Boston Globe columnist, Scott Kirsner, is reporting that 2009 IDEAS Boston Speaker Helen Greiner has raised first round venture capital to the tune of $1.75 million for her start-up robotics firm, CyPhy (formerly The Droid Works, Inc.). Typically, VCs shy away from government contracting businesses but the partnership between General Catalyst and the Framingham based robot shop appears to be an exception for two reasons.
Following the sale of BBN Technologies, General Catalyst is confident that it has gained the relationships and knowledge required to help build such a company into a successful enterprise. Dr. Greiner, as well, has demonstrated significant business savvy through the explosive revenues of iRobot and in her work with the Robotics Technology Corporation, forming strategic alliances and guiding the evolution of the robotics industry as a whole.
Managing director at General Catalyst and the newest board member at CyPhy, John Simon, addressed the investment. Simon asks himself: “Do we get inspired by an entrepreneur? Can they paint a vision that we get excited about, that this could be something big and game changing?”
Seriously, who doesn’t get excited about flying robots?
See Helen Greiner’s recent IDEAS Boston presentation at http://www.ideasboston.com/speakers/2009/helen_greiner/ and let us know what you think!
Hyperlink:
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2010/02/general_catalyst_invests_in_cy.html
As much fun as it sounds, smashing atoms is no picnic. Harvard physicist, author, and 2005 IDEAS Boston Speaker Lisa Randall recently chronicled the tribulations and promise of the Large Haldron Collider for Discover Magazine.
The LHC opened in September 2008 to international scientific fanfare and a “smashingly” successful calibration sequence. So far, further experiments have been derailed by a series of technical difficulties. Once it is fully on-line, the 27 kilometer accelerator, which boasts seven times the energy of the most powerful present collider, will begin its search for new information on the atomic composition of our universe.
The unprecedented scale of the LHC is essential to Dr. Randall’s work in cutting-edge string theory, where she is plotting the course for a voyage into the realm of dark matter, super symmetry, and extra dimensions.
2008 Speaker Susan Athey on FastCompany’s 2009 list of Most Creative People in Business
When a Harvard professor and chief economist for Microsoft Corporation beats out musicians, movie producers, fashion moguls and designers for creativity, you know that she is doing something exceptional. 2008 IDEAS Boston speaker Susan Athey, has done just that by coming in at #18 on FastCompany’s 2009 list of The 100 Most Creative People in Business. At 38, she is applying her exciting research to the design of more efficient auction-based markets. Athey’s contributions to the fields of industrial organization, econometrics, and microeconomic theory won her the 2007 Clark Award for the most accomplished American economist under 40.
Mass High Tech: The Journal of New England Technology has named IDEAS Boston 2004 speaker Rodney Brooks as one of their 2009 All-Stars. Brooks, the CTO of Heartland Robotics, is using robots to revolutionize manual labor in the same way the personal computer changed office work. Dr. Brooks, also a Co-founder of consumer and military robot maker iRobot, is being recognized as a pioneer in the robotics industry. See his IDEAS Boston presentation on advancements in artificial intelligence at http://ideasboston.com/speakers/2004/rodney_brooks/ .
Since inspiring us with his personal journey to become one of the founders of the green chemistry movement, 2007 IDEAS Boston speaker John Warner has created a non-profit organization, Beyond Benign, dedicated to green chemistry and sustainable science education. Beyond Benign is holding an open house on Thursday, November 5th at 5:30 PM at their facilities in Wilmington, MA. The night will feature activities that demonstrate state-of-the-art green chemistry technologies, activities that merge art and science, an art exhibit, and a talk by Dr. Warner. Go to www.beyondbenign.org for details.
We’re delighted to see that 2005 IDEAS speaker Paula Johnson is being honored by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts at their October 29 Leading Women Awards Breakfast. Dr. Johnson is a cardiologist and Chief of the Division of Women’s Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. At the same event, IDEAS Boston Advisory Board member J. Keith Motley, Chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Boston, will be honored as a Leading Man in a Supporting Role. Information at events@girlscoutseasternmass.org. Congratulations to both!
We see that IDEAS Boston 2008 speaker Martin Wattenberg was recently named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 Under 40″ list. Anyone who has heard this brilliant mathematician, whose developed amazing systems for visualizing data, would agree that Martin is someone to watch. If you missed his presentation in 2008, you can find the web video of it among our database of past conference speakers here: http://ideasboston.com/speakers. Be sure to check it out!
We were delighted to be able to film IDEAS Boston 2009 at the brand new Venture Development Center at UMass Boston. VDC Director Bill Brah and his staff were terrific hosts, and our job was made easy by the state-of-the-art conference room and facilities. The Venture Development Center is a managed incubator for early-stage business, university and student entrepreneurs. The Center provides support, mentoring, shared business services and office and lab space to help launch these budding companies. Go to www.umb.edu/vdc for more information.
2009 speaker Ronald Dixon (right) speaks with Advisory Board member Dorothy Chen-Courtin. 2009 speaker Charles Derber in background.
Board member Scott Kirsner speaks with 2009 conference speaker Deb Roy.
IDEAS Boston 2009 speaker Ronald Dixon talks to audience members.
2009 Speakers and our live studio audience mingle before filming.
IDEAS Boston 2009 speaker Peter Galison talks with 2005 speaker Robin Chase.
IDEAS Boston is going “virtual” in 2009, focusing on our electronic audience in lieu of our traditional in-person event. This is in part an effort to keep expenses low in a challenging financial environment, but also a strategic decision to reach a larger and more geographically diverse audience.
While the format is new, the core elements of IDEAS Boston remain the same. We are still showcasing an amazing group of speakers, some well-known and others emerging leaders in their field. We are still presenting cutting-edge ideas in succinct 20-minute talks. We still work to identify innovation in every conceivable sector, in a truly interdisciplinary brainstorm.
Tune in to http://ideasboston.com/speakers for streaming videos of presentations by some of the people that make this region such a hub of innovation:
- Charles Derber, Sociologist and Author
- Ronald Dixon, Physician
- Peter Galison, Science Historian and Filmmaker
- Lisa Genova, Author and Neuroscientist
- Helen Greiner, Robotics Entrepreneur
- Deb Roy, Cognitive Science Pioneer
More information at www.ideasboston.com
IDEAS Boston is officially launching its first ever blog! The blog, found here at ideasboston.wordpress.com, was created as a way to keep in touch with our audience, and to provide constantly updated information regarding the conference, past and present speakers, and the great ideas being generated in the greater Boston area. IDEAS Boston is all about promoting the diverse innovation taking place within our region, and it is our hope that this blog will only help us in trying to achieve this ideal. So relax, look around, and even send us some feedback. There are tons of great ideas just around the corner and we’re here to help you connect to them.
