Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=49a7409d-7785-4fc2-b2a9-f11e42ca22bd&Preview=1 Date 4/8/2011 Company Name Kno Mailing Address 5155 Old Ironsides Dr. Santa Clara, CA 95054 Company Description Kno is a transformative two-panel tablet that artfully blends the intuitive experience of the conventional textbook with a rich digital world of video, note-taking, sharing and more. Its open platform encourages publishers and developers … Continue reading “Kno Secures $30,000,000 New Financing Round”
Flat World Knowledge Secures New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=9a85aa11-659b-4eef-a515-37c5d5ec6ff8&Preview=1 Date 4/8/2011 Company Name Flat World Knowledge Mailing Address 1 Bridge Street Irvington, NY 10533 Company Description We preserve the best of the old – books by leading experts that are rigorously reviewed and developed to the highest standards. Then we flip it all on its head. Our books are free … Continue reading “Flat World Knowledge Secures New Round”
SocialFlow Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4140aff1-48eb-4f0d-a935-8668cc3b2a50&Preview=1 Date 4/8/2011 Company Name SocialFlow Mailing Address 416 W. 13th St. New York, NY 10014 Company Description SocialFlow is a social media optimization platform that is used by media companies, retailers and brands to earn greater engagement, clicks, re-tweets, mentions and followers on Twitter. SocialFlow’s software ensures that you enter conversations … Continue reading “SocialFlow Lands $7,000,000 Series A Financing Round”
TripAdvisor to Spin Out of Expedia as Separate Public Company; CEO Kaufer Looking Forward to “Growth and Innovation”
Interesting news in online travel this afternoon, spanning the Boston and Seattle areas—and plenty of destinations in between. Bellevue, WA-based Expedia (NASDAQ: [[ticker:EXPE]]) said it plans to split into two publicly traded companies—one will be Newton, MA-based TripAdvisor (which has been part of Expedia since 2004), and the other will remain Expedia, which also owns … Continue reading “TripAdvisor to Spin Out of Expedia as Separate Public Company; CEO Kaufer Looking Forward to “Growth and Innovation””
Akiban Adds $3.2M
Akiban Technologies, a Boston-based provider of database virtualization software for the cloud, has raised $3.2 million atop a $6.5 million financing it announced in July 2009, according to a filing amended with the SEC this week. North Bridge Venture Partners and Foundation Capital participated in the first part of the Series A round for the … Continue reading “Akiban Adds $3.2M”
Ron Shulman, Five More Patent Attorneys Jump Ship at Wilson Sonsini, Land at Latham & Watkins
[Updated 4/7/11, 9:25 pm PT, with comment from Wilson Sonsini, see below] In a notable shakeup for the Silicon Valley legal world, six patent litigators from high-profile Valley law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati have defected to rival Latham & Watkins. The news, first published by the legal publication The Recorder on April 5, … Continue reading “Ron Shulman, Five More Patent Attorneys Jump Ship at Wilson Sonsini, Land at Latham & Watkins”
Gilbert Buys Another Detroit Building
Quicken Loans chairman and founder Dan Gilbert said his company has purchased the historic Chase Tower and a parking garage in downtown Detroit. With Quicken Loans’ recent acquisition of the nearby David Madison Theater Building, Gilbert envisions building a high tech corridor along Woodward Avenue, a vision he calls WEBward Avenue.
EcoMotors, With Navistar as a Customer, Pushes Forward With New Engine
It’s been just over five months since I first met with Don Runkle, CEO of EcoMotors International, to discuss the big plan he’s had for his Allen Park, MI-based company’s opposing piston, opposing cylinder (“opoc”) engine. EcoMotors claims that the engine, which weighs less, uses fewer parts and is thus less expensive than traditional four-stroke … Continue reading “EcoMotors, With Navistar as a Customer, Pushes Forward With New Engine”
Digital Healthcare Systems Raises $1.1M
Digital Healthcare Systems, a San Diego startup that was founded in 2009 as My Aftercare, has raised $1.1 million of a planned $2.4 million from undisclosed investors, according to a regulatory filing done earlier this week. CEO Steven Severin might want to reconsider that name change, though, as it’s easy to confuse the San Diego … Continue reading “Digital Healthcare Systems Raises $1.1M”
How to Hire and Fire, Establish Company Culture, and Go Public: 10 Lessons from Three Big CEOs at NVCA
Can you ever fire people too quickly, as chief executive? How do you foster a company’s culture as it grows? And what are the pros and cons of going public? Answers to these pointed management questions could be found in yesterday’s technology track at the National Venture Capital Association’s annual meeting in Boston. Harvard Business … Continue reading “How to Hire and Fire, Establish Company Culture, and Go Public: 10 Lessons from Three Big CEOs at NVCA”
Adeona Raises $3.5 million From Stock Sale
Adeona Pharmaceuticals of Ann Arbor, MI said it raised $3.5 million by selling about 1.7 million shares to an undisclosed institutional investor. The company, which is developing drugs to treat brain disorders, said it also granted the investor the right to buy another 844,393 shares at $2.0725 per share. At that price, Adeona would raise … Continue reading “Adeona Raises $3.5 million From Stock Sale”
Forbes Ranks Detroit, Other Xconomy Cities Poorly In Minority Entrepreneurship
Forbes recently ranked the best cities for minority entrepreneurs and perhaps not surprisingly, Detroit finished near the bottom of the list. Despite Detroit’s large African American population, the magazine ranked the Motor City 47th out of 52 metropolitan areas. You can probably blame the usual suspects: lack of venture capital, the loss of population, downsizing … Continue reading “Forbes Ranks Detroit, Other Xconomy Cities Poorly In Minority Entrepreneurship”
T2 Biosystems, On-Q-ity, and GnuBIO Report Progress in Hunting for Signs of Disease
[Updated. 4/8/11. 8:09 am Eastern. See updates to section on On-Q-ity.] T2 Biosystems has chosen deadly blood-borne yeast infections as the lead targets of its system for rapidly and accurately diagnosing diseases. And the Lexington, MA-based firm is revealing results this morning from lab experiments that show the potential of its diagnostic for Candida infections … Continue reading “T2 Biosystems, On-Q-ity, and GnuBIO Report Progress in Hunting for Signs of Disease”
Artsicle Lets Indecisive New Yorkers Rent Art Before They Commit to Buying
Start browsing the artwork available for rent at Artsicle.com, and it won’t be long before a window pops up offering a real live curator to help you make your selection. The live-chat feature is a lot of work for Artsicle founders Alexis Tryon and Scott Carleton because, well, they’re Artiscle’s only full-time curators. That means … Continue reading “Artsicle Lets Indecisive New Yorkers Rent Art Before They Commit to Buying”
Active Network Expands Schwaggle Deals
San Diego’s Active Network says today it’s planning a nationwide roll-out of its Schwaggle deal program, beginning this month with targeted offerings three times a week on fitness products and services, golf tee times, and other event registrations in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The Active Network, which operates Active.com, launched its Schwaggle deals … Continue reading “Active Network Expands Schwaggle Deals”
One Hand Clapping: Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor
I spent a few days in March in Ann Arbor Michigan as a guest of Professor Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Dean for Entrepreneurial Programs, and Doug Neal, Director of Center for Entrepreneurship in the Engineering School at the University of Michigan. I gave a keynote on entrepreneurship to MPowered, the student entrepreneurship organization, spoke on a … Continue reading “One Hand Clapping: Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor”
Rodney Brooks at NVCA: Why the World Needs Robots, and What VCs Need to Watch Out For
The world needs robots, hopefully more than Mars needs moms. The first part of that was Rodney Brooks’s message in his talk at the annual meeting of the National Venture Capital Association in Boston yesterday. Brooks, of course, has a strong interest in seeing the mass adoption of robots. He’s the co-founder of iRobot (NASDAQ: … Continue reading “Rodney Brooks at NVCA: Why the World Needs Robots, and What VCs Need to Watch Out For”
Zacharon Nabs $210M Deal With Pfizer to Tackle Orphan Diseases
San Diego-based Zacharon Pharmaceuticals just struck its first really big partnership. The company, backed by Avalon Ventures, said today it has formed an alliance with New York-based Pfizer that could be worth as much as $210 million to develop drugs for rare diseases. Specific financial terms weren’t provided in today’s statement, but Zacharon will get … Continue reading “Zacharon Nabs $210M Deal With Pfizer to Tackle Orphan Diseases”
Optimer Antibiotic Gets Panel Nod, CareFusion Buys Vestara, Tracon Raises $16.5M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News
The past week was big for life sciences news in San Diego, with acquisitions, funding deals, and important advances in new antibiotics grabbing much of the attention. We’ve got it rounded up for you here. —An FDA advisory panel voted 13-0 in favor of recommending approval of a new antibiotic that San Diego’s Optimer Pharmaceuticals … Continue reading “Optimer Antibiotic Gets Panel Nod, CareFusion Buys Vestara, Tracon Raises $16.5M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”
Xenoport Shares Boom, Company Sketches Out Sales Plan for New Drug
Xenoport shocked the biotech world late last night by winning FDA approval of a new drug for restless legs syndrome that was turned down in February 2010. Now the Santa Clara, CA-based company and its partner GlaxoSmithKline are onto the next critical assignment: making this thing sell. At least today, Xenoport (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XNPT]]) and its … Continue reading “Xenoport Shares Boom, Company Sketches Out Sales Plan for New Drug”
GiftRocket Seeks to Take the Pain (and Loss) Out of Gift Cards
This is the fourth in a series of profiles of Y Combinator Winter 2011 (YC W11) startups. Gift cards, also known as stored-value cards, may be one of the most popular types of gifts—Americans spend at least $80 billion on them every year. But let’s face it, the little plastic rectangles are so 1994. They’re … Continue reading “GiftRocket Seeks to Take the Pain (and Loss) Out of Gift Cards”
The ImClone Alumni: Where Are They Now?
[Updated: 10:20 pm, 4/15/11] ImClone Systems is the biotech company that Martha Stewart made famous, but after the scandalous headlines faded away, it has left a lasting imprint on New York. The ImClone story has been told many times over, about the 2001 insider trading allegation that ended up landing both ImClone CEO Sam Waksal and … Continue reading “The ImClone Alumni: Where Are They Now?”
Founder Collective, Seed-Stage Fund, Betting on Surging NYC Tech Startup Scene
New York is famous in the business world for its large companies in a variety of industries. For the partners at the seed-stage venture fund Founder Collective, however, the focus is on the small tech startups in the city and beyond that have the potential to rapidly grow in value. In fact, managing partners David … Continue reading “Founder Collective, Seed-Stage Fund, Betting on Surging NYC Tech Startup Scene”
Omeros Flunks Pivotal Trials, Dendreon’s Shareholder Hubbub, AVI Biopharma Nabs $30M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News
Lots of little blurbs crossed the desk this week, along with one major blowup for a drug in the third and final stage of clinical trials. —Seattle-based Omeros (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OMER]]) said it failed in a series of pivotal clinical trials with its anti-inflammatory drug to help patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. The trials, which enrolled … Continue reading “Omeros Flunks Pivotal Trials, Dendreon’s Shareholder Hubbub, AVI Biopharma Nabs $30M, & More Seattle-Area Life Sciences News”
Akiban Technologies Receives $3,154,075 New Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=71dbc5f5-ea23-4331-b8ff-82ec2efee5e9&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Akiban Technologies Mailing Address 580 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118 Company Description Akiban, Inc., a Boston-based startup, is developing a database virtualization solution that enables effortless scalability of a database across nodes, both within the enterprise and in the cloud. Based on our patent-pending architecture, we have … Continue reading “Akiban Technologies Receives $3,154,075 New Financing”
UpWind Solutions Garners $10,000,000 Series C Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6824c8f2-abca-49c7-9830-50c9c9487968&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name UpWind Solutions Mailing Address 3555 Lear Way Medford, OR 97504 Company Description We help wind project developers and owners maximize profits and ensure project success. UpWind Solutions is a full-service operations and maintenance service provider for utility-scale wind energy projects with a bold, innovative approach to business. … Continue reading “UpWind Solutions Garners $10,000,000 Series C Round”
Cellular Dynamics International Receives $30,000,000 Series B Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4d33a96e-87e9-4ed2-a412-93108eb1cdb5&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Cellular Dynamics International Mailing Address 525 Science Drive Madison, WI 53711 Company Description Cellular Dynamics was founded by three world-class scientists in cardiac ion channel models, hES cells, and iPS cells to provide cardiac toxicity drug testing services, including GLP and non-GLP hERG electrophysiological assays as well … Continue reading “Cellular Dynamics International Receives $30,000,000 Series B Funding Round”
GoldSpot Media Garners $12,050,000 Series B Financing
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a191e7f7-8f1c-4c83-b6b6-66e965f28b80&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name GoldSpot Media Mailing Address 530 Lakeside Dr Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Company Description GoldSpot Media delivers an ad-serving solution that maximizes advertising revenue potential for mobile operators and content providers, and stimulates mass-market adoption of mobile broadcast TV. GoldSpot’s innovative device-based technology dynamically inserts highly targeted, contextual content … Continue reading “GoldSpot Media Garners $12,050,000 Series B Financing”
SocialGuide Lands $1,500,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ed085091-f31e-418f-a968-ae86d8eb0c64&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name SocialGuide Mailing Address 68 Jay St. Brooklyn, NY 11201 Company Description The company operates a website that allows users to find out what’s on television in a social network format. Website http://beta.socialguide.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This funding will … Continue reading “SocialGuide Lands $1,500,000 New Funding Round”
Digital Healthcare Systems Lands $1,122,068 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=33c2fd42-3f59-4a63-b54b-59b495c84932&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Digital Healthcare Systems Mailing Address 6390 Greenwich Dr. San Diego, CA 92122 Company Description The company is developing unspecified health-care related software systems. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $1,122,068 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Undisclosed M&A Terms Venture Investor Undisclosed
Quixey Garners $400,000 New Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=99d2542d-cce9-41bb-856b-08e270ab13c5&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Quixey Mailing Address 320 Logue Avenue Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description Quixey specializes in functional search for apps. It allows you to describe your needs in plain English and find the best functional matches. Whether it is a mobile device, a tablet, a desktop or a … Continue reading “Quixey Garners $400,000 New Round”
Openspace Secures New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4cf0c121-ea99-4ceb-b8af-182c5745294c&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Openspace Mailing Address 1050 Walnut St. Boulder, CO 80305 Company Description Our mission is selling apps, but how we sell them is just as important. We believe its time to empower developers and make life better for consumers. Because the truth is, we as developers and consumers … Continue reading “Openspace Secures New Funding Round”
Orbotix Lands $5,000,000 Series B Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=36a62a5d-6ee3-46ea-a8fb-a2e239784cc6&Preview=1 Date 4/7/2011 Company Name Orbotix Mailing Address 1401 Walnut St. Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description Orbotix is a Boulder based startup that works with consumer electronics companies and developers to bring phone controlled open devices to market. Website http://www.Orbotix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds … Continue reading “Orbotix Lands $5,000,000 Series B Round”
Glaxo, Xenoport Win FDA Green Light to Treat Restless Leg Syndrome; Shares Boom
The FDA slapped down Santa Clara, CA-based Xenoport (NASDAQ: [[ticker:XNPT]]) and GlaxoSmithKline hard a year ago, but the companies have made a heck of a comeback. Glaxo and Xenoport proved it today by winning clearance from the FDA to start selling a new drug for restless leg syndrome. Shares of Xenoport rocketed up 57 percent … Continue reading “Glaxo, Xenoport Win FDA Green Light to Treat Restless Leg Syndrome; Shares Boom”
SmartGrid @PlugAndPlay
From the event website: “This half day conference is designed to introduce entrepreneurs and investors to the issues and opportunities in the Smart Grid. Understanding today’s ecosystem and key players provides the foundational knowledge necessary to research market and technology feasibility. Interactive discussions with industry players will deliver insights into how your new innovations can … Continue reading “SmartGrid @PlugAndPlay”
Structure: The GigaOm Cloud Computing Conference
From the event website: “After years of questions about what cloud computing is and how it will affect IT, we’re finally starting to get answers. With major acquisitions having gone down, hybrid clouds now a reality and the federal government eyeing cloud-inspired legislation, it is becoming more clear how the cloud landscape will shape up. … Continue reading “Structure: The GigaOm Cloud Computing Conference”
Xconomy San Francisco Open House
Xconomy San Francisco invites all Bay Area fans and friends to enjoy wine, cheese, and great conversation at an open house at our Potrero Hill/Dogpatch office, hosted by chief correspondent and San Francisco editor Wade Roush and national biotech editor and Seattle editor Luke Timmerman. More details and map here.
Mobile Enterprise App Demo Night
Mobile Monday America and Cisco Systems co-sponsor an evening of demos showcasing how companies are building mobile enterprise apps using location based services software from Cisco and other providers. Moderator: Mario Tapia, MobileMonday/GetJar Presenters: Cisco Cisco PocketCloud Fuze Meeting Salesforce Chatter Box.net MobileIron Enterprise App Storefront VMware vSphere Client for iPad YouSendIt Breezy ZigZag Board … Continue reading “Mobile Enterprise App Demo Night”
Matt McIlwain the Only Seattle-Area VC on New Forbes “Midas List”
With March Madness officially over, Forbes is feeding the thirst for some statistical gamesmanship with its latest “Midas List,” an attempt to rank the country’s top 100 venture capitalists. The Seattle area has just one entry on the list: Madrona Venture Group‘s Matt McIlwain, at No. 75—in fact, there were more women in the rankings … Continue reading “Matt McIlwain the Only Seattle-Area VC on New Forbes “Midas List””
CareFusion Acquires Vestara
San Diego’s CareFusion (NYSE: [[ticker:CFN]]) says it has acquired Vestara, an Irvine, CA, company with technology that automatically identifies, sorts, and segregates hazardous and non-hazardous pharmaceutical waste for proper disposal. CareFusion, which plans to rebrand Vestara’s EcoRex technology as the Pyxis EcoStation, did not disclose the cost of its acquisition. However, the Health Data Management … Continue reading “CareFusion Acquires Vestara”
You’re Invited to an Open House at Xconomy San Francisco on April 18
It’s been almost eight months since the first time we threw open our doors here at the San Francisco office of Xconomy, so it’s high time for another gathering. All of our Bay Area fans and friends are invited over to our office after work on Monday, April 18, for some wine, cheese, and good … Continue reading “You’re Invited to an Open House at Xconomy San Francisco on April 18”
Need More Light? Powerleap Would Like You to Step On this Panel
Elizabeth Redmond was a fourth-year design student at the University of Michigan when the idea hit her like…well, like a jolt of electricity. “I was going to find a way to harvest energy from people,” she says. “I was interested in this idea of social responsibility, how do you teach people to take responsibility for … Continue reading “Need More Light? Powerleap Would Like You to Step On this Panel”
Intellectual Ventures Licenses Patents to Mobile Data Startup Dashwire as Smaller Company Defends Itself in Court
It’s not just the tech behemoths who are girding for the patent wars. Dashwire, a Seattle cloud-services startup, today announced a licensing deal with Intellectual Ventures, Nathan Myhrvold’s Bellevue, WA-based patent middleman firm. Terms were not disclosed. Dashwire’s products synchronize and back up data from smartphones and other mobile devices to the Web. The company … Continue reading “Intellectual Ventures Licenses Patents to Mobile Data Startup Dashwire as Smaller Company Defends Itself in Court”
Alnylam Responds to Tekmira Suit
Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ALNY]]), the Cambridge, MA-based developer of RNA interference drugs, said today it has filed a legal response and counterclaim against Vancouver, BC-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, which accused Alnylam last month of misappropriating trade secrets. Alnylam president Barry Greene said in a statement that the company plans to “fully defend itself.”
NW Biodiesel Network Monthly Meeting: Biomass and Commericalization
E.C. Lund, a tech transfer manager at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Rick Orth, a technical group manager at PNNL, will be the featured guests at a Northwest Biodiesel Network meeting on April 26th in Seattle. The event is free. For more information, click here.
EnerG2 Moves Into ‘Execute Mode’ to Enhance Batteries, Natural Gas Cars
Every startup, at some point in its maturation, needs to put up or shut up. EnerG2 is starting to enter that phase when it’s time to find out if it can really do what it said it was going to do. The Seattle-based company, founded in 2003 with technology from the University of Washington, started … Continue reading “EnerG2 Moves Into ‘Execute Mode’ to Enhance Batteries, Natural Gas Cars”
Restructuring VC Portfolios to Spur Job Creation
Venture capitalists are expected to do more today than deliver returns to investors. Increasingly, governments are turning to the the VC industry to spur private-sector job creation. Accomplishing these twin objectives in today’s challenging business environment requires a new investing model. Governments are learning that investing in venture-backed companies is an excellent use of capital … Continue reading “Restructuring VC Portfolios to Spur Job Creation”
Engine Yard Adds Free Cloud Trials
In a bid to outflank competitor Heroku, Engine Yard, a San Francisco-based provider of hosting and support for Web applications written in the Ruby on Rails language, rolled out a new free trial program for its AppCloud service this week. In a blog post, the company said new customers can run their Ruby applications for up … Continue reading “Engine Yard Adds Free Cloud Trials”
Report: Tracon Raises $16.5M
San Diego-based Tracon Pharmaceuticals has raised $16.5 million of a targeted $24.5 million round from investors, according to a recent report in VentureWire. Tracon CEO Charles Theuer declined to comment today, saying through a spokeswoman that the company has issued “no official press release.” VentureWire did not identify the investors, but noted that Paramount BioSciences … Continue reading “Report: Tracon Raises $16.5M”
The Business of Robotics, Using Robots to Change the World
The robotics cluster at the Mass Technology Leadership Council will look at how local companies are using robotics technology to change their businesses and compete globally. Speakers will come from firms such as Artaic Innovative Mosaic and Myomo. Register here.