Three FDA Approvals for Boston Scientific Cardiac Division

Boston Scientific (NYSE: [[ticker:BSX]]) announced today that the FDA has approved three of its cardiac products. The news is a bit of a bright spot amidst an ongoing restructuring effort expected to cut some 2,300 jobs at the Natick, MA-based firm, and follows on the heels of the news that it had lost a $431 … Continue reading “Three FDA Approvals for Boston Scientific Cardiac Division”

Clarus Ventures Raises $660 Million Life Sciences Fund

Clarus Ventures, a venture firm specializing in life sciences investments with offices in Cambridge, MA, and South San Francisco, announced today that it has raised a $660 million fund—the company’s second fund since its founding barely two years ago by a group of former partners of MPM Capital. Clarus said it plans to invest between … Continue reading “Clarus Ventures Raises $660 Million Life Sciences Fund”

ConforMIS Launches Knee Implant

Burlington, MA-based ConforMIS, which custom-builds implants for less-invasive knee surgery and is in the midst of an expansion push, today announced the commercial launch of an implant for partial knee replacement. The device was approved by the FDA in 2005 but, as I mentioned when I profiled ConforMIS last fall, the company has taken the … Continue reading “ConforMIS Launches Knee Implant”

So You Have a Good Idea…Now What?

The Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council sponsors a morning meeting on the keys to converting a good idea into a great company. McCarter & English counsel Jeffrey Stoller moderates a panel including ViaCell president Cynthia Fisher, Fletcher Spaght CEO John Fletcher, Carbonite CEO David Friend, and Progress Partners CEO Nicholas MacShane. Members $40, non-members $80. Information … Continue reading “So You Have a Good Idea…Now What?”

Good2Gether: A Web Widget That Connects Donors to Causes

They say one good deed begets another. Apparently one good charity story also begets another. The day after Rebecca published her piece last week on Givvy, the Framingham, MA, startup planning to offer online tools to help people track their charitable donations—and the very same day I wrote about Newton, MA, startup Jackpot Rewards, which … Continue reading “Good2Gether: A Web Widget That Connects Donors to Causes”

Universities: An Entrepreneur’s Ecosystem

Universities offer a thriving ecosystem that lends itself particularly well to entrepreneurship among students, faculty, and staff. My belief in the ability of the institution of higher education to foster entrepreneurship comes first hand from my experiences as a student entrepreneur at the University of Toronto, as well as my work with Young Inventors International, … Continue reading “Universities: An Entrepreneur’s Ecosystem”

3Com Left at the Altar, EMC’s Head in the Cloud, Let There Be LEDs, and Other News

Bob and Rebecca both went on vacation last week, but local newsmakers didn’t. I did my best to keep on top of the business-and-technology headlines, with some help from a terrific freelancer, Neil Savage; here’s a look back at the bounty. —Pogo Jet, a Chicopee, MA-based regional airline planning to fly very light jets like … Continue reading “3Com Left at the Altar, EMC’s Head in the Cloud, Let There Be LEDs, and Other News”

Trupanion Receives $22,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=69e8b1c4-57c0-43c5-b530-c3854cafd9fd&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2008 Company Name Trupanion Mailing Address P.O. Box 3306 Lynnwood, WA 98043-3306 Company Description With eight successful years of providing pet insurance in Canada as Vetinsurance, the Trupanion team is now offering the same great service and care to pet parents in United States. Website http://www.trupanion.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Trupanion Receives $22,000,000 New Financing Round”

Glam Media Obtains $84,600,000 Series D Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=341503bb-93d3-4bd5-83cb-1d96edc7d610&Preview=1 Date 2/25/2008 Company Name Glam Media Mailing Address 8000 Marina Blvd. Brisbane, CA 94005 Company Description Glam.com is a unique entertainment website covering the worlds of fashion, beauty, and celebrity style, while providing women a shopping experience available nowhere else. The team that designed and built Glam.com was handpicked from the … Continue reading “Glam Media Obtains $84,600,000 Series D Financing”

Boston Companies Grab Headlines at Game Developers Conference

The Game Developers Conference 2008 attracted video game designers from all over the world to San Francisco this past week to discuss the business and technology of gaming—and no doubt to revel in a few days of pure, Klingon-speaking geekiness. Boston-area game developers were well represented, both among the nominees for top games of 2007 … Continue reading “Boston Companies Grab Headlines at Game Developers Conference”

New Hampshire Startup Makes World’s Largest Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes

Ever since scientists first figured out how to make carbon nanotubes—tiny cylinders of carbon with diameters of a few tens of nanometers—they’ve been touted as the material of the future: as strong as steel but far lighter, with the ability to conduct electricity in useful ways. The problem is that because they’re so small, it’s … Continue reading “New Hampshire Startup Makes World’s Largest Sheets of Carbon Nanotubes”

CMGI Buys OCS for $24.5 Million

CMGI (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CMGI]]), the Waltham, MA, provider of supply chain management software and services (and the owner of @Ventures, an early-stage-focused venture firm that often pops up in these pages), said this week that it will pay $24.5 million in cash to acquire Dedham, MA-based Open Channel Solutions. The company’s main product, Poetic, helps software … Continue reading “CMGI Buys OCS for $24.5 Million”

Sirtris Finds Anti-Cancer Effect, Teams with NIH

Cambridge’s Sirtris Pharmaceuticals is known mainly for studying compounds like resveratrol that affect how the body uses insulin and may therefore have a role in treating metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity. But the company has always maintained that resveratrol-like compounds, which apparently work by boosting the activity of a gene called SIRT1, may … Continue reading “Sirtris Finds Anti-Cancer Effect, Teams with NIH”

Harvard’s Palfrey Joins Highland

Highland Capital Partners of Lexington, MA, said today that it has brought on intellectual-property scholar John Palfrey, Clinical Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the executive director of the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, as a venture executive. We interviewed Palfrey and business partner Rudy Rouhana in December for our story about … Continue reading “Harvard’s Palfrey Joins Highland”

Luminus Deal Brightens Future for LED Lighting

If you’re not crazy about the compact fluorescent lights being touted as the future of home lighting, but you want something more environmentally conscious than Thomas Edison’s old incandescent bulb, Luminus Devices of Billerica, MA, may soon have just the thing for you. Luminus makes very bright LEDs, and has been doing a nice business … Continue reading “Luminus Deal Brightens Future for LED Lighting”

NetClarity, Inc. Receives $2,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d82a19c3-b66d-48ae-851c-c2b416353a65&Preview=1 Date 2/22/2008 Company Name NetClarity, Inc. Mailing Address 54 Middlesex Turnpike Bedford, MA 01730-1417 Company Description NetClarity develops vulnerability management and intrusion prevention network security products. NetClarity’s new product, called EasyNAC, is designed to identify devices that should be allowed within a network and is expected to be a boon to … Continue reading “NetClarity, Inc. Receives $2,500,000 New Funding”

Familybuilder Lands Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b98fa0b2-38a7-41ea-b365-c4e158f1e4b8&Preview=1 Date 2/22/2008 Company Name Familybuilder Mailing Address 41 East 60th Street New York, NY 10022 Company Description Familybuilder is a leading Facebook application developer which owns and operates Family Tree, the number 1 family application on Facebook. Family Tree helps families stay better connected by providing a service that facilitates communication … Continue reading “Familybuilder Lands Series A Financing Round”

EMC Creates Cloud Computing Division, Hires Former Microsoft Exec to Lead It; Oh, They Bought His Startup, Too

There’s a term of art in journalism called “burying the lede.” It means taking the reader on a pleasant, diverting stroll for a few paragraphs before getting to the real news. That’s what Hopkinton, MA-based EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) did in spades in a late-afternoon press release today. The announcement is ostensibly about EMC’s all-cash acquisition … Continue reading “EMC Creates Cloud Computing Division, Hires Former Microsoft Exec to Lead It; Oh, They Bought His Startup, Too”

Methuen Company’s Motors Power MRI Surgery Robot

Combine the folks who brought you the giant robot arm on the space shuttle with a company that makes miniature ceramic motors and what do you get? A brain surgery robot that works inside an MRI machine, of course. Researchers at the University of Calgary in Alberta, with help from MacDonald, Dettwiler, and Associates (MDA), … Continue reading “Methuen Company’s Motors Power MRI Surgery Robot”

As Venture Money Floods India, Two New England Firms Are Among Top Investors

A report from Dow Jones VentureSource shows that venture capital investment collected by entrepreneurs in India nearly tripled in 2007, totaling $928 million across 80 separate deals, as compared to just $349 million for 36 deals in 2006. It was “easily the highest total on record for the region,” according to the Dow Jones report,  … Continue reading “As Venture Money Floods India, Two New England Firms Are Among Top Investors”

Incipient Gathers $15.6 Million

Waltham, MA-based Incipient, which makes software for managing and moving data on enterprise storage area networks, said today that it has completed a Series E financing round totaling $15.6 million. Existing investors Globespan Capital Partners, GrandBanks Capital, HLM Venture Partners, Greylock, QuestMark Partners, Sigma Partners, and Wasatch Advisors participated in the round, which also included … Continue reading “Incipient Gathers $15.6 Million”

LocaModa Debuts in Times Square

LocaModa, the Cambridge-based company specializing in interactive applications for outdoor signage, has made its Broadway debut—well, at least its Broadway and West 47th Street debut. The company announced yesterday that its “Jumbli” application, a word game that passers-by can play via text messages from their mobile phones, is now appearing on Clear Channel’s giant 40-by-40-foot … Continue reading “LocaModa Debuts in Times Square”

Mass Technology Leadership Council Annual Meeting: Opportunities for Tomorrow

Join trustees of the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council and other industry leaders as they recognize the accomplishments of the state’s IT/communications industry and explore future trends and opportunities for companies in the sector. Speakers include Governor Deval Patrick; George Colony, chairman and CEO of Forrester Research; Roger Brinner, chief economist for The Parthenon Group; and … Continue reading “Mass Technology Leadership Council Annual Meeting: Opportunities for Tomorrow”

To Get Windows Mobile into Enterprises, Microsoft Turns to Boston Software Veteran

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is the kind of guy who can start a company with a single phone call. And when Ballmer called Mort Rosenthal in early 2007, he knew exactly what he wanted: a new company that would help Microsoft’s biggest customers in industries like financial services, health care, and professional services start seeing … Continue reading “To Get Windows Mobile into Enterprises, Microsoft Turns to Boston Software Veteran”

Affomix Corporation Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cda89bb4-f2db-4d8d-ab28-45659fed0b0c&Preview=1 Date 2/21/2008 Company Name Affomix Corporation Mailing Address 300 George Street New Haven, CT 06511 Company Description Affomix is developing an automated approach for obtaining very large numbers of antibodies useful in the diagnosis of disease and development of therapies. Website http://www.affomix.com/ Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $7,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Affomix Corporation Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round”

EMC Corporation Acquires PI Corporation for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0bad9767-7d55-4397-a260-9a5b48f9687d&Preview=1 Date 2/21/2008 Company Name PI Corporation Mailing Address 615 Second Avenue Seattle, CA 98104 Company Description PI is working on next generation software environment, that will allow users to create, repurpose, store, share and access personal information in novel ways. PI expects to release its software in both free (open source) … Continue reading “EMC Corporation Acquires PI Corporation for Undisclosed Sum”

Bain Halts 3Com Buyout

Bain Capital, the Boston-based asset management firm co-founded by Mitt Romney, has suspended a joint effort with China’s Huawei Technology to acquire Marlborough, MA-based 3Com for a proposed $2.2 bilion in cash, 3Com reported today. Bain and Huawei withdrew their joint filing with the U.S. government’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which … Continue reading “Bain Halts 3Com Buyout”

HiWired Partners with BJ’s

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: [[ticker:BJ]]), the Natick, MA-based chain of 177 warehouse club stores across 16 eastern states, has hired Neeedham, MA-based tech support outsourcing provider HiWired to manage a new website and call center that will help members of BJ’s with their computer glitches, HiWired announced today. Called TechCare, the service costs $45 to … Continue reading “HiWired Partners with BJ’s”

Jackpot Rewards: An Online “Economic Engine for the Common Good”

The idea of sponsoring a weekly $1 million sweepstakes isn’t exactly high-tech. Neither is the idea of giving consumers cash rewards for their purchases, or the concept of committing a portion of your company’s profits to kids’ charities. But mash these things together—and put the whole thing on the Internet, where viral marketing and other … Continue reading “Jackpot Rewards: An Online “Economic Engine for the Common Good””

Jackpot Rewards, Inc. Obtains $16,700,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a16aac44-7a15-4be2-aceb-2f6d3187e717&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name Jackpot Rewards, Inc. Mailing Address 275 Grove Street Newton, MA 02466 Company Description The company operates on online lottery website. Website http://www.jackpotrewards.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $16,700,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the funding to roll out its online site and … Continue reading “Jackpot Rewards, Inc. Obtains $16,700,000 New Financing”

Incipient Inc. Lands $15,600,000 Series E Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3f83ebc1-922d-40e1-8281-d545ed5f469c&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name Incipient Inc. Mailing Address 404 Wyman Street Waltham, MA 02451 Company Description Incipient, Inc. was founded on the vision of providing a scalable, network resident software platform that offers storage services to reduce cost and simplify operational complexity in enterprise storage environments. Website http://www.incipient.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “Incipient Inc. Lands $15,600,000 Series E Funding”

CMGI, Inc. Acquires Open Channel Solutions for $24,500,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=f5716980-a57a-4d6e-b442-f8f9155b00e6&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name Open Channel Solutions Mailing Address Three Allied Drive Dedham, MA 02026 Company Description OCS provides solutions that manage entitlements for software licenses, maintenance and support subscriptions, hardware features and rights-managed content. OCS’ solutions, including its Poetic™ software product. Website http://www.ocs.com/ Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $24,500,000 Transaction … Continue reading “CMGI, Inc. Acquires Open Channel Solutions for $24,500,000”

Blist Garners $6,500,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a875b28f-e5af-42b5-9846-3690dc907ba7&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name Blist Mailing Address 101 Yesler Way Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description blist is the world’s easiest database. blist is all about discovering, sharing, publishing, distributing, and subscribing to data at home and at work. blist makes it easy for anyone to create private or collaborative databases for … Continue reading “Blist Garners $6,500,000 Series A Financing”

VantageILM Garners New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=add96831-5505-4739-b239-7e17cec84b49&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name VantageILM Mailing Address 3452 E. Foothill Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91107 Company Description VantageILM is the on demand next-generation integrated loan/lease management software platform that puts origination, servicing, collections, recovery management, asset management, document management and accounting into one platform. Designed to handle all types of loans and … Continue reading “VantageILM Garners New Financing”

N-Trig Obtains $33,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0ff97d99-f192-4c9a-b8f1-0d1048594ec0&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name N-Trig Mailing Address 8200 North MoPac Expressway Austin, TX 78759 Company Description N-Trig is the provider of DuoSense digitizer technology combining pen and zero-pressure touch for mobile computers into a single device. N-Trig enables OEMs and ODMs to provide innovative new technology for the next generation of … Continue reading “N-Trig Obtains $33,000,000 New Funding Round”

N-Trig Garners $33,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0ff97d99-f192-4c9a-b8f1-0d1048594ec0&Preview=1 Date 2/20/2008 Company Name N-Trig Mailing Address 8200 North MoPac Expressway Austin, TX 78759 Company Description N-Trig is the provider of DuoSense digitizer technology combining pen and zero-pressure touch for mobile computers into a single device. N-Trig enables OEMs and ODMs to provide innovative new technology for the next generation of … Continue reading “N-Trig Garners $33,000,000 New Financing Round”

Stop Marketing and Sell

Noted Boston entrepreneur and serial CEO Jack Derby will speak at the next meeting of the Southern New England Enterpreneurs Forum (SNEEF) on how successful entrepreneurs must continuously sell the value proposition of their business to funders, vendors, and employees, but above all to paying customers. Derby will lead a panel discussion that includes Mitchell … Continue reading “Stop Marketing and Sell”

Marine Renewable Energy Consortium Forming

The Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, will be home to a new Marine Renewable Energy Consortium aimed at organizing a network of technologists, entrepreneurs, and investors around ocean wave, tidal, current, and wind energy projects, according to an announcement circulated by the center. The long-term mission of the consortium will … Continue reading “Marine Renewable Energy Consortium Forming”

Pogo Jet Sets IPO Terms A Year (Or So) Ahead of Commercial Operations

In today’s tough economic climate, high-tech firms have been taking flight when it comes to their planned IPOs—delaying them or canceling them outright (think Archemix, BG Medicine, and so on). But Pogo Jet, a Chicopee, MA-based jet charter service—aimed, no doubt, at least partly at the high-tech business set—is letting its IPO ambitions soar. The … Continue reading “Pogo Jet Sets IPO Terms A Year (Or So) Ahead of Commercial Operations”

Innovation and the University-Industry Interface

Editor’s note: This article was published last July 2, during our first week in existence. Given the attention to last week’s post by Chris Gabrieli questioning Harvard’s legacy of tech transfer, we wanted to share Sahin’s thoughtful observations with a wider audience. The buzzword of the 1980s and ’90s was “entrepreneurship.” This decade, the obsession … Continue reading “Innovation and the University-Industry Interface”

At Liquid Machines, a Harvard Dean’s Invention Plugs Document Leaks

Leonardo da Vinci, the most productive and free-ranging mind of his generation, filled his notebooks using a mirror script that no one else could read. Thomas Jefferson, while serving as Washington’s Secretary of State, invented a wheel-cipher device to protect his diplomatic correspondence from prying eyes. So perhaps it’s not such an unusual irony that … Continue reading “At Liquid Machines, a Harvard Dean’s Invention Plugs Document Leaks”

Super-Stealthy Givvy to Offer Online “Charity Therapy”

Think about the causes that are closest to your heart—the environment? The wellbeing of children? Social justice? The fate of NBC’s critically acclaimed “Friday Night Lights?” Now think about the charitable donations you made last year. Even if you’re one of those incredibly organized people who has already gathered all of his 2007 receipts into … Continue reading “Super-Stealthy Givvy to Offer Online “Charity Therapy””

The Telephone Gambit—Book Reading

Did Boston’s own Alexander Graham Bell steal the telephone patent? It doesn’t look good, as we have shown in these excerpts from Xconomy contributing writer Seth Shulman’s new book, The Telephone Gambit: Chasing Alexander Graham Bell’s Secret. Seth will be reading from his book, signing copies, and answering questions at the MIT Coop Bookstore in … Continue reading “The Telephone Gambit—Book Reading”

Yahoo Acquires Maven, Novell Acquires SiteScape, Eons Spins Off Tributes, Vertex Makes $400M Offering, & More

Venture deals continued to be slow heading into the long weekend, and things will be slow here at Xconomy today—but here’s the action from the past week. Happy Birthday, Misters President! —Boston’s Vaultus raised $6 million in a round led by Point Judith Capital and joined by Susquehanna International Group and IDG Ventures. The new … Continue reading “Yahoo Acquires Maven, Novell Acquires SiteScape, Eons Spins Off Tributes, Vertex Makes $400M Offering, & More”

FIRST Robotics Competition—Boston Finals

The FIRST Robotics Competition, founded by Dean Kamen, has become all the rage. Think WWF meets rock concert meets geeks meets student-built robots. It’s wild, it’s fun—and it’s advancing the cause of science and technology education. The Blue Man Group kicks off the Boston area finals, run by Xconomist Marc Hodosh. Kamen, also an Xconomist, … Continue reading “FIRST Robotics Competition—Boston Finals”

Fearing Icahn’s Impact on Morale, Biogen Idec Launches Key Employee Retention Plan

Call it the Icahn Effect. To help keep top executives, scientists, and other employees on board and productive in the face of ongoing uncertainty and anxiety over Carl Icahn’s efforts to force a sale of the company, Biogen Idec (NASDAQ:[[ticker:BIIB]]) has launched a retention program that offers key employees bonuses of up to 150 percent … Continue reading “Fearing Icahn’s Impact on Morale, Biogen Idec Launches Key Employee Retention Plan”

Guitar Hero Returns to Boston

The billion-dollar franchise that is Guitar Hero is coming home to Boston, in the form of a special edition of the blockbuster video game enshrining the music of the original Bad Boys from Boston, Aerosmith. Activision, which distributes the Guitar Hero games, announced today that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, the sixth game in the phenomenally popular … Continue reading “Guitar Hero Returns to Boston”