Philly EnterpriseTech News Daily Page 9/21: Meredith Perry steps aside; Adobe buys Marketo; SkyTV auction on Saturday; Rite Aid tragedy

Tom Paine


Follow @phillytechnews

 Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Philadelphia Tech News by Email





uBeam wireless power’s CEO Meredith Perry steps aside amidst B2B pivot . (TechCrunch)
Perry developed the concept while a Penn undergrad and rounded up investors for it.

Adobe confirms it's buying Marketo for $4.75 billion (CNBC)
No sign of any competition for Marketo. SAP vets are top Marketo execs.

Comcast's battle for Sky TV to be decided by one-day auction (Philly.com)
On Saturday; not clear who has broadcast rights to the auction.

Interesting topic: Who in Philly area uses what kind of computer resources to aid in drug development?
Celgene Advances Pharma Research and Discovery with the Help of AI . (Wired)


Maryland shooting witnesses describe 'shocking' incident at Rite Aid distribution center (Fox News)
Rite Aid, which recently sold many of its stores, is based in Camp Hill, PA.

Philly Enterprise Tech Daily Page 9/20: "One City", FanDuel welshes, Amazon & WaWa,

Tom Paine


Follow @phillytechnews

 Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Philadelphia Tech News by Email





Philadelphia"s new "One City" financial information system, running on Oracle's E-Business Suite.  is expected to go live by year's end. "One City" will replace and integrate several functions that have always been separate since ancient times, including payroll, human resources, pensions, benefits and timekeeping.

However, given Philly's track record with new systems, and problems with municipal systems in general, One will be holding its breath until there are signs of success.



FanDuel temporarily messed up on the recalculation of odds for its New Jersey sports book, meaning that a gentleman who should have had a small payoff was suddenly an $82,000 winner. But FanDuel refused to pay out, instead offering $500 and three tickets to a Giants game, which may turn out to be worthless.

What usually happens to those who welsh on their bets in New Jersey?

Amazon is considering opening 3,000 Amazon Go Convenience Stores by 2021 , something that should give existing competitors pause. WaWa would likely continue to dominate it traditional home territory, but this could put other areas up for grab. Hey, a thought: Why doesn't Amazon speed up its expansion by acquiring WaWa?



EIR Healthcare, a company based in New York & Philly, has created a modular 'hospital room in a box' named " MedModular". It would allow for hospital expansion that would be less expensive and more rapid, the company says. The room model will be unveiled at an event in the Philadelphia area sometime in October.

Philly EnterpriseTech Daily Page 9/18

tom paine Retweeted Robert Costa

 Industry Spotlight: Pilot CEO Joe Fasone Takes On Business     Fiber   (Telecom Ramblings)

"But we've actually seen it the most prominently in Philadelphia, where we get a lot of demand coming from outside of downtown. It’s a bit of a reverse commuter situation where we're seeing office parks immediately outside of Philadelphia with greater demand for some of the connectivity than the traditional high-rise office buildings downtown. And we're pretty quick to cater to that demand because we have the ability optically to extend our reach to those places with ease."

https://www.telecomramblings.com/2018/09/industry-spotlight-pilot-ceo-joe-fasone-takes-business-fiber/

Sounds as if Comcast (and perhaps Verizon) are leaving a lot on the table for this company to pick up.

Fasone's approach seems very well though out, but its aways vulnerable to the big guys more directly taking on his niche.



Meanwhile, Comcast is launching against an incumbent in Rochester  (no, not NY).

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20180911/NEWS02/180919908





Oracle shares fall after revenue misses analyst estimates (CNBC)
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/17/oracle-earnings-q1-2019.html  
Hardly the end of the world for this huge, highly profitable giant which would probably continue producing large cash flows for 50 years while doing nothing. But these results may raise more questions about the pace of its cloud transition, at a time when its reporting is becoming less transparent. But in the meantime, Larry can rest easy. Though it may explain the "temporary" departure of Thomas Kurian.

 Comcast and Fox are on course to settle pursuit of Sky with a blind auction   (CNBC)

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/17/comcast-and-fox-on-course-to-settle-pursuit-of-sky-with-blind-auction.html

That's what it will come down to, unless some type of deal is reached this week. The UK has some arcane M&A rules. Not sure what purpose they serve.




DowDuPont names spin-off bosses for Corteva Ag, 'new' DuPont; will Breen sell DuPont pieces? / Inquirer

http://wwwont-2-spin-offs-name-breen-collins-as-top-bosses-20180917.html?2.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/dowdup



And Kavanaugh's two ex-girlfriends used as character referenced are both named Maura?
What are the chances?



Sorry; I couldn't get competing formats properly aligned.

3 hours ago

tom paine Retweeted Robert Costa

Salesforce's Benioff & wife buys Time Magazine, gives interview

Tom Paine


Follow @phillytechnews

 Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Philadelphia Tech News by Email

Benioff / Wikipedia

Besides the thought that Benioff probably paid too much for Time (doesn't matter), the big question is do these things represent the beginning of Benioff's political career and the winding down of his current corporate career? My guess is yes.



Marc Benioff buys Time Magazine for $190 million (Axios)

Rumor-plus. Sounds like the Benioffs pivoted trophy titles this summer. https://t.co/yGOyvi5diy

— Peter Kafka (@pkafka) September 17, 2018

Benioff on the big issues (SF Chronicle)

DisrupTV Featuring Gaurav Dhillon, Chairman & CEO at SnapLogic / Constellation Research

Philly EnterpriseTech Highlights 9/13/2018

Anaplan files for IPO a week after hiring its finance chief from Tesla (CNBC)
Some ex-SAP, SAP Ariba execs are with Anaplan, which filed for IPO today.


Adobe-Marketo Acquisition: What We Know So Far
Is SAP out of the picture? (CMSWire)

Hamilton Lane part of syndicate buying NEA spinoff portfolio . (PE Hub)
Philly investment fund playing major role in what amounts to a new VC funding model.


GE’s Digital Spinoff: What Does It Mean for the Internet of Things? . (SandHill)
After the company fell apart, what's really usable in GE's Predix code. Who should buy?

USA Technologies recovers a bit from fall

Tom Paine


Follow @phillytechnews

 Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe to Philadelphia Tech News by Email

Malvern-based USA Technologies had a good bounceback day on Thursday, ending up 7.39% to close at $10.90. This follows a Tuesday announcement by the company that it is conducting an internal investigation into the accounting of certain of its present and past contractual arrangements and financial reporting controls. Post announcement, shares fell by as much as 33%.

So the shares are still off a good bit. But the indication is that some shareholders think that the news wasn't that bad and the selloff was overdone. There has been no public release of information by the company, however, that would ease concerns.

The company has been on a roll, and still has a market cap of $585 million. It provides electronic payment systems for remote devices such as vending machines.

Sometimes recent acquisitions can be the cause of these types of problems. USAT acquired Canteloupe Systems last November for $85 million.

AT&T'S BRIAN LESSER DIALS THE FUTURE. WILL ANYONE ANSWER? . (AD Age)
"Brian Lesser sits in the shadow of Comcast. It's an unusually cool New York City summer morning, and as Lesser, the CEO of AT&T's advertising and analytics unit, details his grandiose plans to upend the TV ad industry from the roof-deck of AT&T's offices in Rockefeller Center, the peacock logo of Comcast's NBC division looms in the background."

PhillyTech People News 9/5/2018: IoT, Clinical Trials tech leads

Edison Partners hires new partner, Daniel Herscovici.
Previously, Dan worked at Xfinity Home where he was senior vice president and general manager.

The Amazon-Berkshire-JPM health venture led by Atul Gawande has a COO: Jack Stoddard (CNBC)



CRF Health and Bracket announced the closing of their merger in early September, creating a leader in Clinical Trials Technology based in Wayne. Bracket's current CEO, Mike Nolte, will assume the role of CEO for the combined company. An experienced leadership team from both organizations will help guide the strategic direction of CRF Bracket, the company says in a release.



Rick Bulotta is now Director, Azure IoT Strategy for Microsoft. Bulotta said on LinkedIn that he'd be working part time for Microsoft, based out of the Philly area. Bulotta, who co-founded ThingWorx, also has his own shop.



Leading Philadelphia based visual search company, Slyce, was awarded the prize for Mobile Solution of the Year at the Retail Systems Awards 2018 held in London, England in June. The award came as recognition for the company’s work with Tommy Hilfiger in producing its snap to shop app, TommyNow Snap.

Ted Mann, CEO of Slyce, who was in London to collect the award said, “This award is a great achievement for the entire Slyce team who went above and beyond to bring TommyNow Snap to life. It’s also fantastic recognition in Europe, a market we believe will be a strong one for our technology going forward. The app itself was a huge success which we’re very proud of - even Tommy himself was quoted as saying that the technology marked a ‘breakthrough in shopping!”

Slyce provided the cutting edge visual search technology at the heart of the app, the 1st ever retail shopping app built entirely around the camera and visual search.


Slyce is now expanding into France and has been selected to join Lafayette Plug and Play - the premier business accelerator for the retail and e-commerce industries.




MissionOG recently made what it considers two important hires for the firm's future.

Michael Heller is now an operating partner at MissionOG. Previously, he was the president and co-founder of Argus Information & Advisory Services, an information services firm that serves the banking industry.

Liz Haerling is its new VP of finance. She joins MissionOG after ten years with Graham Partners.

Managing partner George Krautzel emphasized two things in an email note:
1) how MissionOG is attracting top talent to a growing investment firm here in Philly
2) how MissionOG continues to accelerate and build a world-class investment firm here in Center City




Q&A: Entercom Comms Head Esther-Mireya Tejeda Is Wooing Marketers Back To Radio
(Holmes Report)

Entercom Taps New HR, SVP and Names Pair of PDs . (RadioWorld)



Dilworth Paxson appoints new co-COOs; Raju to serve another term as CEO
(Philadelphia Business Journal)



Connexus Technology CEO Wins Philadelphia Business Journal Award (PR Newswire)

DrayNow Raises $5 Million in Series A Financing from Comcast Ventures and Osage Venture Partners

24.178.145.127 ­
DrayNow Raises $5 Million in Series A Financing from Comcast Ventures and Osage Venture Partners
The Intermodal trucking industry’s first technology platform for freight booking and tracking gains momentum in the hot shipping & logistics sector

August 28, 2018 08:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DrayNow, the first real-time marketplace transforming the way Intermodal shipping brokers connect with available motor carriers, has completed its Series A funding of $5 million, led by Comcast Ventures and joined by Osage Venture Partners.

Philadelphia-based #tech #startup, @DrayNow completes its Series A funding of $5 Million led by @ComcastVentures and @OsageVP. DrayNow offers the first real-time marketplace for those working in #intermodal freight.
Tweet this
“We’re passionate about removing the friction and manual processes from this niche of transportation that has struggled to innovate,” said Mike Albert, founder and CEO of DrayNow. “Every stakeholder within the intermodal supply chain is asking for transparency and status updates in increments previously unimaginable due to our industry’s fragmentation.”

DrayNow is reinventing the way Intermodal freight moves over the critical first and last miles with a robust, tech-enabled marketplace. DrayNow’s instant load-booking app and match-making platform not only helps shippers and brokers connect to trucking capacity, it provides the first window into what’s happening with any given shipment at any time.

DrayNow will use the recent financing to grow its team and fuel an expansion into new geographies. At a time when the Intermodal industry is facing constrained capacity, with fewer than 5,000 carriers able to access Intermodal freight, DrayNow opens that market to another 845,000 carriers. The company’s steady revenue growth and freight volume increases throughout 2018 is validating the value of a more accessible, real-time marketplace.

“Over the past 6 months, 78% of the loads posted on our DrayNow Marketplace are taken in less than 20 minutes. Both sides of the business – brokers and carriers – are capitalizing on the simplicity and transparency of our real-time booking engine,” said Albert. “And it’s not just the ability to match freight to carriers that’s driving the interest, it’s a superior experience. We spent the past 6 months asking our customers and users what they need…and then refining our platform to deliver total visibility, greater operational efficiency and other tools to help improve overall quality of life. Now, with the support of our great partners, Comcast Ventures and Osage Venture Partners, we’re better positioned to swiftly move into new markets.”

“The shipping and logistics industry is an incredibly vital and growing part of our economy. Yet the Intermodal sector of the industry has seen very little technology enabling the match-making and operational efficiency it needs,” said Sam Landman, managing director of Comcast Ventures. “We invested in DrayNow because the team and the technology establishes a much more efficient method for moving freight. In addition to being the first mover in the space, DrayNow has demonstrated an ability to build and refine an offering that addresses its customers’ pain points.”

DrayNow’s prior financing included co-founder investment and seed funding from Genacast Ventures.

About DrayNow

DrayNow provides technology-driven solutions for the intermodal freight industry. Led by industry veterans, the company operates the first intermodal marketplace connecting brokers to available carriers. The DrayNow Marketplace is accessed by Third-Party Logistics (3PLs), Intermodal Marketing Companies (IMCs), and brokers through a desktop interface where users can view truck capacity in real-time, post loads, track load status and obtain electronic documents immediately. With DrayNow’s mobile application, truck drivers can get turnkey access to Intermodal freight, browse loads, compare rates and details, select loads, deliver loads and get paid faster.

About Comcast Ventures

Comcast Ventures is the venture capital affiliate of Comcast Corporation. Comcast Ventures invests in innovative businesses that represent the next generation of technologies that will change the way people live, work and interact.

About Osage Venture Partners

Osage Venture Partners (OVP) invests in early stage, business-to-business (B2B) software companies on the East Coast from its offices just outside of Philadelphia, PA. With over $175 million under management, OVP seeks to invest in determined and creative entrepreneurs and provide them with the capital and support required to build high-growth, market-leading businesses. For more information, visit www.osagepartners.com.

Contacts
Broadpath, Inc.
Christina Manning (for DrayNow)
215-644-6509
cmanning@broadpathpr.com


DRAYNOW
Release Summary
DrayNow, the first real-time marketplace transforming the Intermodal freight industry, completes its Series A funding of $5M led by Comcast Ventures.


#Hashtags
#tech #intermodal #startup
Contacts
Broadpath, Inc.
Christina Manning (for DrayNow)
215-644-6509
cmanning@broadpathpr.com

HOME
SERVICES
NEWS
EDUCATION
ABOUT US

Fireside Chat with Michael Rubin (Fanatics) | Disrupt SF 2018