Brainy Blog from Supercomputing Firm

Proving that the blogosphere isn’t all about Paris Hilton or even Perez Hilton, Waltham, MA-based Interactive Supercomputing this week launched a new multi-author blog on high-performance computing called Parallel Lounge. With contributors including MIT computer scientist Alan Edelman and Cray Research veteran Steve Reinhardt, Interactive Supercomputing’s vice president of joint research, it’s the only Boston … Continue reading “Brainy Blog from Supercomputing Firm”

Constant Contact Stock Offering Planned

Waltham, MA-based e-mail marketing and survey firm Constant Contact yesterday filed an SEC registration statement saying it intends to sell more than 106,000 shares of common stock in a secondary offering. At the same time, Constant Contact stockholders—mostly venture firms looking for their exit—plan to sell some 4.3 million shares. At this morning’s stock price … Continue reading “Constant Contact Stock Offering Planned”

Ikonisys’s Automated Cell Assay System Could Open the Door to New Diagnostic Tests

Lots of the people I know who went into science and technology journalism did so after spending a year or two working in a lab. Personally, I never experienced what I hear is the tedium of running gels or refilling test tubes. But imagine you’re a lab tech doing medical diagnostics, having to sit in … Continue reading “Ikonisys’s Automated Cell Assay System Could Open the Door to New Diagnostic Tests”

Web Innovators Guru: An Interview with Venrock’s David Beisel

If you’ve been to the bimonthly Web Innovators Group meetings at the Royal Sonesta ballroom in Cambridge, you know that the menu always consists of three or four “main dish” talks by local entrepreneurs launching new Web services, along with three to five “side dish” presentations by companies who set up tables around the room. … Continue reading “Web Innovators Guru: An Interview with Venrock’s David Beisel”

Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc. Obtains $20,300,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=805da89b-d914-4595-94bf-fa575d92855f&Preview=1 Date 3/28/2008 Company Name Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc. Mailing Address 201 Burlington Rd Bedford, MA 01730 Company Description MA, Reveal Imaging Technologies, Inc., has developed a new paradigm for government mandated explosives detection systems (EDS) for airport security. Website http://www.revealimaging.com/ Transaction Type Debt, Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,300,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed … Continue reading “Reveal Imaging Technologies Inc. Obtains $20,300,000 New Funding Round”

UMass Doles out $240,000 to Turn Research Ideas into Commercial Products

Need a better AIDS drug? Want to turn plants into gasoline without going through that whole millions-of-years-buried-in-the-ground thing? The University of Massachusetts is hoping its researchers have figured out how to achieve such feats, and is awarding them grants to help the research along, possibly create new companies, and bring in licensing revenue to fund … Continue reading “UMass Doles out $240,000 to Turn Research Ideas into Commercial Products”

Vertex Climbs on Encouraging Early Results From Cystic Fibrosis Drug Trial

Shares of Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VRTX]]) climbed this morning after the company announced some encouraging preliminary results from an ongoing trial of VX-770, a drug for cystic fibrosis. The firm’s stock opened at $18.24 and by about 11:00 was trading around $19.55, up almost 10 percent from yesterday’s close of $17.83. Vertex’s drug … Continue reading “Vertex Climbs on Encouraging Early Results From Cystic Fibrosis Drug Trial”

Of Card-Counting, Startups, and the Real Story of the MIT Blackjack Team

(Updated, March 27, 6:45 pm—see editor’s note, p. 2) The house was on Inman Street, near Cambridge’s Central Square. Peter Woit recalls the morning he came downstairs and found his roommate obviously upset. “John, what’s wrong?” he asked. “Have you seen a dirty pink laundry bag?” came the response. “No, why?” “There was $80,000 in … Continue reading “Of Card-Counting, Startups, and the Real Story of the MIT Blackjack Team”

1336 Technologies, Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6849e949-ffbc-4564-b7df-c40248c51f45&Preview=1 Date 3/27/2008 Company Name 1336 Technologies, Inc. Mailing Address 45 Hartwell Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Company Description 1366 Technologies is making silicon solar cells competitive with coal. Our goal is to build on the success of multi-crystalline solar cells and manufacturing capacity to accelerate the transition to solar. Our products and … Continue reading “1336 Technologies, Inc. Secures $12,000,000 Series A Round”

EKOS Corporation Secures $5,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=51509511-fbc3-4482-bc96-3182a2a53694&Preview=1 Date 3/27/2008 Company Name EKOS Corporation Mailing Address 11911 North Creek Parkway South Bothell, WA 98011 Company Description EKOS Corporation was founded in 1995 with the vision that ultrasound could accelerate the delivery of drugs to benefit patients with a variety of diseases and conditions. Today, EKOS is the world leader … Continue reading “EKOS Corporation Secures $5,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

iovation, Inc. Receives $15,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=66324ad3-15bc-407a-a237-d1e403b34959&Preview=1 Date 3/27/2008 Company Name iovation, Inc. Mailing Address 111 SW 5th Avenue Portland, OR 97204 Company Description iovation helps online businesses prevent fraud and abusive online behavior. By focusing on the Internet-enabled device as the nexus of all online interactions, iovation captures and uses a device’s reputation to expose abusive behavior … Continue reading “iovation, Inc. Receives $15,000,000 New Round”

MIT Spinoff Aims to Make Solar Power Cheaper Than Coal

Solar cells have been around for 30 years, but have never made huge inroads into the energy market because they’ve always been more expensive than other ways of producing electricity. Now an MIT spinoff claims it’s going to make solar power cheaper than coal, not through any dramatic change in the technology but with a … Continue reading “MIT Spinoff Aims to Make Solar Power Cheaper Than Coal”

Technical Bibliophiles to Bid Adieu To Kendall Square

Fans of browsing uber-geeky tomes on computer graphics, operating-system design, programming, and all other deeply technical matters have something of a wake to attend tomorrow afternoon. Kendall Square’s Quantum Books, which will be shuttering its brick-and-mortar store this weekend, is hosting a 5:30 p.m. goodbye party for longtime customers, according to the Cambridge Chronicle. Quantum … Continue reading “Technical Bibliophiles to Bid Adieu To Kendall Square”

Two Highland Funds Join Forces to Lead $20 Million Funding Round for Pharmaca Retail Chain

Envision a drug store where conventional prescriptions, treatments, and toiletries are co-mingled with natural health care products and you have the core vision behind Pharmaca Integrative Pharmacy. Right now, the Boulder, CO-based retail chain has just 20 stores, but it plans to grow fast—adding another dozen stores per year. And two local venture funds, Highland … Continue reading “Two Highland Funds Join Forces to Lead $20 Million Funding Round for Pharmaca Retail Chain”

Repligen Launches Trial of Imaging Agent

Repligen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RGEN]]) of Waltham, MA, has begun a Phase 3 clinical trial of an imaging agent that would enhance the ability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect abnormalities in the ducts of the pancreas, the company announced today. The company believes that the study, being conducted at about 30 U.S. and Canadian sites, … Continue reading “Repligen Launches Trial of Imaging Agent”

Nanocomp Wins Air Force Grant to Make Carbon-Nanotube Wiring for Aircraft

You may remember a few weeks back, when Nanocomp Technologies of Concord, NH, announced that it was able to make what it called the world’s largest sheets of carbon nanotubes. Well, it seems like the folks at Slashdot weren’t the only ones intrigued by the technology. The Air Force has awarded the company a Small … Continue reading “Nanocomp Wins Air Force Grant to Make Carbon-Nanotube Wiring for Aircraft”

How Metatomix is Bringing the Semantic Web to Life in Law Enforcement

In 2005, nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford was raped and murdered by a known sex offender who did not inform the police that he had moved to her neighborhood in Homosassa, FL, and who had been released earlier by a state court that did not have access to parts of his criminal record. Florida lawmakers responded to … Continue reading “How Metatomix is Bringing the Semantic Web to Life in Law Enforcement”

Alkermes Makes Cuts, Eyegate Avoids Pokes, Codon Gets a Boost, & More Life Sciences News

The past week was evidently on the quiet side for Boston-area life sciences firms, with a few exceptions: —Cambridge, MA-based Alkermes (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALKS]]) announced it will cut 150 jobs and close a manufacturing plant after Eli Lilly ended a joint project to develop inhaled insulin. —EyeGate Pharma of Waltham, MA, raised $15 million from Medicis … Continue reading “Alkermes Makes Cuts, Eyegate Avoids Pokes, Codon Gets a Boost, & More Life Sciences News”

Ntirety, Inc. Garners $1,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=95a39b97-3477-45ec-9ec8-d92a9367ddb8&Preview=1 Date 3/26/2008 Company Name Ntirety, Inc. Mailing Address 980 Washington Street Dedham, MA 02026 Company Description Ntirety’s Team of Remote Administration Experts remotely monitor and tune our clients Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server database environments, rapidly respond to down database situations, ensure a clients backup and recovery capabilities, prevent database outages … Continue reading “Ntirety, Inc. Garners $1,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Adimab Scores Second Funding Round in Less Than A Year

A young biotech company founded by a pair of professors from MIT and Dartmouth has closed a Series B financing round co-led by Polaris Venture Partners and SV Life Sciences, just eight months after it closed a $6.2 million Series A round led by the same firms. Lebanon, NH’s Adimab didn’t disclose the value of … Continue reading “Adimab Scores Second Funding Round in Less Than A Year”

Jail-Breaking iPhones and Other Tales from the Apple Store

For Boston-area mobile software developers, the Apple Store at the Cambridgeside Galleria was the place to be last night. Apple loaned the space to Mobile Monday Boston for its monthly meeting, which focused this time on software applications for the iPhone—whether authorized by Apple or “open,” to use the euphemism for the growing universe of … Continue reading “Jail-Breaking iPhones and Other Tales from the Apple Store”

Basho’s Cambridge Bash

Usually companies grow up and leave Cambridge, MA, for cheaper real estate climes out in the suburbs. But Burlington, MA-based Basho Technologies, which makes software to help salespeople analyze revenue pipelines and forecasts, announced today that it was moving to Cambridge— citing the city’s “unparalleled access to the technology community” as a means of accommodating … Continue reading “Basho’s Cambridge Bash”

Early Stage Life Sciences Pitches—12 Firms Looking for Funding

Whether it’s to learn about new approaches to cancer treatment, better ways to harvest stem cells, or cutting edge arthritis and anxiety drugs, I always have a good time at events like yesterday’s Early Stage Life Sciences Conference. That’s because you meet people with fascinating ideas and technologies they think will change the world (and … Continue reading “Early Stage Life Sciences Pitches—12 Firms Looking for Funding”

Capturing the Facebook Flag: Harvard, Yale Students Launch Rival “Social Online Sports” Companies

How to Build a Web Startup: Step 1: Get into a prestigious university like Yale, Harvard, or Stanford. Step 2: Organize some kind of Web-mediated event or service, and get a few thousand of your fellow students to participate. Step 3: Start answering the calls from venture capitalists and online advertisers. It worked for Facebook, … Continue reading “Capturing the Facebook Flag: Harvard, Yale Students Launch Rival “Social Online Sports” Companies”

Codon Devices Secures $11,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2e8a7705-542b-4f37-be13-40ba0f2c3486&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2008 Company Name Codon Devices Mailing Address One Kendall Square, Building 300, 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Codon Devices is a privately-held biotechnology company focused on enabling commercial applications of synthetic biology. Codon Devices’ proprietary synthesis and design technologies improve the productivity, throughput and flexibility of its industrial, … Continue reading “Codon Devices Secures $11,000,000 Series B Funding”

CoreStreet Ltd. Secures New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5bfc118e-6b03-4a81-ab59-98994533a8f0&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2008 Company Name CoreStreet Ltd. Mailing Address One Alewife Center Cambridge, MA 02140 Company Description Businesses and governments around the world deploy CoreStreet products and CoreStreet-enabled solutions to increase security, reduce costs, and comply with regulations. Website http://www.corestreet.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “CoreStreet Ltd. Secures New Financing”

Adimab, Inc. Lands Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ea916dda-1b46-4da8-97cb-a8ce2fed1381&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2008 Company Name Adimab, Inc. Mailing Address 16 Cavendish Court Lebanon, NH 03766 Company Description Adimab–which stands for Antibody Discovery Maturation Biomanufacturing–is developing a platform that’s deliberately engineered to minimize and potentially eliminate third party royalties, offering a one-stop-service-shop to a select few Big Pharma partners. Website http://www.adimab.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Adimab, Inc. Lands Series B Financing Round”

OpenService, Inc. Garners New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=19c39129-b985-43b0-bce7-f5e806891b32&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2008 Company Name OpenService, Inc. Mailing Address 67 Forest Street Marlborough, MA 01752 Company Description OpenService, Inc. is a leading provider of Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Event Correlation and Network Monitoring solutions. Website http://www.openservice.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Funds will … Continue reading “OpenService, Inc. Garners New Financing Round”

Spiration Inc. Secures $18,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=444a0291-ae86-41e8-ba74-0ea78ae17ede&Preview=1 Date 3/25/2008 Company Name Spiration Inc. Mailing Address 6675 185th Avenue N.E. Redmond, WA 98052 Company Description Spiration Inc. designs, manufactures and markets innovative Medical Devices & Instruments for the treatment of lung disease, including lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which together claim nearly 275,000 lives in the … Continue reading “Spiration Inc. Secures $18,500,000 New Financing”

VMware to Invest $100M in India R&D Efforts

VMware (NYSE:[[ticker:VMW]]), the virtualization subsidiary of Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE:[[ticker:EMC]]), announced today that it would invest $100 million in India by 2010 to expand its existing research and development presence in that country. The investment will include building a new, 82,000-square-foot development center in Bangalore and doubling its local engineering organization to more than 1,000 … Continue reading “VMware to Invest $100M in India R&D Efforts”

Want to Listen to Me Blather on About Our Blog and the Exponential Economy?

Talk about turning the tables. It’s usually we reporters and writers that tap into the knowledge of public relations people—-occasionally interviewing them but often working with them to find the right people to speak with at companies and organizations. They don’t interview us, usually. But since Xconomy is a relatively new publication, PR people have … Continue reading “Want to Listen to Me Blather on About Our Blog and the Exponential Economy?”

PowerPoint to the People

A 2001 New Yorker essay entitled “Absolute PowerPoint” contained the stunning claim that over 30 million PowerPoint presentations were being given every day. The article attributed this statistic to Microsoft; it did not say how the company gathered the data. But whatever the actual prevalence of PowerPoint in 2001, it’s surely even greater now, given … Continue reading “PowerPoint to the People”

How Network Non-Neutrality Affects Real Businesses

Network neutrality leaped back into the headlines last month, when FCC commissioners held a public hearing at Harvard University to examine whether the commission should institute rules to regulate the way Internet service providers (ISPs) manage traffic on their networks. The panel heard from executives representing the two largest ISPs in the Northeast, Comcast and … Continue reading “How Network Non-Neutrality Affects Real Businesses”

BladeLogic Scores Big, EMC Gets Another Crack at Iomega, Luminus Closes a Large Round, & More Deals News

The word of the week for Boston-area deal-making was acquisition. You’ll see what I mean. —Data-center-automation firm BladeLogic (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BLOG]]) of Lexington, MA, scored an impressive $800 million in a buy-out deal with Houston, TX-based BMC Software (NYSE: [[ticker:BMC]]). —Beverley, MA-based Axcelis Technologies, a maker of specialized semiconductor manufacturing equipment, once again rejected a takeover … Continue reading “BladeLogic Scores Big, EMC Gets Another Crack at Iomega, Luminus Closes a Large Round, & More Deals News”

Action Engine Corp. Obtains $6,220,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8b28547e-2318-4c93-8a2a-6dade7d10a5e&Preview=1 Date 3/24/2008 Company Name Action Engine Corp. Mailing Address 2331 130th Ave NE Bellevue, WA 98005 Company Description Action Engine Corporation is the mobile application platform leader. Action Engine was founded in 2000 with a vision that current approaches for delivering wireless data to mobile devices were incomplete. Website http://www.actionengine.com Transaction … Continue reading “Action Engine Corp. Obtains $6,220,000 New Financing”

Convergence: The Life Sciences Leaders Forum

The annual, invitation-only Convergence forum is one of our favorite events, focusing specifically on life sciences and drawing a great crowd of life sciences and biotech executives, researchers, and investors to a fantastic setting on Martha’s Vineyard. One tip for the restaurants down there: bring your own wine.

University Research & Entrepreneurship Symposium

The one-day, invitation-only University Research & Entrepreneurship Symposium is designed “to bring world-class research universities to Boston and to showcase them before a group of New England’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.” The multi-disciplinary focus—which Xconomy loves to celebrate—centers on innovations and technologies in information technology, materials science, and energy technology. The symposium itself is … Continue reading “University Research & Entrepreneurship Symposium”

Ideastream

Every year, the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT holds its invitation-only Ideastream symposium that brings together leading entrepreneurs, innovators, venture capitalists, and researchers to examine ways to bridge the gap between MIT research and the business and technology community. Xconomy founder and editor in chief Bob Buderi will be moderating a plenary session … Continue reading “Ideastream”

MIT Sloan BioInnovations 2008

What are the most powerful emerging technologies and innovations in biotechnology—and what are the key challenges the industry faces? Senior management, investors, and leading academics from the Bay State biotechnology community convene for this big day of idea exchanging and discussion brought to you by MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Xconomy editor in chief Bob … Continue reading “MIT Sloan BioInnovations 2008”

Design Thinking Workshop

Design thinking. It’s an emerging trend in the design world with some powerful connotations to enhance consumer experiences, and with applications to wider business arenas. This free, one-day workshop at Rhode Island’s non-profit Business Innovation Factory bills itself as “an interactive journey into the world of design thinking” that will take you from concept to … Continue reading “Design Thinking Workshop”

3Com Wants Penalty from Bain for Abandoned Takeover Deal

Last month Boston’s Bain Capital and Chinese investment partner Huawei Technologies withdrew their petition with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for permission to take over Marlborough, MA-based 3Com in the face of the committee’s security concerns over partial Chinese ownership of 3Com, whose TippingPoint subsidiary makes security software used by the … Continue reading “3Com Wants Penalty from Bain for Abandoned Takeover Deal”

Allied Minds Aims to Forge Early Alliances with University Researchers

Anybody who reads this blog is familiar with the large number of venture capital companies ready to fund developing businesses, and there always seem to be more climbing aboard in Series B and C rounds as a particular business starts to look more likely to succeed. But one local company, Allied Minds, hopes to make … Continue reading “Allied Minds Aims to Forge Early Alliances with University Researchers”

EMC: Before Acquiring, Check the Wiring

Consider a few names: Documentum, RSA Security, Tablus, VMware, Berkeley Data Systems (parent of Mozy). That’s a very abbreviated version of what’s getting to be a long and pretty illustrious list of acquisitions made by EMC (NYSE:[[ticker:EMC]]) in recent years. And just in the last few weeks, the Hopkinton, MA, firm announced a couple more … Continue reading “EMC: Before Acquiring, Check the Wiring”

Highland Capital Partners Leads $12 Million Funding Round for CafeMom

So, yes, I have my Facebook page, my Friendster page, Myspace, LinkedIn, and possibly a couple of others I signed up for and forgot about. One site I’m not on is CafeMom, and the folks there are just fine with that. The social networking site for mothers just received $12 million in funding, on top … Continue reading “Highland Capital Partners Leads $12 Million Funding Round for CafeMom”

Y Combinator Gears Up for Startup Summer

Time’s a wastin’ for East Coast technology entrepreneurs who want help from Y Combinator, investor Paul Graham’s startup camp, which returns to Cambridge for its fourth year this summer. Applications for summer 2008 funding are due April 2. Y Combinator winters in Mountain View, CA, where it just held its semi-annual Demo Day, its equivalent … Continue reading “Y Combinator Gears Up for Startup Summer”