iPierian Nabs $28M, With New Backing From Glaxo and Biogen Idec, To Use Stem Cells for Drug Discovery

One of the Bay Area’s promising stem cell startups just got a big shot of cash from a couple of major pharmaceutical players in Boston. South San Francisco-based iPierian is announcing today it has secured a full $28 million in its Series B venture round, which includes GlaxoSmithKline’s SR One venture arm, along with Biogen … Continue reading “iPierian Nabs $28M, With New Backing From Glaxo and Biogen Idec, To Use Stem Cells for Drug Discovery”

SCVNGR Goes Live with Rewards for Boston Businesses, Eyes Potential Partners

I’m getting the sense that Seth Priebatsch could sell just about anything—and he will. His mobile gaming and rewards startup, Cambridge, MA-based SCVNGR, has been in PR overdrive for the past week, announcing everything from its integration with Facebook Places to new rewards partnerships with AT&T and Zipcar. Today, the company is showcasing a new … Continue reading “SCVNGR Goes Live with Rewards for Boston Businesses, Eyes Potential Partners”

SCVNGR, Battling Foursquare and Others, Looks to Stay “On Top of the World” After Facebook Fallout

“I’m the only person in location who’s happy today.” That was Seth Priebatsch last Thursday. It was the morning after Facebook announced its new feature, Facebook Places, that lets people “check in” using their iPhone or iPad (or location-aware laptop) and share their location with their social network. The general consensus among tech observers is … Continue reading “SCVNGR, Battling Foursquare and Others, Looks to Stay “On Top of the World” After Facebook Fallout”

Google’s Rich Miner Says Timing Is Everything for Android: Three Thoughts from Mobile Monday

Rich Miner was no Billie Joe Armstrong. But I can’t say I’m too sad to have missed Green Day’s concert at Great Woods (Comcast Center) to attend Mobile Monday at Google in Kendall Square last night. OK, maybe I can. But I did pull out a few interesting nuggets from the presentations and demos, which … Continue reading “Google’s Rich Miner Says Timing Is Everything for Android: Three Thoughts from Mobile Monday”

VigLink Grabs Wheel at DrivingRevenue

San Francisco based VigLink, a maker of automated affiliate marketing software for Web publishers, said yesterday that it has acquired Chicago-based competitor DrivingRevenue. VigLink investors Google Ventures and First Round capital “more than doubled” their investments in VigLink in order to finance the acquisition, according to a blog post by VigLink CEO Oliver Roup. He … Continue reading “VigLink Grabs Wheel at DrivingRevenue”

Trada Secures $5,750,000 Series C Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=4c6f6b31-7400-429c-9be3-aec7ff92c5a6&Preview=1 Date 7/21/2010 Company Name Trada Mailing Address 1023 Walnut Street Boulder, CO 80302 Company Description Trada is revolutionizing the way Agencies, Advertisers and PPC Experts build and manage PPC marketing campaigns. We’ve developed the first PPC marketplace that allows agencies and in-house advertisers to leverage the skills of hundreds of the … Continue reading “Trada Secures $5,750,000 Series C Funding”

Pixazza Picks Up $12M

Mountain View, CA-based Pixazza, whose “visual commerce” software supplements standard Web images with pop-up shopping information, announced today that it has closed a $12 million Series B financing round. New investor Shasta Ventures led the round, which also included returning investors August Capital, CMEA Capital, and Google Ventures. The startup said it will use the … Continue reading “Pixazza Picks Up $12M”

Pixazza Receives $12,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2ba9de4c-a02b-4fb8-8df2-1a4660313337&Preview=1 Date 7/19/2010 Company Name Pixazza Mailing Address 100 View Street Mountain View, CA 94041 Company Description Pixazza is a new platform that allows shoppers to buy products from photos seen on websites of our web publishing partners. Our unique capability allows these web publishers to generate incremental revenues by “visual commerce … Continue reading “Pixazza Receives $12,000,000 Series B Financing”

Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine

Lebanon, NH-based biotech startup Adimab has grown the ranks of its Big Pharma collaborators, which are coveted for their deep pockets and other resources they bring to smaller firms. Swiss drug giant Novartis has inked a research agreement with Adimab to access the startup’s synthetic immune system of sorts that churns out potential antibody drugs. … Continue reading “Novartis Test Drives Biotech Startup Adimab’s Drug Discovery Engine”

iPierian Nabs $22M, Names New CEO

iPierian, the South San Francisco-based developer of stem cell technology for drug discovery, said today it has raised $22 million in a Series B venture financing. Google Ventures led the round, which included Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, ATEL Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Highland Capital Partners, MPM Capital, and FinTech Global Capital. In connection with … Continue reading “iPierian Nabs $22M, Names New CEO”

iPierian Garners $22,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2243d1cf-e0e2-4510-ab68-5bc405168f2d&Preview=1 Date 7/8/2010 Company Name iPierian Mailing Address 951 Gateway Blvd South San Francisco, CA 94080 Company Description iPierian is a pioneering biopharmaceutical company that is taking the cutting-edge technologies of cellular reprogramming and directed differentiation to an entirely new level to harness the power of induced pluripotent stem cells to advance … Continue reading “iPierian Garners $22,000,000 Series B Financing”

Avalon Ventures Goes for Ninth Fund, Mobile Health Industry Seeks Tipping Point, Google Ventures Steps Into Spotlight, & More San Diego BizTech News

New industries like cleantech and mobile health are changing the face of San Diego’s innovation scene. Better catch up on all that’s happening before you don’t recognize it anymore. —The wind power industry is now in the doldrums, after soaring last year to a record number of wind turbine installations. The industry’s boom and bust … Continue reading “Avalon Ventures Goes for Ninth Fund, Mobile Health Industry Seeks Tipping Point, Google Ventures Steps Into Spotlight, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Idenix Prices Stock Offering, Google Ventures Reveals Investments, Sophos Sells Stake to Apax, & More Boston-Area Deals News

Google pulled off the veil this week to reveal the portfolio companies in its two-year-old venture fund. Add that to a flurry of startup funding rounds, a stock sale, and an acquisition transaction, and it’s made for a busy deals news week for us in New England. —Management Health Solutions, a Fairfield, CT, maker of … Continue reading “Idenix Prices Stock Offering, Google Ventures Reveals Investments, Sophos Sells Stake to Apax, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

INVIDI Technologies Receives $23,000,000 Series D Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=be2e47ac-3fea-498c-8633-9ef33edac3ea&Preview=1 Date 5/5/2010 Company Name INVIDI Technologies Mailing Address 420 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10170-0038 Company Description INVIDI Technologies Corporation is the world’s only truly addressable targeted television advertising and marketing solution for cable, satellite and IPTV service providers at the headend, household and individual viewer level. Website http://www.invidi.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “INVIDI Technologies Receives $23,000,000 Series D Financing Round”

Behind the Scenes at Google Ventures: The Full Q&A with Bill Maris

Last week Google Ventures unveiled a new website that includes the first public information about its portfolio and its staff. Yesterday, as part of the fund’s first real media outreach campaign, managing partner Bill Maris and partner David Krane spent about 45 minutes speaking with reporters in Boston via teleconference. I summed up the conversation … Continue reading “Behind the Scenes at Google Ventures: The Full Q&A with Bill Maris”

Google Ventures Pulls Back the Veil: Deals in San Diego, Boston, Dallas, and Silicon Valley

Just over two years ago, Google decided to get into the venture capital game, setting up a fund to invest in promising startups in much the same way that Silicon Valley VC firms Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers invested in Google itself back in 1999. Google Ventures has stayed mostly under the … Continue reading “Google Ventures Pulls Back the Veil: Deals in San Diego, Boston, Dallas, and Silicon Valley”

Corduro Garners New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=ab7f0645-d4f9-433e-88c9-966bb3e46a73&Preview=1 Date 5/3/2010 Company Name Corduro Mailing Address 541 Silicon Dr. Southlake, TX 76092 Company Description The company offers a range of payment services, for Internet, mobile and traditional retail transactions. Website http://www.corduro.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms … Continue reading “Corduro Garners New Financing”

Confident Technologies Makes San Diego Debut, Startups Get Fresh Venture Funding, Peter Preuss Gets Inducted to Connect Hall of Fame, & More San Diego BizTech News

—Xconomy’s list of San Diego’s top 10 VC deals during the first quarter of 2010 included funding for three high-tech startups, although investments in life sciences and medical devices accounted for most of the money and deals. EMN8, which is developing automated kiosks for fast-service restaurants, raised almost $14.5 million; Avaak, which developed a wireless … Continue reading “Confident Technologies Makes San Diego Debut, Startups Get Fresh Venture Funding, Peter Preuss Gets Inducted to Connect Hall of Fame, & More San Diego BizTech News”

OpenCandy Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8fc2bfd2-27e8-47b0-b608-e0897ea5c429&Preview=1 Date 4/23/2010 Company Name OpenCandy Mailing Address 656 5th Avenue San Diego, CA 92120 Company Description OpenCandy was started by founding and early members of DivX, at which we were responsible for distributing hundreds of millions of DivX software downloads, and now we want to use what we’ve learned to help … Continue reading “OpenCandy Lands $5,000,000 Series B Funding”

OpenCandy Gets $5M in Round Led by Google Ventures

OpenCandy co-founder Darrius Thompson confirms in an e-mail that the San Diego-based startup, which operates a kind of online marketplace for open-source software, just raised $5 million in a series B round of venture funding, which was reported today by TechCrunch. The new $5 million round was led by Google Ventures, and in a winking … Continue reading “OpenCandy Gets $5M in Round Led by Google Ventures”

Startup Automaker V-Vehicle Hits Roadblock After Government Rejects $321M Loan Request

Plans by the famed Kleiner Perkins VC firm, Google, T. Boone Pickens, and other investors to launch a new automaker are now hanging by a thread. The Department of Energy has rebuffed San Diego-based V-Vehicle’s request for more than $321 million in loans—throwing into jeopardy the automaker’s ambitious plans to build an “environmentally friendly” car. … Continue reading “Startup Automaker V-Vehicle Hits Roadblock After Government Rejects $321M Loan Request”

Google Pours “Incredible” Computing Power into Antibody Drug Discovery With Adimab

Google is the undisputed king of Internet search and advertising, but its second act as a company might be to invent a new computer model for efficiently discovering targeted antibody drugs. “Google is committing incredible resources to it. Incredible resources,” says Tillman Gerngross, the founder and CEO of Lebanon, NH-based Adimab. “The infrastructure alone is … Continue reading “Google Pours “Incredible” Computing Power into Antibody Drug Discovery With Adimab”

Lessons in Stealth Communications: V-Vehicle Tries to Keep Technology Details Under Wraps

One problem with being a stealthy company is the difficulty in setting the record straight. The News-Star of Monroe, LA, reported yesterday that V-Vehicle, the San Diego-based startup automaker building a factory in Northeastern Louisiana, is “apparently testing prototypes of its mystery car,” but that may be overstating the matter. The newspaper quotes David Hitchcock, … Continue reading “Lessons in Stealth Communications: V-Vehicle Tries to Keep Technology Details Under Wraps”

Google Ventures’ Joe Kraus Joins OpenCandy’s Board of Directors

I profiled San Diego-based OpenCandy just last week, and the Web-based distributor of open-source software already is providing an update. Excite founder Joe Kraus, who participated in OpenCandy’s Series A funding round as an angel investor, has joined the company’s board of directors. According to a statement issued by the company, Kraus will be joining … Continue reading “Google Ventures’ Joe Kraus Joins OpenCandy’s Board of Directors”

VigLink Receives $800,000 New Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=78888521-3e9d-4b0c-bdcf-29ca5428b8c3&Preview=1 Date 1/12/2010 Company Name VigLink Mailing Address 420 Bryant Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description The company provides consumers extra income from online link sharing. Website http://www.viglink.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $800,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Google Ventures … Continue reading “VigLink Receives $800,000 New Funding Round”

The Boston Deals You Missed During the Holidays: Cash for Kala Pharma, Funds for ViewFinity, Silver for SCVNGR, & More

Feeling a bit out of the loop on the New England tech and life sciences news? Don’t fret. We’ve compiled the Boston-area deals you may have missed during the last couple of weeks of 2009. There were enough of them to indicate that tech lawyers and execs were quite busy over the break. —Waltham, MA-based … Continue reading “The Boston Deals You Missed During the Holidays: Cash for Kala Pharma, Funds for ViewFinity, Silver for SCVNGR, & More”

SCVNGR Secures $4,000,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=784722ee-a609-4abf-9d6f-37e7e0e85962&Preview=1 Date 12/28/2009 Company Name SCVNGR Mailing Address 580 Harrison Avenue Boston, MA 02118 Company Description SCVNGR is a geo-gaming platform that enables anyone to quickly and easily build location-based mobile games, tours, and interactive experiences that can be enjoyed from any mobile device. Website http://www.scvngr.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount … Continue reading “SCVNGR Secures $4,000,000 New Financing Round”

Adimab Proves Fast Antibody Discovery Tool to Merck, Roche; Snags New Deal With Pfizer

Adimab has an audacious goal for speeding up the way antibody drugs are discovered, and apparently it’s delivering the goods. The Lebanon, NH-based biotech company is announcing today it has collected milestone payments from its first two corporate partners, Merck and Roche, and built on that experience to grab a pair of additional partnerships with … Continue reading “Adimab Proves Fast Antibody Discovery Tool to Merck, Roche; Snags New Deal With Pfizer”

Silver Spring Networks Obtains $100,000,000 New Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=09700e3e-e0df-461e-80a0-e38949f28a94&Preview=1 Date 12/15/2009 Company Name Silver Spring Networks Mailing Address 555 Broadway Street Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description At Silver Spring Networks, we develop intelligent, IP-based networking products that allow utilities to dramatically improve efficiency, provide their customers with insight and control, and ensure the reliable delivery of low-cost services. Website … Continue reading “Silver Spring Networks Obtains $100,000,000 New Financing”

Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google

It turns out that Don Dodge—famous among entrepreneurs for putting a personal face on Microsoft’s operations in New England, until his unceremonious termination earlier this month—was only in job limbo for about about an hour and a half. Dodge sends Xconomy word this morning that he has been hired by Microsoft archrival Google. Vic Gundotra, … Continue reading “Ex-Microsoftie Don Dodge Going to Google”

EnglishCentral Lands $3,500,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5abb9c9a-a536-408c-bae4-69af1b853594&Preview=1 Date 10/22/2009 Company Name EnglishCentral Mailing Address 30 Hancock St. Lexington, MA 02420 Company Description EnglishCentral aims to become the premier, web-based conversational English language learning destination for desktop and mobile users. Website http://www.englishcentral.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. … Continue reading “EnglishCentral Lands $3,500,000 New Financing Round”

Public Biotechs’ Finances Foundering, Epizyme Banks $32M, Paratek Cuts Deal with Novartis, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News

It was a busy week in the land of New England life sciences. Let’s dive in. —Luke did a massive analysis of the financial health of all the public biotech companies we follow the Boston area and the news… Well, it wasn’t good. —Cambridge, MA-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:[[ticker:VRTX]]) brought in $155 million in cash by … Continue reading “Public Biotechs’ Finances Foundering, Epizyme Banks $32M, Paratek Cuts Deal with Novartis, & More Boston-Area Life Sciences News”

Abimab Snags $8.2M in Equity

Adimab, the Lebanon, NH-based developer of technology to quickly make antibody drugs, has raised $8.2 million in a venture round, according to a regulatory filing. Adimab collected the Series D financing from Google Ventures, SV Life Sciences, Polaris Venture Partners, OrbiMed Advisors, and Borealis Ventures, as Ryan reported last week before the dollar amount became … Continue reading “Abimab Snags $8.2M in Equity”

Google Backs Adimab, PVI Sweetens E Ink Deal, Sanofi-Aventis Partners With Merrimack Pharma, & More Boston-Area Deals News

As has been the case in recent weeks, M&A news featured prominently in this week’s New England tech and life sciences deals. —Harvard spinoff Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals of Watertown, MA, raised $10 million out of a planned $29.6 million equity financing round, the company indicated in an SEC filing. Tetraphase is developing new antibiotics to treat … Continue reading “Google Backs Adimab, PVI Sweetens E Ink Deal, Sanofi-Aventis Partners With Merrimack Pharma, & More Boston-Area Deals News”

Google Ventures Backs Adimab in Antibody Discovery Business

[Updated 10/01/09 10:45 am. See below] Adimab has added Google Ventures to the roster of venture investors that are backing the Lebanon, NH-based biotech startup in its development of a fast and powerful antibody discovery platform, the company reports this morning. Google Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the Internet giant Google (NASDAQ:[[ticker:GOOG]]), led a … Continue reading “Google Ventures Backs Adimab in Antibody Discovery Business”

Virginia is for Lovers—and SAIC, MeLLmo Raises $4M, DEMOfall ’09 Comes to Town, & More San Diego BizTech News

Earlier this year, defense contractor SAIC celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding near a ballet studio in La Jolla. Now the company, which has more than 45,000 employees, has moved its headquarters from San Diego to McLean, VA. Get that and the rest of the local technology innovation news here. —Defense contractor SAIC, which … Continue reading “Virginia is for Lovers—and SAIC, MeLLmo Raises $4M, DEMOfall ’09 Comes to Town, & More San Diego BizTech News”

VigLink Garners $800,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fc30378f-d324-4f2f-821a-b2d281e5007f&Preview=1 Date 6/30/2009 Company Name VigLink Mailing Address 420 Bryant Street San Francisco, CA 94107 Company Description The company provides consumers extra income from online link sharing. Website http://www.viglink.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $800,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor First Round … Continue reading “VigLink Garners $800,000 New Funding”

23andMe Garners $2,600,000 Series B Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=811a60fc-457f-43a6-af01-eacf588221bd&Preview=1 Date 6/19/2009 Company Name 23andMe Mailing Address 1390 Shorebird Way Mountain View, CA 94043 Company Description 23andMe is focused on empowering individuals to access, explore, and better understand their genetic information, making use of recent advances in DNA analysis technologies and proprietary web-based software tools. Website http://www.23andme.com Transaction Type Venture Equity … Continue reading “23andMe Garners $2,600,000 Series B Funding”

Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs

A standing-room-only crowd gathered yesterday for Xconomy’s Forum on the Future of Mobile Innovation in New England, hosted by Microsoft at its gorgeous new New England Research and Development Center (or NERD, as Microsoft’s Reed Sturtevant called it). Google’s Rich Miner, MIT’s Sandy Pentland, and two panels’ worth of mobile entrepreneurs were on hand to … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Speakers: Exciting But Tricky Times for Mobile Entrepreneurs”

Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be”

It’s official: Google has launched a venture investing wing called Google Ventures, and Rich Miner, who is based at the company’s Cambridge, MA, office and is the former leader of its Android mobile operating system project, is one of the managing partners. A sharp-eyed reporter for Reuters broke the news about Miner’s new job on … Continue reading “Rich Miner, New Manager of Google Ventures, Calls New England “A Fertile Ecosystem…A Great Place to Be””

Android Co-Founder Miner Reportedly Tapped to Help Run New $100 Million Google Venture Fund

Rich Miner, the driving force behind Google’s Android operating system for mobile phones and a longtime leader in Massachusetts communications software circles, reportedly will join Google Ventures, a $100 million venture fund the search giant is said to be forming. Rumors of the planned venture fund have been in the air since last summer. More … Continue reading “Android Co-Founder Miner Reportedly Tapped to Help Run New $100 Million Google Venture Fund”

Makani Power Receives $5,000,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=22a4f8fd-6aab-4696-948a-e7a134b9c570&Preview=1 Date 8/22/2008 Company Name Makani Power Mailing Address 2175 Monarch Street Alameda, CA 94501 Company Description The company develops wind energy. Website http://www.makanipower.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $5,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. M&A Terms Venture Investor Google Ventures

Potter Drilling Garners $4,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=41f5eb84-ebfb-4c51-b707-de4b9c87c855&Preview=1 Date 8/19/2008 Company Name Potter Drilling Mailing Address 15 Stein Am Rhein Court Redwood City, CA 94063 Company Description Potter Drilling’s mission is to commercialize drilling technology that will lower the cost of developing Engineered Geothermal Systems (EGS). EGS has enormous potential to provide renewable baseload energy that is universally available, … Continue reading “Potter Drilling Garners $4,000,000 New Funding”