A genetic disease probability chart for each person. Drugs prescribed, based on genetic profiles, for those most likely to respond well. The integration of molecular and cellular biology with engineering to not only produce better medicines and “nutraceuticals,” but to enhance agricultural output and the availability of biofuels. This is just a snapshot of what … Continue reading “Life Sciences 2028—Three Snapshots of the Future”
Location Based Services—Moving Forward?
From the TiE-Boston website: “Are location based services about to take off?….. or have they already? The market looks increasingly appealing with the increased deployment of handset based GPS technology, mapping tools, larger color displays and feature rich phones. Many saw Apple’s iPhone as setting a new standard for it’s mapping and search integration. But … Continue reading “Location Based Services—Moving Forward?”
Bob Metcalfe’s First PowerPoint Ever: The Ethernet Inventor Unveils the “Enernet”
Despite having sat on the board of Forethought, the software company that developed PowerPoint before being acquired by Microsoft in 1987, Bob Metcalfe never actually learned to use the program. Until last week, that is—just days after his 62nd birthday. So what could the Ethernet co-inventor, 3Com founder, venture capitalist, and legendary pundit have to … Continue reading “Bob Metcalfe’s First PowerPoint Ever: The Ethernet Inventor Unveils the “Enernet””
Cox Radio Picks EveryZing to Make Shows Searchable
Most radio stations these days have websites where you can listen to streaming versions of their broadcasts. But few have taken the added step of making individual shows available online—in part because there’s little financial incentive, unless they can sell online ads against that content. That’s where EveryZing of Cambridge, MA, thinks it can help—and … Continue reading “Cox Radio Picks EveryZing to Make Shows Searchable”
Millennium Makes a Surprise Exit, EMC’s Persistence Pays Off, Quantum Dots a Vision to In-Q-Tel, & More Deals News
This last week saw several sizeable takeover agreements (and a few smaller ones) inked. Here’s more on those and the rest of the recent deals news. —Hopkinton, MA-based EMC’s second takeover offer for San Diego-based storage maker Iomega was evidently the charm—the firms agreed on a final price of approximately $213 million, or $3.85 per … Continue reading “Millennium Makes a Surprise Exit, EMC’s Persistence Pays Off, Quantum Dots a Vision to In-Q-Tel, & More Deals News”
China, India and Russia—Our Partners in the New Global Economy
Remember the old New Economy—back in the bubble days? This event, put on by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council, looks at the New, New Economy, whereby competition and opportunities for cooperation abound globally. It’s focused on networking and business opportunities in three of the largest emerging markets—China, Russia, and India. The opening keynote is by … Continue reading “China, India and Russia—Our Partners in the New Global Economy”
Diomed to Sell Assets to AngioDynamics for $11M
Following on last month’s announcement that it had filed for bankruptcy and planned to sell off its assets, minimally invasive medicine firm Diomed (AMEX: [[ticker:DIO]]) of Andover, MA, now says it’s inked an $11 million deal to sell its U.S. operations and some of its U.K assets to AngioDynamics of Queensbury, NY. The agreement, which … Continue reading “Diomed to Sell Assets to AngioDynamics for $11M”
3Com Wins $45 Million in Patent Suit Against Taiwanese Chipmaker
3Com of Marlborough, MA, said today that a federal jury in California awarded it $45.3 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against Realtek Semiconductor Corporation of Hsinchu, Taiwan. 3Com charged in the suit that Realtek’s network controller chips appropriated aspects of parallel processing technology 3Com developed for its own network interface devices. A jury in … Continue reading “3Com Wins $45 Million in Patent Suit Against Taiwanese Chipmaker”
The Coolest Tools for Trawling & Tracking the Web
Ahh, Boston in springtime. Duck boat armadas on the Charles. The vinegary smell of the wood-chip mulch landscapers spread everywhere. Tow trucks hauling away cars so that street sweepers can get at the dead leaves accumulating since October. A guy on a recumbent bike pulling a train of three skateboarders along the Esplanade. I could … Continue reading “The Coolest Tools for Trawling & Tracking the Web”
Twist of Fate—How A Band of VCs Recruited a Scientific Dream Team to Control Our Cells’ Destinies
“Like all VCs,” Amir Nashat is saying, “we come late to the story.” Nashat is talking about the formation of Fate Therapeutics, and in one sense what he’s saying is true. Venture capitalists bankroll, advise, strengthen, and help grow companies built around other people’s innovations—and so the story of even a very early stage startup … Continue reading “Twist of Fate—How A Band of VCs Recruited a Scientific Dream Team to Control Our Cells’ Destinies”
QD Vision Secures $9,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a59765a2-445c-41a2-be06-576614d7c005&Preview=1 Date 4/11/2008 Company Name QD Vision Mailing Address 313 Pleasant St Watertown, MA 02472 Company Description Our leading edge solutions will give customers decisive performance and manufacturing advantages in the competitive market for flat panel displays. Because our solutions use standard OLED device structures, customers with installed manufacturing equipment can leverage … Continue reading “QD Vision Secures $9,000,000 Series C Round”
TouchStone Software Sold for $18 Million
Phoenix Technologies of Milpitas, CA, said today that it will acquire TouchStone Software, the North Andover, MA-based maker of tools for diagnosing and updating Windows personal computers. Touchstone stockholders will get $1.48 for each share, making the total value of the deal roughly $18 million. TouchStone’s core product is a yearly service that gives customers … Continue reading “TouchStone Software Sold for $18 Million”
LocaModa, TouchTunes Partner on Digital Jukeboxes
LocaModa, the Cambridge, MA-based maker of software that allows mobile phone owners to interact with commercial displays from their cell phones, said today that it has formed a partnership with TouchTunes, the nation’s largest operator of digital jukeboxes in bars, restaurants, and retail locations. The two companies will make it possible for customers to use … Continue reading “LocaModa, TouchTunes Partner on Digital Jukeboxes”
Inotek Consolidates, Bids CEO Adieu
Drug developer Inotek is closing several international offices and selling its Israeli manufacturing plant in an effort to focus its resources on four of its main clinical and preclinical programs, the Beverly, MA-based firm announced today. The company also announced a host of changes to its management, including the resignation of CEO Andrew Salzman, and … Continue reading “Inotek Consolidates, Bids CEO Adieu”
$500K MacArthur Award for Public Radio Exchange
The MacArthur Foundation in Chicago announced yesterday that that the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), a Cambridge, MA-based nonprofit that maintains an online library of independently-produced radio documentaries from which public radio station managers can select programs for broadcast, is one of eight organizations selected for its 2008 MacArthur Awards for Creative and Effective Institutions. The … Continue reading “$500K MacArthur Award for Public Radio Exchange”
Takeda Takes Hold of Millennium for $8.8 Billion
For months now we’ve been hearing rumors about big pharma planning a shopping spree among Cambridge’s biotechs, but I’ve got to admit we didn’t see this particular deal coming. Millennium Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MLNM]]) has been snatched up for just shy of $9 billion by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Japan’s largest drugmaker. The deal, approved unanimously by … Continue reading “Takeda Takes Hold of Millennium for $8.8 Billion”
Second Down, Ten Yards to Go for Matchmine
When we first wrote about Needham, MA-based Matchmine last September, the Kraft Group spinoff had just introduced its MatchKey “portable preferences” system, which is designed to put an end to the fragmented state of recommendation systems on the Web. Right now, every online retailer, video rental site, or music site you visit—be it Amazon, Netflix, … Continue reading “Second Down, Ten Yards to Go for Matchmine”
QD Vision Glowing From In-Q-Tel Investment
At QD Vision in Watertown, MA, engineers are building on nanoscale “quantum dot” technology pioneered at MIT to create a new generation of light-emitting devices (LEDs) that could eventually be used in video displays with brighter colors, blacker blacks, and far higher energy efficiency. And gradually the company has been showing up on the radar … Continue reading “QD Vision Glowing From In-Q-Tel Investment”
Phoenix Technologies Acquires Touchstone Software Corp. for Undisclosed Sum
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1442f0d3-ab40-440b-bf47-3521535080b6&Preview=1 Date 4/10/2008 Company Name Touchstone Software Corp. Mailing Address 1538 Turnpike St. North Andover, MA 01845 Company Description TouchStone Software Corporation has been a global leader in computer diagnostics and PC update technology. Website http://www.touchstonesoftware.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Proceeds Purposes M&A Terms Financial terms of the … Continue reading “Phoenix Technologies Acquires Touchstone Software Corp. for Undisclosed Sum”
Nuance Writes Itself an eScription
Nuance Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NUAN]]), the Burlington, MA-based provider of speech-related software technologies and services, including the Dictaphone system used by hundreds of thousands of doctors to dictate clinical notes over the phone, said yesterday that it will purchase Needham, MA-based eScription. The company makes automated speech-to-text software that turns dictated medical notes into rough first … Continue reading “Nuance Writes Itself an eScription”
Explosives Detection Company Gets $20 Million
Reveal Imaging, a Bedford, MA-based maker of explosives detection devices, said Tuesday that it has collected $20.3 million from a group of investors led by BBH Capital Partners III. The fund, managed by Brown Brothers Harriman of New York, put up $18.75 million, while the rest of the new money came from Reveal’s existing investors, … Continue reading “Explosives Detection Company Gets $20 Million”
Icahn Turns Up Heat, Files Suit to Force Biogen Idec to Turn Over Records of Failed Sale
Activist investor Carl Icahn launched another salvo in his battle to force a sale of Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]), filing a suit yesterday in a Delaware court demanding that the Cambridge biotech turn over documents related to its unsuccessful effort to sell itself last year. Icahn has previously charged that the sale process, which was … Continue reading “Icahn Turns Up Heat, Files Suit to Force Biogen Idec to Turn Over Records of Failed Sale”
Two Local Startups Launch Mobile Photo-sharing Networks for the Masses
If you snap photos with your camera phone, you probably mean to share them eventually. But if you’re like 75 percent of camera phone owners surveyed by Ontela, a Seattle mobile imaging firm, those pictures are still sitting in your phone’s memory, because you’ve never succeeded at transferring them to your PC, or a photo … Continue reading “Two Local Startups Launch Mobile Photo-sharing Networks for the Masses”
Patent Reform Blocked, Epix Deal Expanded, Repligen Suit Settled, & More Life Sciences News
Sure there was a venture funding, some FDA news, and a few interesting alliances last week. But for many members of the Boston-area life sciences community the big news came from Virginia… —The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia blocked a patent-reform package—vehemently opposed by the biotech and pharma industries—that would have … Continue reading “Patent Reform Blocked, Epix Deal Expanded, Repligen Suit Settled, & More Life Sciences News”
PermissionTV, Inc. Lands $3,000,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=adcd9b25-ade7-489c-83a3-5afff56f880f&Preview=1 Date 4/9/2008 Company Name PermissionTV, Inc. Mailing Address 1601 Trapelo Road Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description PermissionTV is a media technology company that empowers media brands and video content owners to create one-to-one relationships with their audience. Website http://www.permissiontv.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $3,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds … Continue reading “PermissionTV, Inc. Lands $3,000,000 New Funding Round”
Brighter Planet Obtains Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=45e03ed1-7bbf-4c6d-bf0e-9bd9442f804c&Preview=1 Date 4/9/2008 Company Name Brighter Planet Mailing Address 36 Main Street Middlebury, VT 05753 Company Description Brighter Planet’s proprietary technology platform helps people estimate their carbon footprint, learn ways to reduce their environmental impact, track their progress toward carbon neutrality, and see the positive impact they are making. Website http://www.brighterplanet.com Transaction … Continue reading “Brighter Planet Obtains Series B Financing”
Iomega Accepts $213M EMC Purchase Offer
It’s official. Just weeks after EMC sweetened its previously spurned purchase offer, San Diego-based storage maker Iomega has formally accepted a takeover bid from the Hopkington, MA-based data management and infrastructure company, the two firms announced today. The final price of approximately $213 million, or $3.85 per share, is slightly higher than the sweetened $205.5 … Continue reading “Iomega Accepts $213M EMC Purchase Offer”
Repligen, BMS Settle Patent Suit
Repligen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGEN]]) of Waltham, MA, will collect $5 million from Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: [[ticker:BMY]]) as part of the settlement, announced today, of a patent suit that the Massachusetts firm filed in 2006. Repligen will also collect royalties on BMS’s arthritis drug, Orencia, which Repligen and co-plaintiff the University of Michigan charged violated a patent … Continue reading “Repligen, BMS Settle Patent Suit”
PowerSteering Refuels with $3.5 Million
PowerSteering Software, a Cambridge, MA, startup specializing in programs that help companies manage large business and technology projects, said yesterday that it has raised $3.5 million in additional financing. The company’s products, delivered using a subscription, software-as-a-service model, are focused on helping clients comply with the Six Sigma standards for process improvement first formulated at … Continue reading “PowerSteering Refuels with $3.5 Million”
New England Private Equity Fundraising Way Up—but Venture Capital Segment Down
New England’s private equity firms raised nearly $7 billion during the first quarter of 2008, more than twice the amount raised in the same period of 2007. That’s far stronger growth than in the nation as a whole. The bad news for entrepreneurs trying to get startups off the ground is that the trend is … Continue reading “New England Private Equity Fundraising Way Up—but Venture Capital Segment Down”
How Voice Meets Web: A Voice 2.0 MashUp MeetUp
Richard Scullin from VoodooVox writes: “What is VoiceMeetup? This is a chance for Web and mobile developers to sit down and learn about how and why to incorporate phone and voice technology into their applications. We’ll discuss the recent appearance of the ‘voice mashup,’ look at different APIs and services designed to simplify the deployment … Continue reading “How Voice Meets Web: A Voice 2.0 MashUp MeetUp”
Great Things Come In Small Packages—A Nanotech Story
Barbara Heffner of Chen PR, writing to Xconomy on behalf of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, says: “The next MIT Enterprise Forum event is focused on nanotech and will be held this Weds. April 9th, starting at 6:15 p.m. The keynoter is Josh Wolfe, who is “America’s Leading Authority on Nanotechnology,” according to Forbes, … Continue reading “Great Things Come In Small Packages—A Nanotech Story”
Advent Closes $10.4 Billion Fund
Advent International, a buyout firm with headquarters in London and Boston, said yesterday it has completed fundraising for a $10.4 billion fund that it intends to use for international buyouts, strategic restructuring opportunities and growth buyouts in the financial services, retail, consumer, leisure, healthcare, technology, media, telecoms, and industrial sectors. The fund, Advent’s sixth, is … Continue reading “Advent Closes $10.4 Billion Fund”
Driving Audiences to Your Online Video Content
MITX sponsors a panel discussion on using online video content to drive website traffic. From the MITX event page: “Now that you’ve invested in and launched great online video content, your focus changes to “how will it attract an audience?” Whether your video is to entertain or to bolster your brand, making it easily discoverable … Continue reading “Driving Audiences to Your Online Video Content”
Building Social Applications & Widgets for Top Platforms
MITX sponsors a panel discussion on software development for social networking applications. From the MITX website: “Why build a social application? Developers are looking to kick-start a company or build something fun and viral. Marketers are searching for ways to appropriately target an audience for their products and services. Regardless of the motivation, with 6,000 … Continue reading “Building Social Applications & Widgets for Top Platforms”
New IDG Capital Fund Thinking Big, Thinking Global
No press release. No fanfare. Just Pat McGovern talking to VentureWire. And so, the existence of IDG Capital was brought to public attention yesterday. The IDG chairman is forming the new organization to centralize a large portion of his far-flung venture operations. And he’s beginning with the goal of raising $1 billion, as the fund … Continue reading “New IDG Capital Fund Thinking Big, Thinking Global”
Jackpot Rewards CEO Jim Miller Explains (Mostly) the Company’s About-Face on Weekly $1 Million Prizes
Newton, MA-based customer-rewards startup Jackpot Rewards says it will still hold a $1 million prize drawing every week. But as we reported yesterday, the company no longer promises that it will actually give the money away—removing one of the major incentives to join the company’s cash-back rewards program and making some existing members angry enough … Continue reading “Jackpot Rewards CEO Jim Miller Explains (Mostly) the Company’s About-Face on Weekly $1 Million Prizes”
Jackpot Rewards Drops Guaranteed $1 Million Weekly Prize; Explanation Fuzzy
Less than seven weeks after it made a big media splash by promising to donate half its profits to children’s charities, Jackpot Rewards, the Newton, MA, customer-rewards and sweepstakes startup backed by Boston investing legend Peter Lynch, has put an end to what was perhaps the most unusual (and most expensive) part of its part … Continue reading “Jackpot Rewards Drops Guaranteed $1 Million Weekly Prize; Explanation Fuzzy”
In Latest Local Venture Philanthropy Deal, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pledges up to $37.7 More to Epix
Just a few weeks after a similar arrangement with Cambridge, MA’s Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) showed early signs of bearing fruit, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is expanding its collaboration with another local biotech, Lexington, MA’s Epix Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EPIX]]). The nonprofit initially inked a research, development, and commercialization deal with Epix in 2005, aimed at … Continue reading “In Latest Local Venture Philanthropy Deal, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Pledges up to $37.7 More to Epix”
Facebook, ConnectU to Settle Suits, NYT Reports
The “Bits” technology blog at the New York Times is reporting today that Facebook and Boston-based ConnectU are nearing a settlement in the long-running dispute over whether Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg based his business on an idea (and on software code) appropriated from ConnectU founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss when all of the … Continue reading “Facebook, ConnectU to Settle Suits, NYT Reports”
MTLC Tech Tuesday
Couldn’t make it to the parties at CES or Macworld? Went to the parties and want to share what you saw with your friends? Join your fellow geeks, tech savvy professionals, DIY-ers, press, and other industry luminaries for an informal gathering hosted by the Mass Technology Leadership Council at The Skellig in Waltham. Bring your … Continue reading “MTLC Tech Tuesday”
MIT Crushes Harvard at Google Games
Perhaps predictably, MIT students blew their Harvard counterparts out of the water at the Google Games, a day of engineering- and math-heavy challenges held Saturday at Google’s new offices in the heart of Kendall Square. Teams from MIT captured the top three slots in the competition, while the Harvard contingent had to console itself with … Continue reading “MIT Crushes Harvard at Google Games”
EMC Tangos with Conchango, MIT Media Lab Goes to the Bank, GT Solar Makes European Inroads, & More Deals News
Last week saw new filings for both an IPO and an SPO. Could the climate for exits be getting a little better? (Seems like it would be hard for it to get much worse.) Here’s the news on those filings, and the rest of the recent deals. —Codon Devices, a Cambridge, MA-based startup focusing on … Continue reading “EMC Tangos with Conchango, MIT Media Lab Goes to the Bank, GT Solar Makes European Inroads, & More Deals News”
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally…It Works In Basketball and Investing
“Thinking Globally, Acting Locally…” … this was a headline in the New York Times the other day reflecting on the recent March Madness Cinderella story of Davidson College and Coach Bob McKillop. Struggling to compete for players against bigger, more entrenched basketball programs like Duke and Georgetown, Coach McKillop started recruiting aggressively in Europe and … Continue reading “Thinking Globally, Acting Locally…It Works In Basketball and Investing”
Imprivata Says Open Sesame to $15M Third Round
Imprivata, the Lexington, MA-based maker of software and appliances for managing password-based access to corporate computer networks, said today that it has closed a $15 million series C investment round, bringing its total venture backing to nearly $50 million. SAP Ventures, the venture capital wing of German business software giant SAP AG, led the round, … Continue reading “Imprivata Says Open Sesame to $15M Third Round”
PowerSteering Software Receives $3,500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=549713ab-15f4-4d24-89e7-4ec760ddc17e&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2008 Company Name PowerSteering Software Mailing Address 141 Portland Street, 10th Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description PowerSteering Enterprise is the only On-Demand PPM software used across the enterprise. Our easy-to-use software provides executives, business users, and IT professionals with better strategy alignment, executive visibility and team productivity capabilities to … Continue reading “PowerSteering Software Receives $3,500,000 New Funding Round”
Imprivata, Inc. Receives $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8a671eb7-6cf7-4170-ba6b-4ef0ff6866c8&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2008 Company Name Imprivata, Inc. Mailing Address 10 Maguire Road, Building 2 Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description Imprivata develops enterprise authentication and access management solutions. Website http://www.imprivata.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $15,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes This investment will help Imprivata expand its reach into new … Continue reading “Imprivata, Inc. Receives $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round”
GT Solar Lands Big Contract with Dutch Solar Panel Maker
Like microchips, photovoltaic solar cells are made from one of the most common materials on earth: silicon. But it takes a lot of bulky and expensive equipment to transform raw polycrystalline silicon or “polysilicon” into the pure, flat sheets of single-crystal silicon that make up photovoltaic cells. Merrimack, NH, is home to GT Solar, one … Continue reading “GT Solar Lands Big Contract with Dutch Solar Panel Maker”
Thermo Fisher MRSA Test Approved
The FDA has approved a new test for the “superbug” methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to the manufacturer, Waltham, MA-based Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:TMO]]). The test, called Spectra MRSA, gives results within a day and integrates with routine lab systems to aid healthcare facilities’ efforts to screen their patients, the company said.
Funding, Protecting and Commercializing Clean Technology
TiE-Boston’s Cleantech and Energy SIG and FTI Consulting co-sponsor a conference on understanding the intellectual property, contractual, and financial issues inherent in the clean technology industry. The conference will feature prominent speakers from the financial, business, legal, and government communities and will focus on the best strategies for obtaining financing, identifying and protecting intellectual property … Continue reading “Funding, Protecting and Commercializing Clean Technology”