As Cybersecurity Business Expands, Proficio Offers Risk Scoring

In a bid to differentiate itself from the crowd of cybersecurity companies offering network monitoring services, Carlsbad, CA-based Proficio said it has developed a risk-scoring system that assesses its customers’ network security controls. In addition to highlighting each customer’s vulnerabilities to cyber-attack, Proficio said its new ThreatInsight software dashboard offers recommendations on how a customer … Continue reading “As Cybersecurity Business Expands, Proficio Offers Risk Scoring”

GE Plans a Sale as San Diego Smart City Project Nears Completion

In another month or two, a General Electric (NYSE: [[ticker:GE]]) subsidiary is expected to complete the installation of an intelligent lighting system in San Diego that’s been billed as “the world’s largest municipal Internet of Things.” The Boston-based subsidiary, Current by GE, began work earlier this year for the city of San Diego on a … Continue reading “GE Plans a Sale as San Diego Smart City Project Nears Completion”

Halozyme, Edico CEOs Among San Diego’s Entrepreneurs of the Year

Helen Torley, who was highlighted in 2016 as the only female CEO of a public life sciences company in San Diego, was recognized last week for her operational excellence at Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]). Torley, who joined San Diego-based Halozyme as CEO in 2014, was among five local business leaders to win the 2018 San … Continue reading “Halozyme, Edico CEOs Among San Diego’s Entrepreneurs of the Year”

Startup CureMatch Wins $35,000 Grand Prize in Global Trade Pitchfest

CureMatch, a San Diego startup with technology to help doctors choose the best combination of anti-cancer treatments based on an analysis of each patient’s tumor, took home a $35,000 grant intended to help companies expand overseas. The cash, awarded last Thursday, was the grand prize in the annual MetroConnect contest organized by the World Trade … Continue reading “Startup CureMatch Wins $35,000 Grand Prize in Global Trade Pitchfest”

Teradata Moving Headquarters to San Diego as Part of Consolidation

Teradata (NYSE: [[ticker:TDC]]), a specialist in data warehousing, business analytics, and consulting services, disclosed this week that it plans to move its corporate headquarters from Dayton, OH, to San Diego by the end of the year. The move is part of a broader corporate consolidation, according to a June 6 regulatory filing. Teradata has maintained … Continue reading “Teradata Moving Headquarters to San Diego as Part of Consolidation”

No Vital Signs Apparent at Wireless Health Specialist Awarepoint

Awarepoint, the San Diego healthtech startup that specialized in real-time location systems for tracking medical equipment and people in hospitals and clinics, has gone 404. That’s the error code message that comes up for a website that no longer exists. Awarepoint executives and board members could not be reached to comment on a recent tip … Continue reading “No Vital Signs Apparent at Wireless Health Specialist Awarepoint”

With $40M Banked, Escient Building for Fast Move to Human Trials

In the weeks since Escient Pharmaceuticals made its debut, the San Diego biotech has found lab space atop San Diego’s Torrey Pines Mesa and is recruiting scientists with experience developing drugs that target G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Escient’s co-founders, CEO Alain Baron and chief scientific officer Marcus Boehm, have been busy, and it took a … Continue reading “With $40M Banked, Escient Building for Fast Move to Human Trials”

Arcturus Reinstates Fired CEO After Regime Change in Boardroom

The San Diego RNA drug developer Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]) on Thursday reinstated fired CEO Joseph Payne and named ResMed (NYSE: [[ticker:RMD]]) founder Peter Farrell as chairman of the company’s new board of directors. The four members of the company’s previous board, who resigned as part of an agreement reached last weekend, fired Payne in … Continue reading “Arcturus Reinstates Fired CEO After Regime Change in Boardroom”

With Launch of Dynam.AI, Analytics Ventures Shifts to New Model

The debut Wednesday of Dynam.AI, a San Diego startup offering its expertise in artificial intelligence, also marks a shift that has been underway for the past year or so at Analytics Ventures, a local fund that invests in tech deals. The small venture firm, which made traditional seed investments in a number of startups, including … Continue reading “With Launch of Dynam.AI, Analytics Ventures Shifts to New Model”

Settlement Ends Fight at Arcturus Therapeutics; New Board Named

The San Diego RNA drug developer Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]) named four new board members Tuesday, after the four directors who fired founding CEO Joseph Payne resigned as part of a settlement agreement that was approved Monday by an Israeli court. The agreement, announced in a statement from Arcturus, ostensibly brings an end to a … Continue reading “Settlement Ends Fight at Arcturus Therapeutics; New Board Named”

Mitek Systems Building New Business in Verifying Online Identities

A few years before the presidential election of 2016, with all its Wikileaks, Russian disinformation campaigns, and phony Facebook links, San Diego’s Mitek Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MITK]] made a strategic decision to expand into identity verification technology. Funny how things work out. While mobile banking technology still represents 60 percent of Mitek’s business, COO Kalle Marsal … Continue reading “Mitek Systems Building New Business in Verifying Online Identities”

Bloom Science Plans to Advance Microbial Treatment for Epilepsy

Bloom Science, a biotech founded to advance a new class of microbe-based therapeutics for neurological disorders, is making its debut today with the publication of research that suggests certain bacteria in the gut could be used to manage epileptic seizures. The research, published in the journal Cell, indicate that several specific strains of bacteria work … Continue reading “Bloom Science Plans to Advance Microbial Treatment for Epilepsy”

With $300M in New Round, Total Venture Funding at Grail Tops $1.5B

Grail, the Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) spinout that merged last year with China’s Cirina, has raised an additional $300 million to advance its ambitious quest to develop a blood test sensitive enough to detect cancer. The Hong Kong-based Ally Bridge Group led the Series C financing round, which brings total funding for Grail to more than … Continue reading “With $300M in New Round, Total Venture Funding at Grail Tops $1.5B”

Arcturus Board Schedules New Proxy Showdown with Ousted CEO

After postponing a May 7 shareholder vote in a power struggle for control of San Diego’s Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]), the company’s board of directors has set a new date for its showdown with ousted CEO Joseph Payne. In a statement Monday, Arcturus said it has rescheduled its special shareholder meeting for 10 a.m. on … Continue reading “Arcturus Board Schedules New Proxy Showdown with Ousted CEO”

Mobileye Sets Safety-Based Rules of the Road for Self-Driving Tech

It’s been a busy year for Jerusalem-based Mobileye since Intel (NASDAQ: [[ticker:INTC]]) completed its $15.3-billion acquisition of the Israeli specialist in autonomous navigation technology. In a recent update, Mobileye co-founder and CTO Amnon Shashua said the company has almost doubled its workforce since the buyout. It plans to begin testing its self-driving technology in California … Continue reading “Mobileye Sets Safety-Based Rules of the Road for Self-Driving Tech”

As a Google Partner with Fresh Capital, Zesty.io Aims to Disrupt CMS

After establishing a partnership with the Google Cloud Platform, Zesty.io CEO Gerry Widmer said Wednesday the San Diego-based company is expanding its workforce and extending its Web content management system (WCMS) to international customers. The three-year-old company already provides its content management system on a software-as-a-service basis (SaaS) for such customers as Sony, Acorns.com, and … Continue reading “As a Google Partner with Fresh Capital, Zesty.io Aims to Disrupt CMS”

A Need for Speed: Illumina Acquires San Diego’s Edico Genome

With the Bio-IT World Conference opening today in Boston, San Diego-based Illumina (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ILMN]]) said it has acquired Edico Genome, a five-year-old startup with  technology to accelerate the readout of next-generation sequencing data. Illumina withheld terms of the deal in a statement released this morning. But an Illumina spokeswoman later confirmed that Illumina got Edico … Continue reading “A Need for Speed: Illumina Acquires San Diego’s Edico Genome”

Big Data Meets Big Biology in San Diego: Some Takeaways

At the end of the 19th century, the German scientist Paul Ehrlich began to realize that certain chemicals could have highly specific effects on certain diseases. He began to write about the possibility that a drug could act like a magische kugel—magic bullet—that killed only the organism causing disease, and nothing else. Today, scientists are … Continue reading “Big Data Meets Big Biology in San Diego: Some Takeaways”

Intel Capital Showcases 12 Startups, Shift to Data-Centric Strategy

The temperature in California’s Palm Desert hit 107 degrees Tuesday, but indoors at Intel Capital’s Global Summit meeting, the corporate venture arm said it has invested a cool $115 million so far this year. Intel Capital wasn’t ready to disclose exactly how many startups it has funded, but it highlighted a dozen tech companies that … Continue reading “Intel Capital Showcases 12 Startups, Shift to Data-Centric Strategy”

Seismic Acquires Savo Group, Rival in Sales Enablement Software

[Updated 5/8/18 9:30 am. See below.] In the eight years since it was founded, Seismic has become a leader in the market for Web-based software used by corporations and other big customers to manage the online marketing materials created to support sales reps in the field. Today, the San Diego software-as-a-service company says it has agreed … Continue reading “Seismic Acquires Savo Group, Rival in Sales Enablement Software”

Histogen Treatment for Female Hair Loss Cleared for Clinical Testing

San Diego’s Histogen, a regenerative medicine company with technology for using nascent skin cells to produce “cosmeceutical” products, says the FDA has given a green light to its application for an initial safety study of its hair stimulation product in women. In the United States, Histogen says hair loss affects over 40 million men and … Continue reading “Histogen Treatment for Female Hair Loss Cleared for Clinical Testing”

Litigation in Israel and U.S. Mires RNA Drug Developer Arcturus

In the five years since it was founded, San Diego-based Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]) says it has built a versatile platform for developing a variety of RNA-based medicines. On the Arcturus website, the company’s pre-clinical development pipeline includes drugs for treating hepatitis B, cystic fibrosis, and other intractable rare diseases and disorders. But a bitter … Continue reading “Litigation in Israel and U.S. Mires RNA Drug Developer Arcturus”

City Staffers Share Innovation Insights at Smart Cities Accelerator

In cities across the United States, the benefits of bike-sharing and electric scooters that can be easily rented with a smartphone app have often been overshadowed by controversy. In Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, for example, complaints flooded into city offices earlier this year about the proliferation of “dockless” bikes cluttering sidewalks, handicap parking, … Continue reading “City Staffers Share Innovation Insights at Smart Cities Accelerator”

Synthorx Raises $63M to Advance Suite of Enhanced Cytokine Drugs

After demonstrating in 2016 how its synthetic biology technology could produce new biologic drugs, San Diego’s Synthorx today revealed that its lead drug candidate is an improved version of interleukin-2, an anti-cancer drug of intense commercial interest in the 1980s. Synthorx said its improved version of interleukin-2, known as Synthorin IL-2, is at the vanguard … Continue reading “Synthorx Raises $63M to Advance Suite of Enhanced Cytokine Drugs”

Tocagen Reaches Exclusive Deal in China for Brain Cancer Therapy

Roughly a year and a half after Tocagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TOCA]]) named Marty Duvall as CEO, the San Diego biotech said it has signed a deal that gives Beijing-based ApolloBio an exclusive license to its gene therapy treatment for a deadly type of brain cancer. Under terms of the deal, ApolloBio agreed to make a $16 … Continue reading “Tocagen Reaches Exclusive Deal in China for Brain Cancer Therapy”

Techstars Anywhere Inaugural Class Takes Virtual Graduation Walk

[Corrected 4/20/09, 5:35 am. See below.] From Adelaide to Toronto, the Techstars accelerator that began in Boulder, CO, runs 39 programs in 27 cities around the world—with the prerequisite that admitted startups must relocate, if necessary, to the city where their three-month program is based. Today, however, the inaugural class of the 40th program—Techstars Anywhere—is … Continue reading “Techstars Anywhere Inaugural Class Takes Virtual Graduation Walk”

10xBio Raises $2.7M to Test Body Sculpting Drug in Clinical Trial

John Dobak, a life sciences serial entrepreneur in San Diego, said a new startup he’s leading has raised $2.66 million to advance a drug that is already approved to shrink varicose veins through early-stage clinical trials testing it in a new use —fat reduction body sculpting. The biotech, 10xBio, announced earlier this month that the … Continue reading “10xBio Raises $2.7M to Test Body Sculpting Drug in Clinical Trial”

Xconomy Forum Rides Wave of Big Data/Big Bio Startups in San Diego

As the Xconomy Forum on Big Data Meets Big Biology draws near, one of the best arguments for understanding the significance of the convergence of data science and the life sciences may lie in what came out of the 2013 sale of San Diego’s EcoATM. Founded by several veterans of the wireless semiconductor industry, EcoATM … Continue reading “Xconomy Forum Rides Wave of Big Data/Big Bio Startups in San Diego”

San Diego VC Funding Hits $547.2M in Q1; Ideaya Leads Top 10 Deals

Venture capital investors sank $547.2 million into 37 startup companies throughout San Diego County during the first three months of 2018, maintaining roughly the same level of venture funding seen in recent quarters, according to the Venture Monitor Report. The amount of capital invested in the San Diego area was up slightly from the $541.2 … Continue reading “San Diego VC Funding Hits $547.2M in Q1; Ideaya Leads Top 10 Deals”

Expectations Rise on Q1 Surge in Venture Funding; and Top 10 Deals

[Updated 4/11/18 10:13 am. See below.] Venture capital investors poured more than $28.2 billion into U.S. companies during the first three months of 2018—marking the strongest single quarter in at least a dozen years, according to the Venture Monitor Report released today by Seattle-based PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA). The $28.2 billion that … Continue reading “Expectations Rise on Q1 Surge in Venture Funding; and Top 10 Deals”

Arcturus Proxy Fight Heats Up; Ex-CEO Responds to Board’s Charges

As a showdown stockholders meeting draws near for San Diego’s Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]), a proxy battle is boiling down to an argument over who represents the best interests of shareholders in the tiny RNA drug company. In an April 3 letter addressed to the company’s four board members, Arcturus co-founder and ex-CEO Joseph E. … Continue reading “Arcturus Proxy Fight Heats Up; Ex-CEO Responds to Board’s Charges”

Roche Buys Inception 5 MS Program, Versant Funds New Venture

When Versant Ventures, Roche, and Inception Sciences came together in 2014 to identify drugs that could repair damaged neurons, they were placing a bet on technology that amounted to a promising tool in a broader quest to find new ways to treat multiple sclerosis. Now, San Francisco-based Versant is offering validation of that bet, although … Continue reading “Roche Buys Inception 5 MS Program, Versant Funds New Venture”

Straight Outta Wisconsin, LynxBio Wins EvoNexus Best Demo Vote

A startup team from the University of Wisconsin that moved to San Diego in January to advance their technology for optimizing treatment regimens for cancer patients won the audience vote for best pitch at the EvoNexus Spring Demo Day last week. Lynx Biosciences founder and CEO Chorom Pak said her startup has developed microfluidic technology … Continue reading “Straight Outta Wisconsin, LynxBio Wins EvoNexus Best Demo Vote”

Arcturus Board Sues Ex-CEO, Alleges Deceit, in Prelude to Proxy Fight

The board that fired Arcturus Therapeutics co-founder and CEO Joseph E. Payne earlier this year unleashed a new broadside this week in the ongoing battle for control of the San Diego-based RNA drug developer. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday (see below) and in an open letter to shareholders issued Wednesday, the Arcturus (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]) board … Continue reading “Arcturus Board Sues Ex-CEO, Alleges Deceit, in Prelude to Proxy Fight”

Reachify Rolls Out Healthtech Software for Patient Communications

[Updated 3/28/18 12:15 am. See below.] A healthtech startup founded by two doctors who set out in 2013 to improve the overall management of their respective medical practices is emerging from beta mode Wednesday to offer fellow physicians an office software suite. Reachify, founded in 2015 and based in San Diego, targets medical groups with … Continue reading “Reachify Rolls Out Healthtech Software for Patient Communications”

EY Report Suggests Improving Conditions for U.S. IPOs in 2018

U.S. IPO activity has been ticking up, with 36 IPOs raising more than $12.7 billion in the United States so far this year, according to data released Monday by EY, the global consulting and accounting firm. Although there are still several days remaining in the first quarter of 2018, EY reports the number of first-quarter … Continue reading “EY Report Suggests Improving Conditions for U.S. IPOs in 2018”

SD Team Heads to US Ignite Summit to Advance Emergency Mobile App

A San Diego software development team with an idea for an emergency mobile app that it said would be faster than calling 911 is headed this week to US Ignite’s Application Summit in Kansas City, MO. The team (pictured above right) emerged as the judges’ top choice among 12 pre-qualified entrants that competed in San … Continue reading “SD Team Heads to US Ignite Summit to Advance Emergency Mobile App”

Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs Offers Farewell at Shareholders Meeting

Former Qualcomm executive chairman and CEO Paul Jacobs ended his 28-year career with the telecommunications giant Friday with a heartfelt farewell at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. In a short speech to several hundred shareholders at Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) headquarters in San Diego, Jacobs acknowledged the role his father Irwin Jacobs played as Qualcomm’s founding … Continue reading “Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs Offers Farewell at Shareholders Meeting”

Freenome Co-founder & Investor Chat Where Big Data Meets Big Bio

Through the years, Xconomy has taken many of the stories we’ve published about innovation and entrepreneurship and brought them to life on stage at our events. In the process, we have learned that combining an entrepreneur with a venture investor for a one-on-one chat can provide some fascinating insights into the startup process. So we’re … Continue reading “Freenome Co-founder & Investor Chat Where Big Data Meets Big Bio”

Human Longevity Hires Ancestry Executive as CTO

San Diego-based Human Longevity, which is combining genomic and phenotypic data and using machine learning to extract insights about health and wellness, has named Scott Sorensen as chief technology officer. Sorensen, who reports to founder, chairman, and CEO J. Craig Venter, was previously the CTO at Ancestry. In a statement Monday, Human Longevity said Sorensen … Continue reading “Human Longevity Hires Ancestry Executive as CTO”

Four Developments to Watch as Embattled Qualcomm Seeks Path Forward

[Updated 3/16/18 3:30 pm. See below.] There’s never a dull moment these days at Building N, the San Diego headquarters of Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the wireless technology giant and the world’s biggest maker of the advanced components used in smartphones. In the days since President Donald Trump preemptively killed Broadcom’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) unsolicited offer to … Continue reading “Four Developments to Watch as Embattled Qualcomm Seeks Path Forward”

Dutch Biotech Raises $19M to Develop Psoriasis Drug Near San Diego

Escalier Biosciences BV, a biotech developing drugs for psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders, said it has raised $19 million in a Series B financing led by Forbion, a Dutch life sciences investor. Another Dutch investor, BioGeneration Ventures, and New York-based New Science Ventures joined the round, according to a statement from the company. While Escalier … Continue reading “Dutch Biotech Raises $19M to Develop Psoriasis Drug Near San Diego”

Big VCs Join Xconomy in San Diego to Discuss Big Data, Big Biology

In the Boston office of GE Ventures, managing director Alex de Winter is overseeing investments in companies like Veracyte, which is applying machine learning to genomic sequencing technology to help doctors distinguish benign growths from cancer. At Intel Capital in the Bay Area, investment director Ranjeet Alexis is an expert in bioinformatics who is scouting … Continue reading “Big VCs Join Xconomy in San Diego to Discuss Big Data, Big Biology”

Crinetics Closes $63.5M Financing to Back Rare Hormone Disease Drug

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, a San Diego biotech focused on developing new drugs for endocrine disorders and endocrine-related cancers, said today it has raised $63.5 million in a Series B financing led by Perceptive Advisors, the New York biotech fund. Two new investors, RA Capital and OrbiMed, joined the round, along with existing investors 5AM Ventures, Versant … Continue reading “Crinetics Closes $63.5M Financing to Back Rare Hormone Disease Drug”

President Trump Prohibits Broadcom from Acquiring Qualcomm

In a surprising statement late today from the White House, President Donald Trump unilaterally prohibited Broadcom’s proposed takeover of Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]), the world’s biggest maker of chips for smartphones. Citing a recommendation from a national security panel and other factors set forth under federal law, the statement also proclaims that all candidates that Broadcom … Continue reading “President Trump Prohibits Broadcom from Acquiring Qualcomm”

Proper Media Acquires Spoutable, Last Piece of Venture Studio

After learning that Proper Media, a San Diego specialist in programmatic digital advertising had acquired Spoutable, it took a couple weeks to catch up with Spoutable CEO Jon Belmonte and ask: What happened to Cursive Labs? Spoutable began more than three years ago as part of Cursive Labs, a kind of holding company for startups … Continue reading “Proper Media Acquires Spoutable, Last Piece of Venture Studio”

San Diego Faces Its Future as a Tech Hub Without Qualcomm as Anchor

As Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) prepares for its annual shareholders meeting Tuesday, March 6, its takeover battle with Broadcom (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BRCM]]), has much of San Diego pondering a question reminiscent of a Joni Mitchell song: “Oh, don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone?” If Qualcomm accepts Broadcom’s … Continue reading “San Diego Faces Its Future as a Tech Hub Without Qualcomm as Anchor”

With $75M Alumnus Gift, UCSD Opens Data Science Institute

Amid intensifying global demand for workers who can extract insights from zettabytes of data, the University of California, San Diego held a dedication ceremony Friday for its new Halicioğlu Data Science Institute. The center, made possible by a $75 million gift from UC San Diego alumnus and early Facebook employee Taner Halicioğlu, is intended to … Continue reading “With $75M Alumnus Gift, UCSD Opens Data Science Institute”

Sēqster Exits Stealth with Web-Based Tech for Managing Health Data

Sēqster, founded in 2016 to develop technology that enables individuals to aggregate and manage all of their own personal health information, emerged from stealth mode Wednesday. Comparing itself to the personal finance platform Mint.com, the San Diego startup says its platform integrates personal health information from a variety of sources, including electronic medical records (EMR), … Continue reading “Sēqster Exits Stealth with Web-Based Tech for Managing Health Data”

Smart Cities Initiative Spurs “Gigabit Apps” for Next-Gen Internet

In late 2015, the National Science Foundation awarded a $6 million grant to the non-profit organization U.S. Ignite to help drive the development of next-generation “gigabit applications,” as part of a broader effort to create “smart gigabit communities” throughout the U.S. The idea was to both help cities improve local services and spur the development … Continue reading “Smart Cities Initiative Spurs “Gigabit Apps” for Next-Gen Internet”