2 Boston tech companies make Forbes’ 2018 ‘unicorn’ list
Each year, Forbes compiles a list of startups that it thinks will be the next companies to be worth $1 billion, earning the coveted unicorn status. This year’s compilation includes two notable Boston names: Payments processing startup Flywire and 3D printing company Markforged. To make the list, Forbes asks the opinions of over 200 venture capital firms and considers companies’ revenue, funding and most recent valuations. [Forbes]
Rapid7 acquires web app security provider tCell
Rapid7, a Boston-based cybersecurity company that helps businesses detect and contain attackers, announced that it has acquired tCell, a web application security provider, this week. Founded in San Francisco in 2014, tCell enables web applications, APIs and microservices to defend themselves against attacks. The acquisition is designed to help Rapid7 expand its application security capabilities and help its customers better monitor and protect against application-based attacks. [Globe Newswire]
Yottaa raises $11M in funding
Waltham-based Yottaa, a leader in e-commerce acceleration software, announced that it raised $11 million in funding this week led by DN Capital, as well as a new leadership hire. Yottaa said that Jim Morrone would be brought on as the new VP of worldwide sales. The $11 million in funding will help the company grow revenue and scale its operations. Brands in the e-commerce space like Samsonite and ASICS turn to Yottaa to help their sites run faster. [Business Wire]
MIT to ‘reshape’ itself with $1B for AI-focused school
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has some big news: The school announced this week that they’re looking to raise $1 billion (yes, you heard that correctly) to support the MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing, a school that will address the global opportunities presented by the rise of artificial intelligence. And they’re making great leaps toward realizing the goal; they’ve already raised $650 million. MIT will hire 50 new faculty members as part of the launch, and plans to open the school in fall 2019. [Boston Business Journal]
A bad day for bots: Rethink Robotics shuts down
Robot pioneer Rethink Robotics has shuttered its doors. The company, known for creating collaborative robots that could work safely alongside humans, cited a failed acquisition as one of the primary reasons for its closure. Other reasons for Rethink’s failure included a deal gone bad with a distributor in China, and stiff competition from companies like Universal Robots and Yaskawa. [The Boston Globe]
