NE Tech Stock Index
Vela Systems and FRX get funding, and two startups try to organize the hub’s info in today’s NewsFlash Roundup.
• Vela Systems adds on $4.5M to first round
The Burlington-based maker of mobile field administration software for the architecture, engineering and construction agencies announced in 2007 that it had closed a $6 million Series A. The second close on that fund brings Vela Systems’ Series A to $10.5 million, and its total funding to at least $11.9 million – including a $1.4 million angel round closed in 2006.
• Green plastics startup FRX nets $6M
The two-year old Chelmsford company is developing plastic polymers that are tough and have high melting points that can be used as flame retardant additives. FRX officials said these materials do not include halogens like traditional flame retardants, making them safer for the environment. The materials can also be used as stand-alone plastics.
• Pair of web play startups serve up Hub info
Two new sites — Happn.in, and Venturefizz.com, — are offering themselves up as hubs of all things Boston. One is tracking Beantown’s Twitter memes; the other is mapping the Bay State’s high-tech economy by aggregating job postings, company profiles, news feeds and influential tech blogs in one place.
• IBM buys security software play Ounce Labs
IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM) reports it has acquired Ounce Labs Inc. for undisclosed terms. The acquisition is the Armonk, N.Y.-based computing giant’s 13th in Massachusetts since 2003.
• BBN dealt $14M DOD translation contract
The deal extends BBN’s Global Autonomous Language Exploitation (GALE) program into its fourth year out of a possible five. During the project’s first three years, BBN developed technology for the automatic translation of Arabic newswire text and broadcast news into English. Under the latest contract BBN will work to increase the accuracy of the translation of Arabic speech and text.
• Inverness Medical reports sales spike, loss narrows
Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a developer and marketer of health and diagnostic technologies for consumers, said second quarter revenue spiked 15 percent on acquisitions and an incremental jump in flu-test sales amid concerns over the H1N1 virus.
• Polaris helps pump $6M into Egnyte
Waltham-based venture capital firm Polaris Venture Partners has jumped on board as a new investor in a $6 million funding in California company Egnyte Inc., a provider of on-demand file server products.
• URI’s DeGroot wins $13M NIH grant
The University of Rhode Island reports researcher Annie DeGroot has landed a $13 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a multidisciplinary program to develop vaccines for infectious diseases
• Cerulean socks away $10M, names Ryan as new CMO
Nanotech-focused Cerulean Pharma Inc. has closed a $10 million Series B-1 funding round, featuring participation from existing investors Polaris Venture Partners of Waltham, Bessemer Venture Partners of Wellesley, and Venrock and Lux Capital, both of New York.
• Phase Forward pays $11M for Maaguzi
Phase Forward, the Waltham-based maker of data management software for clinical trials and drug safety, reports it has bought Maaguzi LLC for $11 million in cash. Maaguzi is a provider of web-based, electronic patient reported outcomes (ePRO). The company has operations in Indianapolis, Ind. and Morrisville, N.C.
• American DG Energy grabs $3.5M from private stock sale
The Waltham-based on-site utility provider of electricity, heat, cooling and hot water sold to unnamed investors 1,663,167 shares of restricted common stock at $2.10 per share. The investors have also been given the right to purchase additional shares of common stock at $3.10 per share by Dec. 18, 2009.
• UMass-PolyMedix team gets new antibiotics grant
The University of Massachusetts Amherst reports one of its researchers has landed more than $975,000 from the National Institutes of Health to develop antibiotics to be used against food-borne illnesses.
• Startup Watch: Five you should follow
Posted by Brendan Lynch
Tags: American DG Energy, Annie DeGroot, BBN Technologies, Bessemer, Cerulean Pharma, Egnyte, FRX Polymers, Happn.In, IBM, Inverness Medical, Lux Capital, Maaguzi, Ounce Labs, Phase Forward, Polaris, PolyMedix, UMass Amherst, URI, Vela Systems, Venrock, Venturefizz.com
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