Are you suffering from information overload? Aren’t we all. There are just too many e-mails, social-media messages, and news reports to keep up with. Now a couple of New England startups are trying to tackle the problem on mobile devices. Cambridge-based Cloze has released an iPhone and iPad app that organizes your inbox by how important each contact is to you. And Connecticut-based Track180 is developing a news-browsing app that shows you perspectives around a few key global issues. The problem is, if these apps work well, you’ll probably spend even more time online.
In other innovation news …
-- Venture-capital firms may be shrinking, but Battery Ventures has just raised two new funds that total $900 million. Battery is known for its investments in companies like Groupon, ITA Software, and Wayfair.
-- Our deal of the week is a $30 million funding round for Cambridge-based Living Proof, an MIT spinout that’s using materials science to make hair and beauty products.
-- And finally, could Boston become an epicenter for startups in both education and hardware? Two new business accelerator programs are about to begin this spring: LearnLaunchX, around ed-tech, and Bolt, in connected devices and hardware. Given Boston’s history in these fields, they could be very wise investments indeed.
