IRobot Strikes “Transformational” Deal to Enable Next Generation Laser-Guided Bots

In an era of irregular warfare, where troops must contend with roadside bombs and HAZMAT teams might confront bioweapons, one long-standing vision is for warfighters and first responders to be able to deploy autonomous robots to handle terrain-clearing and reconnaissance chores while the humans wait out of harm’s way. For several years now, iRobot’s Packbot … Continue reading “IRobot Strikes “Transformational” Deal to Enable Next Generation Laser-Guided Bots”

ATG Shells Out $10M for CleverSet

Cambridge, MA-based e-commerce firm Art Technology Group (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARTG]]) will acquire Seattle’s CleverSet for some $10 million in cash, not counting closing adjustments. CleverSet’s technology for automated personalization recommendations can be used for retail, manufacturing, telecommunications, financial services, travel and hospitality, and other applications, according to the announcement.

Hologic Grabs $82M for Drug

Medical technology megafirm Hologic (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HOLX]]), which develops diagnostics, imaging tools, and other devices focused on women’s healthcare, announced today that it will sell the rights to its drug Gestiva for $82 million in cash to St. Louis, MO-based KV Pharmaceutical. Bedford, MA-based Hologic acquired the rights to Gestiva, a treatment for the prevention of … Continue reading “Hologic Grabs $82M for Drug”

Cleantech, Life Sciences, and Web Plays Lead the Way as Venture Investments Hit Six-Year High; New England VCs Step Up the Pace

That skidding sound you heard all through the fourth quarter of 2007 might have been the U.S. economy, but the screech of brakes apparently didn’t reach the ears of venture capitalists. Venture investments in U.S. companies stayed strong through the fourth quarter, capping off a solid year, according to the latest data from Dow Jones … Continue reading “Cleantech, Life Sciences, and Web Plays Lead the Way as Venture Investments Hit Six-Year High; New England VCs Step Up the Pace”

EMC Gets Serious About Software-as-a-Service—Forms New Business Unit and Launches Enterprise Version of Mozy Online Backup

For the last few months, EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]), the Hopkinton, MA, storage giant famous for selling big, expensive storage and backup servers to large corporations, has made no bones about its interest in a totally different model of doing business: Software-as-a-Service. Going with “SaaS”, as it’s called, is a major switch if you’re a hardware … Continue reading “EMC Gets Serious About Software-as-a-Service—Forms New Business Unit and Launches Enterprise Version of Mozy Online Backup”

EdNets, Inc. Lands $1,000,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5b8c128a-ec98-409d-830f-45592bb0d5b1&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name EdNets, Inc. Mailing Address 107 Audubon Road, Building Two 109, MA 01880 Company Description The company’s mission is to improve education through web technology and increasing school funding. Website http://www.ednets.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not … Continue reading “EdNets, Inc. Lands $1,000,000 Series A Funding Round”

EdNets, Inc. Secures $1,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b624cc7a-3868-43eb-a74f-531948b5e532&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name EdNets, Inc. Mailing Address 107 Audubon Road, Building Two 109, MA 01880 Company Description The company’s mission is to improve education through web technology and increasing school funding. Website http://www.ednets.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes New capital will be … Continue reading “EdNets, Inc. Secures $1,000,000 Series A Round”

ActiveRain Garners $2,750,000 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=40bf8f40-39e5-493a-adca-510f71579091&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name ActiveRain Mailing Address Undisclosed Bellevue, WA 98000 Company Description ActiveRain is a technology/media company hybrid that operates the largest and most active social network in the real estate space. Website http://www.activerain.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,750,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were … Continue reading “ActiveRain Garners $2,750,000 Series A Financing Round”

Airbiquity Inc. Receives $25,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7828b523-5762-4aed-ae5c-e0152e01e9c0&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name Airbiquity Inc. Mailing Address 1011 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 Company Description Airbiquity provides reliable and cost-effective data transport solutions to the Telematics and M2M markets. Our unique patented aqLink® technology leverages existing digital cellular networks to send data over the voice channel. Website http://www.airbiquity.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Airbiquity Inc. Receives $25,000,000 New Funding Round”

Impinj, Inc. Secures $14,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=7af607c4-20ed-4913-97ca-ffe36d16e63b&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name Impinj, Inc. Mailing Address 701 N. 34th Street Seattle, WA 98103 Company Description Impinj, Inc. is a fabless semiconductor company whose patented Self-Adaptive Silicon technology enables its two synergistic business lines: high performance RFID products and innovative semiconductor intellectual property (IP). Website http://www.impinj.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “Impinj, Inc. Secures $14,000,000 New Financing”

Art Technology Group Acquires CleverSet, Inc. for $9,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99b9bd40-d214-45d2-839e-de4bc9514f48&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name CleverSet, Inc. Mailing Address 1201 Western Ave. Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Since its inception as a science and math-based software development firm, CleverSet has grown to become a leading technology services provider that improves the effectiveness of merchandise recommendations on e-commerce sites, reliably lifting revenue-per-visit by … Continue reading “Art Technology Group Acquires CleverSet, Inc. for $9,000,000”

Siperian Secures $25,000,000 Series E Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=af11ad72-6274-464e-a161-2406961e34a5&Preview=1 Date 1/22/2008 Company Name Siperian Mailing Address 100 Foster City Blvd. 2nd Floor Foster City, CA 94404 Company Description Siperian Master Reference Manager (MRM) allows IT teams to consolidate, reconcile and access multiple data sources in multiple modes – batch, scheduled, or real-time. Website http://www.siperian.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Siperian Secures $25,000,000 Series E Funding”

IRobot Asked to Speed Delivery of “Son of Packbot” Prototypes

All the fuss over iRobot’s Packbot military robot over the past year, including the company’s successful patent-infringement and misappropriation-of-trade-secrets actions against Packbot-clone-maker Robotic FX, may have left you with the impression that the Packbot is iRobot’s key product for the defense community. In fact, the U.S. Army is just as excited, if not more enthused, … Continue reading “IRobot Asked to Speed Delivery of “Son of Packbot” Prototypes”

PeptImmune Peps Up with $8 Million Financing

Cambridge, MA-based PeptImmune, a Genzyme biotech spinoff that’s developing therapies for treatment of obesity, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other chronic autoimmune or inflammatory disorders, has taken in $8.2 million under the first tranche of a Series D round. The financing was led by New Enterprise Associates, MPM Capital, Hunt Ventures, Boston Medical Investors, and … Continue reading “PeptImmune Peps Up with $8 Million Financing”

Out to Shed Light on Venture Capital’s Dark Side, Former VC Nijhawan Starts New Role at BU

Two-hundred-odd deals sourced. One deal done. Something wrong? Vinit Nijhawan thinks so, and the well-known local entrepreneur, angel investor, venture capitalist (make that former VC), chairman of TiE-Boston, and Xconomist, is on a mission to figure out what. After taking off his venture hat last August and evaluating many options for what to do next, … Continue reading “Out to Shed Light on Venture Capital’s Dark Side, Former VC Nijhawan Starts New Role at BU”

A Walk on the Dark Side

I have been part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem for over 25 years, mostly as an entrepreneur but also as a VC and angel investor. I firmly believe that the symbiotic relationship of entrepreneurs and smart capital is the key to economic development around the world. I have spent the past six years either running VC-backed … Continue reading “A Walk on the Dark Side”

Enterasys, Back from the Brink, Blocks Bad Behavior on Wireless Networks

Last summer system administrators at Duke University in North Carolina noticed a rash of failures across the campus Wi-Fi network. Logs pointed to a storm of requests for Internet connections—up to 18,000 per second—from the nifty new iPhones that students were toting onto campus (Apple had released the device just two weeks earlier). In press … Continue reading “Enterasys, Back from the Brink, Blocks Bad Behavior on Wireless Networks”

Slow Going For Bay State Economy—Tech A Small Bright Point

In the face of a declining housing market, the high costs of gasoline and heating oil, and fallout from the subprime mortgage debacle, third-quarter 2007 growth estimates for the Massachusetts economy have been revised downward, according to MassBenchmarks Current Economic Index figures released today. The outlook is for slower growth in the first half of … Continue reading “Slow Going For Bay State Economy—Tech A Small Bright Point”

ConforMIS Device Gets EU Approval

ConforMIS, a Burlington, MA-based maker of implants for less-invasive knee surgery that I profiled back in November, announced today that it has received European regulatory approval for the second of its four types of implants, as well as the specialized instruments for implanting the device. ConforMIS’s products are already approved in the U.S.

Elixir Postpones IPO

What was looking to be the first Boston-area IPO of the year has been put off. Cambridge, MA-based Elixir Pharmaceuticals, which is developing treatments for diabetes, obesity, and other metabolic diseases, has postponed its offering of five million shares, according to the Boulder, CO-based research firm Morningnotes. Elixir, whose investors include MPM Capital, Oxford Bioscience … Continue reading “Elixir Postpones IPO”

EveryScape Adds Cambridge

EveryScape’s online collection of 360-degree street views, which we reviewed in October, grew today by one city: Xconomy’s own Cambridge, MA. It’s the seventh city that the Waltham, MA, startup has added to its photographic database, after Boston, New York, Miami, Aspen, CO, Lexington, MA, and Beijing, China.

Steve Jobs Sprinkles a Bit of Magic Apple Dust on Boston’s Skyhook

“It’s probably the biggest publicity event any company can have,” says Ted Morgan. Is the CEO of Boston-based Skyhook Wireless talking about running a Superbowl ad? Being endorsed by Oprah, perhaps? Or maybe ringing the opening bell on the New York Stock Exchange? No. He’s talking about getting a mention from Steve Jobs in the … Continue reading “Steve Jobs Sprinkles a Bit of Magic Apple Dust on Boston’s Skyhook”

Peptimmune, Inc. Garners $8,200,000 Series D Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e0e7bbed-5567-43e6-875f-7113717fdfe4&Preview=1 Date 1/17/2008 Company Name Peptimmune, Inc. Mailing Address 64 Sidney Street Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Peptimmune is a clinical stage biotechnology company that is utilizing both novel and proven technologies to improve the therapeutic management of chronic autoimmune and metabolic disorders. Website http://www.peptimmune.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $8,200,000 … Continue reading “Peptimmune, Inc. Garners $8,200,000 Series D Financing Round”

Strata8 Networks, Inc. Lands $8,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d4759378-1b1a-40ca-b3d8-0e10e856397f&Preview=1 Date 1/17/2008 Company Name Strata8 Networks, Inc. Mailing Address 11400 SE 8th Street Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description Strata8 Networks offers cellular (personal communications services) on licensed spectrum in 16 initial markets across the United States through its parent company, Wirefree Partners. Strata8 Networks has designed and deployed a state-of the-art … Continue reading “Strata8 Networks, Inc. Lands $8,000,000 New Funding”

NitroMed Ends BiDil Marketing, Slashes Staff

Malorye wrote back in November that the future of BiDil, the controversial heart-failure drug approved specifically for African Americans, was resting on a new marketing plan from manufacturer NitroMed (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTMD]]). Looks like that plan has failed. The Lexington, MA-based firm announced yesterday after the market’s close that it was slashing its staff from 90 … Continue reading “NitroMed Ends BiDil Marketing, Slashes Staff”

Folkman Leaves Behind an Inspiring Legacy of Science, Learning, and Startups

Back when I was starting out in some lowly jobs at the Longwood Medical area, I was constantly reminded of the greatness of certain of the people around me. But one of those people—Judah Folkman—stood out, not only because of his contagious delight and fascination with science, but because of his kindness and unassuming manner. … Continue reading “Folkman Leaves Behind an Inspiring Legacy of Science, Learning, and Startups”

Ethanol Minus the Corn: ATV’s Bill Wiberg on Coskata and Its Big Deal With GM

Switching the nation’s vehicle fleet from gasoline to biofuels such as corn-derived ethanol could reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil, which is why President Bush wants the U.S. to produce 35 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2017. But there are a couple of big problems. So much of the nation’s corn supply already … Continue reading “Ethanol Minus the Corn: ATV’s Bill Wiberg on Coskata and Its Big Deal With GM”

First Rhode Island Startups Closing in on Tax Credit Under New Stimulus Program

If Massachusetts is the New England innovation economy’s Goliath (and we’d argue that it is), Rhode Island is David. And the state has a new weapon in hand as it goes up against its much larger neighbor: a targeted tax credit of up to $100,000. Rhode Island hopes the credit will encourage investment in its … Continue reading “First Rhode Island Startups Closing in on Tax Credit Under New Stimulus Program”

Public Display Obtains $250,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=dde50f3b-dbb3-4774-b537-72fb0d140068&Preview=1 Date 1/16/2008 Company Name Public Display Mailing Address 150 Chestnut Street Providence, RI 02903 Company Description We’re developing a set of useful and, we hope, cool applications for extracting, understanding, and structuring information from the web. We’re making use of developing standards – such as iCal, CalDAV, and hCal; and, we … Continue reading “Public Display Obtains $250,000 New Funding Round”

Nanoptek Corporation Obtains $4,700,000 Series A Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2d285ac8-8704-4258-ac03-8b01b7de2b14&Preview=1 Date 1/16/2008 Company Name Nanoptek Corporation Mailing Address 8 Clock Tower Place Maynard, MA 01754 Company Description Nanoptek Corporation is developing technology that produces hydrogen directly from sunlight and water with a proprietary nano-engineered photocatalyst (patents pending). Nanoptek’s Solar Hydrogen Generators will employ this photocatalyst to produce low-cost carbon-free hydrogen anywhere … Continue reading “Nanoptek Corporation Obtains $4,700,000 Series A Funding Round”

Mercent Receives $6,500,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=738b1799-fd01-46c0-983e-d3e001b9afff&Preview=1 Date 1/16/2008 Company Name Mercent Mailing Address 2505 2nd Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 Company Description Founded by veterans of Amazon.com, Mercent provides online marketing technology and services to help retail merchants optimize performance across online channels. Mercent’s on-demand platform, Mercent Retail, increases revenue and gross margins by promoting the right products … Continue reading “Mercent Receives $6,500,000 Series B Funding Round”

The A123 Story

As part of the MIT Clean Energy Entrepreneurship Prize Speaker Series, Bart Riley, co-founder and CTO of advanced lithium-ion battery startup A123, will speak on “Starting a Successful Company Based on MIT Lab Technology.” From the event description: “Dr. Bart Riley has more than fifteen years of experience in technology development and commercialization in the … Continue reading “The A123 Story”

New VMware Acquisition Thinstall Helps Companies Say Goodbye to Installing Windows Software

EMC virtualization subsidiary VMware (NYSE: [[ticker:VMW]]) has a new subsidiary of its own: San Francisco-based Thinstall, which makes a system that lets corporate employees run Windows programs on their desktops without actually installing them. In today’s announcement of the acquisition, VMware vice president Jeff Jennings said Thinstall has “the best technological approach in the market” … Continue reading “New VMware Acquisition Thinstall Helps Companies Say Goodbye to Installing Windows Software”

Pervasis Picks Up $9.75 Million

Cambridge, MA-based regenerative medicine firm Pervasis Therapeutics has raised $9.75 million in new funding from Flagship Venture Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, Highland Capital Partners, and Musket Research Associates, the firm announced today. Pervasis will use the funds to further the development of Vascugel, a blood-vessel-repair product, as well as research into other applications of its … Continue reading “Pervasis Picks Up $9.75 Million”

MIT and Italy’s Eni Sign $50 Million Energy Research Agreement

MIT and the Italian energy giant Eni today announced a five-year, $50 million research agreement focused on a wide array of energy studies and initiatives. Half the funding will be used to create the Eni-MITEI (for MIT Energy Initiative) Solar Frontiers Research Program, a far-reaching collaboration whose six specific areas of focus will include nano-structured … Continue reading “MIT and Italy’s Eni Sign $50 Million Energy Research Agreement”

Pixel Qi Out to Bring Principles of Inexpensive Laptop Design to Consumer Market: Former One Laptop CTO Mary Lou Jepsen On Her New Startup

If only laptops could run on qi—the spiritual energy that, in traditional Chinese philosophy, pervades all things. Well, if anyone has come close to making that happen, it’s Mary Lou Jepsen, founding chief technology officer at the Cambridge, MA-based One Laptop Per Child Foundation (OLPC). At the foundation, Jepsen did what computer-industry executives said couldn’t … Continue reading “Pixel Qi Out to Bring Principles of Inexpensive Laptop Design to Consumer Market: Former One Laptop CTO Mary Lou Jepsen On Her New Startup”

Pervasis Therapeutics Secures $9,750,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=78a8bb6d-7436-4b20-a614-b0c9b8446bd5&Preview=1 Date 1/15/2008 Company Name Pervasis Therapeutics Mailing Address One Kendall Square, Building 600 Cambridge, MA 02139 Company Description Pervasis Therapeutics is focused on creating biologically active vascular technologies to treat significant unmet needs in cardiovascular disease. Website http://www.pervasistx.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $9,750,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The … Continue reading “Pervasis Therapeutics Secures $9,750,000 New Funding”

LiveMocha Inc. Obtains $6,000,000 Series A Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20f2addf-40ed-4abf-a705-3996d12b5e63&Preview=1 Date 1/15/2008 Company Name LiveMocha Inc. Mailing Address 11000 33rd NE Bellevue, WA 98004 Company Description The company provides an online website to assist users in learning new languages. Website http://www.livemocha.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Livemocha plans to use the funding to … Continue reading “LiveMocha Inc. Obtains $6,000,000 Series A Funding”

Qualcomm, Inc. Acquires Open Interface North America for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c2506062-dd58-4c1a-a04b-883a6864f758&Preview=1 Date 1/15/2008 Company Name Open Interface North America Mailing Address 520 Pike Street Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description Open Interface North America began with the simple mission of creating the world’s best Bluetooth® software for embedded applications, and we’ve grown to become one of the largest silicon-independent Bluetooth® software companies in … Continue reading “Qualcomm, Inc. Acquires Open Interface North America for Undisclosed Sum”

Seeding your Web 2.0 Company

MITX and K&L Gates sponsor a panel discussion on obtaining small seed investments for startups focused on Web-based software, with speakers including Christian Heidelberger, CEO, Nexaweb; Sim Simeonov, partner, Polaris Venture Partners; Michael Spataro, vice president of partnerships, Visible Technologies; and Austin Westerling, partner, Charles River Ventures. From MIT’s event description: “Web 2.0 startups are … Continue reading “Seeding your Web 2.0 Company”

Google Rejects Claims of Jarg-Northeastern U Lawsuit

Google says a patent-infringement lawsuit filed last year by Northeastern University and Waltham, MA, startup Jarg is without merit, according to a story yesterday in Ars Technica. As we explained back in November, the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in Marshall, TX, alleges that Google’s technique of … Continue reading “Google Rejects Claims of Jarg-Northeastern U Lawsuit”

Nearly $35 Billion in Venture Funds Raised in 2007—And Don’t Worry About A Bubble

More venture funds. More money raised. And it’s not a bubble. So reads the trifecta of good news about venture capital in 2007, as reported today by the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Financial. All told, 235 U.S. venture firms raised $34.7 billion last year, marking the highest level of activity seen since the … Continue reading “Nearly $35 Billion in Venture Funds Raised in 2007—And Don’t Worry About A Bubble”

LogMeIn Files for IPO Worth Up to $86.25 Million

LogMeIn, which provides IT support services and secure connections to PCs and other computers from remote locations, has registered for an initial public offering worth up to $86.25 million, according to SEC documents. The Woburn, MA-based firm intends to trade on the NASDAQ exchange under the ticker symbol LOGM. Founded in 2004 as 3am Labs … Continue reading “LogMeIn Files for IPO Worth Up to $86.25 Million”

Biotech Tuesday

Event host Seth Taylor writes: “Since February 2002, BiotechTuesday has been inviting people from the Boston biotechnology community to trendy spots around town. A variety of industry professionals attend each month, including entrepreneurs, investors, attorneys, scientists, and journalists. No lectures—no agenda. Some call it networking, others just good fun, and the event offers both.” More … Continue reading “Biotech Tuesday”

The VC View on What’s Hot & What’s Not

ACG Boston hosts a DealMakers Breakfast where top venture capitalists—including Steve Ricci of Flagship Ventures, Nina Saberi of Castile Ventures, and Bryce Youngren of Polaris Venture Partners —discuss the sectors that will produce the “next big thing.” Moderated by Mike Oliveri, publisher of the Boston Business Journal and Mass High Tech. Members $50, non-members $100. … Continue reading “The VC View on What’s Hot & What’s Not”

Guidester, Inventor of “Searchandising,” Hires New CEO and Moves to Boston

Big-box retail stores and grocery stores are silent battlegrounds, where product manufacturers bid against each other for coveted positioning in the most visible locations, such as the “end caps” of each aisle, or at customers’ eye level on store shelves. On the Web, the closest analog to a store aisle is a search result page—and … Continue reading “Guidester, Inventor of “Searchandising,” Hires New CEO and Moves to Boston”