Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=640171be-1f01-4aa6-86b1-c94c94832497&Preview=1 Date 11/10/2008 Company Name ImageShack Mailing Address 236 N. Santa Cruz Ave Los Gatos, CA 95030 Company Description ImageShack’s mission is to provide an easy-to-use image hosting service for everyone. Website http://www.imageshack.us Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms … Continue reading “ImageShack Secures $15,000,000 New Financing”
Hopeful About Federal Funding, Worried About Federal Regulations
It is too early to even venture a guess as to how this administration will approach innovation. I’m hopeful for continued federal research funding (NIH, NSF, DOE, etc) which is the core of U.S. superiority in innovation. Other than dealing with the financial crisis and recession, I’m concerned about increased regulation, trade restrictions, and healthcare … Continue reading “Hopeful About Federal Funding, Worried About Federal Regulations”
One True Media Obtains $8,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=304a2f71-3adc-4781-b407-299e4bfda6df&Preview=1 Date 11/9/2008 Company Name One True Media Mailing Address 955-A Charter St. Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description One True Media is an exciting new service for friends and families to easily create and share their priceless photos and videos on the web. One True Media focuses on the creative process, … Continue reading “One True Media Obtains $8,000,000 Series B Funding”
Solexant Receives $18,170,000 Series B Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a4b9fd92-7c2c-4d49-8d48-bb22cf779848&Preview=1 Date 11/9/2008 Company Name Solexant Mailing Address 2385 Bering Dr. San Jose, CA 95131 Company Description Solexant is developing high efficiency low cost solar cells that can harvest energy from the entire solar spectrum. Solexant plans to develop and manufacture solar cells and supply them to OEMs. Website http://www.solexant.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Solexant Receives $18,170,000 Series B Financing Round”
MIT Enterprise Forum: The Secret To Getting Funded
During this tumultuous period, startups and emerging companies are questioning what will happen to the usual sources of investment capital. Angels and venture capitalists alike are signaling that the months to come may be brutal. Whatever “lift” the equity and credit markets may get from the upcoming election, it is a given that we are … Continue reading “MIT Enterprise Forum: The Secret To Getting Funded”
Where Is the Seattle Cloud: No Local Startups Among Amazon Web Services’ $100K Finalists
Today, Amazon announced the seven finalists in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) startup challenge. These are young companies that are using the Seattle giant’s cloud-computing platform to build their businesses, and Amazon is rewarding the ones it thinks are the most promising. The grand prize is $50K in cash and $50K in AWS credits and … Continue reading “Where Is the Seattle Cloud: No Local Startups Among Amazon Web Services’ $100K Finalists”
Boeing Completes Tapestry Acquisition
Chicago-based aerospace giant Boeing said today that it has finalized the purchase, for an undisclosed sum, of San Diego’s Tapestry Solutions, a 350-employee company that specializes in command-and-control, modeling, and simulation software for military and security organizations. The acquisition was first announced September 26.
Heartland Robotics Ramps Up, Rejiggers Management as Co-founder Departs and IntelliVid Founder Arrives
Heartland Robotics, the two-month-old industrial robotics startup MIT computer science guru Rod Brooks envisions as an engine for revitalizing the American workforce, has ramped up its own workforce while making some key changes at the top, Xconomy has learned. Founding CEO Ken Zolot has departed and will no longer be involved in company operations. Meanwhile, … Continue reading “Heartland Robotics Ramps Up, Rejiggers Management as Co-founder Departs and IntelliVid Founder Arrives”
Dendreon Reports $106M in Cash at End of September
Dendreon said today in its quarterly report that it finished the month of September with $106 million in cash and investments in the bank. The Seattle biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) said its net loss in the quarter was $26.8 million. It expects to get final clinical results from a trial of its leading prostate cancer … Continue reading “Dendreon Reports $106M in Cash at End of September”
In the World of Total Information Awareness, “The Last Enemy” Is Us; A TV Show Good Enough to Inspire a Political Rant
If you thought the notorious Total Information Awareness program went away when Congress eliminated funding for the Pentagon’s mass-surveillance experiment in 2003, you were misled. The program itself may have been dismantled, but as an investigation by the Wall Street Journal detailed in March, many pieces of it were simply transferred to other federal agencies, … Continue reading “In the World of Total Information Awareness, “The Last Enemy” Is Us; A TV Show Good Enough to Inspire a Political Rant”
3Tier: Remapping the World for Renewable Energy, From a Supercomputer Hothouse in Seattle
There’s a small company in downtown Seattle called 3Tier Group that has a goal of no less than “Remapping the World” for alternative energy. T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman, is such a big fan, he used 3Tier’s maps to draw a bold conclusion-that the United States has the potential to be “the Saudi … Continue reading “3Tier: Remapping the World for Renewable Energy, From a Supercomputer Hothouse in Seattle”
Aileron Develops New Class of Drugs To Go Where None Could Before
If Aileron Therapeutics is on the right track, it will turn “stapled peptides” into a biotech industry buzzword along the lines of RNA interference. The Cambridge, MA-based company says its technology, like RNAi, is starting to show in animal tests that it can work against diseases where conventional drugs don’t. This company, whose name is … Continue reading “Aileron Develops New Class of Drugs To Go Where None Could Before”
Illumina Shows its Stuff to Wall Street, Stock Still Slides
San Diego’s Illumina has a pretty amazing story to tell about exponential growth. The maker of genetic analysis tools has beaten or matched Wall Street earnings forecasts for a dozen quarters in a row. It has grown from 239 employees in 2004 to an estimated 1,604 by the end of this year. But when it … Continue reading “Illumina Shows its Stuff to Wall Street, Stock Still Slides”
Why Startups Fail: A Top 10 List From Geoff Entress, Seattle’s Prolific Angel Investor
Despite the post-election glow in some circles, the financial reality for most people remains gloomy (along with the weather here in Seattle). As Geoff Entress succinctly puts it, “The economy still sucks…Nobody’s writing any checks right now at all.” I sat down with the Seattle-based angel investor yesterday in between his appearances at the University … Continue reading “Why Startups Fail: A Top 10 List From Geoff Entress, Seattle’s Prolific Angel Investor”
iSkoot Lands $19,000,000 Series C Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0a85aee0-b53f-427e-98b6-e1c4ef4abef8&Preview=1 Date 11/7/2008 Company Name iSkoot Mailing Address 1 Broadway Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description of Internet telephony by allowing users to make and receive calls over the Internet using any mobile phone. With iSkoot, VoIP users are no longer bound to their PCs to make and receive calls. iSkoot enables users … Continue reading “iSkoot Lands $19,000,000 Series C Financing Round”
CarbonFlow Garners Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4bbfd06d-8ce7-4968-9ff5-a3eee66cd9b5&Preview=1 Date 11/7/2008 Company Name CarbonFlow Mailing Address 660 Third Street 1st Floor San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description CarbonFlow, Inc. develops and markets software for carbon market participants. Website http://www.carbonflow.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes CarbonFlow will use the new funding to speed … Continue reading “CarbonFlow Garners Series A Funding Round”
Obama’s Innovative Campaign Was a Template for His Presidency
In an Obama/Biden administration, we can expect much more of a focus on science, math, and technology as critical skills for leadership and competitiveness in a complex world. On the campaign trail, Obama focused on science and technology research, education, and practice as an area for investment. His own sophisticated use of the Internet for … Continue reading “Obama’s Innovative Campaign Was a Template for His Presidency”
After the Election: Thoughts on Outsourcing and Personalized Medicine
One largely non-technical issue I feel strongly about is President-elect Obama’s misguided pronouncements on outsourcing. I think America needs to create new high-quality jobs and not resort to public policy to cling to jobs that can and will get done elsewhere. Preserving “old fashioned” jobs sounds quaint and romantic but would trap people in jobs that … Continue reading “After the Election: Thoughts on Outsourcing and Personalized Medicine”
Bracing for Storm, Veoh Lays Off 18 Percent
Updated Nov. 6, 2:45 PST; See below for details about Veoh San Diego’s Veoh, one of the top Web-based providers of video and TV programming, has laid off 20 people, or 18 percent of its 110-employee payroll. The cutbacks, reported by PaidContent, TechCrunch, and others, apparently are intended to help the startup survive hard times … Continue reading “Bracing for Storm, Veoh Lays Off 18 Percent”
Reinventing Venture Capital
The 11th Annual MIT Venture Capital Conference will “focus on investors’ and entrepreneurs’ strategies in the fast changing financial and economic conditions.” The all-day conference includes a free Entrepreneur Showcase in the evening, and, of course, plenty of opportunities to rub shoulders with real and aspiring entrepreneurs and investors.
SiCortex Introduces “Green Computing Index” to Rank Big Computers on Energy Efficiency
There’s no such thing as a free flop. A “flop,” or floating-point operation, is a calculation involving a decimal number; engineers often measure the performance of computers in terms of the number of “gigaflop/s” (billions of floating-point operations per second) they can sustain. In the supercomputing community, it’s a longstanding ritual to compare various machines’ … Continue reading “SiCortex Introduces “Green Computing Index” to Rank Big Computers on Energy Efficiency”
Take the Initiative: A Conversation on the $1B Life Sciences Initiative
One of a series of informational meetings on the Life Sciences Initiative. Remarks by MBC President and CEO Robert Coughlin, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, and Congressman Richard E. Neal. Event details here.
Establishing an Effective Bioscience IP Portfolio
This CONNECT FrameWorks Workshop looks as the basic elements of developing a commercially meaningful intellectual property portfolio for a bioscience company — how to identify protectable bioscience inventions, hurdles in obtaining meaningful patent protection, and more about IP in biosciences.
Obama Administration Will Give Clean Energy a Boost, but Smart Grid Is Needed
At SmartGridNews.com, we expect the Obama Administration to announce two things that will converge to give this already growing sector an additional boost. The first is a Clean Energy program to stimulate five million new jobs. The second is a “New Deal” stimulus package based on rejuvenating essential infrastructure. In both case, the Smart Grid … Continue reading “Obama Administration Will Give Clean Energy a Boost, but Smart Grid Is Needed”
Arch Co-founder Bob Nelsen’s Historic Close-Up with President-Elect Obama, and the Tears of Jesse Jackson
Bob Nelsen had a front-row seat to history on Election Night. The Republican managing director of Arch Venture Partners in Seattle was literally at the front of the rally in Chicago’s Grant Park on Tuesday as Democrat Barack Obama was elected as the nation’s first African-American president. “I was 20 feet from Obama, and about … Continue reading “Arch Co-founder Bob Nelsen’s Historic Close-Up with President-Elect Obama, and the Tears of Jesse Jackson”
Innovation Through Compromise: Alfredo Ramirez and the Global Hawk Robot Spy Plane
The way Alfredo Ramirez talks, the Global Hawk does not epitomize an avant-garde aerospace design—even though the robotic spy plane operates at the uppermost boundaries of advanced military aircraft. The 46-year-old Ramirez is the lead designer for the Global Hawk, a high-altitude UAV, or unmanned aerial vehicle. I recently sat down with him to discuss … Continue reading “Innovation Through Compromise: Alfredo Ramirez and the Global Hawk Robot Spy Plane”
Invitrogen Will Change Name to Life Technologies
Invitrogen, the San Diego-based maker of lab products, said it plans to change its name to Life Technologies when it completes the acquisition of Foster City, CA-based Applied Biosystems. The new company will trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker “LIFE.” Instruments will continue to be sold under the Applied Biosystems brand name, while … Continue reading “Invitrogen Will Change Name to Life Technologies”
Navy to Test Vical Vaccine Combo
San Diego-based biotech firm Vical (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VICL]]) reports that the Naval Medical Research Center plans to conduct tests and early clinical trials of a DNA vaccine formulated with its vaccine adjuvant (Vaxfectin) with a needle-free injection system for potentially lethal dengue infections. Vical plans to manufacture the vaccine and adjuvant under a $1.3 million contract, and … Continue reading “Navy to Test Vical Vaccine Combo”
Ruling to Block “Business Method” Patents May Spur Innovation, Say Entrepreneurs and Investors
It’s what everyone has been talking about lately. No, not the election—software patent reform. (Bear with me, non-IP folks.) Last Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected a patent application from a company called WeatherWise for a method of managing the risk involved with energy costs. The court ruled that in … Continue reading “Ruling to Block “Business Method” Patents May Spur Innovation, Say Entrepreneurs and Investors”
Announcing Xconomy’s First Event in Seattle: Vaccines 2.0
The Seattle area has one of the world’s strongest concentrations of global health research, with much of it being fueled by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Vaccines are one of the primary tools being studied here to fight leading killers around the world, like malaria and tuberculosis. Yet these products have long been a … Continue reading “Announcing Xconomy’s First Event in Seattle: Vaccines 2.0”
Tysabri’s Roots at the “Hutch,” MediQuest Spurned by FDA, ZymoGenetics Drug Passes Test, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Last week brought another mixed bag of news from Seattle biotech. —Tysabri. The most effective drug on the market for multiple sclerosis isn’t sold by a Seattle biotech company, but it has its origins in a lab here at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. —ZymoGenetics had yet another good news/bad news week. The Seattle … Continue reading “Tysabri’s Roots at the “Hutch,” MediQuest Spurned by FDA, ZymoGenetics Drug Passes Test, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
RI Turns To Innovation Economy in Face of Record Job Losses; A List of Tech and Life Sciences Firms in the State to Watch
We at Xconomy Boston, despite focusing much of our coverage on business and innovation in Massachusetts, cover stories on companies from all over New England—understanding that there is a regional innovation ecosystem. (Plus, there are some great stories to be told outside of the tech-rich Route 128 corridor.) Rhode Island, for one, is producing some … Continue reading “RI Turns To Innovation Economy in Face of Record Job Losses; A List of Tech and Life Sciences Firms in the State to Watch”
Shire Settles Claims with Investors of Former Cambridge, MA Biotech TKT
Irish drug maker Shire (LSE:[[ticker:SHP]]) has settled claims from investors of former Cambridge, MA-based Transkaryotic Therapies (TKT) for $37 per share, or $567.5 million. Those shareholders who originally objected to the 2005 takeover because they thought the price was too low, are settling for the original acquisition price of $37 per share plus interest, Shire … Continue reading “Shire Settles Claims with Investors of Former Cambridge, MA Biotech TKT”
Memento Inc. Lands $10,000,000 Series D Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4e71894c-0f85-401d-afde-bda62feeb582&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name Memento Inc. Mailing Address 35 Forest Ridge Road Concord, MA 01742 Company Description Memento’s QuickMetrics software can help companies manage risk by preventing internal fraud, monitoring a company’s controls and finding indicators of risk, according to the company. Memento’s software can determine if business applications that are … Continue reading “Memento Inc. Lands $10,000,000 Series D Round”
GetBack Media Inc Lands $17,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9b4cc752-bbb4-4cfa-8eb8-090af68c1082&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name GetBack Media Inc Mailing Address 2036 Armacost Avenue Los Angelos, CA 90025 Company Description GetBack.com is the only online community and pop-culture destination built around the music, movies, games, and events you love. We’re a bunch of pop culture freaks dedicated to wakin’ up memories of the … Continue reading “GetBack Media Inc Lands $17,000,000 Series A Funding”
Machinima.com Secures $3,850,000 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0b586b27-d905-4bfb-bf3b-10aba0f0f394&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name Machinima.com Mailing Address Undisclosed Los Angeles, CA 90040 Company Description Machinima.com is the premiere online entertainment network showing original videos from your favorite video games. Watch thousands of trailers, gameplay, montages, music videos and original machinima series and movies created in World of Warcraft, Halo, Sims 2, … Continue reading “Machinima.com Secures $3,850,000 New Financing”
Mogreet, Inc. Receives $5,000,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f40dec35-bc50-4634-b6ac-5298ba665b51&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name Mogreet, Inc. Mailing Address 16795 Monte Hermoso Drive Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Company Description The company provides text messaging, content and technology. Website http://www.mogreet.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor DFJ … Continue reading “Mogreet, Inc. Receives $5,000,000 Series B Financing”
Thornn Micro Technologies Secures $8,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=429c1be7-62ee-4b20-af9c-fca12c363c41&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name Thornn Micro Technologies Mailing Address Undisclosed Santa Clara, CA 95054 Company Description Thornn Micro Technologies Inc is a provider of air-cooling technologies for chip components. Website http://www.thorrn.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms … Continue reading “Thornn Micro Technologies Secures $8,000,000 Series A Funding”
Recapping Garners $500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8e8a73a9-16ef-4a3a-ac67-fede21e69e2c&Preview=1 Date 11/6/2008 Company Name Recapping Mailing Address 3000 Sand Hill Road Building 3 Menlo Park, CA 94025 Company Description The company manufactures electric components. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Khosla Ventures
Targeted Genetics Cash Will Stretch into First Quarter
Targeted Genetics, a Seattle-based developer of gene therapies, said today that it only has enough cash to run its operations into the first quarter of 2009. Targeted (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TGEN]]) said it had $9.2 million in cash and investments left at the end of September, and that it estimates it will spend $11.5 million to $12.5 … Continue reading “Targeted Genetics Cash Will Stretch into First Quarter”
TelCentris Unlox Product Box with VoxOx
Updated Nov. 5, 4 pm PST: See below for details on funding TelCentris, a new San Diego company, says it has released a beta version of its free consumer service called VoxOx, which combines Voice-over-Internet telephony and other types of communications into a single screen on a computer desktop. The company says its universal communicator service is … Continue reading “TelCentris Unlox Product Box with VoxOx”
Northstar, Conserving Cash, Will Have $66M in Cash at Year-End
Northstar Neuroscience, a Seattle-based maker of a brain-stimulation device for severe depression, said today it had $70.2 million in cash and investments at the end of September, and that it expects to end this year with $66 million on hand, and close 2009 with $53 million. The company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NSTR]]) has cut costs and switched … Continue reading “Northstar, Conserving Cash, Will Have $66M in Cash at Year-End”
Election Results Will Boost Employee Productivity, But Healthcare Costs May Climb
You are now going to see productivity improve at high tech companies because people will no longer have an excuse to sit around and complain about Bush. High tech employees generally seem to lean towards President-Elect Obama so morale is likely to increase as well, increasing productivity. More seriously, in Washington State, we’re going to … Continue reading “Election Results Will Boost Employee Productivity, But Healthcare Costs May Climb”
Transportation Votes Will Help Foster Innovation
The big election news for the innovation economy today is what the voters did on transportation. Even in tough economic times voters understood that mass transit has to improve or we will cripple our economy. People can argue if all the components of Proposition 1 were the right ones, but voters supported it and voted … Continue reading “Transportation Votes Will Help Foster Innovation”
Historic Obama Win Also Sets Web Traffic Records
At 11:00 pm Eastern time last night—when the polls closed on the U.S. West Coast and most TV news outlets called the election in favor of the new President-elect, Barack Obama—Internet users streamed to news websites in unprecedented numbers, according to Cambridge, MA-based Akamai. The company, which has been measuring Internet traffic to news, retail, … Continue reading “Historic Obama Win Also Sets Web Traffic Records”
Atlas Venture Raising Half a Billion
Waltham, MA-based Atlas Venture has embarked on fundraising for a new venture capital fund, and hopes to raise $500 million, according to reports today in VentureWire and PE Hub. It’s the eighth fund the firm has raised since its founding in 1980; the seventh fund, closed in 2006, totaled $385 million.
Broadband Video’s Disruptive Impact
Newton, MA-based Internet video new site VideoNuze, in association with that Cable & Television Association for Marketing (which is holding its annual conference in Boston next week), hosts a breakfast on how companies can profit from the rise of broadband video. Panelists will offer their diverse perspectives and practical insights on what the broadband future … Continue reading “Broadband Video’s Disruptive Impact”
A Trio of Tysabri Stories, Genzyme’s Big Deal with Osiris, A Peek Inside a Winning Hedge Fund, & More Life Sciences News
Last week brought an interesting mix of theory and practice about the impact of the current economic climate on life sciences. —There was a flurry of news related to natalizumab (Tysabri), the multiple sclerosis and Crohn’s disease drug from Cambridge, MA-based Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) and its Irish partner Elan. First, the drug was linked … Continue reading “A Trio of Tysabri Stories, Genzyme’s Big Deal with Osiris, A Peek Inside a Winning Hedge Fund, & More Life Sciences News”
Memento Secures $10M
Memento, a Concord, MA-based developer of fraud-detection software for banks and credit unions, has raised $10 million in its fourth round of venture capital, according to PE Hub. The company, which PE Hub reports had previously raised $12 million, received backing in the round from 406. Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, and Rock Maple Ventures.
Aphios Targets “Marijuana Addiction” with Reformulated THC
For opponents of Massachusetts ballot question 2 worried that yesterday’s decriminalization of marijuana will lead to a new generation of users, help may soon be on the way from a small Woburn biotech company. The firm, called Aphios, aims to make a reformulated version of THC—the psychoactive substance found in marijuana that has long been … Continue reading “Aphios Targets “Marijuana Addiction” with Reformulated THC”