Hyperloop Boston-Providence Route? | Kayak & Crashlytics Founders Go to Hollywood | Near-Death Experiences

Dylan: When Shimon Elkabetz and Rei Goffer served in the Israeli Air Force, they heavily relied on weather data to make important decisions going into missions. As pilots, knowing if a storm was coming in at a certain time could be a matter of life or death, and for a few times, the latter nearly happened to Elkabetz and Goffer due to weather-related events.

KG: Those near-death experiences served as the impetus for Elkabetz, Goffer and Itai Zlotnik — who served in an elite commando unit of the Israeli Defence Forces — to eventually found ClimaCell, a Boston startup that aims to provide businesses and governments more accurate weather data through technology that uses existing wireless communication networks as sensors.

Dylan: The company, which is currently working out of the Harvard Innovation Lab, has raised over $1.1M, and investors include Boston venture capital firm Project 11 and Ratan Tata, the former chairman of multinational conglomerate Tata Group who was once listed by Forbes as one of the world's most powerful people.

KG: ClimaCell already has customers who are working in the outdoor events, aviation and government space, but he declined to name any of them. The company plans to eventually go into many other industries, including insurance, online advertising, agriculture and smart cities. Read more: How Near-Death Experiences in the Israeli Air Force Inspired This New Startup

Dylan: Here's some news I wasn't expecting to see yesterday — or ever, if I'm going to be completely honest: Paul English, co-founder of Kayak and Lola Travel, is teaming with Crashlytics co-founder Wayne Chang to produce and finance movies. Their film production company is called Wicked Magic Productions because I suppose they just couldn't resist making it clear that they're both Massachusetts guys.

They're already shopping a completed film for distribution that stars Katie Holmes, Michael Caine, Jason Biggs, Seth Green and Odeya Rush. Wicked Magic does not have a dedicated staff yet, as English and Chang hope to first seek out "scripts and packages on which they can become producers and financiers or co-financiers," Deadline reported. Read more: Hello, Hollywood! Paul English & Wayne Chang Are Now Film Producers 

KG: Only a week after IPO rumors came flooding in, CarGurus has decided to test its first ever TV ads, in Denver, Austin and Nashville. Last Tuesday, it was reported that CarGurus hired Goldman Sachs and Allen & Co. to lead their upcoming IPO, which the company has declined to discuss. Its "Beautiful Minds" inspired commercial is pretty well done.

Dylan: According to the company, the ads have been in development for more than a year, so the timing could just be a coincidence.

And now for some really cool news: Hyperloop One, one of the company's working on the super-fast transportation technology conceived by Elon Musk, just announced 11 potential routes, and one of them would connect Boston with Somerset, which is in southern Massachusetts, and Providence.

The route is among 10 other proposals in the U.S. and 24 others across the world that are vying to become one of the three winners that will work with Hyperloop One in building out the routes.

Dylan: BeautyLynk, one of BostInno's 17 startups to watch in 2017, is out raising a round for as much as $600K, according to a new Form D. The filing indicates the 2016 MassChallenge winner has raised $100K so far.

KG: MageMail, a digital marketing solution for online retailers, has appointed Erik Bullen as CEO. Erik was previously VP of digital strategy at Mobiquity and VP of global services at Brightcove.

Dylan: MITX just announced the finalists for its 2017 awards ceremony. Finalists include iRobot and Rue La La for best B2C technology; Buildiumand Toast for B2B technology; Crimson Hexagon and Customer Portfolios for best use of big data; and ezCater and Wayfair for building a customer-centric culture. You can find all of the finalists here.

KG: Time to get ready for events next week. Lean Startup Circle is hosting a panel on "a playbook for achieving product-market fit" on Monday and The Capital Network is hosting a panel on Tuesday on "pathways to funding your clean tech startup." There's also the MIT India Conference this Sunday at theMIT Media Lab. Find more events in BostInno Approved.