Startups

WBUR’s Andrea Shea visits the offices of MIT startup Echo Nest, which develops recommendation platforms for music streaming sites. The company was recently acquired by Spotify.

CNBC reporter Paul Einstein writes about MIT spinoff Terrafugia, which is working on developing a flying car.  “The four-seater would be capable of vertical takeoffs and landings,” writes Epstein.

“A series of three studies reveals that investors prefer pitches from male entrepreneurs over those from female entrepreneurs, even when the content of the pitches is identical,” writes Carmen Nobel of Forbes on the findings of a new paper co-authored by Professor Fiona Murray.

Writing for Forbes, Leo King reports that an autonomous robotic submarine developed by MIT startup Bluefin Robotics is being deployed in the search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

The Daily Beast reporter Mike Miesen looks at Sanergy, a company founded by MIT students that manufactures and distributes toilets designed for urban environments with poor sewage infrastructure. The model could improve sanitation in dense urban areas without adequate waste removal.

Ryan Grenoble writes for The Huffington Post about Altaeros Energies, a wind energy company founded at MIT.  The company is poised to break the record for highest wind turbine ever, with plans to float an electric-generating device 1,000 feet above a site in Alaska.

In a Bloomberg TV appearance, Professor Fiona Murray explains her latest research that shows how the gender gap plays into venture capital funding. Murray also discusses ways to encourage females to pursue careers in science and technology.

During a HuffPost Live panel discussion, Professor Fiona Murray speaks about her new research that shows venture capitalists prefer attractive men to women when funding new startups. In addition to Murray, the panel featured leading female entrepreneurs and journalists.

NPR’s All Tech Considered looks at new research from MIT Professor Fiona Murray that indicates attractive males are more likely to receive funding for their startups than females.

Guardian reporter Holly Welham writes that MIT researchers “found that male entrepreneurs were 60% more likely than women to succeed and that physical attractiveness produced a 36% increase in pitch success.”

Wired looks at the energy company Altaeros Energies, an MIT startup, and their new high-altitude wind turbine technology. The company, “is to carry out the first commercial demonstration of a high altitude wind turbine, thanks to a partnership with the Alaska Energy Authority,” writes reporter Olivia Solon.

In a Wired opinion piece, Alex "Sandy" Pentland of the MIT Human Dynamics Lab and the MIT Media Lab outlines the qualities start-ups should look for in hiring and nurturing their employees.