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Articles by Ben Elowitz
Get Out There and Find Out: My Conversation with Sujal Patel
Sujal Patel is the co-founder and CEO of Nautilus Biotechnology (Nasdaq: NAUT), and previously founded Isilon Systems, the data storage company he took public before EMC acquired it for $2.25 billion. Over his companies, he’s raised over half a billion in venture capital. You’d think that in order to run Nautilus, a company that is building a next-generation platform for protein analysis, you’d need a strong background in biology and biotechnology.
SEO Is Dead, And The New King Is ‘SMO’
Ben Elowitz (@elowitz) is co-founder and CEO of Wetpaint, a web publisher, and author of the Digital Quarters blog. Prior to Wetpaint, Elowitz co-founded Blue Nile, the online retailer of luxury goods. He is also an angel investor in various media and e-commerce companies. Over the past five years, Web publishing has been so heavily dominated by search engine optimization (SEO) that, to many publishing executives, the right keywords have become far more important than their sites
The Tough Questions You Must Discuss Before You Take the Money | Xconomy
If all goes well, the day will come when just one small thing will stand between you and funding for your startup: your signature on a term sheet. Most founders quickly sign on the line and get back to the business of growing their business. Smart ones set aside the paperwork, grab their business partners, and sit down together to talk. What comes next isn’t easy, but it’s essential.
The State of Cybersecurity on Dec. 8: Here's the Agenda | Xconomy
2017 is shaping up to be a dramatic year indeed. In technology, business, and government, one of the most crucial problems to work on is cybersecurity. The current cyber threat landscape affects everything from corporate and consumer data to the critical infrastructure our society runs on.
Sluggish Year for IPOs, But Signs Abound of Post-Election Surge | Xconomy
Uncertainty surrounding this year’s presidential election has kept U.S. IPO activity at a sluggish pace—so sluggish, in fact, that this year could end with the fewest IPOs and the lowest level of capital raised since 2009, according to PitchBook data for the first nine months of 2016. But this is no time to trash talk the IPO market, according to Kathleen Smith of Renaissance Capital, a Greenwich, CT, firm that manages IPO-focused Exchange Traded Funds.
In Trump’s America, Does Immigration Remain an Engine for Growth? | Xconomy
There are plenty of constituencies looking ahead to Donald Trump’s presidency with trepidation, but perhaps none more so than immigrants. The words inscribed on the Statue of Liberty may call for the rest of the world to send us their huddled masses yearning to breathe free, but some in the American electorate apparently feel differently.
Arrowhead, Microbes, Diabetes, & More: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Xconomy
Stay current on the latest happenings in Wisconsin’s innovation community with these headlines: —Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals, which is based in Pasadena, CA, but houses its R&D operations in Madison, WI, provided updates on some of its drug candidates and development programs at two recent industry conferences.
Voice-Analysis Software Firm Cogito Gets $15M Round Led by OpenView | Xconomy
Cogito has drawn another investment in its voice-analysis software business, to the tune of $15 million. The Series B funding round comes almost exactly a year after the Boston-based firm closed a $5.5 million Series A round. By our count, Cogito has raised around $25 million total from investors and over $5 million in grants, according to SEC filings and past interviews. OpenView Venture Partners led the new funding round. Previous backers Romulus Capital and Salesforce Ventures also contributed.
M-CAM Seeks to Bolster Michigan’s Advanced Manufacturing Workforce | Xconomy
During the turbulent election season we all recently endured, a big topic of conversation was trade—specifically how certain policies such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have harmed the domestic manufacturing sector and hollowed out the middle class. Among the many campaign promises made by President-elect Donald Trump was a pledge to renegotiate some of these trade agreements to help bring manufacturing jobs back from overseas.
Spark Nabs $1B, Uber Challenger Gets $10.5M, & More Boston VC News | Xconomy
November has been a busy month for venture funding news in the Boston area. Spark Capital has $1 billion more to make tech bets, investors pumped $10.5 million into a local Uber competitor, the much-hyped robot startup Jibo sucked in more money, and Web optimization firm Yottaa raised more funds and hired a new CEO. Read on for details on these and other recent announcements.
PERQ Raises $1.7M Seed Round, Plans to Conquer New Verticals Next | Xconomy
The advertising world has changed a lot since 2001, thanks mostly to the advent of new marketing technologies and changes in the ways people interact with brands. Social media has fundamentally altered customer engagement—in 2001, we didn’t have Friendster, let alone Facebook—and many of the companies that thrive today have a deep understanding of digital interaction.
Genomenon, Brio Device Score $400K from U-M's Biomedical Seed Fund | Xconomy
The University of Michigan’s Monroe-Brown Biomedical Seed Fund today announced inaugural investments in Genomenon and Brio Device, two biotech startups spun out of the university. Genomenon, a company developing diagnostics and discovery software to automate the organization of genomic sequencing data, received $250,000.
Has Technology Made Election Polls More Accurate? Not Yet | Xconomy
Statistical models, simulations, social media outreach, and the capacity to analyze big data sets—you’d think by now that technology would have delivered election forecasts that more reliably predicted Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential race. But most pollsters—and the people who relied on them—were gobsmacked by Trump’s upset wins, not only in battleground states but also in regions thought to be safely in the Clinton camp. There were exceptions.
Milwaukee Wine Subscription Startup Now Also Shipping Cheese | Xconomy
Bright Cellars appears to have little difficulty adjusting to its surroundings. The monthly wine service, which started in Boston but moved to Milwaukee last year, says it is now also shipping boxes of artisan cheeses to customers’ doorsteps. The cheeses are all made in the Badger State, Bright Cellars says. “Wisconsin has some of the best cheese in the world,” says Katie Slavin, a business analyst at Bright Cellars who also serves as its manager of cheese operations, in a prepared statement.
Massachusetts Builds Diverse Edtech Sector, Still Seeks Big Wins | Xconomy
Massachusetts has long been known as a hub for both software and education. Now, a growing cluster of companies has emerged at the intersection of those two industries—but the local education technology sector seems to be searching for an identity. A recent study of Massachusetts businesses found more than 400 education-related companies that employ at least 20,000 people in the Bay State.
Clinton and Trump Platform Analysis: Which Is Best for Education Companies? | Xconomy
With election day less than a week away, voters are trying to imagine what turns the country might take under each of the presidential hopefuls. Tech entrepreneurs are likely considering how hospitable the new leadership might be to their specific industry sectors. Educational technology is one field worth examining, even though education hasn’t been a front-burner issue in the final months of the campaign.
Northeast WI Angel Investor Group Launches to Create, Fund Spinoffs | Xconomy
You could call Al Zeise a spin doctor, though not in the traditional sense of the term. Throughout his career, Zeise has proven adept at corporate spinoffs. Over the past two decades, the entrepreneur has founded or co-founded at least 10 companies in the Green Bay, WI, area.
Xconomy Intersect: New Speakers Added as Discount Rate Ends | Xconomy
Here are three big things to know about Xconomy Intersect, our next Seattle event coming up Dec. 8: Microsoft’s chief speech researcher, Xuedong Huang, whose team just set a new record for accuracy in machine transcription, is one of the new speakers joining our outstanding lineup of entrepreneurs, investors, and thinkers. Kirk Washington, a longtime cleantech venture capital investor with experience on both sides of the 49th parallel, is another.
New Leader at Intel Capital Adjusts Strategy as Global Summit Opens | Xconomy
Intel Capital has invested $38 million in 12 technology startups since July, highlighting its venture investment focus on innovations in self-driving cars and machine vision, the Internet of Things, sports and health, drones, and virtual reality.
Austin Drone Software Startup Hangar Collects $6.5M in Seed Funding | Xconomy
Austin—Hangar, a startup that makes software to help businesses better collect and analyze data from drone flights, has raised $6.5 million in an early stage funding round. New York-based Lux Capital is the sole investor in the financing. Hangar joins other satellite, drone and robotics technology investments in the firm’s portfolio.
As China Invests in Robotics, iRobot and Other Companies Eye Deals | Xconomy
China emerged as a manufacturing powerhouse over the past few decades, thanks in large part to a deep pool of cheap labor. Now, the country is investing heavily in factory automation, and Boston-area robotics companies and their allies smell opportunity. Executives from 11 New England robotics firms will travel to several cities in China later this month on a trade mission aimed at sparking business deals and more technology collaboration between the U.S. and China.
Boston Tech Deals: Nokia, Altiostar, Gridco, Virtudent, & More | Xconomy
October has been a busy month for venture capital investments and acquisitions in the Boston area. The latest deals include an acquisition by Nokia, another big round for telecom technology startup Altiostar, and a seed round for a telehealth startup. Read on for details. —Nokia bought Cambridge, MA-based Eta Devices for an undisclosed price.
Under Former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, Purdue Pumping Out Startups | Xconomy
[Editor’s note: This is part of a series of stories examining tech transfer and innovation initiatives at Indiana colleges and universities.] During the 2012-2013 school year, Purdue University counted eight new startups built on technology licensed from the school. The next year, that number tripled.
San Diego Startups Raise $287M in Third Quarter, and Top 10 Deals | Xconomy
Venture Capital investments in San Diego startups fell by roughly a third during the three months that ended September 30, according to data released recently by Seattle-based PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. VC firms invested $280.6 million in 49 startups in San Diego County during the third quarter, according to a breakout of data provided by PitchBook as part of the inaugural “Venture Monitor” report.
Goldman Sachs, BofA Back Context Relevant, Use Its Analytics Tools | Xconomy
Context Relevant CEO Stephen Purpura is spending so much time with financial services customers in New York City that he got a condo there. The attention is paying off: Purpura’s Seattle-based company is raising $13.5 million from some of the biggest names on Wall Street—Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, New York Life, Bloomberg Beta, and Formation 8.
Roundup: Purdue Patents, Knight Challenge, Remy International, More | Xconomy
Here’s a look at innovation news from around Indiana: —Last week, the Purdue Research Foundation announced that in 2016, the number of startups spun out of university-owned intellectual property had grown to a record-breaking 27. This year’s class was bigger than any of the previous years, “contributing to Purdue’s third straight year of record-breaking startup and commercialization activities,” the university said in a press release. Purdue spun out 25 startups in 2015, and 24 the previous year.
Amazon Pledges $10M to Expand UW Computer Science Program | Xconomy
The University of Washington is $10 million closer to its goal of a significantly expanded computer science program thanks to a gift from Amazon announced Thursday. The Seattle-based tech giant’s commitment to the $110 million public-private fundraising campaign for a new computer science building is its largest local contribution yet.
Healthtech Startup Curo Opens First U.S. Office in Ann Arbor | Xconomy
Curo Technologies, a Melbourne, Australia-based healthtech startup, announced this week that it is opening its first U.S. office in Ann Arbor, MI. Steve Hopkins, who will run the Ann Arbor office, said Curo’s decision to expand to Southeast Michigan makes good business sense, as it allows the company to tap into the area’s technical talent while maintaining relatively low operating costs.
Exact Sciences, Rockwell, & Gender Gaps: This Week’s WI Watchlist | Xconomy
Stay on top of the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community, starting with these recent headlines: —Madison-based Exact Sciences (NASDAQ: EXAS) said that Cologuard, the company’s stool-based DNA test for colorectal cancer, is now included in a set of quality measures for colorectal cancer screening. The group of quality measures, known as the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set, is published by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Kenji App Aims to Match Small Businesses and Attorneys for Hire | Xconomy
Ken Minturn, the founder of Indianapolis-based Kenji, says one of the biggest challenges facing attorneys is finding new business that matches their expertise, and then getting paid on time for the work they do. Complicating matters is the legal industry’s resistance to digital innovation. Minturn says lawyers lag behind other professions when it comes to technological advances, and nobody is sure why. “The question is always what will force attorneys to adopt new technology,” he points out.
Investors Bid Up Apptio Shares in Market Debut | Xconomy
Apptio priced its shares at $16, raising $96 million in an initial public offering. The Bellevue, WA-based IT company’s shares, trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol APTI, were up about 42 percent in early afternoon trading Friday. The IPO price was above the $13 to $15 anticipated range the company disclosed last week. It has also granted its underwriters a 30-day option to purchase 900,000 additional shares at the offering price.
Pillar Hires Hodges as Boston VCs Build Community, Boost Diversity | Xconomy
It’s been a dynamic year for the Boston venture capital scene. Several new tech-focused funds have launched, some putting new spins on the traditional VC model. And, it’s worth noting, the firms are assembling diverse leadership teams. The latest example comes from Pillar, which today announced a new partner, Sarah Hodges. Hodges (pictured above) previously co-founded Boston leadership development firm Intelligent.ly.
When Self-Driving Cars Turn Corner, Other Autos Become Irrelevant | Xconomy
How quickly they take over the automobile market will largely depend on how soon consumers are willing to trust the cars, governments are able to manage the sector, and insurers are able to assess the risk, says Peter Stone, a professor who works in the artificial intelligence laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin’s computer science department. How much it costs to implement effective technology will matter, too, Stone says.
Are Enterprise or Consumer Startups Best VC Bets? One VC’s View | Xconomy
When Shawn Carolan joined Menlo Ventures just after earning his MBA at Stanford in 2002, he found the venture capital firm “fairly enterprise focused.” But Carolan, a trained engineer who says he loves gadgets and gizmos, was most interested in tech products aimed at consumers. Over the next decade, the Stanford recruit managed to give the firm some compelling reasons for expanding its interest in consumer startups, based on results from his investment bets.
Epic, Astronautics, Virent, & More: This Week’s Wisconsin Watchlist | Xconomy
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Keep up with the latest news from Wisconsin’s innovation community with these recent headlines: —Judy Faulkner, founder and CEO of Verona-based Epic Systems, revealed to Healthcare IT News that half of her company’s operating expenses go toward research and development. That’s ahead of competing electronic health records software vendors such as Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX), Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN), and Cerner (NASDAQ: CERN).
By David Cohen Verified, Alexander Muse, Ben Elowitz, Andy Palmer, Alan Sachs, Chris Rizik, Andy Sack
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BioXconomy
Everbridge Stock Jumps Over 20 Percent in Wall Street Debut | Xconomy
Everbridge’s first day as a publicly traded company is in the books: Wall Street investors bid up its stock by more than 20 percent. The Burlington, MA-based company (NASDAQ: EVBG) closed at $15.25 per share. That’s 27 percent higher than the company’s initial $12 pricing last night, and it’s nearly 24 percent above the $12.30 price at the opening bell Friday morning. Everbridge, which sells emergency communications software, is the second Boston-area tech company to go public in 2016.
Rent College Pads Raises $1M for Tools to Help Students Find Housing | Xconomy
Milwaukee-based Rent College Pads announced it has raised $1 million from investors to fuel the growth of its technology, which according to the startup’s website is active at 46 colleges and universities across 20 states. Rent College Pads, which focuses on helping users find off-campus housing, says that more than 2 million students have found a place to live using its technology since its launch in 2012.
Dallas-based Peloton Raises $52.4M for Kidney Cancer Drug Candidate | Xconomy
Dallas—Peloton Therapeutics, which is developing small molecule cancer therapies, announced Thursday it has raised $52.4 million in a Series D financing round. Investors included Foresite Capital Management, a new investor, and previous backers Remeditex, The Column Group, Tichenor Ventures, Topspin Fund, and Nextech Invest.
SAP Doubles Down, Commits Another $1B to Sapphire Ventures | Xconomy
Silicon Valley venture capital firm Sapphire Ventures, whose ancestry traces back to the former corporate venture investing arm of German software giant SAP, said today it has secured $1 billion in capital from SAP. That adds up to $2.4 billion in assets under management for Palo Alto, CA-based Sapphire—-all pledged by SAP SE (NYSE: SAP), its only investor (limited partner) so far.
Spurred by New Law, ConsortiEX Snags $2.5M for Supply Chain Software | Xconomy
In 2012, a fungal meningitis outbreak at the New England Compounding Center, a pharmacy in Framingham, MA, ultimately claimed the lives of 64 patients. The cause of their deaths is believed to be contaminated steroid injections they received from the pharmacy, according to reporting by Newsweek and other publications. The following year, President Barack Obama signed the Drug Quality and Security Act.
Boston Tech Watch: GE, PillPack, Tech IPOs, Lola, Amazon, & More | Xconomy
This week in Boston tech, we’re tracking the prospects for the state’s second tech IPO of the year, GE’s investments in 3D printing, new investments in pharmacy technology, software talent on the move, and more. Read on for details. —Online pharmacy and medication-management firm PillPack has raised $31.1 million from investors in a round that could reach $40 million or higher, according to an SEC filing.
Detroit in Tech Aims to Boost Diversity, Connect Startups to Resources | Xconomy
A new project to support minority entrepreneurs by highlighting their work and connecting them with the resources they need to grow their companies has launched in the Motor City. Detroit in Tech, a collaboration between Grand Circus, Google for Entrepreneurs, and Code2040, seeks to even the playing field in a growing ecosystem.
New Cybersecurity Alliance Continues Trend of Industry Collaboration | Xconomy
For the cybersecurity industry, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of alliances. There have been a series of tie-ups, as security-tech companies try to boost their businesses and amplify their products via acquisitions. IBM bought Resilient Systems, Cisco Systems snapped up CloudLock, Symantec acquired Blue Coat, and Carbon Black purchased Confer, to name a few.
Julep CEO Disputes Attorney General’s Account of Settlement | Xconomy
Julep Beauty settled a lawsuit brought by the Washington state attorney general stemming from its recurring monthly makeup subscriptions—which it enticed customers to sign up for with a free or discounted initial shipment, but which some customers had trouble cancelling. The settlement was announced by the attorney general’s office Tuesday.
Indy Startup PoliticalBank Aims to Unite Voters and Candidates Online | Xconomy
The founders of Indianapolis startup PoliticalBank believe they’ve found a way to make the democratic process a bit more democratic. Billing itself as the first online community of its kind to bring candidates and voters together, PoliticalBank.com is a free, nonpartisan website.
IN Roundup: The Oscars of Invention, State's Top Companies & More | Xconomy
Here’s a look at recent innovation news from around Indiana: —Purdue University researcher Vilas Pol leads a team that has been named a finalist for the 2016 R&D 100 award, which a press release described as “the Oscars of invention.” Pol, who is a chemical engineering professor, helped developed a process to convert used packing peanuts into carbon for battery electrodes and a technology to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to reduce climate change.
Dallas’s Health Wildcatters Welcomes New Group of Health IT Startups | Xconomy
Dallas—Health Wildcatters, the Dallas accelerator geared toward supporting healthcare innovations, reported its latest cohort of 10 startups. The class features startups that are developing technologies to affect mental health, improve clinical trials, and create a Priceline-type website for medical imaging centers, among other needs. The companies hail from around the United States, but several of the entrepreneurs are immigrants.
Boston Tech Watch: Dell-EMC, Wayfair, Monster, GE, Harvard, & More | Xconomy
There was lots of Boston-area tech news during the past few days, but we’ve got it covered. Read on for details on the closing of the Dell-EMC deal, trouble for Monster’s proposed sale, a pair of big funding rounds, a GE donation to MIT, Bridj’s robotics play, and more. —It’s finally happening: Dell’s proposed merger with EMC (NYSE: EMC) is expected to close on Sept. 7, after receiving regulatory approval in China. The deal, first announced last October, is the largest tech tie-up in history.
With Cash From Generac & Others, Tank Utility Makes Fuel Tanks Smart | Xconomy
Over the past few years, a significant number of the meter devices that measure electricity, water, and natural gas usage have been connected to the Internet. Now, fuel tanks are getting smart, too. Tank Utility is one of the companies that makes devices that remotely monitor the fuel level in propane and heating oil tanks, collecting and sharing that data with fuel distributors and their customers via cloud-based software and mobile apps.
Panel: Healthtech In Madison Is Expanding Beyond Patient Records | Xconomy
Some national business publications have begun to recognize Madison, WI, as a market for software professionals that punches above its weight. One example was Forbes ranking the city fifth on the magazine’s 2014 list of “Cities Winning The Battle For Information Jobs.” Healthcare IT stands out as a particular strength of the area, thanks in large part to Epic Systems, the patient records software giant based in Verona, WI.
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