When all is said and done, 2013 might be the year the Boston tech scene got bought out. From Acme Packet to Zipcar, a number of well-known companies have been scooped up by outsiders in networking, security, mobile software, and transportation.
The next sector to be acquired might be robotics: this week Google has been in the news for buying Boston Dynamics, a pioneer in walking and running robots. Local firms like iRobot and Rethink Robotics don’t seem too worried about the region losing its lead, but make no mistake: Tech giants like Google and Amazon have become competitive threats.
In other innovation news:
— A newly funded startup called Curoverse is building an open-source database for genomic information. The company grew out of the Personal Genome Project led by Harvard geneticist George Church.
— Our startup of the week is Collaborate.com. The Boston software company is being acquired by Cisco after shifting its focus from private social networks to online tools that help business teams manage tasks and share documents.
— And lastly, some closure in the education tech sector. Boston startup Boundless has settled a copyright lawsuit with three major textbook publishers that’s been going on since early 2012. The company should have more time now to spend on its Web content and study tools for students and professors — and, just maybe, help New England lead the way in online education. At least until it gets bought out.
Watch video of Boston Dynamics' robots:
