500,000 Series A Financing”

Myriad Group AG Acquires Xumii for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=301f0de5-02e0-48ca-8486-2b3f5bd65333&Preview=1 Date 9/15/2009 Company Name Xumii Mailing Address 1900 South Norfolk Street San Mateo, CA 94403 Company Description We’re making Xumii the best way to stay connected with all your friends, right on your phone — the device you’re most likely to keep with you. Think of Xumii as a ‘mobile social … Continue reading “Myriad Group AG Acquires Xumii for Undisclosed Sum”

Secrets of NIH Small Business Grant Applications

Gregory Milman, the Director of the Office for Innovation and Special Programs in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), will be the featured speaker at an event on how to write successful grant applications. He manages the $100 million NIAID small business programs and is acclaimed for his advice on NIH grant … Continue reading “Secrets of NIH Small Business Grant Applications”

Bing Is the Buggiest (But Second-Best) Search Engine, Say Software Testers in uTest Report

Tomorrow, Boston-based uTest, a startup that crowdsources software quality-assurance projects to a global community of 19,000 freelance testers, is expected to announce the official results of its first “Search Engine Bug Battle.” Xconomy got an early look at the data today, and the folks in Redmond and Bellevue, WA, may not be happy about the … Continue reading “Bing Is the Buggiest (But Second-Best) Search Engine, Say Software Testers in uTest Report”

Microsoft Rolls Out Visual Search

Microsoft announced today the beta release of a new image-based interface for its Bing search engine. Called “visual search,” the feature lets you browse pictures of search results—like celebrities, cars, and other products—instead of text links. It requires Microsoft’s Silverlight Web software, and so far works only for predetermined categories, but will be in full … Continue reading “Microsoft Rolls Out Visual Search”

Mascoma Inks Biofuels Deal with Chevron Technology Ventures

Lebanon, NH-based Mascoma announced today that it has entered into a two-year biofuels processing and supply deal with Chevron Technology Ventures. Under the agreement, the terms of which were not disclosed, CTV will supply feedstock that Mascoma will convert to cellulosic ethanol. A byproduct of that conversion is energy-rich lignin, which Mascoma will then provide … Continue reading “Mascoma Inks Biofuels Deal with Chevron Technology Ventures”

EMC Snags Intel Exec, Shuffles Top Office to Deliver Blended Technologies

EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based information infrastructure company that anchors Boston’s infotech industry, today unveiled a series of executive-level changes intended to better integrate its disparate businesses, which range from storage, content management and archiving, security, and IT management to cloud computing services. Most significantly, the company said it has hired veteran Intel executive … Continue reading “EMC Snags Intel Exec, Shuffles Top Office to Deliver Blended Technologies”

Clearwire Gets WiMax Partners in Japan, Russia

Kirkland, WA-based Clearwire (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CLWR]]) announced today it has signed a collaborative agreement with UQ Communications of Japan and Yota of Russia to support international roaming between the three WiMax operators. Financial terms were not disclosed. WiMax is a next-generation wireless broadband service, which Clearwire is rolling out across the U.S. Clearwire also has partnerships … Continue reading “Clearwire Gets WiMax Partners in Japan, Russia”

Gen-Probe Spins Off New Company, Roka Bioscience, For Industrial Testing

[Updated 9/15/09 8:15 am. See below.]San Diego-based Gen-Probe (NASDAQ: [[ticker: GPRO]]) says it is spinning off its industrial testing business into an independent company, called Roka Bioscience, that is developing real-time molecular tests for biopharmaceutical, food, and water safety testing. Gen-Probe plans to initially own 19.9 percent of the new company. Affiliates of three private … Continue reading “Gen-Probe Spins Off New Company, Roka Bioscience, For Industrial Testing”