TechStars Boston, the high-tech incubator program located in Cambridge, has finalized its roster of 12 startups. The program, which attracted 600 applications globally and began March 17 for the 12 finalists, runs through the middle of June. Katie Rae, managing director of TechStars Boston and 2011 Mass High Tech, Women to Watch honoree, said in an email that the team... Read more
Category: Katie Rae, Mass High Tech, TechStars BostonCambridge IPO candidate Zipcar Inc. this morning issued a warning to potential investors following the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, noting that the venture-backed company’s car-sharing operations depend on a stable supply of vehicles and vehicle parts manufactured in Japan. In an amendment this morning to its registration for an initial... Read more
Category: Mass High Tech, ZipcarI hear the question all of the time, ‘Is it worth it to go to SXSW?’ and I believe the answer varies from person to person. If you are a startup, you can be one of the hundreds of startups launching a product and hoping to generate a tremendous amount of buzz. If you are just looking for an opportunity to meet new people, check out the latest in tech or see... Read more
Category: Cort Johnson, Mass High TechPaul English and Biz Stone have several things in common. These Massachusetts entrepreneurs are co-founders of prominent Internet technology companies – Kayak and Twitter, respectively. Each company has raised hundreds of millions in venture capital. Each is one of the most popular sites on the web in its class. Each is dancing with behemoths – Facebook... Read more
Category: Biz Stone, Mass High Tech, Paul EnglishBoston venture capital firm Sigma Partners is splitting up, managing director Robert Davoli has confirmed. Sigma’s East Coast and West Coast general partners are each out raising a new, independent fund, Davoli said, confirming the accuracy of a report published yesterday by Fortune Magazine. Citing unnamed sources, Fortune had reported that the East Coast... Read more
Category: Bob Davoli, Mass High Tech, Sigma PartnersWhat are some of the rumors you’ve heard about SXSW? There are more parties in a day than a Saturday at ZooMass Amherst? Everyone and their brother is trying to be the startup of the conference like Foursquare and Twitter have been in prior years? Your BAC won’t drop below .08 during the duration of your stay? Well, if that is your perception of SXSW... Read more
Category: Cort Johnson, Mass High Tech, SXSWLarry Hryb is a son of Connecticut who happens to be the Xbox Live director of programming for Microsoft Corp. Returning to PAX East for a second year from his current home in Washington state, Hryb – much better known by his Xbox gamertag of Major Nelson – talked to Mass High Tech about the game industry in the Bay State and the future of gaming... Read more
Category: Major Nelson, Mass High TechScvngr Inc. today announced a pilot project that puts it in the race to follow Groupon Inc. for a piece of the daily deals market. The Cambridge company, which raised $15 million in January with new investor Balderton Capital and existing backers Highland Capital Partners and Google Ventures, is spending about $1 million per city to launch its new service, called LevelUp... Read more
Category: Mass High Tech, SCVNGRThe MIT $100K business plan competition has named the semi-finalists for this year’s contest, after scouring through a record number of entries, the Cambridge school reports. In addition to the 25 semi-finalists, an additional 25 runner-up teams will have a chance to compete for a slot as a Wild Card entrant. Now all teams enter the mentoring phase of the competition... Read more
Category: Mass High Tech, MIT $100KFounded by TellMe Networks founder Angus Davis in 2009, Swipely originally proposed to be a kind of Mint.com for compulsive sharers, letting users post reviews of products they'd bought. As it turns out, Davis said in an interview, "Most people don't like reviews." Swipely is planning to announce a complete makeover today, shifting its focus... Read more
Category: Angus Davis, Mass High Tech, Swipely