Summer is over, people are settled in their new digs, and students are back in school. On top of all the changes and new faces in academia and on the streets, the Boston business and technology scene is also perpetually changing. Nothing new there, though, as Boston’s ever-evolving biz/tech landscape reflects its place as a national leader in innovation. This week we take a look at the latest local funding announcements, personnel changes in the non-profit sector, new hardware by a prominent Boston startup, and a new mobile game for fantasy sports nerds. Everyone here at BostInno hopes you enjoy this week’s wrap and maybe even learn something. As always, have a great weekend.
Viewfinity Closes $8.5M Series C Funding Round
Waltham’s Viewfinity announced on Tuesday that it raised $8.5 million for its series C funding round. Viewfinity is an application and system management provider for desktops, laptops, and servers that allows businesses to meet compliance mandates, reduce security risks, and lower IT costs. Basically, Viewfinity’s solutions afford users whose systems require upper-tier permissions to control end user and privileged user rights for apps and systems. The funding comes from Longworth Venture Partners, Giza Venture Capital, and JK&B Capital. In a written statement, co-founder and CEO Leonid Shtilman said, “The funding comes after four years of triple-digit new customer acquisitions, major product releases and a 95 percent customer renewal rate.”
Swap.com Acquired by Finnish Company Netcycler After Failing in Boston
Boston’s Swap.com–a website that was intended trading things like electronics, movies, collectables, and clothing– announced on Wednesday that it was acquired by Finnish counterpart Netcycler. Founded in 2004, the company was put in the hands of former CEO Jeff Bennett in 2010. Bennett proceeded to rebrand the company (formerly SwapTree) and was able to raise a $6 million round of funding. But the item-swapping website never took hold and the company was acquired by Netcycler back in April, though the announcement came only two days ago. Bennett and CTO Steve Cross also left the company in April. Swap.com is no longer housed in its previous South End office. The terms of the deal are undisclosed. Netcycler, with only $1.5 million in venture backing, has yet to arrive in the U.S. but told its users that more would come in the fall.
Executive VP of Physicians Interactive Devin Paullin Joins Health eVillages Advisory Board
On Tuesday, mobile health non-profit Health eVillages announced that Devin Paullin would join its advisory board. Paullin is the executive vice president of Physicians Interactive, a leading provider of online and mobile clinical resources. In 2010, Paullin was named one of PharmaVOICE’S “Top 100 Most Inspirational Healthcare Leaders in the Life Science Industry.” He also brings nationally recognized healthcare marketing and strategic product development expertise, including helping science and tech companies understand and adapt to the national healthcare reform. He said of his appointment in the press release, “Health eVillages is an inspirational example of what we can do on our best day, providing the tools and the information so critical to patient care, yet so largely unavailable for those in need around the globe. I am humbled and honored to be joining the Advisory Board alongside so many other accomplished executives in the healthcare industry, and am fully committed to contributing to Health eVillages’s development.”
Sand 9 Snags Additional $3M in Series C
Sand 9, Inc., a precision timing product producer out of Cambridge, announced in a Wednesday press release that it has secured another $3 million for its series C round of funding. The additional $3 million comes from global telecommunications giant Ericsson, headquartered in Sweden. Sand 9’s micro-electromechanical system devices are superior to the market-dominated quartz crystal devices in that they offer greater immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and vibration in combination with low noise and high stability, subsequently ensuring precision timing. As noted in the press release, timing products essentially provide the ‘heartbeat’ for all electronic applications. Also in the release, Sand 9 CEO Vince Graziani said of the investment, “Ericsson has a well-earned reputation as one of the world leaders in communications infrastructure and base station equipment. Their investment in Sand 9 validates our emphasis on MEMS timing products that deliver high robustness, without sacrificing performance.” Ericsson’s investment raises Sand 9’s series C to $23 million. The company has raised a total of $49 million in venture funding.
LevelUp Announces NFC Compatible Hardware
On Thursday, LevelUp announced that they’ve updated their hardware to support NFC transactions. For those who don’t know, NFC (near field communication) is what allows devices to establish a connection by bringing them in close proximity or even touching them. LevelUp had previously run on scanning QR codes, and this will still take place, but the idea behind NFC is the new technology allows for an easier and more universal transaction. The new hardware is available now free of charge and will be implemented in all users’ devices over time. However, the user still has the option of scanning QR code if that is what they prefer. In the press release, Chief Ninja Seth Priebatsch said “It’s always been super important to us to make LevelUp work for any and every consumer on the planet,” said Seth Priebatsch, Chief Ninja at LevelUp. “Our goal is to have LevelUp be the universal way to pay with whatever phone you may have, at whatever place you may be, whatever carrier you’re on, whatever card you want to use and whatever technology you prefer. For us, that means being as open as possible to both consumer technologies and merchant point-of-sale systems to make the experience as simple as possible.” LevelUp is a property of SCVNGR, a $40 million venture backed company by Google Ventures, Balderton Capital, Continental Advisors, Highland Capital, Transmedia Capital, and T-Venture.
Fantasy Sports Startup DraftKings Debuts First Mobile Game
With the Patriots suiting up for their season opener this weekend, Boston fantasy football fanatics will be happy to learn that along with the 99.9% chance that Tom Brady will throw for close to a billion yards, fantasy startup DraftKings has launched its first mobile game. The Android, iPhone, and Facebook supported game–called Big Baller–allows users to draft new players every day, compete with friends, the Big Baller community, and the app itself. Instead of staking real cash, Big Baller uses virtual currency to keep score. Boston Seed Capital venture partner Peter Blacklow said in the press release that “Big Baller is the first mobile fantasy sports game, designed to provide a complete mobile gaming experience. Traditional fantasy sports offer full playing experiences solely on PCs, with the mobile device as an interface useful only to check live scoring or tweak rosters. This complete mobile gaming experience for fantasy players opens the door to a new category of features and fantasy sports game mechanics.” The app is free to download on iOS and Android.
