What’s happening in the world of big data for business? The better question might be what’s coming next. Boston-area analytics startup Hadapt is being acquired by Teradata for $50 million, and the move signals more consolidation in the big-data arena. The field seems to be moving beyond helping companies handle huge amounts of information, and toward integrating more useful data into their workflow. The Teradata deal is also the latest in a series of big-company expansions in the area. Oracle, IBM, and more recently HP and Ericsson have all made local tech acquisitions and seem to be investing more in Boston talent.
In other innovation news:
— A report from Cambridge Associates says 2013 was the best year for venture capital performance since the late ‘90s, but it still wasn’t enough to beat the public stock markets. Which are usually cheaper and safer investments.
— Our deal of the week is a just-under $30 million VC funding round for Synlogic. The Cambridge biotech is working on genetically engineered bacteria that could be put into a pill to release drugs into the body.
— And lastly, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has landed one of the biggest research gifts ever: $650 million from philanthropist Ted Stanley, to spur new treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism---all areas that most Big Pharma companies have been avoiding.
