New York Hedge Fund Makes $378 Million Bid for Amag in Attempt to Block Poorly Received Merger

Shares of Lexington, MA-based Amag Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMAG]]) are up 10 percent today to $15.77 on news of an unsolicited takeover offer from New York-based hedge fund MSMB Capital Management. The hedge fund is offering $18 a share to acquire Amag, which markets a drug to treat iron-deficiency anemia. The bid comes in the wake … Continue reading “New York Hedge Fund Makes $378 Million Bid for Amag in Attempt to Block Poorly Received Merger”

How Game Psychology Helped Startup Weekend Become a Global Phenomenon

A couple of years ago, three guys crammed together in a Seattle condo were trying to turn a 54-hour crash-innovation meetup called Startup Weekend into something much bigger. Today, their humble little nonprofit is a global phenomenon, attracting some 36,000 people to events in about 200 cities around the world. Stocked with top mentors, touting some … Continue reading “How Game Psychology Helped Startup Weekend Become a Global Phenomenon”

Acceleron Gets $25 Million in Partnership Deal With Celgene

Cambridge, MA-based Acceleron Pharma is broadening its anemia research partnership with Celgene (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CELG]]), the Summit, NJ-based biotech giant, according to a press release. The companies, which have been collaborating since 2008, have formed a new joint development and commercialization deal for ACE-536, a compound that treats anemia. Celgene will make an upfront payment of … Continue reading “Acceleron Gets $25 Million in Partnership Deal With Celgene”

Cyber Security Conference

The New York Institute of Technology’s second annual Cyber Security Conference will feature professionals from the banking, finance, media, legal, medical, and technology sectors, who will discuss vulnerabilities, privacy issues, and widespread security breaches within government and business systems. Speakers include Krishnan Sabnani, senior vice president at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, Lisa Lorenzin, principal solutions architect at … Continue reading “Cyber Security Conference”

Cleantech Investing Stagnates, But California Clings to Lead

So far this year, venture investments in cleantech and alternative energy aren’t keeping up with the optimistic pace set in 2010. While total U.S. cleantech investments in the second quarter were up slightly from the quarter before—$1.093 billion, versus $1.014 billion—they’re lagging 44 percent behind the quarterly record set one year ago, in the second … Continue reading “Cleantech Investing Stagnates, But California Clings to Lead”

Help Scout Looks To Boost Collaboration For Businesses’ “Catch-All” E-Mail Inboxes

It’s probably reassuring for online shoppers and the like to know that the generic-sounding address they e-mail—-usually dubbed something like help, service, or contact @xyz.com—is actually manned by people and not robots. And TechStars Boston 2011 graduate Help Scout is looking to make life easier for the humans that are responding to those queries. “We … Continue reading “Help Scout Looks To Boost Collaboration For Businesses’ “Catch-All” E-Mail Inboxes”

SD’s iHub Expanded to Riverside

A state initiative intended to facilitate technology commercialization by designating regional iHubs (or innovation hubs) has expanded San Diego’s iHub to include much of Southwest Riverside County. The California Governor’s Office of Economic Development established the San Diego iHub last year, enabling a local consortium to apply for federal economic stimulus funding in three focus … Continue reading “SD’s iHub Expanded to Riverside”

New York’s ZocDoc Scores $50 Million from Russia’s Yuri Milner, Plots Nationwide Expansion of Doctor-Finding Service

Amid news yesterday that Russian billionaire Yuri Milner’s DST Global had poured $400 million into Twitter, another DST investment may have been easy to overlook. ZocDoc—a New York-based startup that allows patients in nine cities to book their doctors’ appointments online—scored a $50 million investment from DST. The Series C funding was a major coup, … Continue reading “New York’s ZocDoc Scores $50 Million from Russia’s Yuri Milner, Plots Nationwide Expansion of Doctor-Finding Service”

Carbonite Eyes $122M IPO, Plexxi Nabs $20M, Ambient Hits Nasdaq, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Plenty of New England startups across IT and biotech sectors inked investments from area venture capitalists this week. —Interactions, a speech and customer service technology developer of Franklin, MA, nabbed $12 million in a deal led by Sigma Partners. Interactions said it will use the money—which also comes from North Hill Ventures, Cross Atlantic Capital … Continue reading “Carbonite Eyes $122M IPO, Plexxi Nabs $20M, Ambient Hits Nasdaq, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

JanRain Receives $15,500,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cbdc8d84-ddce-46dd-8433-48485f950fb6&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name JanRain Mailing Address 519 SW 3rd Ave Portland, OR 97204 Company Description JanRain has been a recognized leader and catalyst driving the OpenID market forward since 2005. While providing OpenID solutions for both consumers and businesses, our company has helped create the OpenID Foundation and the majority … Continue reading “JanRain Receives $15,500,000 New Financing”

Get Satisfaction Garners $10,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6937fad2-2767-470a-a30c-4758588ec057&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Get Satisfaction Mailing Address 400 2nd St. San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description Satisfaction is people-powered customer service for absolutely everything. More specifically, though, it’s a place where communities of customers come together to answer each others questions, share ideas with each other or with an organization, … Continue reading “Get Satisfaction Garners $10,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Leyden Energy Lands $20,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=758a46ff-fd3c-425c-babb-56b6aa851c0e&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Leyden Energy Mailing Address 46840 Lakeview Blvd Fremont, CA 94538 Company Description Leyden Energy, formerly known as Mobius Power, Inc., was founded in 2007 under the uniform cell heat distribution technology patent acquired from chemical manufacturer Dupont. Website http://www.leydenenergy.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Leyden Energy Lands $20,000,000 Series B Round”

Inkling Receives $17,000,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b3e28c53-2ea0-478e-9d6d-6a8294f3dc63&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Inkling Mailing Address 153 Kearny Fifth Floor San Francisco, CA 94108 Company Description Inkling was founded in late 2009 to tackle the challenges of interactive publishing. Inkling’s partnerships with major publishers like Cengage Learning, John Wiley & Sons, McGraw-Hill, and Wolters Kluwer will yield next-generation interactive titles … Continue reading “Inkling Receives $17,000,000 Series B Funding Round”

Restoration Robotics Lands $41,000,000 Series C Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9cfcd092-d28a-47ad-a5a8-a02490bb326e&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Restoration Robotics Mailing Address 1383 Shorebird Way Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description The company develops robotic technology for aesthetic surgeries. Website http://www.rrobotics.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $41,000,000 Transaction Round Series C Proceeds Purposes The company will use the financing for commercialization and launch of … Continue reading “Restoration Robotics Lands $41,000,000 Series C Financing”

Lending Club Obtains $25,000,000 Series D Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=49a863a6-46ed-4230-9094-c5a741a098dd&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Lending Club Mailing Address 370 Convention Way Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description Lending Club is an online lending community where people can borrow and lend money, bypass the banks, and get better rates. By working together, members can borrow money more easily and at a better … Continue reading “Lending Club Obtains $25,000,000 Series D Funding Round”

Spanfeller Media Group Receives $6,000,000 Series B Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=342e4f58-2401-4cbc-9d77-33c7f7596078&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Spanfeller Media Group Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10115 Company Description The Spanfeller Media Group will use its experience and understanding of digital media to reclaim value around content creation and packaging. Website http://www.spanfellergroup.net Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds … Continue reading “Spanfeller Media Group Receives $6,000,000 Series B Round”

comScore Networks Acquires AdXpose for $22,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=46f68eff-7cfa-482b-b2af-3e7cf687c6ab&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name AdXpose Mailing Address 1418 Third Avenue Seattle, WA 98101 Company Description AdXpose delivers everything people need to find the best deals online. Leveraging our proprietary metasearch and pricing analytics engine, AdXpose’s universal shopping experience offers the broadest selection of both new and used items, from the Web’s … Continue reading “comScore Networks Acquires AdXpose for $22,000,000”

TakeLessons Garners $6,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bb0af398-0238-4b37-beea-f356be789719&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name TakeLessons Mailing Address 517 Fourth Ave San Diego, CA 92101 Company Description TakeLessons is America’s full-service music and voice lessons provider. It was founded in 2004 to help people discover their creativity and pursue their passions. With lessons taught by Certified TakeLessons™ instructors in thousands of cities … Continue reading “TakeLessons Garners $6,000,000 New Round”

Airy Labs Obtains $1,500,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=17926248-118c-4902-a0d5-e778494436c2&Preview=1 Date 8/3/2011 Company Name Airy Labs Mailing Address 395 Page Mill Road Palo Alto, CA 94306 Company Description Airy Labs is creating the next generation of social learning games for kids. We build mobile and tablet games, browser-based social games, and massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), all with a core educational … Continue reading “Airy Labs Obtains $1,500,000 New Funding”

On-Q-ity Founder and Genzyme Vet, Mara Aspinall, Moves to Roche’s Ventana Medical

Mara Aspinall, the founder and former CEO of Waltham, MA-based On-Q-ity, has moved on to become president of Ventana Medical Systems, an Arizona-based division of healthcare giant Roche that focuses on cancer diagnostics. The appointment was announced in a press release today and is effective next month. Aspinall is well known in the diagnostics world, … Continue reading “On-Q-ity Founder and Genzyme Vet, Mara Aspinall, Moves to Roche’s Ventana Medical”

Facebook Buys Push Pop Press

Push Pop Press, the San Francisco digital media production house behind the acclaimed iPad version of Al Gore’s climate change primer Our Choice, said today on its website that it has been acquired by Facebook. “Although Facebook isn’t planning to start publishing digital books, the ideas and technology behind Push Pop Press will be integrated … Continue reading “Facebook Buys Push Pop Press”

Amyris Expands Deal With Total

Emeryville, CA-based Amyris (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AMRS]]) said today it has expanded a partnership with Brazil-based Total, in which Total will pay for more research and development, and provide capital to acquire and build production facilities for renewable diesel. Amyris made the announcement along with its quarterly earnings report. Amyris said it had a net loss of … Continue reading “Amyris Expands Deal With Total”

Instructables, Assistly, Airbnb: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News

There’s no such thing as the summer doldrums when it comes to Bay Area technology news—not this summer, anyway. Your recap of last week’s top stories starts here: —The National Science Foundation unveiled a new “Innovation Corps” program designed to help university researchers get their innovations from the lab bench to the commercial world. 100 … Continue reading “Instructables, Assistly, Airbnb: The 1-Minute Version of Last Week’s Bay Area BizTech News”

Ambient Moves to Nasdaq

Newton, MA-based Ambient (OTC: [[ticker:ABTGD]]), a maker of technology for smart grid connectivity and communications, expects to start trading tomorrow on the Nasdaq market under the ticker symbol “AMBT,” the company announced today. It will continue to trade today under its current symbol on the OTC Bulletin Board.

Kendall Square Innovation Festival, t=0, to Feature Brad Feld, Mitch Kapor, and (Probably) Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame, September 16-18

What time is it? Time to start looking forward to September events in the Boston tech world. Xconomy has been hearing rumors about a big festival happening around Kendall Square next month. t=0, as it is being called, will kick off on the afternoon of September 16 and last through the 18th. We don’t have … Continue reading “Kendall Square Innovation Festival, t=0, to Feature Brad Feld, Mitch Kapor, and (Probably) Entrepreneurial Walk of Fame, September 16-18”

Deadline to Enter Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is August 10

The deadline is quickly approaching for those who wish to enter the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Applications must be completed by Aug. 10 for companies and Sept. 30 for students. The awards will be announced Nov. 17 at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. The Accel­er­ate Michi­gan Inno­va­tion Com­pe­ti­tion is a global busi­ness plan com­pe­ti­tion … Continue reading “Deadline to Enter Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is August 10”

Indie Game Studio Sucker Punch Gobbled by Sony, Will Stay in Seattle Area

Bellevue, WA’s Sucker Punch Productions is heading to the mothership. After a longtime partnership developing games for Sony’s PlayStation consoles, Sucker Punch will become Sony Computer Entertainment’s 16th studio. Terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed, but Sony says Sucker Punch will keep its current headquarters. Sucker Punch, founded in 1997 by former Microsofties, is known … Continue reading “Indie Game Studio Sucker Punch Gobbled by Sony, Will Stay in Seattle Area”

Kiva Chooses Detroit as First City for Crowdfunded Microfinance Program

When Delphia Simmons’ boss at COTS Detroit, an organization founded in 1982 to address the city’s growing homeless crisis, came back from a trip to Philadelphia with an armload of newspapers produced and sold by homeless people there as a means of self-support, an idea started bubbling in the back of Simmons’ mind. “I had … Continue reading “Kiva Chooses Detroit as First City for Crowdfunded Microfinance Program”

You’d Better Shop Around: Doing Due Diligence on Your VC

For a first-time entrepreneur, dealing with a venture capitalist can involve an equal mix of excitement and apprehension. If the VC has any sort of reputation or prominence, entrepreneurs are often grateful simply to be pitching their idea in the first place. Should discussions get far enough along that a term sheet is offered, a … Continue reading “You’d Better Shop Around: Doing Due Diligence on Your VC”

American Idol, Startup Style: TechStars Reality Show to Debut on Bloomberg TV

TechStars, the seed-stage investment and incubator program for entrepreneurs, announced today that it will be the subject of a series starting this fall on Bloomberg TV. The show, called “TechStars” (see trailer below), follows the inaugural New York program, which ran for three months earlier this year. The show will debut September 13. TechStars holds … Continue reading “American Idol, Startup Style: TechStars Reality Show to Debut on Bloomberg TV”

San Diego’s Moore Venture Partners Seeks a Niche Amid Local VC Decline

Can a small venture firm make much of a difference in stemming the general decline that has marked venture capital funding in San Diego’s innovation economy over the past five or six years? A one-person firm created last year may not exactly fill the void in San Diego, but founder Terry Moore argues that he … Continue reading “San Diego’s Moore Venture Partners Seeks a Niche Amid Local VC Decline”

Beacon Endoscopic Raises $5M for Diagnostics

Newton, MA-based Beacon Endoscopic, a medical device startup, said yesterday it has closed $5 million in Series B financing from MVM Life Science Partners, based in London and Boston. The company also said it has received new capital from existing angel investors. Beacon has developed a fine needle aspiration system for endoscopic ultrasound and endoscopic … Continue reading “Beacon Endoscopic Raises $5M for Diagnostics”

Ventrus Attracts Investors With Hemorrhoid Drug and Two Other Late-Stage Drug Candidates

Ventrus Biosciences CEO Russell Ellison jokes that he doesn’t know how his mother would have reacted if he told her 20 years ago what he’d be doing today. Jokes help when you work at a place like Ventrus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VTUS]]), where the lead drug candidate may just become the first ever FDA-approved prescription product to … Continue reading “Ventrus Attracts Investors With Hemorrhoid Drug and Two Other Late-Stage Drug Candidates”

Arena Passes Small Study, in Bid to Answer FDA Questions About Obesity Drug

[Updated: 9:50 am ET] San Diego-based Arena Pharmaceuticals faces a lot of questions that need to be answered before it can hope to win FDA clearance to sell its obesity pill. Now the drug developer says it has at least one piece of the puzzle it hopes will satisfy U.S. drug regulators. Arena (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) … Continue reading “Arena Passes Small Study, in Bid to Answer FDA Questions About Obesity Drug”

Facebook, Smilebox, Intellectual Ventures, & More: The 1-Minute Week in Seattle Tech

The past week in Seattle tech stories at Xconomy leads off with a recap of the highest-profile project yet to emerge from Facebook‘s growing engineering office in Seattle: Skype video calling. Philip Su, the social network’s full-time engineer on the video calling project, says he spent a lot of time making the installation process virtually … Continue reading “Facebook, Smilebox, Intellectual Ventures, & More: The 1-Minute Week in Seattle Tech”

Scallop Imaging Leads Micro-Cluster of Boston Companies Trying to Reinvent Camera Tech

Here in the Boston area we like hard technologies. We like companies with weird names. We like companies that have vision. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you: Tenebraex, SiOnyx, and MC10. They are the micro-cluster of imaging tech companies. They are working on a mix of far-out stuff and closer-in products, with a multiple-focus … Continue reading “Scallop Imaging Leads Micro-Cluster of Boston Companies Trying to Reinvent Camera Tech”

Intuity Medical Garners $76,000,000 Series D Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=02343dc4-dc3a-4413-8359-0d3a7ab3da03&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name Intuity Medical Mailing Address 350 Potrero Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description Intuity Medical was founded with the mission of simplifying diabetes management for persons living with diabetes. We are currently developing the first blood glucose monitoring system designed to make testing easy, convenient and discreet. Website … Continue reading “Intuity Medical Garners $76,000,000 Series D Funding”

FirstRain Garners $6,400,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5262da19-2a5e-4e3b-a576-15474203967a&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name FirstRain Mailing Address 1510 Fashion Island Blvd. San Mateo, CA 94404 Company Description FirstRain provides custom-configured, on-demand intelligence services to professionals in the financial-services, pharmaceutical, and high-tech industries. Website http://www.firstrain.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,400,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This new capital will be … Continue reading “FirstRain Garners $6,400,000 New Financing Round”

InMobi Acquires Sprout for Undisclosed Sum

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=b5e4903d-153e-4e88-80e9-994ad8f748fa&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name Sprout Mailing Address 2601 Mission Street San Francisco, CA 94110 Company Description Sprout is the premier platform for easily creating, publishing and managing sophisticated rich media content on the Web. With Sprout, anyone can quickly and easily build widgets, minisites, banners and other rich media content for … Continue reading “InMobi Acquires Sprout for Undisclosed Sum”

ZocDoc Obtains $50,000,000 Series C Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=02a90464-9cbe-4645-a469-169836764f29&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name ZocDoc Mailing Address 568 Broadway New York, NY 10012 Company Description At ZocDoc our mission is to make healthcare simple. We begin at the beginning: ZocDoc brings the speed and convenience of the web to finding and booking a doctor or dentist. Website http://www.zocdoc.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “ZocDoc Obtains $50,000,000 Series C Financing Round”

Knome Receives $5,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a6c79def-7fe1-4ca3-b461-af390b81a761&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name Knome Mailing Address 1 Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Knome provides whole genome sequencing and analysis services to biomedical researchers and motivated families seeking to understand the genetic underpinnings of human disease. Led by internationally recognized scientists, clinicians and bioinformaticians, Knome has been responsible for … Continue reading “Knome Receives $5,000,000 New Round”

BetterWorks Secures $8,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be6df7c9-0815-4174-8507-a6d4003ce731&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name BetterWorks Mailing Address 1337 3rd Street Santa Monica, CA 90401 Company Description BetterWorks vision is to “Make Work Rewarding!” Technically speaking we’re a business platform where businesses can quickly create better, more rewarding work environments for their employees while saving a ton of time and money. Website … Continue reading “BetterWorks Secures $8,000,000 Series A Round”

Malama Composites Lands $695,699 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=03d32df4-0451-4ed9-98e4-d0501288e0ae&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name Malama Composites Mailing Address 10326 Roselle St San Diego, CA 92121 Company Description The mission of the company is to develop and manufacture core materials that enable our customers to produce strong, light-weight, high performance, competitively priced, environmentally superior products. Malama Composites embraces triple bottom line business … Continue reading “Malama Composites Lands $695,699 New Financing Round”

Securus Medical Group Secures $750,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4e076d64-508d-4d4b-9174-5aa7c6e5fbc0&Preview=1 Date 8/2/2011 Company Name Securus Medical Group Mailing Address 15 Shoreby Drive Cleveland, OH 44108 Company Description Securus Medical Group, a Cleveland, OH-based company that develops a product that provides real-time temperature mapping within a hollow body cavity. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $750,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds … Continue reading “Securus Medical Group Secures $750,000 New Funding Round”