Reminiscing on the Roomba

iRobot, Boston’s (well, Burlington’s) very own robotics company, announced its newest line of Roomba robot vacuum cleaners today. The company’s intrepid saucer-shaped gadgets, which zoom across carpets and hardwood floors bouncing off walls and other obstacles until they’ve sucked up every last crumb and cat hair, have already won fame as history’s most successful consumer … Continue reading “Reminiscing on the Roomba”

EMC Stock Shows Upward Movement as VMware Rockets into $60s (Wed. Update—Make that $70s)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Update of Wednesday, August 22: We can’t help but watch with some astonishment this morning as VMware continues to climb ever higher. By noon, the stock was up another nearly $7 a share (10.5 percent for the day), to $72.80. EMC had inched up another 45 cents, to $19.73. Below is our original … Continue reading “EMC Stock Shows Upward Movement as VMware Rockets into $60s (Wed. Update—Make that $70s)”

Internet Media Sharing That’s As Simple as Turning on a TV

If you fancy yourself an amateur TV network exec, the Web now has any number of tools to help you create and broadcast your own personal multimedia channel. I’ve tested several, including SplashCast, Vizrea, Veodia, and Bubbleshare, and have several more on my list to try, such as MixerCast, Flektor, Stickam, Ustream, blip.tv, Vpod.tv, Kyte.tv, … Continue reading “Internet Media Sharing That’s As Simple as Turning on a TV”

When It Comes to Women-Owned Startups, Jean Hammond Says Boston Investors Are Nervous Nellies

Here’s a theory: Businesses founded by women tend to produce consumer-oriented products. Here’s another one: Consumer-focused companies make Boston-area investors—both angels and venture capitalists—uncomfortable. Conclusion: If you’re a woman entrepreneur in Boston looking for funding, you might have a problem. The idea, courtesy of Jean Hammond, is a provocative one, to be sure. But Hammond … Continue reading “When It Comes to Women-Owned Startups, Jean Hammond Says Boston Investors Are Nervous Nellies”

Data Robotics Garners $15,000,000 Series D Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e9694a37-6b74-4d82-ac69-7330fab1374d&Preview=1 Date 8/22/2007 Company Name Data Robotics Mailing Address 1705 Wyatt Drive Santa Clara, CA 95054-1524 Company Description Data Robotics – the makers of Drobo, the World’s First Storage Robot – develops automated data storage products designed to ensure data is always protected and easy-to-manage. Drobo is infinitely expandable and provides RAID-like … Continue reading “Data Robotics Garners $15,000,000 Series D Round”

Metacafe Scores $30 million in Round Led by Highland—Online Video Top 10

Unless you’ve been in retreat the last few years, you’re probably well aware of the meteoric rise of YouTube. And indeed, the pioneering online video site easily ranks as the dominant player in the field, with more than three times the market share of No. 2, the Avis of online video, MySpaceTV. But what a … Continue reading “Metacafe Scores $30 million in Round Led by Highland—Online Video Top 10”

The President’s Would-Be Pen Pal: Nobel Laureate Craig Mello

A packed ballroom full of conference goers is avidly waiting for UMass Medical School professor Craig Mello to tell them about RNA interference, or RNAi—the discovery of which earned Mello and his collaborator, Stanford’s Andrew Fire, last year’s Nobel Prize. Mello is not about to disappoint, but the first slides in his PowerPoint are not … Continue reading “The President’s Would-Be Pen Pal: Nobel Laureate Craig Mello”

Craig Mello’s Letter to President Bush

Editor’s note: The following is a letter written by Nobel Laureate Craig Mello to President George W. Bush on November 26, 2006. For more on the letter and its outcome see this post. Dear Mr. President: I wanted to take this opportunity to make you aware of an exciting advance in medical research. This discovery, … Continue reading “Craig Mello’s Letter to President Bush”

Craig Mello’s Letter to Governor Patrick

Editor’s note: The following is a letter written by Nobel Laureate Craig Mello to President George W. Bush on February 21, 2007. For more on the letter and its fate see this post. Dear Governor Patrick: It is a pleasure to write in response to your recent note. In a year in which I have … Continue reading “Craig Mello’s Letter to Governor Patrick”

Vlingo’s Adaptive Speech Recognition Promises an End to Typing on your Phone Keyboard

It’s the technology journalist’s downfall: The hot technology that you suspect isn’t quite ripe but you can’t help writing about anyway. In 2003, when I was a senior editor at MIT’s Technology Review (and, in the interest of full disclosure, Bob was editor in chief), speech recognition and natural-language processing were firmly in that category, … Continue reading “Vlingo’s Adaptive Speech Recognition Promises an End to Typing on your Phone Keyboard”

Sezmi Receives $17,500,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6cf2e0b0-b87a-47e0-9a4b-6216f454ef61&Preview=1 Date 8/21/2007 Company Name Sezmi Mailing Address 1301 Shoreway Road Belmont, CA 94002 Company Description The evolution of digital media has introduced tremendous innovations in video entertainment that collectively represent the most significant disruption in the TV industry since the introduction of cable TV. Website http://www.sezmi.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Sezmi Receives $17,500,000 New Funding Round”

Quincy Company to Launch Year’s Second-Coolest Xbox Game

Don’t bother trying to call or e-mail me Tuesday morning. I’ll be in line at Best Buy waiting for my copy of Bioshock. The video game industry’s hype machine long ago anointed Halo 3, due in the United States on September 25, as the favored blockbuster for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console this year. But if … Continue reading “Quincy Company to Launch Year’s Second-Coolest Xbox Game”

No Headache for NeurAxon: Company Closes $32 Million Financing Round

Sheesh—so many stories are breaking today I’m getting a headache. I guess it’s good news for me that Waltham, MA-based drugmaker NeurAxon—whose leading product candidate is aimed at migraines—just secured $32 million in a Series B financing. The round was led by New York-based OrbiMed Advisors and Delphi Ventures of Menlo Park, CA. All the … Continue reading “No Headache for NeurAxon: Company Closes $32 Million Financing Round”

Former MIT Scientist’s Company Puts 64 Processors on a Chip

For two years, chipmaking biggies AMD and Intel have been locked in the Battle of the Multi-core Chips. First Intel pitted its Xeon and Core 2 chips against AMD’s dual-processor Athlon 64, and now both companies are doubling the stakes, with Intel releasing the Quad-Core Xeon and AMD about to bring out a four-processor chip … Continue reading “Former MIT Scientist’s Company Puts 64 Processors on a Chip”

iRobot Files Lawsuits Charging Infringement on Combat Robot Patents

Commercial and military robot maker iRobot (NASDAQ: IRBT) announced today that it has filed a pair of lawsuits against a former employee and his company, claiming infringement on patents for iRobot’s PackBot military robot and misappropriation and misuse of confidential information related to the machine. iRobot, based in Burlington, MA, filed the patent-infringement suit against … Continue reading “iRobot Files Lawsuits Charging Infringement on Combat Robot Patents”

Special Vote Called for on Genzyme’s Takeover Bid for Bioenvision: Is a Deal in the Works?

Things seem to be moving again with Genzyme’s so-far-stymied attempts to take over New York-based Bioenvision (NASDAQ: BIVN). A little after four in the afternoon on Friday, Bioenvision’s lawyers made an SEC filing calling for a meeting to vote on the proposed merger. The document, which did not specify a date for the special session, … Continue reading “Special Vote Called for on Genzyme’s Takeover Bid for Bioenvision: Is a Deal in the Works?”

What Makes a Good Technical Advisor? A Check List

Editor’s note: Three weeks ago, John Abele, a co-founder of Boston Scientific, wrote Getting Disruptive Ideas to Market, one of our most popular posts so far. One point he made was that: “marketing and funding folk will be pushing hard for you to get some big name scientific and other advisors on the masthead for … Continue reading “What Makes a Good Technical Advisor? A Check List”

New England Colleges Riding High in U.S. News Rankings—A Few Observations

The U.S. News & World Report list of the best American colleges came out this weekend, with the print edition hitting newsstands this morning. This year, New England’s top schools are once again atop the list (not quite at the top, because Princeton holds the number one spot, a position it has held outright or … Continue reading “New England Colleges Riding High in U.S. News Rankings—A Few Observations”

Color Kinetics Sale on Track, Boston Scientific and Amgen Retrench, & More

I’m off for the weekend (for the first time in a year or so—did we mention we finally closed our financing?), but there’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in the local tech scene for those of you who’d still like to think about it over the next couple of days. —The $791 million … Continue reading “Color Kinetics Sale on Track, Boston Scientific and Amgen Retrench, & More”

MIT Enterprise Forum Energy Special Interest Group

From the sponsors’ website: “Do you want to start a clean energy company, but don’t know where the market opportunity lies? Do you have an interesting clean energy technology but are looking for new markets where it might be used? Do you want to enter your exciting new technology in the 2008 Ignite Clean Energy … Continue reading “MIT Enterprise Forum Energy Special Interest Group”

Keeping Biogen Idec Innovative: Jim Mullen Interview (Part 2)

Jim Mullen is being a little reflective. A CEO’s job goes through a couple of phases as a company grows, he says. “The first bridge you walk over is the day that you don’t know the name of everybody in the company. Once that day happens, suddenly all the very informal interactions, they just have … Continue reading “Keeping Biogen Idec Innovative: Jim Mullen Interview (Part 2)”

Local Virtualization Firm Hoping to Ride the Wave of VMware’s Success

“Virtualization” and “sky high prices” seem to be going hand-in-hand this week. First came EMC (NYSE: EMC) subsidiary VMware’s mind-boggling IPO on Tuesday, the hottest stock debut since Google. Then, yesterday, came word that Citrix, a business software company that makes applications running on backend servers appear as if they are running on customers’ desktops, … Continue reading “Local Virtualization Firm Hoping to Ride the Wave of VMware’s Success”

Icahn’s New Stake in Biogen Idec—Doing the Math

I feel bad even mentioning it, because it’s exactly the sort of mistake I’d make but, for any of you who read the New York Post‘s business briefs yesterday, a little clarification: Billionaire Carl Icahn did not just take a “more than 9 percent” stake in Biogen Idec. The real scoop, revealed in SEC filings … Continue reading “Icahn’s New Stake in Biogen Idec—Doing the Math”

Civilizing the Rental Market with Web 2.0 Tools

There are few things in life more stressful than finding a decent apartment—or, if you’re a property owner, finding a decent tenant. It’s often one of those frustrating situations where each party has to make a decision without sufficient information. Is this landlord charging a reasonable rent for the neighborhood? Will this guy pay up … Continue reading “Civilizing the Rental Market with Web 2.0 Tools”

The State of Biotechnology, According to Biogen Idec CEO Jim Mullen

It was a sunny, steamy morning last week when I elevatored upstairs at Biogen Idec’s Kendall Square headquarters to interview CEO James Mullen—and I sat right down in the hot seat. Literally. Mullen awaited in a big-windowed conference room; I perched with my back to the sun and instantly started baking. Mullen smiled. Did the … Continue reading “The State of Biotechnology, According to Biogen Idec CEO Jim Mullen”

Flagship Principal Named Tech Review Innovator of the Year

Our old friends at Technology Review announced their innovator of the year today: Flagship Ventures’ David Berry. Steve Hall has a nice profile of Berry, a Harvard-and-MIT-trained MD/PhD who has been a principal at Flagship for the last couple of years. Hall focuses particularly on Berry’s work with San Carlos, CA-based LS9, a synthetic-biology firm … Continue reading “Flagship Principal Named Tech Review Innovator of the Year”

Big Blue to Gather Software Brains in Littleton

IBM’s eight Massachusetts offices—most, the legacies of the local software companies the company has acquired over the years—are scattered around Boston like chips on a poker table. And now the company is about to rake them in. Big Blue (NYSE: IBM) said Tuesday that it will shift 3,400 jobs to a split campus paralleling Interstate … Continue reading “Big Blue to Gather Software Brains in Littleton”

Eons Founder Stirs the Crowd at CEO Breakfast

I spent three hours this morning chatting with some 30-odd other entrepreneurs at a fascinating CEO breakfast get-together put on by local networking guru Trudy Kightley. I counted folks from at least seven countries, working in biotechnology, medical devices, web video, speech, robotics, and a lot more—just the kind of hodgepodge of backgrounds and expertise … Continue reading “Eons Founder Stirs the Crowd at CEO Breakfast”

Investors Light Fire Under VMware; Will it Spread to Other Virtualization Companies?

Shares of enterprise software maker VMware (NYSE:VMW) opened today at a stunning $50, a 72 percent increase over the level at which parent company EMC (NYSE: EMC) priced the subsidiary’s initial public offering yesterday. The stock fluctuated as the morning progressed but remained high, trading between $48 and $55 during the first hour of business … Continue reading “Investors Light Fire Under VMware; Will it Spread to Other Virtualization Companies?”

A Second Life for Windward Mark as Linden Lab’s New Cambridge Outpost Looks to the Sky

If you’ve spent any time in Second Life—or any other virtual world, for that matter—you know that the serious attractions are on the ground, not in the sky. The sky simply isn’t a priority for most virtual world-builders, who usually have their hands full just simulating players’ avatars and their interactions with virtual objects such … Continue reading “A Second Life for Windward Mark as Linden Lab’s New Cambridge Outpost Looks to the Sky”

Mass Biotech Council Poaches Patrick Administration Insider to Fill Top Post

The Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MBC) announced today that it has filled its top post. Robert Coughlin, currently Governor Deval Patrick’s undersecretary for business development, will take over the reins as MBC president by October. Coughlin fills a slot left open since January, when MBC’s then-president, Thomas M. Finneran, resigned shortly after pleading guilty to felony … Continue reading “Mass Biotech Council Poaches Patrick Administration Insider to Fill Top Post”

Renewable Energy Clambake & Forum with Rep. William Delahunt

The Southern New England Enterprise Forum, a new organization based at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, will host a clambake and networking event focused on renewable energy at the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Center in Fall River. Rep. Bill Delahunt of the 10th District of Massachusetts will keynote the event, legislative calendar permitting. Tickets $20 via … Continue reading “Renewable Energy Clambake & Forum with Rep. William Delahunt”

Stem Cell Summit

A gathering of stakeholders discussing the evolving climate for public and private funding of stem-cell research, with sponsorship from the Genetics Policy Institute, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and Burrill Life Science Media Group. Invited: “Top innovators, researchers from around the world, clinicians, government officials, business leaders, political strategists, bioethicists, legal experts and advocates.” $895 … Continue reading “Stem Cell Summit”

Directing Clean-Energy Investment in Massachusetts: An Xconomy Debate

In a survey publicized last week, the non-profit Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MTC) confirmed what most local energy entrepreneurs and investors have been saying for months—that there’s a remarkable upswing underway in clean-energy activity in the state, at least judging from the number of new companies sprouting up and the number of people these companies are … Continue reading “Directing Clean-Energy Investment in Massachusetts: An Xconomy Debate”

TiE Boston Hull Wind Turbine Tour & Cruise

We doubt you’ll see Ginger, Mary-Ann, or Mrs. Howell, but the Professor will no doubt be on board for this three-hour tour from Quincy’s harbor terminal to Hull Wind, a 660-kilowatt wind turbine that produces about one-quarter of the electricity used by residents of Hull, MA. The cruise, sponsored by the entrepreneurs’ group TiE Boston, … Continue reading “TiE Boston Hull Wind Turbine Tour & Cruise”

Want to Maximize University Tech Transfer? Here’s a Little Advice

Boston University recently announced plans to enhance its technology transfer efforts. I have worked constructively with BU’s Office of Technology Development on a number of start-ups, including Afferent Corporation, a medical device company based in Providence, RI, and applaud the plans for expansion. As BU and other universities ramp up their efforts to commercialize technology, … Continue reading “Want to Maximize University Tech Transfer? Here’s a Little Advice”

Cleaning the Slate, Raising Funds, and Filling the Executive Suite

Last week saw two key local firms taking steps to clean up some years-old messes. Here’s more on that, and a roundup of the rest of the week’s news. —Genzyme (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced it had reached an agreement-in-principle to pay $64 million to settle a four-year-old class action lawsuit brought by shareholders of a Genzyme … Continue reading “Cleaning the Slate, Raising Funds, and Filling the Executive Suite”

Tech Cocktail Boston

Join entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, bloggers, and technology enthusiasts at a networking event that’s grown very popular with the tech-startup crowd in Chicago and is now coming to Boston for the first time. Register free at http://techcocktailboston1.eventbrite.com/. But hurry — attendance is limited.

Genzyme’s Myozyme Production Problems Fuel Online Biogenerics Debate

The last couple of days have seen a flurry of blogging about biogenerics (or biosimilars or follow-on biologics, depending on your take on the issue), prompted in part by a Wall Street Journal article about Genzyme’s troubles scaling up production for a recently approved enzyme drug. Myozyme, approved by the FDA last year for the … Continue reading “Genzyme’s Myozyme Production Problems Fuel Online Biogenerics Debate”

A123 Inks Deal to Develop Battery Cells for GM Electric Car

A123 Systems just landed a promising deal with General Motors to co-develop the battery cell for the automaker’s Chevrolet Volt line of electric cars and other vehicles. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz made the announcement yesterday during a speech in Michigan. Under the deal, Watertown, MA-based A123 will co-develop the lithium-ion battery for GM’s E-Flex … Continue reading “A123 Inks Deal to Develop Battery Cells for GM Electric Car”

Follow-Up: Alnylam’s Biodefense Contract the Program’s Largest

Just a quick follow-up on yesterday’s post about Alnylam’s $39 million contract with the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency to develop an RNAi-based treatment for infection with hemorrhagic fever viruses. We just heard back from the folks at DTRA. Not only is Alnylam (NASDAQ:ALNY) the only New England firm to win a contract this year … Continue reading “Follow-Up: Alnylam’s Biodefense Contract the Program’s Largest”

Personal Finance Tracking for People Who Won’t Buy Personal Finance Software

I’ve been using Quicken and Turbotax to manage my finances for so long that I don’t even blink at spending the $30 to $100 that Intuit extorts every year for the newest version of the programs. But for an entire generation of younger adults, spending that much on a piece of software that comes in … Continue reading “Personal Finance Tracking for People Who Won’t Buy Personal Finance Software”

Gilbane Boston

The fourth annual Gilbane Conference Boston, focused on web content management for businesses, including wikis, blogs, search, digital rights management, text analytics, and semantic technologies.