The Ideas Economy: Information

The Economist presents its 2011 Ideas Economy conference, “Information: Making Sense of the Deluge.” From the event website: “The world now contains unimaginably vast amounts of digital information, which is growing exponentially. The era of big data presents incredible opportunities—smarter cities, stronger companies, faster medicine—but just as many challenges. Storage is scarce, systems overloaded and … Continue reading “The Ideas Economy: Information”

Mobile Computing Summit

Conference Concepts presents a three-day event on mobile computing in the enterprise. From the event website: “The Mobile Computing Summit brings you the latest on mobile computing in the enterprise with an emphasis on smartphones, tablets, netbooks, and laptops. This event emphasizes the effective use and management of mobile computers and the security issues surrounding … Continue reading “Mobile Computing Summit”

Venture Shift

Vator.TV and Bullpen Capital present an evening on the changes rocking the venture investing realm. From the event registration site: “There has been an emergence of a shadow venture system over the past several years as angels have institutionalized, yesterday’s successful multi-millionaire entrepreneurs have become a legitimate capital market, and incubators have re-entered the funding … Continue reading “Venture Shift”

When Two Luminaries Meet: Ursula Burns and George Colony

From the Churchill Club event listing: “Join us for an exceptional evening as two powerful industry leaders meet for a candid discussion about innovation, the economy, leadership, recent “aha moments,” how they’re viewing the market, and more on the Churchill Club stage. Ursula Burns is chairwoman and CEO of Xerox, a $22 billion global enterprise … Continue reading “When Two Luminaries Meet: Ursula Burns and George Colony”

Churchill Club Venture Capital Roundtable 2011

From the event description: “Come hear this panel of leading investors from August Capital, Felicis Ventures, First Round Capital, Google Ventures, and Venrock, in a candid conversation about the venture landscape today and tomorrow. How is the landscape changing and where is it headed? Where are venture capitalists putting their money? What are they avoiding? … Continue reading “Churchill Club Venture Capital Roundtable 2011”

Plug and Play Summer Expo

From the event website: “Plug and Play EXPO features 30 promising startups pitching to over 100 VC investors. Each startup selected will have the opportunity to “wow” investors for three minutes. Plug and Play EXPO is a unique blend of presentation sessions, one-on-one demonstrations, and networking in a highly interactive, intimate, relaxed atmosphere. See live … Continue reading “Plug and Play Summer Expo”

6Sight Future of Imaging Summit

From the event website: “Four summits in one event! Photo Image Capture Summit Summit Chair: Paul Worthington Photo Publishing Summit Summit Chair: Barbara Pellow Mobile Imaging Summit Summit Chair: Tony Henning Social Imaging Summit Summit Chair: Guy Kawasaki 6Sight Summit Conferences are the preeminent worldwide gatherings of imaging executives, technologists, mass merchants, lab owners, media, … Continue reading “6Sight Future of Imaging Summit”

World Antibody-Drug Conjugates Summit

From the event website: “The World ADC Summit is the first and only meeting that is completely focussed on driving forward the development of Antibody-Drug Conjugates. Building on last year’s hugely successful sell-out program, attend this meeting to address the challenges you are facing in R&D, clinical development, regulatory requirements, characterization and antibody processing. Download … Continue reading “World Antibody-Drug Conjugates Summit”

Launch: Silicon Valley

From the event description: “Launch: Silicon Valley 2011 will be held on June 7, 2011 at the Microsoft Campus in Mountain View, California. The event, co-presented by SVASE, Garage Technology Ventures and Microsoft is designed to uncover and showcase products and services from the most exciting of the newest startups in information technology, mobility, digital … Continue reading “Launch: Silicon Valley”

Brightroll V3—Video. Validation. Value.

Panelists from companies such as Innovid, PointRoll, eXelate, comScore and RapLeaf, among others, will join CEO Tod Sacerdoti and others at BrightRoll to discuss the latest hot topics in online video: new technologies and platforms, what works and what’s merely the latest trend. Free and open to the public; register here.

Hadoop Summit 2011

From the event website: “As the world’s largest contributor to and user of Apache Hadoop, Yahoo! is proud to host the 4th Annual Hadoop Summit. Learn about building, managing and operating relevant real-world applications and find out about the latest on Big Data from some of the most influential speakers in the Hadoop space. Whether you are … Continue reading “Hadoop Summit 2011”

Mindflash Collects $4M

Palo Alto, CA-based Mindflash, which makes software that helps companies develop and administer online training courses, said this week that it has raised $4 million in new funding, bringing the total raised since December 2009 to $9 million. Previous backer The Investment Group of Santa Barbara led the round. The new capital will position Mindflash … Continue reading “Mindflash Collects $4M”

MassEcon 18th Annual Conference

This conference will explore what’s needed for collaboration between academia, medicine, and industry. Speakers come from organizations such as WPI, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and IBM. Register here.

Emerging Markets: Opportunities in Healthcare

This panel will offer insight to entering markets like China and India as healthcare entrepreneurs. Panelists from healthcare firms and startups will explore the considerations in IP, regulatory requirements, and cultures. Email here for more info and to RSVP.

GeekWire Launch Party

GeekWire, the Seattle-based tech news site, is organizing its launch party at ShowBox Sodo on June 22. For more information on how to register, click here.

The Next Boston-Area IPO, New Incubators, Unsung Heroes, and the Lost (& Found) Generation: 10 Tech Tidbits

As we enter the summer months, I wanted to give readers a quick look into my reporter’s notebook. I have been shifting into high gear with events and other things, but once the storm passes I’ll be writing more again. Meanwhile, I’m hearing tons of interesting stuff from the local startup and innovation community, some … Continue reading “The Next Boston-Area IPO, New Incubators, Unsung Heroes, and the Lost (& Found) Generation: 10 Tech Tidbits”

Gates Foundation Shows Off New Campus to Local Bigwigs: The Photo Gallery

Bill Gates reportedly spent a fair chunk of change, $500 million, on a new campus near the Seattle Center for his charitable foundation. So naturally, it was only a matter of time before the software mogul-turned-humanitarian and his wife Melinda decided to invite about 1,000 or so community leaders in media, politics, and business to … Continue reading “Gates Foundation Shows Off New Campus to Local Bigwigs: The Photo Gallery”

2011 WEST Leadership Awards

Women Entrepreneurs in Science and Technology is holding its fourth annual leadership awards. The organization will be recognizing women from Microsoft, oneforty, Syndax, and Cytonome. Register here to hear their stories.

$35.8M for Miramar Labs

Sunnyvale, CA-based Miramar Labs, which has developed a laser-based device for treating “axillary hyperhidrosis” (excessive sweating), has raised $35.8 million in Series C financing, according to a report today from Dow Jones VentureWire. New investors Aisling Capital and Cross Creek Capital led the round, which was joined by existing investors Domain Associates and Morgenthaler Ventures. … Continue reading “$35.8M for Miramar Labs”

General Compression Grabs $20.4M

General Compression,  a Newton, MA-based energy storage technology company, has pinned down $20.4 million in equity financing from four investors, an SEC filing shows. Last year the company raised a $20.9 million Series A round, from Duke Energy, U.S. Renewables Group, and Northwater Intellectual Property Fund.

Orexigen, Facing High Hurdle at FDA, Puts Obesity Drug Development on Hold; Shares Tank

San Diego-based Orexigen Therapeutics has been smacked down hard by the FDA, and now the company has decided it’s time to throw up its hands and find something else to do. Orexigen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OREX]]) said today it is putting on hold any further development of its obesity drug programs after getting what you’d have to … Continue reading “Orexigen, Facing High Hurdle at FDA, Puts Obesity Drug Development on Hold; Shares Tank”

Anthera Raises $47M

Hayward, CA-based Anthera Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ANTH]]) said today it raised $47 million through a stock offering, after deducting expenses. The company sold about 6.7 million shares of stock at $7.50 apiece, and granted its underwriters a 30-day option to buy another 1 million shares. Citi, Leerink Swann, and Canaccord Genuity managed the offering.

Dinner Is On Eric Lefkofsky: Groupon Co-Founder and U-M Alum Pockets $300M+ From Stock Sales, More to Come From IPO

Word of advice to anyone who dines with Eric Lefkofsky: make sure he picks up the bill. Trust me folks, he can afford it. We always assumed the Groupon co-founder and University of Michigan alumnus would make a lot of money from the startup’s inevitable IPO. Sure enough, the online coupon site said Thursday that … Continue reading “Dinner Is On Eric Lefkofsky: Groupon Co-Founder and U-M Alum Pockets $300M+ From Stock Sales, More to Come From IPO”

Fourth Annual Internet Week a Panoply of Learning, Networking, and Celebrating for NYC’s Web Entrepreneurs

Internet Week New York kicks off June 6 with a menu of 200 events that chairman David-Michel Davies promises will be “incredibly diverse and all curated by the Internet community in NYC.” Internet Week was founded in 2008 as a public/private partnership by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and the City of … Continue reading “Fourth Annual Internet Week a Panoply of Learning, Networking, and Celebrating for NYC’s Web Entrepreneurs”

Silicon Chef: A Half-Baked Guide to Food Startups

[Updated 12/06/12 with additional listings] When the ex-CEO of Pure Digital, maker of the famous Flip pocket camcorder, wins funding from Sequoia Capital to open a chain of grilled cheese sandwich shops, it may be time to abandon your own enterprise-cloud-marketing-analytics-automation venture or your social-mobile-deals-gamification startup and think about getting into the food business. I was … Continue reading “Silicon Chef: A Half-Baked Guide to Food Startups”

Ariad and Infinity to Reveal Data at ASCO, Excelimmune Gets $10.5M, Hologic Buys TCT, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

You wouldn’t know we had a holiday this week, with the rate Boston life sciences companies are pumping out news. They’ve inked partnerships, announced fundings, made acquisitions, and are gearing up for a big medical convention this weekend. —Cambridge, MA-based Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARIA]]) will reveal data from a clinical trial of its drug ridaforolimus to … Continue reading “Ariad and Infinity to Reveal Data at ASCO, Excelimmune Gets $10.5M, Hologic Buys TCT, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

General Compression Obtains $20,391,368 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8195f922-2f00-4abe-8a93-6338adef1456&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name General Compression Mailing Address 275 Washington Street Newton, MA 02458 Company Description We are engineers, scientists, investors, and project developers, all committed to expanding clean power. General Compression’s systems are being developed to provide utility-scale storage and firming services for clean energy sources such as wind and … Continue reading “General Compression Obtains $20,391,368 Series B Financing Round”

Virtify Secures $5,500,000 Series B Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=08e7b05c-c154-4b0e-b2dc-9ad11a84c8ed&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Virtify Mailing Address 55 Cambridge Parkway Cambridge, MA 02142 Company Description Virtify is the market leader in Enterprise Content Compliance solutions for life sciences. Organizations rely on Virtify to reduce time-to-market, risk, and costs by managing and automating the complex regulatory compliance and content exchange requirements throughout … Continue reading “Virtify Secures $5,500,000 Series B Financing Round”

Fisker Automotive Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=525fd183-5bdc-42dc-b28e-37a8f215a700&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Fisker Automotive Mailing Address 19 Corporate Park Irvine, CA 92606 Company Description The concept was created between two independent companies who clearly wanted to make a difference in not only the automotive industry, but to the environment as well. Website http://www.fiskerautomotive.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “Fisker Automotive Secures $15,000,000 Series C Funding Round”

Redwood Systems Receives $3,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=c56cc58d-dbf0-42cd-9cc3-8441c02e7bfb&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Redwood Systems Mailing Address 46665 Fremont Blvd. Fremont, CA 94538 Company Description Redwood System Inc. is a company focused on commercial building energy conservation. Website http://www.redwoodsys.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor … Continue reading “Redwood Systems Receives $3,500,000 New Financing Round”

mBlox Secures $13,842,730 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=89b7393d-ea53-4942-99b8-e53fac836c1b&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name mBlox Mailing Address 430 N. Mary Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description Specializing in the commercial and technical complexities of mobile payment and message transmission, mBlox is in the business of connecting companies with customers. Website http://www.mblox.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $13,842,730 Transaction Round Undisclosed … Continue reading “mBlox Secures $13,842,730 New Financing Round”

Minerva Surgical Secures $26,171,656 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cd79ddf7-cccd-404c-b1dc-f885e2ae0bf5&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Minerva Surgical Mailing Address 20195 Stevens Creek Boulevard Cupertino, CA 95014 Company Description Minerva Surgical Inc. is a medical device start-up company based in the Silicon Valley in Cupertino CA. The company’s efforts are focused on women’s healthcare. Currently Minerva Surgical’s development projects are aimed at delivering … Continue reading “Minerva Surgical Secures $26,171,656 New Funding”

OnSwipe Lands $5,000,000 Series A Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d0299a15-28d2-4a6e-b31a-0c0e9c70c72c&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name OnSwipe Mailing Address 841 Broadway, Eighth Floor New York, NY 10003 Company Description OnSwipe is a platform that makes it insanely easy for publishers of all sizes to make their content and advertising a beautiful experience on touch-enabled devices via Web browser. Website http://www.onswipe.com Transaction Type Venture … Continue reading “OnSwipe Lands $5,000,000 Series A Round”

Juice In The City Obtains $6,000,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3662ae9c-6842-4743-8f22-b4340e53a6b7&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Juice In The City Mailing Address Undisclosed New York, NY 10001 Company Description The company operates an online website for daily deals aimed at mothers and families. Website http://www.juiceinthecity.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The startup will use the infusion … Continue reading “Juice In The City Obtains $6,000,000 New Funding Round”

Clovis Oncology Receives $20,000,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e87ee22e-11c1-4dc2-9d19-f127d522851c&Preview=1 Date 6/3/2011 Company Name Clovis Oncology Mailing Address 2525 28th Street Boulder, CO 80301 Company Description Clovis Oncology (NASDAQ: CLVS) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on acquiring, developing and commercializing innovative anti-cancer agents in the U.S., Europe and additional international markets. Website http://www.Clovisoncology.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $20,000,000 Transaction Round … Continue reading “Clovis Oncology Receives $20,000,000 New Round”

Histogen Interprets Court Ruling as Victory in Patent Infringement Suit

San Diego-based Histogen, a four-year-old biomedical startup, claimed a key victory today after a federal judge issued a series of findings in a patent infringement case filed in 2009 against the company by a cross-town rival, Carlsbad, CA-based SkinMedica. Before the suit was filed, Histogen had plans to develop products derived from skin cells grown … Continue reading “Histogen Interprets Court Ruling as Victory in Patent Infringement Suit”

Sapphire Energy Executive Killed in Crash

The corporate controller at San Diego’s Sapphire Energy was killed earlier this week when an out-of-control sport-utility vehicle swerved into a bike path while he was bicycling home from work. A close friend told The San Diego Union-Tribune that Poway, CA-resident Nick Venuto, 40, was an avid bicyclist and married father of two. Venuto was … Continue reading “Sapphire Energy Executive Killed in Crash”

So Close They Can Taste It; NanoBio, Investors Eye Potential IPO

Is NanoBio heading towards an IPO? Probably way too early to make that call. But the Ann Arbor, MI-based drug startup and its investors are not exactly discouraging such talk. “I think the company has the potential to be a public company,” says George Arida, a managing director of Venture Investors. “It absolutely has the … Continue reading “So Close They Can Taste It; NanoBio, Investors Eye Potential IPO”

Join a Q&A with Tech Founders David Cancel, Joe Chung, Jules Pieri, and Ellen Rubin at XSITE 2011 on June 16

Founding a startup means facing so many hazards and unknowns that it can feel like establishing a new country. How are you going to encourage immigration to build up your population (i.e., customers)? How do you husband your natural resources (capital) and attract strong leaders (employees)? What if your constitution (your business plan) needs to … Continue reading “Join a Q&A with Tech Founders David Cancel, Joe Chung, Jules Pieri, and Ellen Rubin at XSITE 2011 on June 16”

Life Technologies’ Ion Machine Speeds Analyses of Deadly European Illness

Rapid genetic analysis made possible by Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies’ new semiconductor sequencing technology strongly suggests that the cause of a deadly foodborne outbreak sweeping Europe is an aggressive mutant type of two pathogenic E. coli strains. The illness has left 18 dead in Germany, where the outbreak is focused, and sickened thousands in nine … Continue reading “Life Technologies’ Ion Machine Speeds Analyses of Deadly European Illness”