By Xconomy.com
Dec. 23, 2011
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — It’s beginning to look a lot like… the West Coast? The warm weather is not the only unusual occurrence in the Boston tech scene as we head into the holidays. Take the rebirth of TripAdvisor as a public company, independent of Expedia. The online travel site has a $3 billion market cap, making it one of the biggest consumer tech firms this side of Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, Amazon.com, the Seattle-based online retailer, is reportedly setting up its first office in Cambridge; it’s slated to open next year. And Akamai Technologies is buying California rival Cotendo for $268 million. That bucks the trend of West Coast companies buying such Boston firms as Endeca, Where, and ITA Software.
In other tech news, it was a shocker this week when Burlington-based Nuance Communications acquired Cambridge startup Vlingo. The two companies have spent years suing each other over allegations like patent infringement and commercial bribery, but now say that together they’ll have a better shot at competing with Apple and Google in making voice-enabled applications for smartphones.
On the life sciences front, Cambridge’s Metamark Genetics forged a collaboration with the Johnson & Johnson unit Janssen Biotech to develop diagnostic tests and treatments for cancer.
The weekly roundup of business, technology and life science news from our partners at Xconomy.com airs every Friday on 89.7 WGBH Boston Public Radio.
