Recent posts and comments

• Backupify Brings In $4.5M

  Cambridge, MA-based Backupify, an online data management startup, said today it has raised $4.5 million in Series A financing led by Avalon Ventures and General Catalyst. Lowercase Capital and First Round... Read more »

• Worry About Customers, Not Financing or Exits, Says Angel Investor Joe Caruso

  It’s been three months since Angel Boot Camp in Cambridge, MA—a seminal event in the local ecosystem of angel investors and entrepreneurs. I’m curious to follow up on what progress... Read more »

• Vela Systems Scores $6M Series B

  Burlington, MA-based Vela Systems, a mobile field software startup, said today it has raised a $6 million Series B equity financing led by new investor Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK). Existing investors... Read more »

• Apple Vs. Amazon Battle Continues: Adventures in TV Land

  [Corrected, 11:00 am. See below] First it was the iPad vs. the Kindle. Now the battleground is shifting to television.

  Apple keeps rolling out new devices to control... Read more »

• U.S. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council Quietly Holds First Meeting in DC, Starting with Steve Case-Hosted Dinner

  It’s a big day for U.S. innovation strategy. The National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship is holding its first official meeting at the Department of Commerce in Washington, DC, today—and... Read more »

• TechStars Expands to NYC

  TechStars, the seed-stage investment and mentoring program for technology startups, said today it is opening a new session in New York City, starting in January 2011. Applications from entrepreneurs are due... Read more »

• Party Like It’s 1999: 10 Old Tech Ideas That Are New Again

  Timing is everything—especially in the tech world. If you follow trends in technology, science, or business for long enough, you realize there are very few new ideas. Instead, the combination of... Read more »

• Spreadshirt CEO Eggers to Leave Firm

  Jana Eggers, the chief executive of Spreadshirt, a Leipzig, Germany-based online clothing boutique with North American headquarters in Boston, said today in a blog post that she is leaving the company.... Read more »

• 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... Read more »

• The Unica Story: Yuchun Lee’s Journey from MIT Blackjack Team to IBM Acquisition

  Because of his past, Yuchun Lee is legally barred from certain establishments. Luckily, IBM is not one of them.

  Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Unica (NASDAQ: UNCA), the... Read more »

• Why Is This Man Smiling? SCVNGR Integrates with Facebook Places, Rolls Out Rewards Partnerships

  Now we know why Seth Priebatsch was so happy about Facebook Places last week. His company, Cambridge, MA-based SCVNGR, said today it has integrated its game layer and activities platform... Read more »

• Ameresco Acquires Quantum

  Ameresco (NYSE: AMRC), the energy-efficiency services company based in Framingham, MA, said today it has agreed to acquire Renton, WA-based Quantum Engineering and Development. Financial terms of the deal... Read more »

• Don’t Confuse Getting to Market with Building a Company: Charles River Ventures’ Izhar Armony Busts Some Micro-VC Myths

  “Micro VC” and “super angel” funds are all the rage these days. These terms refer to the emerging segment of venture capital and angel capital in which a growing number... Read more »

• Cisco to Acquire ExtendMedia, Strengthen Position in Internet Video Delivery

  ExtendMedia, a video software company based in Newton, MA, is being acquired by Cisco Systems, the San Jose, CA-based networking giant. The news was announced in a press release this morning.... Read more »

• Can Microsoft Outflank Apple, Facebook, and Google? A Strategy Update

  I left Seattle just over a month ago, and people keep asking if I miss anything about it. Yes, I say. But it’s not the amazing coffee, the great food, the... Read more »

• TPI to Open Fall River Plant, Get MassCEC Grant

  TPI Composites, an Arizona-based maker of wind turbine blades, plans to open a new facility in Fall River, MA, as soon as January, according to a report in the Boston Globe... Read more »

• American Superconductor, Going Deeper Into Wind Power, Makes Moves in India and U.K.

  One of the giants of the New England cleantech scene is making waves—or should I say, wind. Devens, MA-based American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC) said today it has received a new... Read more »

• $5M for Photo Diagnostic Systems

  Danvers, MA-based Photo Diagnostic Systems, a new medical imaging startup, has raised $5 million in equity funding, according to a regulatory filing. The news was first reported by Mass High... Read more »

• Aileron Inks Deal with Roche, Worth Up to $1.1B, to Develop Stapled Peptide Drugs

  It’s a big day for Aileron Therapeutics. The Cambridge, MA-based biotech firm announced this morning it has formed a partnership with Swiss drug and diagnostics giant Roche to discover, develop,... Read more »

• 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... Read more »