Rich Miner, the driving force behind Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones and a longtime leader in Massachusetts communications software circles, reportedly will join Google Ventures, a $100 million venture fund the search giant is said to be forming. Rumors of the planned venture fund have been in the air since last summer. More … Continue reading “Android Co-Founder Miner Reportedly Tapped to Help Run New $100 Million Google Venture Fund”
Charting Startups in the Downturn, San Diego’s Biotech Survival Index (Part Deux), Court Dismisses Federal Patent Suit Against Qualcomm, & More SD BizTech News
If there’s a theme to be found in the innovation news for San Diego last week, it might be comings and goings. While some companies are making layoffs or even shuttering their doors, we also found a number of new startups taking root here (although not as many as a year ago). —In a report … Continue reading “Charting Startups in the Downturn, San Diego’s Biotech Survival Index (Part Deux), Court Dismisses Federal Patent Suit Against Qualcomm, & More SD BizTech News”
Pressplane Rolls Out Inkd.com
Seattle entrepreneur Kelly Smith and his team at Pressplane have announced the launch of their new site, Inkd. Billed as the world’s first market for original print design, Inkd takes the basics of a user-generated community and applies it to the business print marketplace, connecting business owners with print designers. The startup raised $1.7 million … Continue reading “Pressplane Rolls Out Inkd.com”
Obama Stimulus Plan May Generate $300M Research Windfall, UW Says
The Northwest’s biggest research center is going to get a lot bigger in a hurry. The University of Washington expects it will rake in a $300 million windfall of research money in the next six months as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, according to Linden Rhoads, the UW’s vice provost of technology transfer. … Continue reading “Obama Stimulus Plan May Generate $300M Research Windfall, UW Says”
Pure Bioscience Sets A Silver Standard for Germ-Killing Products
Pure Bioscience founder and CEO Michael Krall smiled knowingly when he met me recently at the company’s El Cajon, CA, headquarters. “You chose a great time to write this story,” he told me. “We are now starting to enjoy the fruits of our labor. There’s gold in silver, oh yes.” Silver is the key ingredient … Continue reading “Pure Bioscience Sets A Silver Standard for Germ-Killing Products”
How Green Are Boston’s Green VCs?
(Updated listings — see below) Back in his Navy days as a Top Gun pilot, Jim Matheson of Flagship Ventures—call sign Fuzzy—burned his share of jet fuel. But now that he’s a cleantech investor, he’s more careful about his carbon footprint, tooling around in his red Toyota Prius and buying carbon offsets for his Cirrus … Continue reading “How Green Are Boston’s Green VCs?”
Claros Diagnostics Lands $4,000,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6d334168-0406-4cd8-880f-2fe1d97e8079&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2009 Company Name Claros Diagnostics Mailing Address 4 Constitution Way Woburn, MA 01801 Company Description Claros has developed a novel handheld immunoassay system incorporating a lab-on-a-chip configuration which produces high performance quantitative laboratory blood test results with the ease-of-use of rapid qualitative diagnostic test strips. The Claros device will enable … Continue reading “Claros Diagnostics Lands $4,000,000 Series B Financing Round”
MDRNA Secures $7,250,000 Series D Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8ec043f0-02bb-46a2-a9a5-40ac9cbb38cf&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2009 Company Name MDRNA Mailing Address 3830 Monte Villa Parkway Bothell, WA 98021 Company Description MDRNA is a biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of therapeutic products based on RNA interference (RNAi). We are building a broad, flexible and cutting-edge drug discovery platform based on the premise that … Continue reading “MDRNA Secures $7,250,000 Series D Financing Round”
Ardian Secures $47,000,000 Series C Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=82090846-d4bc-428a-a1c6-1856985b75b7&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2009 Company Name Ardian Mailing Address 1810A Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94303 Company Description Ardian is in development on a congestive heart failure medical device. Website http://www.ardian.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $47,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Ardian Secures $47,000,000 Series C Financing”
ngmoco Lands $10,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=229c7ad1-e01f-4aea-803b-dd9f1b1d7ebf&Preview=1 Date 3/23/2009 Company Name ngmoco Mailing Address 164 South Park Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description The company is focused on publishing games for the iPhone. Website http://www.ngmoco.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $10,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes ngmoco will utilize the funding to expand its pipeline of … Continue reading “ngmoco Lands $10,000,000 New Funding Round”
Seattle Layoff Update: Amaze Entertainment, Evri Cut Staff
The carnage continues. At least two area technology companies that we follow at Xconomy have had significant layoffs this week—both at least in part because of the worsening economic climate. Here’s a quick summary of the news: —Kirkland, WA-based Amaze Entertainment, the console-game developer studio owned by Foundation 9 Entertainment (F9E), has laid off about … Continue reading “Seattle Layoff Update: Amaze Entertainment, Evri Cut Staff”
Boston Scientific: $50M Settlement over Stents
Back in February 2008, a Texas jury told Natick, MA-based Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) it would have to pay $431 million in damages to Dr. Bruce Saffran, who alleged that the company’s Taxus Express and Taxus Liberte drug-eluting stents infringed on patents he owns. Boston Scientific appealed the ruling, and a Federal Circuit panel reviewed … Continue reading “Boston Scientific: $50M Settlement over Stents”
Clean Tech Open Expands to Northwest
The Clean Tech Open, a nonprofit based in Palo Alto, CA, announced today it is expanding its 2009 business competition to include cleantech entrepreneurs in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. The fourth annual competition will award $50,000 each to three winners in the Northwest, in addition to winners in California and the Rocky Mountain region. Regional … Continue reading “Clean Tech Open Expands to Northwest”
Net Traffic Spikes–Something About That Funny Game with Nets
Internet news sites are experiencing their fourth biggest traffic day ever, as millions of people who should be working instead point their browsers to online video coverage of the “March Madness” NCAA basketball playoffs, judging by the Net Usage Index: News, a Web traffic monitoring service maintained by Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies. The index indicated … Continue reading “Net Traffic Spikes–Something About That Funny Game with Nets”
Overland Avoids Delisting
San Diego’s Overland Storage (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVRL]]) reported some good news today, saying Nasdaq has withdrawn a delisting notice that was issued last year when the company’s stock slipped below Nasdaq’s minimum share price requirement of $1 a share. According to Overland, Nasdaq now says Overland now meets “alternative” standards. Shares of Overland, which specializes in … Continue reading “Overland Avoids Delisting”
Surprised? Oxford Bioscience Partners Lands, Briefly, on Dreaded List of “VC Walking Dead”
It’s always slightly shocking to find out that a perceived wealthy friend or colleague isn’t so well off. I felt much the same way yesterday about seeing biotech venture firm Oxford Bioscience Partners on PE Hub’s roster of the “VC Walking Dead,” which is a list of more than a dozen venture firms that PE … Continue reading “Surprised? Oxford Bioscience Partners Lands, Briefly, on Dreaded List of “VC Walking Dead””
EU Spurns Gilead’s Aztreonam
Gilead Sciences, the Foster City, CA-based biotech company that has a research center in Seattle, said a scientific committee of the European Union adopted a negative opinion of its aztreonam lysine drug. The treatment, an inhalable antibiotic for cystic fibrosis developed by Seattle-based Corus Pharma, was turned down by the FDA last fall. EU regulators … Continue reading “EU Spurns Gilead’s Aztreonam”
The San Diego Biotech Survival Index 2: Clinging to Cash in the Downturn
Something like one-third of the public biotech companies are running with six months’ worth of cash or less, and it doesn’t look like San Diego companies are bucking this disturbing trend. When I last surveyed how much cash was available at San Diego’s public biotech companies in November, I found just 10 of 23 public … Continue reading “The San Diego Biotech Survival Index 2: Clinging to Cash in the Downturn”
Google Voice: It’s the End of the Phone As We Know It
[Update 12:00 pm 3/20/09: We were swamped with hundreds of e-mails in response to our offer of 100 free Google Voice beta accounts this morning. Thanks everyone! We’ll be in touch with the winners as soon as possible with details about their new accounts.] Brace for impact, again. Google is about to change the way … Continue reading “Google Voice: It’s the End of the Phone As We Know It”
Ex-Wyeth Exec Named Sirtris Pres.
Sirtris, a Cambridge, MA, unit of London-based drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE:[[ticker:GSK]]), says that George Vlasuk has been named president and head of Sirtris. Vlasuk, who was previously vice president of metabolic and hemophilia in the pharmaceutical division of Madison, NJ-based Wyeth (NYSE:[[ticker:WYE]]), will report to Sirtris CEO Christoph Westphal. Vlasuk will be based in Cambridge … Continue reading “Ex-Wyeth Exec Named Sirtris Pres.”
Intellectual Ventures’ Indian Deal Epitomizes Strategy to Support Invention in Asia
On Monday, Bellevue, WA-based Intellectual Ventures signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay to license some of the university’s inventions and to work on technology commercialization strategies with its researchers, as reported by CIOL, Express India, TechFlash, and other outlets. It’s not really big news by itself—Intellectual Ventures has formed similar partnerships with … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures’ Indian Deal Epitomizes Strategy to Support Invention in Asia”
Five More Life Sciences Companies To Watch: Invest Northwest Notebook, Part 2
There were lots of intriguing ideas circulating at this year’s Invest Northwest conference in Seattle; so many, in fact, that I couldn’t jam them all into one story. Yesterday, I offered an update on the progress of five intriguing Seattle-area companies in the business of making new drugs, vaccines, or medical devices—Alder Biopharmaceuticals, Immune Design, … Continue reading “Five More Life Sciences Companies To Watch: Invest Northwest Notebook, Part 2”
Investors Wire $10M to Quattro Wireless, NKT Therapeutics Nabs $8M, Still River Makes $33M Worth of Waves, & More Boston-Area Deals News
My much beloved Powerbook is about two reboots away from being utterly bricked, so this week’s roundup of New England tech and life sciences deals is going to be a lightning round. Let’s see how much I can tell you before the mortar sets… —Lexington, MA-based Pulmatrix reportedly raised $3 million in a bridge round … Continue reading “Investors Wire $10M to Quattro Wireless, NKT Therapeutics Nabs $8M, Still River Makes $33M Worth of Waves, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
AOptix Technologies Lands $12,900,000 Series D Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=898fb5cb-8f22-4308-8a1d-7efeaafc1c84&Preview=1 Date 3/20/2009 Company Name AOptix Technologies Mailing Address 695 Campbell Technology Parkway Campbell, CA 95008 Company Description The company has expanded to develop superior very long-range laser communications systems targeted at government applications. The latest AOptix lasercom systems offer far greater reliability and link availability than any other system, while providing … Continue reading “AOptix Technologies Lands $12,900,000 Series D Funding Round”
Amazing Society Makes Gazillion Game
Issaquah, WA-based Amazing Society, a game development studio owned by San Mateo, CA-based Gazillion Entertainment, is making a video game based on the Super Hero Squad cartoon, through a partnership between Gazillion and Marvel Entertainment. Gazillion emerged from stealth mode this week, as reported by VentureBeat and Northwest Innovation. Amazing Society is slated to develop … Continue reading “Amazing Society Makes Gazillion Game”
MIT Sloan Sales Conference—Sell or Sink: Navigate the Crisis
The Third Annual MIT Sloan Sales Conference offers an agenda geared towards selling in the current economic crisis, as well as sessions on CEO leadership challenges, lessons from past recessions, innovative sales models, and workshops on technology, communications and more. The keynote speakers are Bill McDermott, President, Global Field Operations, SAP and Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., … Continue reading “MIT Sloan Sales Conference—Sell or Sink: Navigate the Crisis”
March Madness on Mobile TV
March Madness is in the air, and beginning today Qualcomm’s MediaFLO plans to broadcast all 63 games of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament to AT&T—but AT&T customers must have a mobile TV-enabled cell phone to watch the games. This is the first time AT&T has carried every game from the college basketball tournament for its … Continue reading “March Madness on Mobile TV”
The Stimulus Bill and Funding Opportunities for Cleantech Startups
[Editor’s note: Scott Wolfe wrote this article with Edward W. Correia, counsel in Latham & Watkins’ Washington, D.C. office.] On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the largest funding bill in the history of the United States, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The law provides almost $800 billion in … Continue reading “The Stimulus Bill and Funding Opportunities for Cleantech Startups”
Snapshot of a Tipping Point: Ontela Teams Up with T-Mobile to Deliver Photos Online
Seattle mobile startup Ontela is announcing today that its photo-sending service for camera phones is now available through T-Mobile, via a partnership with the photo-sharing website Photobucket. The news comes on the heels of Ontela’s software going live on Verizon Wireless phones in November (also through Photobucket), as well as being pre-installed on four of … Continue reading “Snapshot of a Tipping Point: Ontela Teams Up with T-Mobile to Deliver Photos Online”
MITX Expands Scope of Technology Awards to “Promising” Early-Stage Companies; Entries Due April 3
For the past five years, the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) has held an awards ceremony to recognize the most innovative technology companies in New England. Past winners have included significant regional players with established technologies—companies like BladeLogic, BBN Technologies, Progress Software, McAfee, Turbine, and Skyhook Wireless. But this year MITX is expanding the … Continue reading “MITX Expands Scope of Technology Awards to “Promising” Early-Stage Companies; Entries Due April 3″
In Latest Expedition, J. Craig Venter Partners With Life Technologies
A 95-foot sailboat named the Sorcerer II will set sail today from San Diego’s Shelter Island Marina on what its owner, the J. Craig Venter Institute, bills as “a global ocean sampling voyage of genomic discovery.” Yesterday afternoon, the irrepressible Venter himself was barefoot as he hosted a dockside bon voyage party while an enormous … Continue reading “In Latest Expedition, J. Craig Venter Partners With Life Technologies”
MedAptus Lands $6M Financing
MedAptus, a Boston-based provider of billing software for medical practices and hospitals, reports it has raised $6 million in a financing. The financing, led by previous investor Boston Millennia Partners, is intend to expand MedAptus’s “Intelligent Charge Capture” software business. MedAptus says that one feature of its software is to enhance organizations’ investments in electronic … Continue reading “MedAptus Lands $6M Financing”
After Fending Off Sequenom Takeover, Exact Sciences Replaces CEO and CFO with Diagnostics Vets
Exact Sciences, a Marlborough, MA, developer of a DNA-based stool test for detecting colorectal cancer, says that its board of directors has replaced the firm’s CEO and chief financial officer. The management changes follow the firm’s successful maneuvering to avoid a takeover by San Diego-based diagnostics firm Sequenom (NASDAQ:[[ticker:SQNM]]). The board of Marlborough, MA-based Exact … Continue reading “After Fending Off Sequenom Takeover, Exact Sciences Replaces CEO and CFO with Diagnostics Vets”
Cyberkinetics Loses Energy
According to a report today in the Boston Globe, Foxborough, MA-based Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems (OTC:[[ticker:CYKN]]) is shutting down. In January, it sold the rights to its Andara Oscillating Field Stimulator technology, a device designed to regenerate nerve cells in patients with severe spinal injuries, to Waltham, MA-based NeuroMetrix for $350,000. The FDA hasn’t yet approved … Continue reading “Cyberkinetics Loses Energy”
Invest Northwest Notebook: Five of Seattle’s Next-Generation Life Sciences Innovators Seek to Adapt
No single company captured the lion’s share of buzz at this year’s Invest Northwest conference with a mega-partnership or a lucrative round of venture capital. But there were signs that the Northwest’s life sciences companies have adapted to life in a recession, and are continuing to get out of bed each day with plans to … Continue reading “Invest Northwest Notebook: Five of Seattle’s Next-Generation Life Sciences Innovators Seek to Adapt”
Merck’s Creationist-Turned-Genomicist, Pfizer’s VC Leader Scouts the Northwest, Zymo Nabs $20M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
This was a busy week in Xconomy’s life sciences department with lots of story ideas to chase at Invest Northwest, a fascinating life story of Merck’s Eric Schadt, and the usual pace of breaking news. —Merck’s Eric Schadt has been in the news lately since he and Rosetta Inpharmatics founder Stephen Friend told me about … Continue reading “Merck’s Creationist-Turned-Genomicist, Pfizer’s VC Leader Scouts the Northwest, Zymo Nabs $20M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
UW Energy Talks Dive Deep into Boeing Biofuels, Smart Grid Savings, and Solar Cells
New ideas for alternative energy and cleantech were in the air on Tuesday at the University of Washington, which hosted a regional meeting of the National Academy of Engineering and a public symposium on energy topics. We’ve taken a keen interest in this subject lately at Xconomy as we prepare for our own Northwest cleantech … Continue reading “UW Energy Talks Dive Deep into Boeing Biofuels, Smart Grid Savings, and Solar Cells”
Buzznet, Inc. Lands $12,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0d2a5af9-8486-45a9-89ae-8aa10774f3ba&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2009 Company Name Buzznet, Inc. Mailing Address 6464 Sunset Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 Company Description The company provides a social online community based on multimedia content. Website http://www.buzznet.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes Buzz Media will use the funds for the … Continue reading “Buzznet, Inc. Lands $12,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
MedAptus, Inc. Secures $6,000,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=48492ee7-df22-46c9-b0c3-bd01badf9571&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2009 Company Name MedAptus, Inc. Mailing Address 176 Federal Street, 3rd Floor Boston, MA 02110 Company Description Physician-founded MedAptus was incorporated in 1999 with the belief that in order for point-of-care technologies to make sense, they must be easy to use, deliver demonstrable financial benefits and also leverage an organization’s … Continue reading “MedAptus, Inc. Secures $6,000,000 New Financing”
Lending Club Lands $12,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b5cc5175-018e-42da-b2f1-7c2c7c135b8a&Preview=1 Date 3/19/2009 Company Name Lending Club Mailing Address 370 Convention Way Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description Lending Club is an online lending community where people can borrow and lend money, bypass the banks, and get better rates. By working together, members can borrow money more easily and at a better … Continue reading “Lending Club Lands $12,000,000 Series B Financing”
Funding Pool Deep for Still River, Cuts in the Offing for Epix and Synta, FDA Approvals Granted for Hologic, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News
The past week saw substantial cuts at two of New England’s biotech firms, but a thorough analysis of the financial reporting for most companies in the sector shows the news isn’t all bad. That and more below. —Luke delivered the second installment of his Biotech Survival Index, which assesses the financial health of more than … Continue reading “Funding Pool Deep for Still River, Cuts in the Offing for Epix and Synta, FDA Approvals Granted for Hologic, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”
UCSD Starts Digital Media Center
UC San Diego says it has established a center for next-generation digital media with a gift from IBM (NYSE: [[ticker:IBM]])—a high-performance IBM System z mainframe computer. In a statement, UCSD says IBM made the center possible through a shared university research award that includes the z mainframe, valued at about $2.2 million. The center, which … Continue reading “UCSD Starts Digital Media Center”
HipCricket Expands to Mexico
Kirkland, WA-based HipCricket, a mobile marketing software firm, announced today it has formed a partnership with investors Pablo Peralta and Enrique Lopez-Negrete of Mexico. The resulting service, HipCricket de Mexico, is the first step in the company’s plans to expand its reach to wireless customers in Latin America.
First Flight Brings Terrafugia “A New Level of Credibility,” Says CEO Dietrich
After Terrafugia’s heavily attended press conference this morning announcing the maiden flight of the company’s drivable aircraft, the Transition, I buttonholed founder and CEO Carl Dietrich for a one-on-one interview. He said the flight, which took place on March 5, is probably “the biggest single milestone” that Terrafugia could have achieved—and that the company is … Continue reading “First Flight Brings Terrafugia “A New Level of Credibility,” Says CEO Dietrich”
Stylefeeder Partners with Elle Publisher
Stylefeeder, the Cambridge, MA-based personalized shopping engine that raised a $2 million Series A round in January 2008, has formed a partnership with Hachette Filipacchi Media (HFM) U.S., the publisher of Elle, Car & Driver, Woman’s Day, and a number of other fashion, automotive, health, and hobbyist magazines. Under the deal, announced today by HFM, … Continue reading “Stylefeeder Partners with Elle Publisher”
Discovery Sues Amazon over Kindle
Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DISCA]]), the owner of Discovery Channel and other TV networks and websites, has filed a lawsuit against Amazon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMZN]]), alleging that the Kindle and Kindle 2 infringe on a Discovery patent issued in 2007 for e-book security and copyright protection. Discovery is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation.
Hangout Hires Former Disney Exec
Hangout Industries, the Boston-based creator of the Web-based social virtual world Hangout.net, announced today that it has named Mike Goslin, former vice president of virtual world design and development for Disney Online, as its new vice president of product development. Goslin will be in charge of design, development and operations. “Mike is one of the … Continue reading “Hangout Hires Former Disney Exec”
Korea Picks C Change for $130M Fund
C Change Investments Management, a Cambridge, MA, firm focused on the clean technology sector, says that the Republic of Korea has selected the group to co-manage its new $130 million Green Growth Fund. Korea Investments & Securities, a financial company based in Seoul, will also manage the government-backed fund. C Change, which announced its own … Continue reading “Korea Picks C Change for $130M Fund”
Former Infrasonics CEO Breathing New Life Into Cancer Detection Technology
Sometimes entrepreneurship isn’t the provenance of the young and the quick— and sometimes innovation just won’t go gentle into the night. Jim Hitchin, for example, is a 66-year-old San Diego entrepreneur who is working to revive biomedical technology acquired in 2004 from the bankruptcy of a Minneapolis, MN, medical device company. Hitchin previously served on … Continue reading “Former Infrasonics CEO Breathing New Life Into Cancer Detection Technology”
General Catalyst Lands Facebook Co-Founder to Help Create Next Generation of Web Media Startups
As is often (too often) told in local innovation circles, Boston venture capitalists turned down funding Facebook, the company headed to Silicon Valley—and the rest is a sore spot in New England Internet VC history. But now one of the three founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes, is returning in a big way to the New … Continue reading “General Catalyst Lands Facebook Co-Founder to Help Create Next Generation of Web Media Startups”