Embattled Twitter (TWTR) CEO Dick Costolo is stepping down effective July 1, following criticism from investors about his leadership of the short-messaging service. Twitter said in a statement released after the market close Thursday that the company’s board has formed a search committee to find a permanent replacement CEO. The committee will retain an executive search firm to assist in the search. The committee, chaired by the board’s lead
Axovant Sciences (AXON) on Thursday made the biggest biotech initial public offering in at least the past 20 years, raising $315 million. Axovant offered 21 million shares at 15, the high end of its estimated price range. The stock doubled to near 30 in its Thursday debut. That price gives Axovant, which is developing a drug for Alzheimer’s disease, a market valuation above $2.7 billion, staggering for a company with no revenue. Data on the
Oculus Rift, the much-anticipated virtual reality headset from Facebook (FB)-owned Oculus VR, is a step closer to reality itself with details of its consumer launch announced Thursday. At an hourlong webcast event in San Francisco, Oculus executives showed off the Oculus goggles and a host of virtual reality video games that will be available in the first quarter of 2016. The company also announced that the device will ship with an Xbox One game controller through a partnership with Microsoft (MSFT). It did not announce pricing for the Oculus Rift. Oculus will demo its headset and games next week at the E3 video game conference in Los Angeles. Video games are expected to be a key application for virtual reality in addition to immersive movies and education uses. Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe said Oculus Rift will “revolutionize gaming and transform how we experience entertainment.” Until now, games and movies have…