What does the future of software look like? Well, increasingly it’s on your smartphone or tablet, not on your PC or laptop. And more people will use mobile devices than ever used PCs. There are more than a dozen Boston-area startups going after the post-PC developer market. One of them is Xamarin, started by two entrepreneurs whose last company was bought by Novell. Xamarin raised $12 million the week of July 23 to help developers write apps for competing operating systems from Apple, Google and Microsoft.
In other innovation news …
Why aren’t more companies solving the big problems of the environment? Waltham-based Harvest Power is trying to turn organic waste into energy and soil products. CEO Paul Sellew grew up on a farm and has an interesting perspective. As he puts it, “Farmers embrace sustainability . They don’t talk about it.”
Our deal of the week is a $60 million venture round for Cambridge-based Bluebird Bio. The company is developing a gene therapy treatment for severe genetic diseases.
And finally, which Boston-area entrepreneur has a Ferrari collection that could be auctioned off for $20 million next month? That would be Sherman Wolf, who founded Zip-Call, a pager company, back in the ‘60s. Wolf also put up the seed money for Great Woods amphitheater and Harbor Lights Pavilion. He passed away in March at the age of 86.
