What are the biggest innovation trends that are still under the radar? Well, MIT’s Bob Langer says biocompatible materials could have a huge impact on medical devices. Rod Brooks from Rethink Robotics says making hardware products more like software is still a big challenge. And Boston Scientific co-founder John Abele says networked data scientists are the wave of the future. But a broader national theme is that short-term thinking by investors and companies is threatening U.S. competitiveness and our place in the world.
In other innovation news…
-A new report says 2012 was the first year since the dot-com crash that the U.S. venture capital industry returned more money to its investors than it brought in. VC firms have been contracting as of late, but that might be a healthy trend.
-Our deal of the week is an IPO from Cambridge-based Epizyme. The cancer drug developer is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq today after raising more than $60 million in a public offering.
-And lastly, whatever happened to Skyhook Wireless? The 10-year-old Boston firm pioneered location technology for mobile devices, but it fell behind when Apple and Google started pushing their own software. New CEO Jeff Glass says Skyhook has learned its lesson and is growing fast again. It’s also making plans for the long term.
