There’s a startup in Cambridge, MA, that’s quietly collecting gigabytes of data about the likes, dislikes, habits, and exploits of hard-core gamers. Given how lucrative console and online gaming have become—bringing in $1.3 billion for U.S. publishers in October alone, up 18 percent from the same month last year—you might guess that the startup intends … Continue reading “GamerDNA’s New Discovery Engine Helps Gamers Find More Games They’ll Love”
RightScale Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=69f8cf23-aa14-462f-b945-a4d1c69dff15&Preview=1 Date 12/8/2008 Company Name RightScale Mailing Address 402 East Gutierrez Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 Company Description RightScale, Inc. delivers the platform, tools and expertise that enable companies to create scalable web solutions on cloud computing services that are reliable, easy to manage, and cost less. Website http://www.rightscale.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “RightScale Garners $13,000,000 Series B Funding”
Cadence Secures Supply of Key Ingredient For Drug in Phase III Trials
San Diego’s Cadence Pharmaceuticals has entered into a long-term supply agreement with Solvay SA, a Belgian biotech giant, for the active ingredient in its Omnigard gel for treating wounds and burns. Cadence disclosed the deal in a filing with government regulators Friday, although financial terms were not revealed. If Cadence notifies Solvay after Omnigard’s phase III … Continue reading “Cadence Secures Supply of Key Ingredient For Drug in Phase III Trials”
Seattle Genetics “Empowered Antibody” Shines at Blood Disease Meeting
The longer Seattle Genetics keeps following cancer patients who took its lead drug candidate, the better the data looks. The Bothell, WA-based biotech company released some stellar (albeit preliminary and without a control group) clinical trial results today that show its “empowered antibody” is able to wipe out aggressive forms of Hodgkin’s disease with minimal … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics “Empowered Antibody” Shines at Blood Disease Meeting”
OVP Names Carl Weissman Managing Director
OVP Venture Partners, the Kirkland, WA-based venture firm, said today it has hired Carl Weissman as managing director, promoting him from venture partner. While filling that part-time role at OVP, Weissman’s full-time job has been as president and CEO of Accelerator, a Seattle-based biotech startup incubator. Weissman will continue to serve as chairman and CEO … Continue reading “OVP Names Carl Weissman Managing Director”
Biofuels Maker Verenium Gets Nasdaq Delisting Notice
Verenium said late today it has fallen out of compliance for companies listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. The Cambridge-based developer of cellulosic ethanol disclosed in a regulatory filing late today that Nasdaq requires listed companies to maintain a market capitalization of at least $50 million or total assets and total revenue of $50 million each in the … Continue reading “Biofuels Maker Verenium Gets Nasdaq Delisting Notice”
Orexigen Director, Daniel Turner, Buys 300,000 Shares After Bad News Depressed The Stock
One of the directors of San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics, Daniel K. Turner III of Montreux Equity Partners, bought 300,000 shares of the company’s stock today for his fund after the price dipped on some bad news. Turner, who joined the board in April 2005, disclosed today’s purchases, at prices between $3.20 and $3.50 a share, … Continue reading “Orexigen Director, Daniel Turner, Buys 300,000 Shares After Bad News Depressed The Stock”
Eden Bioscience Folds
Eden Bioscience, the agricultural biotechnology company that developed a crop-boosting product called Messenger, said today it has decided to shut down for good and liquidate its assets. The Woodinville, WA-based company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EDEN]]) sold its proprietary harpin protein technology in February 2007 to Pittsburgh-based Plant Health Care. Since then, Eden has tried to sustain itself … Continue reading “Eden Bioscience Folds”
Ariad Directors Resign En Masse, Accuse CEO of “Grossly Inappropriate” Behavior
A boardroom dispute at Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals exploded into public late today. Four of the biotech company’s nine directors quit over “vigorous disagreements” with CEO Harvey Berger, accusing him of “grossly inappropriate” and “manipulative” conduct in pushing through a merger with a gene therapy operation, according to a filing today with the Securities and … Continue reading “Ariad Directors Resign En Masse, Accuse CEO of “Grossly Inappropriate” Behavior”
Calypso Medical Cuts 36 Jobs To Save Cash
Seattle-based Calypso Medical Technologies has cut 36 jobs, or about one-fifth of its workforce, to conserve cash during the economic downturn. Calypso didn’t issue a press release, but CEO Eric Meier gave me the bad news this morning in a phone call. Calypso’s management and board made the cuts effective immediately, Meier says. It means … Continue reading “Calypso Medical Cuts 36 Jobs To Save Cash”
Microsoft Hires Head of Online Services from Yahoo
Redmond, WA-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) announced it has appointed Qi Lu as president of its online services group, which encompasses all of the company’s online search, advertising, information, and communications services. Lu was most recently Yahoo’s executive vice president of engineering for search and advertising technology. Before spending 10 years at Yahoo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:YHOO]]), Lu, … Continue reading “Microsoft Hires Head of Online Services from Yahoo”
Orexigen Shares Tank as it Quits Developing Two Drug Candidates, Executives Bail
(This story has been updated with information on severance packages, and the closing share price) Orexigen Therapeutics is getting hammered by investors today. The San Diego biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) dropped 35 percent to $3.51 at the close of trading after it said it is scrapping development of two experimental drugs to conserve cash, and … Continue reading “Orexigen Shares Tank as it Quits Developing Two Drug Candidates, Executives Bail”
Coskata Collects $40M from Blackstone, ATV, Globespan, Greatpoint
Coskata, the Warrenville, IL, cellulosic ethanol startup that debuted with a bang at the Detroit Auto Show last January, has raised $40 million in additional capital in a Series C round led by the Blackstone Group’s new Cleantech Venture Fund, according to a report yesterday by Dan Primack at Private Equity Hub. The private equity … Continue reading “Coskata Collects $40M from Blackstone, ATV, Globespan, Greatpoint”
Health Insuror Gives Coverage for DexCom Medical Device
The price of shares in DexCom, (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DXCM]]) a San Diego medical device maker, settled to about $2.75 in early trading today after soaring above $3 a share yesterday. The company, which makes a seven-day sensor that continuously transmits blood sugar levels for diabetics, said in a filing that health insurance provider Humana has agreed … Continue reading “Health Insuror Gives Coverage for DexCom Medical Device”
Northstar Finance Chief Resigns
Northstar Neuroscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NSTR]]), a Seattle-based maker of a brain stimulation device for severe depression, said today that Chief Financial Officer Raymond Calvert is resigning at the end of the year to “pursue other interests.” He will get severance worth six months of base salary, which was $210,000 in 2007, according to the company’s annual … Continue reading “Northstar Finance Chief Resigns”
Layoff Update: Intrinsyc, Iterasi, Marchex, Razorfish, RealNetworks, and Targeted Genetics Cut Staff
It’s a different kind of Black Friday. Heading into a cold winter recession, we’ve seen six Northwest companies deliver bad news in the form of layoffs this week. Of course, staff cuts can be strategic in times like these, but they’re never a good thing for employees. The one we haven’t seen reported elsewhere is … Continue reading “Layoff Update: Intrinsyc, Iterasi, Marchex, Razorfish, RealNetworks, and Targeted Genetics Cut Staff”
Speak & Spell: New Apps Turn Phones into Multimedia Search Appliances
About five years ago, in a previous life at another technology publication, I wrote that I wished I could “Google my sock drawer.” I was being facetious, but my point was that searching the Web had become so easy that it left me yearning for equally convenient ways to search other things, like the books … Continue reading “Speak & Spell: New Apps Turn Phones into Multimedia Search Appliances”
Staying Alive Through Small Business Research Grants—A Primer
The panel discussion that CommNexus organized yesterday in San Diego was intended for the telecom association’s military special interest group. But since the financial markets tanked and credit dried up, many fledgling technology companies might also be interested to know how to tap federal small business research grants. Good thing Xconomy was there, eh? The … Continue reading “Staying Alive Through Small Business Research Grants—A Primer”
InVivo CEO Overcame Spinal Cord Injury, Now Aims to Create Better Treatment For Same Problem
Frank Reynolds, the CEO of Cambridge, MA-based InVivo Therapeutics, says he still feels pain in his lower back when he steps off a curb. The pain stems from the spinal cord injury Reynolds suffered in an auto accident in 1992. It’s no coincidence that today he is running a medical technology firm with an implant … Continue reading “InVivo CEO Overcame Spinal Cord Injury, Now Aims to Create Better Treatment For Same Problem”
Out With the Old Shots, In With the New: Xconomy Forum To Explore Disruptive Changes in Vaccines
Old-school vaccines like shots for tetanus don’t add up to good business anymore for doctors who give them, according to a report this week in the Associated Press. Then again, the market for a new breed of vaccines against all sorts of other diseases is booming, on a trajectory from an estimated $10 billion in … Continue reading “Out With the Old Shots, In With the New: Xconomy Forum To Explore Disruptive Changes in Vaccines”
Optimer Sharpens Up Commercial Game Plan, After “C.Diff” Drug Success
Of all the people I met last month on a whirlwind of meetings with San Diego biotech companies, none had more bounce in their step than the folks at Optimer Pharmaceuticals. This company passed a huge test last month that suggests it has created the first new drug in decades for a bacterial invader called … Continue reading “Optimer Sharpens Up Commercial Game Plan, After “C.Diff” Drug Success”
EMC Secures Microsoft Alliance, Polaris Backs Infinite Power Solutions, ExtendMedia Extends its Balance Sheet by $10M, & More Boston-Area Deals News
Nope, it’s not Monday again already. We just moved the Boston deals roundup from Monday to Friday to make room for the brand-new San Diego deals roundup. So Boston readers are getting a bonus roundup this week. It’s a good thing, too–there’s much to discuss: —Oak Investment Partners of Westport, CT and Palo Alto, CA … Continue reading “EMC Secures Microsoft Alliance, Polaris Backs Infinite Power Solutions, ExtendMedia Extends its Balance Sheet by $10M, & More Boston-Area Deals News”
Dispatch from India’s Innovation Front Lines
Editor’s note: Xconomist Vinit Nijhawan is in India visiting venture capitalists and startups with an eye to bridging Boston and Indian startup ecosystems. This is the first in a series of dispatches. New Delhi, Thursday, December 4—I arrived in Delhi near midnight off a packed flight and to a crowded international airport, no sign of … Continue reading “Dispatch from India’s Innovation Front Lines”
PureWave Networks Lands $12,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=179d5b7b-17bd-48e4-9a36-94a5fa4e9419&Preview=1 Date 12/5/2008 Company Name PureWave Networks Mailing Address 2660-C Marine Way Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description PureWave Networks combines key technologies to provide cost-competitive, advanced WiMAX solutions. Website http://www.pwnets.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $12,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes This funding will allow PureWave to commercially introduce … Continue reading “PureWave Networks Lands $12,000,000 Series B Funding”
Smartfundit.com Garners $5,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c6fe6b59-e570-400c-8f88-bdd883ce58bc&Preview=1 Date 12/5/2008 Company Name Smartfundit.com Mailing Address 795 Folsom Street 1st Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description We set out with one vision. We wanted to make financing easily accessible to businesses worldwide. As a first step to achieving that vision we developed a new approach to delivering online finance … Continue reading “Smartfundit.com Garners $5,000,000 New Financing Round”
RealNetworks Lays Off 130, 39 in Seattle
Seattle-based RealNetworks has confirmed it is cutting 130 jobs, or 7.5 percent of its worldwide staff. The digital-media company says 39 of the positions are in Seattle. The layoffs will be effective at the end of the year. Displaced workers will receive cash severance packages and six months of healthcare coverage.
PATH Invests $3M in Flu Vaccine Candidate
Seattle-based PATH, a nonprofit organization devoted to improving global health, said today it is investing $3 million in a vaccine candidate against pandemic flu. The vaccine is being developed by Lentigen, a Gaithersburg, MD-based biotech company. If successful, the vaccine will mimic the potentially deadly H5N1 strains of flu virus, known as “bird flu.” The … Continue reading “PATH Invests $3M in Flu Vaccine Candidate”
NitroMed Gets Buyout Offer
Lexington, MA-based drug maker NitroMed (NASDAQ:[[ticker:NTMD]]) says it has received an unsolicited bid from investment group Deerfield Management—which already owns about 12 percent of NitroMed’s stock—to acquire NitroMed for 50 cents per share in cash, a 40-percent premium on its closing price today of 30 cents per share. The company says it’s evaluating the offer. … Continue reading “NitroMed Gets Buyout Offer”
Helicos Cuts 30 Percent of Workforce
Helicos Biosciences, the Cambridge, MA-based maker of genetic analysis tools, said today in a regulatory filing it is cutting 30 percent of its workforce, about 30 jobs, to conserve cash. The cuts will come between now and the end of the year, and cause the company to take a $450,000 charge for termination benefits. Earlier … Continue reading “Helicos Cuts 30 Percent of Workforce”
EMC and Microsoft Expand Partnership
EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA-based IT storage company, announced a new partnership between Microsoft (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) and EMC security division RSA to improve data security for the companies’ customers across networks and data centers. The partnership will combine RSA’s and Redmond, WA-based Microsoft’s resources and technologies to, among other things, integrate RSA data-protection software … Continue reading “EMC and Microsoft Expand Partnership”
GlassHouse Raises $9.8M in Series F Round
GlassHouse Technologies, a Framingham, MA-based provider of data center management and Internet-based data backup services, has raised $9.8 million in a Series F financing round led by Cisco Systems, PE Hub reports. GlassHouse, which we included in our list of tech companies with “aging” bids for initial public offerings, has been in registration for a … Continue reading “GlassHouse Raises $9.8M in Series F Round”
DivX’s CTO Resigns
San Diego’s DivX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DIVX]]) says its chief technology officer Markus Moenig has resigned to “return overseas and explore new entrepreneurial opportunities.” The company said Moenig’s primary focus, which was integrating H. 264 digital video technology, has been realized in its soon-to-be released DivX 7 product. The vice president of engineering, Jim Reesman, will lead … Continue reading “DivX’s CTO Resigns”
Calling All Bands and Music Fans—Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands 2 Is Approaching
January can be a cold, dark, cruel month around Boston. But Xconomy plans to liven it up—at least for one very loud evening—with our second annual Battle of the Tech Bands, planned for January 22 at the Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub here in Cambridge, MA. If you’re a musician and at least one member … Continue reading “Calling All Bands and Music Fans—Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands 2 Is Approaching”
Boston Loses Mobile Internet World Conference to San Francisco
The Mobile Internet World trade show, produced in Boston in 2007 and 2008 by the Trendsmedia events division of Boston-based market research firm Yankee Group, will be transplanted to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2009 and revamped as a “more intimate” conference focused on networking and education, according to a Trendsmedia announcement. The announcement, … Continue reading “Boston Loses Mobile Internet World Conference to San Francisco”
Public Data Goes on Amazon’s Cloud
Seattle-based Amazon Web Services announced today it is providing free access to centralized data sets in the Internet cloud. The Amazon subsidiary will host large data sets from genomics, bioinformatics, economics, U.S. Census information, and other areas, which researchers and developers can access from the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud software platform. The effort is intended … Continue reading “Public Data Goes on Amazon’s Cloud”
Catalyst Biosciences Raises $40M from Boston-Area Backers and Other Firms
Cambridge, MA-based venture firm HealthCare Ventures and several other backers have invested $40.4 million in a Series C round of financing for Catalyst Biosciences, a South San Francisco developer of protein-based drugs for diseases such as hemophilia and cancer, according to a company statement. Morgenthaler Ventures, a Menlo Park, CA-based firm which says it has … Continue reading “Catalyst Biosciences Raises $40M from Boston-Area Backers and Other Firms”
BeatThat Founder: Holiday Discounts Unimpressive So Far
Both traffic to online retailers and actual sales appear to have been up moderately on Cyber Monday, the Internet equivalent of last week’s Black Friday bricks-and-mortar shopping binge. But it wasn’t because of the big discounts allegedly being offered by e-retailers as a way to get recession-stung consumers to open their wallets, according to an … Continue reading “BeatThat Founder: Holiday Discounts Unimpressive So Far”
Korean Biotech Opens Mass. Office
OCT USA, a U.S. unit of Korean biotech firm Osteogenic Core Technologies, plans to open an office in Cambridge, MA, today, the Boston Globe reports. The Globe says that OCT—which is developing treatments for osteoporosis and arthritis—plans to hire 30 scientists in Cambridge and pump $8 million to $10 million into its new operation at … Continue reading “Korean Biotech Opens Mass. Office”
Grounded in Reality, Maxwell Technology’s CEO Dispels Static Around Ultracapacitors
Is it just me, or have ultracapacitors somehow become the latest hot and mysterious alternative energy technology? Just a few weeks ago, my Xconomy colleague Greg Huang reported that Seattle startup EnerG2 landed $8.5 million in venture funding to develop a new class of ultracapitors that use nanocomposite materials to store energy. Before that, Light … Continue reading “Grounded in Reality, Maxwell Technology’s CEO Dispels Static Around Ultracapacitors”
Boston Biotechs Seek Scarce Funds Amid Market Famine at Annual Pitch Event
Many biotech firms in the Boston area and elsewhere are starved for capital, and initial public offerings appear to be off the table due to the economic recession. These harsh realities are likely to flavor the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council’s (MBC) annual MassBio Investors Forum next week, when 17 biotech outfits (including a new regenerative medicine … Continue reading “Boston Biotechs Seek Scarce Funds Amid Market Famine at Annual Pitch Event”
Urbanspoon Unveils Restaurant Sites in All U.S. Cities; Co-Founder Ethan Lowry Talks Strategy
I didn’t think it was possible for a popular website like Urbanspoon to fly below the radar. But it has—at least for the past week. The two-year old Seattle startup, which provides local restaurant reviews and has more than a million users of its iPhone application every month, quietly unveiled new sites in every city … Continue reading “Urbanspoon Unveils Restaurant Sites in All U.S. Cities; Co-Founder Ethan Lowry Talks Strategy”
Re-energizing Energy Innovation: Experts Spar (Lightly) at Xconomy Forum
The role of technology entrepreneurs in rebuilding the U.S. energy economy was the main theme at Xconomy’s latest forum Tuesday night. Topping the agenda was an all-star panel of local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and academic analysts, who shared their thoughts with a sold-out crowd of some 125 attendees at the British Consulate General in Cambridge, … Continue reading “Re-energizing Energy Innovation: Experts Spar (Lightly) at Xconomy Forum”
Bruce Carter Exits Stage Left, Targeted Genetics Cuts Payroll, OncoGenex Cancer Drug Prolongs Lives, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
The big news of the past couple weeks came before Thanksgiving, when one of Seattle’s biotech pioneers, Bruce Carter, decided to exit stage left. Here is that and other highlights of the past two weeks: —ZymoGenetics’ charismatic CEO Bruce Carter, 65, has decided to retire at year’s end, and promote Doug Williams to take his … Continue reading “Bruce Carter Exits Stage Left, Targeted Genetics Cuts Payroll, OncoGenex Cancer Drug Prolongs Lives, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Traditional Venture Model is “Broken” for Biotech, Companies Need to Adapt, Says VC Alan Frazier
Alan Frazier controls one of the world’s biggest life sciences venture capital funds, so it would only be natural that he’d like to hide under a rock these days. But he was still willing to sit down with me at his 32nd floor office in downtown Seattle this week for a wide-ranging talk about the … Continue reading “Traditional Venture Model is “Broken” for Biotech, Companies Need to Adapt, Says VC Alan Frazier”
Innovation Will Set America Back on Track
Most Americans are depressed about the economy. But if we pull back and try to rise above the clouds, there are real reasons for hope. The combination of a “Yes We Can” administration headed to the White House, along with our country’s established leadership in innovation, has us standing at the crest of a trail … Continue reading “Innovation Will Set America Back on Track”
Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In
A few weeks ago we ran a story called How to Handle the Downturn: Xconomy’s Top 9 List of Top 10 Lists. We’d been combing the Web looking for an even ten Top 10 advice lists—but came up one short. Since that time, the advice has continued to flow. One list of particular note, from … Continue reading “Xconomy’s Top 9 List of How to Deal With the Downturn Now Up to 12 As More Good Advice Pours In”
Symwave Secures $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a0c6d141-076c-480b-907d-5249f0e2ffe7&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name Symwave Mailing Address 10251 Vista Sorrento Parkway, 1st Floor San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The company has developed a broad portfolio of analog/mixed-signal IC technology based on a high-speed, low-power, CMOS IC design that can be implemented across serial, physical and/or wireless interfaces. Website http://www.symwave.com Transaction … Continue reading “Symwave Secures $10,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Obtains $9,800,000 Series F Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8d701b28-335e-4283-ba5e-ba379c37c6be&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Mailing Address 200 Crossing Boulevard Framingham, MA 01702 Company Description GlassHouse Technologies, Inc. provides services that help organizations solve the business problems of enterprise storage. From strategy through deployment and support, GlassHouse partners with clients to transform storage into a strategic advantage. GlassHouse clients … Continue reading “GlassHouse Technologies Inc. Obtains $9,800,000 Series F Financing”
Neocase Software Receives $10,000,000 Series D Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e0a88dae-4459-4223-b016-b7c8007da7ab&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name Neocase Software Mailing Address 55 Hawthorne St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Company Description Created in a call center environment, Neocase delivers customer service management solutions that enable organizations to implement advanced customer service and support best practices. Neocase brings customer care to a new level by giving … Continue reading “Neocase Software Receives $10,000,000 Series D Financing Round”
Broncus Technologies Garners $38,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b7023d12-a6f7-4eb0-ac55-ef101af7f265&Preview=1 Date 12/4/2008 Company Name Broncus Technologies Mailing Address 1400 North Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description The company develops, manufactures and markets medical devices for lung diseases. Website http://www.broncus.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $38,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture … Continue reading “Broncus Technologies Garners $38,000,000 New Financing Round”