New co-working space Venture Lane launches in Boston
There’s a new co-working space in town, and they’re looking for tech businesses in high-growth phase to join their hub. Venture Lane, a startup hub that offers flexible workspace and dedicated mentors to entrepreneurs and their projects, announced its Boston launch this week. Located at 55 Court Street in the heart of Downtown Crossing, Venture Lane aims to make a major impact on each member by offering access to partners, expert advisors, programming and more. The space is outfitted with a cozy lounge, a fireplace, and a bar and kitchen. [Press Release]
Crayon raises $6M in Series A funding
Boston-based Crayon, which offers businesses a market intelligence platform to track, analyze and act based on market movements from customers and competitors, raised $6 million in funding this week led by Bedrock Capital. The investment will be used to double the company’s employee headcount (currently 70 people) and invest in functions across the business, including sales, customer success, marketing, engineering and product. In 2019, Crayon is focused on helping businesses translate their captured market intelligence into real change across every department in their organizations, the company’s CMO Ellie Mirman said. [Crayon]
Boston Dynamics raises $37M from SoftBank
SoftBank poured $37 million into Waltham-based Boston Dynamics this week, so expect to see more from your favorite robot dog, Spot, in 2019. This latest investment originated as two separate loans from Softbank Group Capital, a UK-based wing of Softbank that advises the company on investment decisions. This investment will help robotics company Boston Dynamics further its research into AI and machine learning. We’re also hoping to see more exciting developments from Spot and SpotMini, the robot dogs developed by Boston Dynamics that have racked up millions of YouTube views. [Built In Boston]
Nexthink announces office move, plans to double employee headcount
Boston’s Nexthink is expanding its local presence with fresh, 7,300 square-foot offices. The Switzerland-based company offers digital employee experience management software, and currently works with hundreds of enterprise customers, including Adobe, BlackRock, Tiffany & Co. and Western Union. Nexthink announced today that it will be moving into a larger space on Washington Street to accommodate its growing employee headcount and U.S. customer base. Nexthink first opened its Boston office in 2016, and by 2018, the company achieved 100 percent year-over-year revenue growth in the U.S. Over the course of 2019, Nexthink plans to double its workforce. [Press Release]
WeWork expands its Boston presence
In other co-working space news, WeWork confirmed a major Boston expansion this week — announcing plans to take over the top 11 floors of State Street Corp.’s iconic home on Lincoln Street. This roughly 250,000-square-foot expansion will mean 4,000 open desks, open to individual workers, as well as larger companies looking for atypical working space and flexible rent. WeWork first came onto the scene in Boston in 2014, and has since opened a total of 11 locations, including the new space in State Street Corp. [The Boston Globe]
DataRobot brings on new exec
DataRobot, a machine learning platform that allows data scientists of all skill levels to build and deploy accurate predictive models, announced a major exec hire this week. The company has hired Igor Taber as Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy. In this role, Taber will create the company’s growth strategy and manage the sourcing and execution of mergers and acquisitions. Taber joins DataRobot from corporate venture capital group Intel Capital. [Press Release]
