Deal-making took New England tech firms all over the map last week. Let’s start with Beijing. —Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AKAM]]) of Cambridge, MA, announced it will partner with New York’s The NewsMarket to provide journalists covering the Beijing Olympics with quick and reliable video-clip downloads. —And speaking of Beijing, a firm there, Sinovel Wind Corporation, … Continue reading “IRobot Dives into Underwater Robotics, American Superconductor Inks a Supersized Wind Power Deal, BCBSMA Insures Members’ Google Health, & More Deals News”
Washington Biotechies Showing Off the Green (Trees) at BIO Conference
Washington state doesn’t do much Texas-style boasting, and the state’s economic development promoters have never tossed around big bucks to crow about the biotechnology cluster here. Case in point: how many of you know that the world’s top-selling biotechnology drug, and fifth-biggest pharmaceutical product in 2007 (Amgen and Wyeth’s Enbrel) was developed in Seattle? As … Continue reading “Washington Biotechies Showing Off the Green (Trees) at BIO Conference”
Cox Hires Quattro Wireless to Mobilize Newspaper Websites
Quattro Wireless, the Waltham, MA, mobile-marketing company we profiled last September after it completed a $12.3 million Series B funding round, revealed today that Cox Newspapers is using its automated platform to produce mobile-friendly versions of 19 regional Cox papers, including the Austin Statesman, the Palm Beach Post, the Dayton Daily News, and the Waco … Continue reading “Cox Hires Quattro Wireless to Mobilize Newspaper Websites”
ShotSpotter Receives $7,500,000 Series D Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cf869fc8-bb20-48da-a433-14dc9cddd96c&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name ShotSpotter Mailing Address 1060 Terra Bella Avenue Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description ShotSpotter, Inc., the leading developer of gunshot location systems and technology, is based in Santa Clara, CA. ShotSpotter’s flagship product, the ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System, detects gunfire and other weapons-events across large urban areas … Continue reading “ShotSpotter Receives $7,500,000 Series D Round”
PSS Systems Secures $18,000,000 Series D Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2715bdc5-10ef-43fb-869c-27a4e3db3f9f&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name PSS Systems Mailing Address 2525 E Charleston Road Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description The company is an early solution leader and a clear thought leader enterprise on retention and preservation strategies. Its unique suite of software includes specific modules for litigation communications and collections and enterprise … Continue reading “PSS Systems Secures $18,000,000 Series D Financing”
Funambol Receives $12,500,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ec58fcc2-7f33-4ecc-ab6d-94df53df87c6&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name Funambol Mailing Address 643 Bair Island Road Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description Funambol is the company behind Sync4j, the world-leading open source mobile application server. Sync4j is the open standard solution for the development, software provisioning and management of all wireless services: data synchronization, remote device … Continue reading “Funambol Receives $12,500,000 Series B Round”
Veeva Systems Lands $4,000,000 New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d40e4b6e-bac9-437f-bbb1-9683c5e6d784&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name Veeva Systems Mailing Address 4637 Chabot Drive Pleasanton, CA 94588 Company Description The world is moving to the onDemand model of Software as a Service (SaaS), but many industry segments have been left behind. Verticals onDemand is leveraging the salesforce.com Apex platform to deliver industry-specific onDemand CRM … Continue reading “Veeva Systems Lands $4,000,000 New Financing Round”
ImageSpan Secures $11,000,000 Series B Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=27c35fce-aeeb-4b97-84e7-97772a756c16&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name ImageSpan Mailing Address 1750 Bridgeway Sausalito, CA 94965 Company Description Our smart tools lets professional-and consumer-generated content sellers legally and easily connect with buyers. What has been a myriad of different licensing models and approaches varying by organizations, ImageSpan’s Licensing Automation Platform simplifies that process. Website http://www.imagespan.com … Continue reading “ImageSpan Secures $11,000,000 Series B Funding”
BMC Software Acquires ITM Software for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=111278ee-e373-4432-be5c-c1a0e3aedd4f&Preview=1 Date 6/17/2008 Company Name ITM Software Mailing Address 2880 San Tomas Expy Santa Clara, CA 95051 Company Description ITM Software provides CIOs and IT organizations with software products and management expertise that advance the business management of Information Technology. Website http://www.itm-software.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “BMC Software Acquires ITM Software for Undisclosed Sum”
LipoSonix Agrees to $150M Takeover by Medicis Pharma
LipoSonix, rest in peace. The developer of ultrasound technology for busting up unwanted fat, said today it has agreed to be acquired by Arizona-based Medicis Pharmaceutical for $150 million. The sale marks the end for the privately-held company in Bothell, WA, which probably has more potential for Oprah-style mass market appeal than any medical technology … Continue reading “LipoSonix Agrees to $150M Takeover by Medicis Pharma”
Demandware Scoops Up N2N’s Assets
Woburn, MA-based Demandware, which offers an on-demand e-commerce platform for online retailers, has acquired all of the remaining assets of N2N, a competing e-commerce startup formerly based in Cambridge, MA, that shut down at the end of 2007 after raising $30 million in venture funding from General Catalyst Partners and other investors. Demandware won the … Continue reading “Demandware Scoops Up N2N’s Assets”
WMUR, WJAR Test Interactive TV System from Backchannelmedia
Backchannelmedia, the Boston interactive-TV startup we profiled in November 2007 and again this April, said today that it’s signed up two new partners to test its system for bookmarking web addresses promoted on live TV. Rhode Island NBC affiliate WJAR-TV and and Manchester, NH ABC affiliate WMUR-TV will both insert signals into their over-the-air broadcasts … Continue reading “WMUR, WJAR Test Interactive TV System from Backchannelmedia”
Gov. Patrick Travels West to Plug Massachusetts’ Life Sciences Initiative At BIO
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick stole the show at last year’s gathering of the Biotechnology Industry Organization. In front of a crowd of 20,000 global biotechies meeting on home turf in Boston, he broke news that he planned to invest $1 billion over 10 years to strengthen the state’s position as a leading hub for life … Continue reading “Gov. Patrick Travels West to Plug Massachusetts’ Life Sciences Initiative At BIO”
Hello, Seattle: Xconomy Comes to Town To Cover Innovation Community
Just a quick follow-up to Bob’s post. Yes, today marks the start of Xconomy’s coverage of the Seattle and Pacific Northwest tech-business scene. Our goal is to bring you “hyperlocal” reporting on the most compelling innovation news—the deals, entrepreneurs, investors, companies, and technology—on the ground as it happens. We want to help grow a community … Continue reading “Hello, Seattle: Xconomy Comes to Town To Cover Innovation Community”
Acceleron Doubles Lab Space, Ramps Up Hiring
Last October Acceleron Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, said it had completed a $31 million Series C funding round, bringing the bone-and-muscle-growth company’s total venture funding to an impressive $86 million over three rounds. Now we know what the company’s been spending the money on: Acceleron announced today that it’s increased head count by 40 percent … Continue reading “Acceleron Doubles Lab Space, Ramps Up Hiring”
Xconomy Launches in Seattle
Good morning Boston. Good morning Seattle. And good morning world. Today marks the public debut of the Xconomy network, as we launch both a Seattle website that will serve as a sister to our original Boston/Kendall Square site and a national overview site designed to be a gateway to both cities. (This means some changes … Continue reading “Xconomy Launches in Seattle”
Making Personal Health Networking as Easy as a Book Club: Former Amazon Exec Launches Online Healthcare Site
For Keith Schorsch, it all started with a tick. In the summer of 2004, the former senior executive at Amazon was on the East Coast for a family reunion when (unbeknownst to him) he was bitten. Back in Seattle, he came down with a bull’s-eye rash and flu-like symptoms. Then one night, at a Mariners … Continue reading “Making Personal Health Networking as Easy as a Book Club: Former Amazon Exec Launches Online Healthcare Site”
Combating the “CSI Effect”: Boston’s Salient Stills Extracts Evidence from Grainy Surveillance Video
Generally, I’m a big fan of the CSI shows (CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, and of course, the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), because the heroes are scientists. Who would have expected a trio of dramas about a bunch of wonky forensics experts to stay atop the ratings for years? But I do have a pet … Continue reading “Combating the “CSI Effect”: Boston’s Salient Stills Extracts Evidence from Grainy Surveillance Video”
Pacific Health Summit Vies to Make Seattle the “Davos” of Global Health
Everybody can relax. Bono and Angelina Jolie won’t be here. At least not this year. But some of the biggest names in science, global health, and business will gather in Seattle today for the Pacific Health Summit, to brainstorm about the world’s thorniest emerging health problems. Key decision makers from the Bill & Melinda Gates … Continue reading “Pacific Health Summit Vies to Make Seattle the “Davos” of Global Health”
Accelerator Backs New Biotech Startup in Goddard Lab at Caltech
Accelerator has given birth to its newest company. Investors in the Seattle-based biotech startup machine, affiliated with Leroy Hood’s Institute for Systems Biology, have sunk $200,000 into a company emerging from the lab of Bill Goddard, a renowned chemist at the California Institute of Technology. The company, called GPC-Rx, is developing a computational technique to … Continue reading “Accelerator Backs New Biotech Startup in Goddard Lab at Caltech”
Cleantech Down and Dirty (Part One)
I feel the need to start off with a disclaimer, because when you start pouring A-1 sauce on sacred cows people tend to get a wee bit irrational. Let me state for the record that I do indeed believe that global warming is a real threat. I also think that our over dependence on foreign … Continue reading “Cleantech Down and Dirty (Part One)”
Varolii Shelves IPO: Seattle Software Maker Founded by MIT Grads Has Boston Operations… and Shareholders
Seattle software maker Varolii, which makes tools that help businesses communicate over multiple channels—voice, SMS, Web, fax, pager, e-mail—said on Friday it would not proceed with its IPO plans “due to the difficult market conditions for initial public offerings.” The offering, which was expected to raise up to $86 million, affects both Seattle and the … Continue reading “Varolii Shelves IPO: Seattle Software Maker Founded by MIT Grads Has Boston Operations… and Shareholders”
JazzD Markets Inc. Garners $8,000,000 Series A Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ddbcaeb7-35cb-42ce-a37c-9568b02d0575&Preview=1 Date 6/16/2008 Company Name JazzD Markets Inc. Mailing Address Undisclosed Brookline, MA 02440 Company Description The company is developing an online directory. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Commonwealth Capital Ventures Venture Investor … Continue reading “JazzD Markets Inc. Garners $8,000,000 Series A Round”
SpectraWatt Receives $50,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f0fd53c2-a7ed-4d44-bca3-c48b19f0b842&Preview=1 Date 6/16/2008 Company Name SpectraWatt Mailing Address Undisclosed Undisclosed, OR 97200 Company Description SpectraWatt will manufacture and supply photovoltaic cells to solar module makers. In addition to focusing on advanced solar cell technologies, SpectraWatt will concentrate development efforts on improvements in current manufacturing processes and capabilities to reduce the cost of … Continue reading “SpectraWatt Receives $50,000,000 New Funding”
Jivox Secures $10,700,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6b8f7bdb-cf58-41a2-a05c-7f4e4d745f89&Preview=1 Date 6/16/2008 Company Name Jivox Mailing Address 1400 Fashion Island Blvd. San Mateo, CA 94404 Company Description Jivox online video advertising is a powerful new way to tell your customers about your business beyond the visual and geographic limitations of search engines and banners. With Jivox, you can easily create Free … Continue reading “Jivox Secures $10,700,000 Series A Financing Round”
PlantSense Receives $3,500,000 Series A Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=41e4ebf8-7a6b-4fc3-8f4f-8e7f6ddd77a2&Preview=1 Date 6/16/2008 Company Name PlantSense Mailing Address 205 13th Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Company Description PlantSense Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of Internet-enabled gardening tools. Website http://www.plantsense.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The company will use its recent funding for product development, … Continue reading “PlantSense Receives $3,500,000 Series A Funding Round”
i2we Obtains $7,500,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=098a2996-ef3d-4916-990c-b33c41dc9943&Preview=1 Date 6/16/2008 Company Name i2we Mailing Address 2380 Ellsworth Street Berkeley, CA 94704 Company Description i2we is a Venture Funded startup building social internet applications, first for Facebook. Founded by Karel Baloun, who was the first senior engineer at Facebook, in May 2007. We have over 225 applications on Facebook with … Continue reading “i2we Obtains $7,500,000 Series A Financing Round”
Funding Gap? Ha!
Ever since I came back to Seattle in 2003 to help get Accelerator up and running, I have been barraged with rhetoric about something euphemistically referred to as the “Funding Gap.” Everywhere I went seeking interesting emerging biotechnologies, or to tell the Accelerator story, people I met constantly lamented the Funding Gap. So I started … Continue reading “Funding Gap? Ha!”
Seattle Genetics Gunning for the Market With “Empowered Antibody” For Cancer
The last time the phone rang this much at Seattle Genetics, the company parlayed enthusiasm about one of its drug candidates into a partnership with Genentech potentially worth more than $800 million. This time, after 10 years in business, the Bothell, WA-based company thinks it may have the first drug it can take all the … Continue reading “Seattle Genetics Gunning for the Market With “Empowered Antibody” For Cancer”
BizJam Seattle 08
BizJam Seattle 08 focuses on “Social Media Essentials for Small Businesses.” Savvy business owners know that social media such as blogs, social networks and online communities are effective, inexpensive ways to promote your business. Learn how to fully tap their potential at BizJam, where 30 expert speakers will host dozens of workshops. You’ll leave with … Continue reading “BizJam Seattle 08”
NWEN Pub Night
Pub Night, a members-only event for Northwest Entrepreneur Network members, is an opportunity for entrepreneurs to get together and share ideas, build networks and have a great time at a well-known Northwest brew-pub. Pub Night will allow five NWEN members to be in the limelight for three minutes each to talk about what they do … Continue reading “NWEN Pub Night”
Venture Breakfast
The Northwest Entrepreneur Network hosts its monthly venture breakfast at the Bellevue Harbor Club. Non-members $40, members receive a discount. Information and registration here.
Essentials of Bootstrapping
The Northwest Entrepreneur Network offers a workshop on getting through the period that every startup endures when cash is extremely tight and the demands of fueling the company’s growth are monumental. Bootstrapping—the corporate version of Europe on $10 a day—is a critical and immensely useful skill that enables startups to stay alive until they can … Continue reading “Essentials of Bootstrapping”
Web Surveys That Work
Bellevue Community College offers a three-hour course on connecting with customers, employees and members quickly and cost effectively through Web surveys. The course covers determining whether the Web is your best option, selecting tools and services, maximizing response rates, using skips and data validation, accessibility, and making sure your data is reliable. Registration $65, information … Continue reading “Web Surveys That Work”
Certified ScrumMaster Training
SolutionsIQ Agile thought leaders conduct a two-day course on the essentials of Scrum management in software development projects. Registration $1,200; information here.
Profits & Privacy: Exploring the Boundaries of Digital Marketing
WTIA’s June Technology in Focus Series event looks at how managers can monetize online audiences while respecting their privacy. Information here.
VOIP Phones for Small Business
Congruent and Microsoft host a lunchtime demonstration and test drive of the Microsoft Response Point system. Register free here.
Lucid Commerce Lands $2.5 Million in Series A
Lucid Commerce, a Seattle-based provider of on-demand business intelligence for direct marketers, announced today that it has raised $2.5 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Kirkland, WA-based OVP Venture Partners. Lucid said the funding will be used to add capacity and scale the company’s operations.
Still Growing, Vertafore To Acquire Sircon
Vertafore, a Bothell, WA-based provider of insurance software and services, announced today that it is acquiring Sircon, a Michigan-based firm that provides online networking services for the insurance industry. The financial terms of the deal (which is expected to close in July) were not disclosed. Vertafore has been growing steadily since moving its headquarters to … Continue reading “Still Growing, Vertafore To Acquire Sircon”
MA Senate Passes Bio Bill
The Massachusetts Senate passed a bill that would funnel $1 billion over 10 years into support for life sciences in the state. The bill, which passed by a 31-7 vote, now goes to the desk of Governor Deval Patrick, who is expected to sign it into law on Monday before heading to San Diego to … Continue reading “MA Senate Passes Bio Bill”
Report Promises Multi-Billion-Dollar Future for New England Clean Energy Cluster
In four years’ time, New England can get $1 billion more in new cleantech investments, claims a report from the New England Clean Energy Council and the consulting firm Topline Strategy. There’s one catch, though. In order to lure the investors, the region has to create a cluster of cleantech companies along the lines of … Continue reading “Report Promises Multi-Billion-Dollar Future for New England Clean Energy Cluster”
Parexel To Purchase ClinPhone for $182M
Parexel International (NASDAQ: [[ticker:PRXL]]), based in Waltham, MA, announced today that it will acquire ClinPhone, a U.K.-based firm that provides voice response and electronic data capture for drug companies, for some $182 million. Parexel, which does clinical research and consulting for the biotech and pharmaceutical industry, has arranged a $300 million credit facility with JPMorgan … Continue reading “Parexel To Purchase ClinPhone for $182M”
Monotype Will Raise $60 Million in Secondary Offering
Monotype Imaging (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TYPE]]), the Woburn, MA-based maker of electronic fonts and text imaging software that went public last summer, announced last night that it’s planning a secondary public offering of 5 million shares of its common stock at $12.00 per share. The 170-employee company, the creator of famous fonts such as Times New Roman … Continue reading “Monotype Will Raise $60 Million in Secondary Offering”
As iRobot and University of Washington Team Up, Robotic-Sub Competition Heats Up
This week, iRobot made a splash with the news that it has signed a sole licensing agreement with the University of Washington in Seattle to commercialize UW’s “Seaglider” underwater robot. The specific terms of the deal with UW TechTransfer were not disclosed, but the announcement marks the Bedford, MA-based robotics company’s first foray into the … Continue reading “As iRobot and University of Washington Team Up, Robotic-Sub Competition Heats Up”
You Say Staccato, I Say Sfumato: A Reply to Nicholas Carr
One of my prized possessions is an enormous book called Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Drawings and Paintings. You know how a lot of old art or history books have a few glossy color plates bound into the center? Well, this book has 695 of them, each one measuring about 12×18 inches, and together they … Continue reading “You Say Staccato, I Say Sfumato: A Reply to Nicholas Carr”
Lucid Commerce Secures $2,500,000 Series A Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b6793815-d82c-476e-803d-6fc6b5efdd77&Preview=1 Date 6/13/2008 Company Name Lucid Commerce Mailing Address 562 1st Avenue S Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Lucid Commerce provides on-demand business intelligence that combines automatic data consolidation, organization, and analysis for direct marketing companies. Website http://www.lucidcommerce.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,500,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “Lucid Commerce Secures $2,500,000 Series A Financing”
WidgetBucks Raises $10M in Series B
Seattle-based WidgetBucks, an online advertising network, announced that it has raised $10 million in its second round of funding. The investment was led by Draper Fisher Jurvetson and also included Bellevue, WA-based Ignition Partners.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Is First Insurance Company To Partner with Google Health
The face of online health care is changing in Massachusetts—and probably for the better. Today one of the state’s leading health insurance companies, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA), announced that it has signed an agreement to integrate with the Google Health platform. It is the first health insurance company to do so. Google … Continue reading “Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Is First Insurance Company To Partner with Google Health”
Biogen Directors Win Backing From Third Advisory Firm, Icahn Could Be Heading For Defeat
Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) pulled off a trifecta today as the third major advisory firm for corporate elections, Proxy Governance, recommended shareholders vote in favor of the biotech’s own slate of directors instead of those nominated by activist investor Carl Icahn. Earlier in the week, RiskMetrics Group/ISS Governance Services and Glass, Lewis & Co. also … Continue reading “Biogen Directors Win Backing From Third Advisory Firm, Icahn Could Be Heading For Defeat”
Delve Networks Un-Pluggd; Startup Relaunched as Video Search Provider, To Compete With Cambridge Companies
Seattle-based audio and video search company Pluggd rebranded itself yesterday as Delve Networks and launched a video hosting and search technology that seems designed to compete directly with services from Cambridge, MA-based EveryZing. The development’s bicoastal impact was particularly interesting to us, given Xconomy’s impending expansion to Seattle (for more on that, watch this space … Continue reading “Delve Networks Un-Pluggd; Startup Relaunched as Video Search Provider, To Compete With Cambridge Companies”