MIT Sustainability Summit, Discovering New Dimensions for Growth

The MIT Sustainability Summit, Discovering New Dimensions for Growth, brings together students, engineers, business leaders, academics, environmental activists, and public servants. Panel discussions—based on hypothetical but realistic scenarios—will focus on how to progress toward sustainability in a recession, how to measure the success of sustainability practices, and what opportunities for innovation and collaboration in sustainability are … Continue reading “MIT Sustainability Summit, Discovering New Dimensions for Growth”

Evri Teams Up with The Times of London, Helps Online Audience Browse the Web Better

Seattle-based Internet startup Evri is announcing today that it has formed a partnership with The Times of London, one of the UK’s leading newspapers, to provide content recommendation software for online articles. For selected stories in the Times Online, Evri’s widget shows up next to the text with a list of links to related articles … Continue reading “Evri Teams Up with The Times of London, Helps Online Audience Browse the Web Better”

Terrafugia Achieves Maiden Flight—Live Blogging from the Boston Museum of Science

[Update, 2:30 p.m., March 18, 2009: We’ve just published an extensive followup interview with Carl Dietrich, Terrafugia’s founder and CEO.] Ever since my first visit to Terrafugia’s Woburn, MA, warehouse last May to see the startup’s Transition “roadable aircraft,” I’ve been pestering CEO Carl Dietrich to clue us in about the craft’s first flight. He … Continue reading “Terrafugia Achieves Maiden Flight—Live Blogging from the Boston Museum of Science”

Report: IBM in Talks to Buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5B

Big Blue may become even bigger in the Boston area. IBM is in discussions to acquire Sun Microsystems, a move that would strengthen IBM’s Web presence and add to its server and data storage businesses, the Wall Street Journal reports this morning, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the talks. Both IBM (NSYE:[[ticker:IBM]]) and Sun … Continue reading “Report: IBM in Talks to Buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5B”

Generation Health Growing Boston-Area Presence, Backed by Highland Capital Partners

Though Generation Health, launched last year with backing from Highland Capital Partners and others in the Boston area, is based in New Jersey, it’s staging much of its effort to build a novel benefits management system for genetic tests here in Massachusetts. And Per Lofberg, the firm’s chairman and CEO, tells Xconomy that he anticipates … Continue reading “Generation Health Growing Boston-Area Presence, Backed by Highland Capital Partners”

How to Stimulate Biotech? Gillis, Chhabra, Williams Sound Off

No one would have been surprised if there was a lot of self-pity going around at this year’s Invest Northwest conference. After all, biotech investors have been clobbered like every other sector in the market, and one-third of public biotech companies are said to be running on their last six months of cash or less. … Continue reading “How to Stimulate Biotech? Gillis, Chhabra, Williams Sound Off”

Amira’s Drug Discovery Team, Pioneers of Hit Asthma Treatment, Take Aim at Pulmonary Fibrosis

People with pulmonary fibrosis have a pretty raw deal. Scientists don’t really know what causes this lung-damaging disease, and there’s no really effective FDA-approved treatment. The disease makes it hard to breathe, and kills an estimated 40,000 people a year. That’s a bigger killer than some far better known culprits like prostate cancer. A few … Continue reading “Amira’s Drug Discovery Team, Pioneers of Hit Asthma Treatment, Take Aim at Pulmonary Fibrosis”

With Loudcrowd, Nabeel Hyatt Sees Mult-Billion-Dollar Opportunity in Music Gaming: “This Thing Is Ours to Screw Up”

I don’t care whether I’m good enough at Dance, one of the online games that’s part of the new music site Loudcrowd, to impress other users. What I want to know is whether I dance better than Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick. As part of his January 30 tour of the Cambridge Innovation Center, the Govinnovator … Continue reading “With Loudcrowd, Nabeel Hyatt Sees Mult-Billion-Dollar Opportunity in Music Gaming: “This Thing Is Ours to Screw Up””

Still River Systems, Inc. Obtains $33,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=52c4ae53-c95d-49df-a9d6-bba8dbad900e&Preview=1 Date 3/18/2009 Company Name Still River Systems, Inc. Mailing Address 300 Foster St Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description Still River Systems is dedicated to providing physicians and their patients access to high quality, cost-effective proton therapy solutions, and to helping establish this superior treatment modality as a standard of care for … Continue reading “Still River Systems, Inc. Obtains $33,000,000 New Financing Round”

Canvas Lands $750,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c1b36a46-8386-4897-98e4-336af42b72ce&Preview=1 Date 3/18/2009 Company Name Canvas Mailing Address 101 California Street San Francisco, CA 94111 Company Description Canvas is a maker of software that allows even layman users to turn paper forms into digital applications for business. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $750,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “Canvas Lands $750,000 Series A Funding”

Silver Spring Networks Garners $15,000,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=291ddbf2-1c02-4e33-a879-391d6724a4d3&Preview=1 Date 3/18/2009 Company Name Silver Spring Networks Mailing Address 555 Broadway Street Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description At Silver Spring Networks, we develop intelligent, IP-based networking products that allow utilities to dramatically improve efficiency, provide their customers with insight and control, and ensure the reliable delivery of low-cost services. Website … Continue reading “Silver Spring Networks Garners $15,000,000 Series D Financing”

Numerate Lands $5,500,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f2050e9c-69fe-487c-a394-6e514a65a295&Preview=1 Date 3/18/2009 Company Name Numerate Mailing Address 1150 Bayhill Drive San Bruno, CA 94066 Company Description Numerate engineers rather than discovers drugs. We have built and validated our Drug Engineering Process to deliver leads faster, cheaper and more predictably. Website http://www.numerate.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,500,000 Transaction Round Series … Continue reading “Numerate Lands $5,500,000 Series B Round”

OptiSolar Secures $30,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=12df4c96-4810-4f92-99a0-a9e3e30f140e&Preview=1 Date 3/18/2009 Company Name OptiSolar Mailing Address 31302 Huntwood Avenue Hayward, CA 94544 Company Description OptiSolar’s mission is to make solar energy competitive with other forms of electricity generation. OptiSolar’s thin film systems create an affordable, durable product that makes solar mainstream. Website http://www.optisolar.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,000,000 … Continue reading “OptiSolar Secures $30,000,000 New Financing”

Sorenson’s New CEO Establishes San Diego ‘Hub’

One of the corollaries of hiring a new CEO is that sometimes the corporate mountain moves instead of the guy at the top, which may be a factor in an announcement today by Utah’s Sorenson Media. The Salt Lake City-based developer of video compression and encoding software said today Sorenson has opened a new San Diego … Continue reading “Sorenson’s New CEO Establishes San Diego ‘Hub’”

A Snapshot of San Diego’s Innovation Economy

San Diego’s spirit of entrepreneurship remained resilient in 2008, despite a credit crisis that precipitated one of the worst financial periods in U.S. history, according to Connect, a San Diego nonprofit group that promotes technology innovation and entrepreneurship. Connect says 73 new technology companies were started in the San Diego area during the last three … Continue reading “A Snapshot of San Diego’s Innovation Economy”

UK Pharma Visualization Startup Chooses San Diego Region for Expansion

Just a few weeks after we reported Torrey Path’s arrival in La Jolla, another bioinformatics company is setting up shop San Diego. Dotmatics, a scientific visualization and bioinformatics software developer founded in the United Kingdom, has opened an office near San Diego as part of an expansion that targets the U.S. life sciences market. “Now … Continue reading “UK Pharma Visualization Startup Chooses San Diego Region for Expansion”

Still River Systems Banks $33M to Accelerate Development of Next-Gen Proton Radiotherapy System

Still River Systems, a Littleton, MA, startup developing a proton radiotherapy system for cancer treatment, has revealed a $33 million financing this morning intended to help the company expedite development of its lead product. The sizable financing was led by Venrock Associates and previous investor Caxton Health and Life Sciences, according to Still River. Venture … Continue reading “Still River Systems Banks $33M to Accelerate Development of Next-Gen Proton Radiotherapy System”

Pfizer’s VC Leader, Barbara Dalton, on Corporate Venture and Northwest Deal Hunting

Pfizer is the world’s largest drugmaker, and it tends to make headlines when it pulls off megadeals like its pending $68 billion takeover of Wyeth. It’s one of the deals the company is hoping will help replenish its pipeline with new medicines after the patent expires in 2010 for atorvastatin (Lipitor), the $12 billion a … Continue reading “Pfizer’s VC Leader, Barbara Dalton, on Corporate Venture and Northwest Deal Hunting”

Ex-Microsoftie’s Startup, Telligent, Takes on Jive (and Others) in Social Software for Businesses

A week ago, I reported on Portland, OR-based Jive Software’s latest product, a business software package designed to let employees communicate and collaborate more effectively using social networking tools. Jive competes with the likes of big companies such as IBM and Microsoft, who want to own the business communication space and have been adding social-network … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoftie’s Startup, Telligent, Takes on Jive (and Others) in Social Software for Businesses”

Geospiza Wins $1.1M NIH Grant

Geospiza, the Seattle-based maker of software to help researchers sort through massive amounts of genomic data, said today it has received a two-year, $1.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. It’s part of a collaboration with The HDF Group. The collaboration will aim to support biological software applications that use Hierarchical Data Format, … Continue reading “Geospiza Wins $1.1M NIH Grant”

Verenium Struggles to Make Ends Meet

Verenium (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRNM]]), a biofuels startup based in Cambridge, MA, and San Diego, warned in an annual 10-K income statement filed with the SEC yesterday that independent accountants hired by the firm have raised “substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.” Losses are piling up from the company’s research and development … Continue reading “Verenium Struggles to Make Ends Meet”

Biotech Survival Index 2: Boston Life Sciences Companies Squirrel Away More Cash for Long Winter

When I last crunched the numbers on the financial health of the Boston area’s public life sciences companies, back in November, I noted that 15 of them had more than $100 million stockpiled. These firms, I reasoned, were likely in a decent position to weather the economic storm. Now with quarterly financial reporting through December … Continue reading “Biotech Survival Index 2: Boston Life Sciences Companies Squirrel Away More Cash for Long Winter”

More San Diego Layoffs Hit Cymer, Goodrich Aerostructures, La Jolla Pharmaceutical

With unemployment in San Diego County at 8.6 percent in January—its highest level since the 1970s—it should come as no surprise that some of San Diego’s leading technology companies continue to shed workers. Still, the depth of the layoffs has been surprising among the companies we follow at Xconomy. You can check our updated list … Continue reading “More San Diego Layoffs Hit Cymer, Goodrich Aerostructures, La Jolla Pharmaceutical”

Blade Games Raises $4M, Skytap Scores $7M, ZymoGenetics Gets $20M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News

St. Paddy’s Day caps a relatively busy week for deals in the Northwest, with activity in business software, gaming, and biotech. —In the big funding news of the week, Seattle-based Skytap scored a $7 million Series B round from existing Seattle-area investors Ignition Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and WRF Capital. Skytap develops cloud-computing software to … Continue reading “Blade Games Raises $4M, Skytap Scores $7M, ZymoGenetics Gets $20M, & More Seattle-Area Deals News”

Using HIV as Model, Anadys Develops Drug Cocktail Ingredient for Hepatitis C

HIV was transformed from a terminal illness into a chronic disease in wealthy countries in the late 1990s, once scientists learned to mix anti-viral drugs into a potent cocktail. That was supposed to hold the virus in check by attacking it from many different angles, keeping it from developing resistance to any one drug. The … Continue reading “Using HIV as Model, Anadys Develops Drug Cocktail Ingredient for Hepatitis C”

Shaking Off Defensive Image, Black Duck Aims to Accelerate Software Development with Open Source

When I first wrote about Black Duck Software about five years ago (pre-Xconomy), the company was pitching its open-source code tracking system as a protective measure. Many software companies wanted to incorporate open-source code into their products—why reinvent an e-commerce module for taking credit card numbers, for instance, if there’s already a perfectly good open-source … Continue reading “Shaking Off Defensive Image, Black Duck Aims to Accelerate Software Development with Open Source”

Quattro Wireless Obtains $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=54c5aa7e-e90f-4864-b665-0db58cb9837f&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2009 Company Name Quattro Wireless Mailing Address 260 Charles St Waltham, MA 02453 Company Description Through its industry-leading mobile workbench, publishing and analytics platform, Quattro empowers Web publishers of all shapes and sizes to build, manage and extend a dynamic, advertising-supported mobile Web experience. Under the GetMobile umbrella, Quattro Wireless … Continue reading “Quattro Wireless Obtains $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

Still River Systems, Inc. Lands $33,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=52c4ae53-c95d-49df-a9d6-bba8dbad900e&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2009 Company Name Still River Systems, Inc. Mailing Address 300 Foster St Littleton, MA 01460 Company Description Still River Systems is dedicated to providing physicians and their patients access to high quality, cost-effective proton therapy solutions, and to helping establish this superior treatment modality as a standard of care for … Continue reading “Still River Systems, Inc. Lands $33,000,000 New Funding Round”

Apture Secures $4,100,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6c4f8565-6025-45b9-aeaa-bc38cfc8e511&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2009 Company Name Apture Mailing Address 539 Bryant Street San Mateo, CA 94107 Company Description Apture provides the first rich communication platform that allows people to intuitively experience the web. Website http://www.apture.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $4,100,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “Apture Secures $4,100,000 Series A Round”

Teracent Receives $2,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e143bf35-98ae-4d7b-83a2-f8c262c8b7f6&Preview=1 Date 3/17/2009 Company Name Teracent Mailing Address 400 S. El Camino Real San Mateo, CA 94402 Company Description Teracent’s Intelligent Display Advertising™ creates display ads entirely customized to the specific consumer and site – a proposition for marketers that was, until now, cost and time prohibitive. By deploying an unlimited number … Continue reading “Teracent Receives $2,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Quidel Shares Plunge on Warning

A surprisingly light flu season is drawing to a close, which is good news except perhaps at San Diego-based Quidel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QDEL]]), which makes rapid diagnostic tests. Investors hammered the stock after Quidel said it anticipates a first quarter loss due to a significant decline in sales of its diagnostic products for influenza and Strep … Continue reading “Quidel Shares Plunge on Warning”

MobileCamp Boston 2

Spring is the season for “un-conferences” like MobileCamp Boston 2, where participants demo anything and everything they’re working on and learn from each other. Sessions may include: Mobile messaging: SMS and new alternatives Agile development for mobile apps Flash Lite Analytics for Mobile apps Building mobile commerce applications Mobile Widget development Community Wireless Mesh Networks … Continue reading “MobileCamp Boston 2”

Cell Therapeutics Reports Severe Cardiac Events in Drug Trial

[[Updated: March 16, 5:50 pm. Adds comments from chief medical officer Jack Singer and clarifies study results.]] Cell Therapeutics is betting its future on winning FDA approval of a drug that looks effective for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, but now comes word that patients on the drug in a clinical trial had a higher number of heart … Continue reading “Cell Therapeutics Reports Severe Cardiac Events in Drug Trial”

Y Combinator, Sequoia, and Lessons for the Recession

In January, Paul Graham announced that Y Combinator would no longer operate in the summers out of Cambridge, MA, but instead would stay year round in its other home of Mountain View, CA. The reason he put forth was the impending birth of his new child and the decision that California was the better place … Continue reading “Y Combinator, Sequoia, and Lessons for the Recession”

Funding Advice from Global Smart Energy

Redmond, WA-based Global Smart Energy has released guidelines for evaluating proposals for smart-grid projects that seek federal stimulus funds. The “stimulus scorecard” recommends proposals should be specific about how they impact things like consumer choice and energy bills, utilities’ desire for open, secure, and replicable systems, and job growth and other economic factors. The report … Continue reading “Funding Advice from Global Smart Energy”

IgniteChange Boston

From the event description: “A participant generated un-conference event designed to give the community a platform to share ideas on how to apply innovation and creativity to solve social issues currently impacting both our local and global communities. IgniteChange is made up of two important parts: 1. The presentations from those in the community. 2. … Continue reading “IgniteChange Boston”

Azaleos Merges With M3

Seattle-based Azaleos, a Microsoft Exchange services company, announced today it has merged with Charlotte, NC-based M3 Technology Group. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the new company will retain the name and management team of Azaleos. Azaleos was founded in 2004 by senior Microsoft execs to handle e-mail for businesses.

Cloud Computing Firm Skytap Scores $7M More from Ignition, Madrona, WRF

What financing risk? Seattle-based Skytap, a cloud-based virtualization startup, said today it has closed a $7 million Series B funding round from previous investors Ignition Partners, Madrona Venture Group, and WRF Capital. The company said the funds will be used to bolster product development, sales, and marketing efforts. Skytap was spun out of the University … Continue reading “Cloud Computing Firm Skytap Scores $7M More from Ignition, Madrona, WRF”

Case Dismissed: Broadcom’s Legal Bid to Defang Qualcomm Patents

The lawyers for Irvine, CA-based Broadcom have been on a roll in a protracted legal battle over mobile phone technology patents against San Diego arch-rival Qualcomm, including one case that led to sanctions last year. But Broadcom’s lawyers misfired in a lawsuit filed against Qualcomm just five months ago. The suit broadly alleged that Qualcomm … Continue reading “Case Dismissed: Broadcom’s Legal Bid to Defang Qualcomm Patents”

OVP’s Rick LeFaivre on Venture Capital and the Future of Cleantech

Sick of cleantech yet? Rick LeFaivre certainly isn’t. In fact, he’s just getting started. The managing director at Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners leads the VC firm’s investments in alternative energy and cleantech, together with fellow managing director Gerry Langeler, who is based in Portland, OR. To date, OVP has made five investments in cleantech—Carbonflow, … Continue reading “OVP’s Rick LeFaivre on Venture Capital and the Future of Cleantech”

Zino Society’s Green Investment Forum

Twelve early-stage companies in the cleantech industry will be selected to make presentations at the Zino Society’s third annual Green Investment Forum. Judges will select a winner who will receive a $50,000 investment,. and awards will also go to the Best Presenter, and Best Investment Opportunity. The application deadline for entrepreneurs is Noon on March … Continue reading “Zino Society’s Green Investment Forum”

Quattro Wireless Hits “Hockey Stick” Growth, Raises Additional $10 Million

Quattro Wireless of Waltham, MA, announced today that it has raised $10 million in new venture funding to help expand its mobile content and advertising network. Despite the withering economy, Quattro hit a “hockey stick” in customer acquisition and revenue growth in late 2008 and needs the money to invest in sales, marketing, and technology … Continue reading “Quattro Wireless Hits “Hockey Stick” Growth, Raises Additional $10 Million”

$8M for NKT Therapeutics

NKT Therapeutics, a Newton, MA-based startup built around technology from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Massachusetts General Hospital, announced it has raised $8 million in a Series A financing led jointly by SV Life Sciences and MedImmune Ventures. NKT, whose website says the financing closed in December 2008, is developing … Continue reading “$8M for NKT Therapeutics”

Obama’s Stem Cell Reversal Sparks Deals, Qualcomm’s MediaFLO Revealed, Nokia’s Wireless Mapping, & More SD BizTech News

President Obama’s reversal of federal funding restrictions on research using embryonic stem cells prompted some interesting commentary last week, along with some related developments among local startups. We also have news about the expanding world of mobile media and wireless mapping technologies, so read on! —No one is expecting immediate and widespread changes after the … Continue reading “Obama’s Stem Cell Reversal Sparks Deals, Qualcomm’s MediaFLO Revealed, Nokia’s Wireless Mapping, & More SD BizTech News”

Boston-Power HP Battery For Sale

Back in December, Westborough, MA-based Boston-Power announced a major deal to manufacture new longer-lasting, eco-friendly laptop batteries for Hewlett-Packard. The new $150 battery, called the Enviro, is compatible with 17 notebook computers in the HP Pavilion, HP HDX, Compaq Presario and HP G lines, and goes on sale today at HP’s e-commerce site, hpshopping.com. Starting … Continue reading “Boston-Power HP Battery For Sale”

What’s a Biotech Banker To Do in a Downturn? How About M&A

George Milstein is a survivor. Lots of peers in his line of work, biotech investment banking, have vanished from the scene with pink slips in hand. Yet after 15 years in the business, living through the mid-90s health reform bust, the genomics collapse of 2001, and now this mortgage-fueled catastrophe, Milstein is still doing what … Continue reading “What’s a Biotech Banker To Do in a Downturn? How About M&A”

Carmichael Roberts Brings Scientific Expertise to North Bridge Venture Partners, Launching New Startup

Carmichael Roberts says he has avoided taking the traditional path during his career as a scientist and entrepreneur. And he’s now taking a path that will lead North Bridge Venture Partners from its traditional emphasis on IT to a larger mix of investments based on breakthroughs in chemistry and materials science. He even let me … Continue reading “Carmichael Roberts Brings Scientific Expertise to North Bridge Venture Partners, Launching New Startup”

Could Patent Reform Hurt Cleantech?

(Editor’s Note: This is excerpted from written testimony to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee.) Out of the many patents that will be filed in the coming years, there will be a handful of world-changing inventions that can crucially alter the course of our future. These are the jewels we need to protect: —inventions that solve … Continue reading “Could Patent Reform Hurt Cleantech?”