Latest Posts

• Google Confirms New Madison Office, Part of $13B National Expansion

  Google confirmed this week that it will expand its satellite office in Madison, WI, as part of a $13 billion investment in data centers and offices nationwide in 2019.

  Xconomy reported Jan. 31 that the Bay Area tech giant intends to... Read more »

  Jeff Engel2/15/19

• Bio Roundup: Trump’s Scalps, Policy Pressure, NASH Crash & More

  While politicians continue to debate what kind of healthcare system is best for the American people, the mostly U.S.-based pharmaceutical industry is trying to convince those same politicians—and anyone else who will listen—that what’s good for the industry is also good... Read more »

  Alex Lash2/15/19

• Finding True Love Can Be Ruff, But This Startup Could Have Your Match

  Too many people treat pet adoption like a one-night stand.

  “You look at a dog, and see his eyes, and think he’s cute,” says Tama Lundquist, co-president of Houston PetSet, an organization that works with about 70 animal shelters in the... Read more »

  Angela Shah2/14/19

• Losing “Scalps”? Despite Pharma Fear, A Split on Trump Rx-Price Plans

  Despite angry presidential tweets and other anti-pharma rhetoric, the drug industry has benefited under the Trump administration, thanks in part to a massive corporate tax cut.

  Indeed, for nearly two decades, the industry has been able to fend off its critics... Read more »

  Ben Fidler2/12/19

• Neurogene Emerges with $68M to Advance Gene Therapies to the Clinic

  Neurogene is breaking into gene therapy with $68.5 million in new funding to support research on experimental treatments for rare, genetic brain disorders, the first of which could start human testing next year.

  So far, New York-based Neurogene has disclosed two... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan2/12/19

• San Antonio Life Science Business Acelity Cuts 260 Jobs in Texas, NC

  San Antonio—Acelity, a decades-old San Antonio life sciences company known for its wound-healing technologies and tissue-repair products, plans to lay off 200 employees at its San Antonio headquarters and another 60 in Charlotte, NC, a company spokesperson said.

  The job... Read more »

  David Holley2/11/19

• Bio Roundup: New CRISPR Feud, A NY Splash, Pharma vs. Congress & More

  If you’re into congressional spectacles, stay tuned later this month.

  A group of top biopharma executives—the full roster isn’t known yet—will testify at a Feb. 26 hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance to defend their drug pricing practices. No... Read more »

  Ben Fidler2/8/19

• Privacy Watch: Facebook Rebounds, But Privacy Concerns Accelerate

  After Facebook posted a record profit of almost $7 billion in the fourth quarter on nearly $17 billion in revenue last week, an early investor, former advisor to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and current shareholder said he’s making it a mission to... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey2/4/19

• Bio Roundup: Alzheimer’s Fail, Drug Price Plan, Gene Therapies & More

  Pharmaceutical companies typically raise prescription drug prices at the start of each year and this year was no different. The increases were the latest reminder that, despite President Trump’s fiery campaign rhetoric, the administration had done little to actually lower drug... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan2/1/19

• Retailers Brace For Possible Economic Headwinds in 2019

  Even as retailers struggle with a technology-disrupted business model and changing consumer desires, at least a generally positive overall economy and low unemployment rates seemed to keep shoppers’ wallets open.

  But a 2019 that started with stock market losses, a recently... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/30/19

• Equidate, Re-Named Forge Global, Boosts Series B to $85M

  Equidate, one of the trading platforms that help employees sell their shares in pre-IPO unicorn companies, rolled out a new name today and announced a $35 million expansion of its $50 million funding round publicized in July.

  Re-branded as Forge Global... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/29/19

• Billie, Subscription Shaving Products Service for Women, Raises $25M

  Billie, a monthly subscription service for shaving and body care products for women, has raised $25 million.

  The New York-based startup said Tuesday that the new funding round, which is being led by Goldman Sachs Private Capital Investing group, brings its... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/29/19

• Norwest VC Eyes Waves of Change in A.I., Marketing, Cloud for 2019

  Venture capital firms invest in potentially disruptive technologies with the hope of profit, then keep watch for further advances that could overtake their existing portfolio companies. All this is done while they guide startups through other external challenges such as fundraising... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/28/19

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• What $1M in Bay Area Startup Dollars Buys You in 12 Other Cities

  The cost of doing business is always on the mind of startup executives. Salaries, rent, and other expenses like software licenses can often make or break a company.

  Much of the math comes down to how much money you can raise... Read more »

  David Holley1/25/19

• Bio Roundup: Bosley’s Editas Exit, Bridge Bucks, CRISPR Crime & More

  In a week of big personnel moves, none was more surprising than Editas Medicine CEO Katrine Bosley’s departure. After guiding the CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing startup from scientific breakthrough toward the development of a potential cutting-edge medicine, slogging victoriously through a legendary patent... Read more »

  Alex Lash1/25/19

• Autonomic CEO Gavin Sherry on Mobility, China, and Data Privacy

  In a tech culture that looks toward self-driving cars as the pinnacle of mobility innovation, we’re still debating whether fully autonomous vehicles are an imminent reality for our roads or an ever-receding Shangri-La.

  But looking back from the viewpoint of 2019,... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/24/19

• Bio Roundup: Aimmune Drama, Shutdown Blues, Perlmutter Talks Cancer

  The partial government shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history, began to take a bite out of biotech this week, served with a hot side dish of confusion.

  On Tuesday, Aimmune Therapeutics (NASDAQ: AIMT) said the shutdown would delay the... Read more »

  Ben Fidler1/18/19

• What’s Your Emergency? Law Enforcement’s Increasing Interest in Tech

  Fort Worth, TX—Data analytics and visual search technologies are increasingly being used by law enforcement agencies, growth that has captured the attention of tech giant Motorola.

  The Chicago-based tech company, which has long sold narrow-band radios to law enforcement, has... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/17/19

• Merck And The Future of Immuno-Oncology: A Chat With Roger Perlmutter

  Cancer immunotherapy is, in a word, tantalizing. It might save the life of someone at death’s door and keep the cancer at bay for years. Or it might not work at all. There’s no telling what a patient will experience.

  “There’s... Read more »

  Ben Fidler1/16/19

• A VC’s Take: Global Volatility Hurts U.S. Venture Ecosystem

  As Xconomy’s editors looked back at the year just passed, we asked technology leaders to comment on the trends they’d observed in 2018, and the developments they expected in 2019. Some leaders responded with their views on the business impact of... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/15/19

• Pensa, AI-Enabled Drones Maker for Inventory Monitoring, Raises $5M

  [Updated, 1/18/19, 1:10 pm CT] Austin—The grocery store shelf has yet to be plugged into the increasingly digital food supply chain. Instead, inventory is typically tallied by employees by hand in a slow and laborious process.

  “It’s one... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/13/19

• E-Commerce Startups, Legacy Stores Grapple With Changing Retail Scene

  The changing of the guard transforming retail is accelerating.

  Sears, the nation’s first “everything store,” is teetering toward bankruptcy after years of stagnation as industry leaders prepare to gather in New York at the National Retail Federation’s annual conference. Yet, new... Read more »

  Angela Shah1/11/19

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• Tech Companies Share Shutdown Losses, With Little Chance of Back Pay

  As federal agency employees miss their first paychecks today due to the partial government shutdown that began Dec. 22, federal contractors and their workers—including technology professionals—face a loss of income that they may never recover.

  Big technology companies such as Oracle... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/11/19

• Bio Roundup: #JPM19 Notes, Loxo Buyout, Black Diamond’s Cash & More

  Diabetes drugs are Eli Lilly’s bread and butter, but the pharmaceutical giant hasn’t lost its appetite for cancer drugs. It grabbed hold of a few more this week by betting $8 billion on Loxo Oncology.

  Loxo (NASDAQ: LOXO) has made... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan1/11/19

• Notes from the JPM19 Vortex: Price Apocalypse, Celgene Fallout & More

  [Editor’s note: Ben Fidler and Sarah de Crescenzo coauthored this report.] It is here, and then it is gone. But by the time everyone staggers to the airport or back home to sleep in their own beds, the annual... Read more »

  Alex Lash1/11/19

• Uncertainty Grows for Biotech as Government, FDA Shutdown Drags On

  The partial government shutdown could soon become the longest shutdown in history, and biotech firms that have submitted regulatory filings are facing greater uncertainty about their future plans. More than 40 percent of FDA workers and thousands at the SEC are... Read more »

  Corie Lok1/10/19

• FAANG, Public Trust, Valuations, in 2019: The Read from Menlo Ventures

  The market caps of some of the most successful tech titans reach as high as $1 trillion. Yet in 2018, perceptions about these dominant companies often reflected uneasiness and doubt—and for some, so did their stock performance.

  Maybe the mood shift... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/10/19

• Big Deals, Life Sciences Push U.S. VC in 2018 to Dot-Com Boom Levels

  [Updated 1/18/19, 3:27 pm. See below.] Venture capital investments rose in 2018 to levels not seen since the heady days of 2000, the last year U.S. startups collectively took in more than $100 billion.

  That’s according to PitchBook and... Read more »

  Sarah de Crescenzo1/10/19

• Beta Bionics Secures $63M as AI-Driven “Pancreas” Heads to Key Tests

  Beta Bionics, a startup developing a medical device that monitors and manages blood sugar levels in diabetes patients, has closed $63 million to back late-stage clinical tests of its AI-powered technology.

  The cash tops off a Series B round of funding... Read more »

  Frank Vinluan1/9/19

• The Power Combo of A.I. Devices with Cloudlets Comes with Cyber Risks

  When we have a chance to view it from a distance, the year 2018 may be seen as a period when innovations in a number of technological fields came together to transform not only the future of computing, but also the... Read more »

  Bernadette Tansey1/8/19

• Microsoft, Kroger Advance Grocery Tech to Fend Off Amazon

  From the cloud on down to the floors of supermarkets, the rivalry between Microsoft and Amazon spans many sectors in software, gadgets, and increasingly, retail.

  The Seattle-area tech giants are battling—both with one another, and other competitors—to further digitize grocery shopping.... Read more »

  Jeff Buchanan1/7/19

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