With Qualcomm Buyout Looming, EvoNexus Aims for Self-Sufficiency

In the nine years since San Diego’s EvoNexus incubator began amid the great recession of 2009, CEO Rory Moore has emphasized it is a pro bono program—startup teams admitted to the technology accelerator get free office space and other perks, with no strings attached. EvoNexus operates as a non-profit, which is possible because dozens of … Continue reading “With Qualcomm Buyout Looming, EvoNexus Aims for Self-Sufficiency”

A16Z Bio Fund’s Pande Sees A.I. as Way to Ride Bio Innovation

As Andreessen Horowitz begins to invest the $450 million the bellwether venture firm recently raised for its second bio fund, general partner Vijay Pande has been talking increasingly about the use of artificial intelligence in the life sciences. In a presentation a few months ago at the firm’s annual a16z Summit, Pande argued that many … Continue reading “A16Z Bio Fund’s Pande Sees A.I. as Way to Ride Bio Innovation”

Arcturus Terminates CEO, Names Mark Herber as Interim President

Arcturus Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARCT]]) said today it has fired co-founder and CEO Joseph E. Payne (on the right in above photo), and named Mark Herber, vice president of business development and alliance management, as interim president. The San Diego-based early stage biotech, which specializes in RNA medicines, did not explain in a statement today why … Continue reading “Arcturus Terminates CEO, Names Mark Herber as Interim President”

As Worlds Collide: Join Xconomy for Big Data Meets Big Biology

What happens when the power of advanced computing and large-scale data technologies are applied in healthcare and the life sciences? Imagine what might happen if two tsunamis came together near the coast. On April 26, Xconomy will explore how the inexorable trends in IT and life sciences are driving transformational change, and how innovations in … Continue reading “As Worlds Collide: Join Xconomy for Big Data Meets Big Biology”

With Pellini on Board, Maris Sets Course at Section 32

It’s not easy to catch up with Bill Maris at Section 32, the venture firm he founded last year near San Diego. It took a while to arrange a call to discuss how Foundation Medicine’s Michael Pellini had joined Section 32 as Maris’s first investing partner, and what they plan to do together. Maris acknowledged … Continue reading “With Pellini on Board, Maris Sets Course at Section 32”

Genomatica, Pioneer in Bio-Chemicals, Working Now on Sustainable Biz

Genomatica, a San Diego industrial biotech, has spent the past 12 years or more working to take the petroleum part out of the petrochemical industry. In 2008, for example, Genomatica showed it had bio-engineered E. coli bacteria to digest sugar, oxygen, and other nutrients in a fermentation tank—and produce 1,4-butanediol (BDO), an intermediate chemical used … Continue reading “Genomatica, Pioneer in Bio-Chemicals, Working Now on Sustainable Biz”

Luna DNA Uses Blockchain to Share Genomic Data as a “Public Benefit”

A San Diego startup says it has adapted the blockchain technology that underpins digital currencies like Bitcoin for use as a distributed database for genomic information. Luna DNA’s efforts mark one of the early attempts to apply blockchain technology in healthcare, as advocates of the much-hyped technology try to make use of it in sectors … Continue reading “Luna DNA Uses Blockchain to Share Genomic Data as a “Public Benefit””

LendingPoint Adds Point-of-Sale Financing with LoanHero Buyout

LendingPoint, an online provider of direct loans to consumers, has acquired LoanHero, the San Diego fintech with technology that enables merchants to extend instant financing to consumers at the point of sale. Financial terms of the buyout were not disclosed in an announcement Thursday. The acquisition enables LendingPoint, which focuses on near-prime consumers (with FICO … Continue reading “LendingPoint Adds Point-of-Sale Financing with LoanHero Buyout”

SD Venture Funding Tops $1.9B in 2017; and Q4 Top 10 Deals

Venture capital activity ended the year with a strong finish in San Diego, as investors poured $498.4 million into 61 companies during the last three months of 2017, according to Venture Monitor data released Tuesday. The strength of fourth-quarter deals, lifted by a $125 million financing in November for the molecular diagnostics company Progenity, brought … Continue reading “SD Venture Funding Tops $1.9B in 2017; and Q4 Top 10 Deals”

Venture Activity Comes to (Unicorn) Point in 2017, and Top 10 Deals

[Updated 1/10/18 1:30 pm. See below.] In China, 2017 was the year of the rooster. But in the United States, it was the year of the unicorn—at least according to the Venture Monitor report released today by Seattle-based PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. A record number of unicorn financings—venture-backed companies valued at $1 … Continue reading “Venture Activity Comes to (Unicorn) Point in 2017, and Top 10 Deals”

Genalyte Takes Aim at Lab Testing Giants with Cloud-Based Service

Genalyte, a biomedical diagnostics company that has maintained a low profile in San Diego while raising almost $92 million, is getting ready to debut technology that targets a market long dominated by centralized lab services providers. Kevin Lo, an Internet veteran who recently joined Genalyte as president, said in a telephone interview the company is … Continue reading “Genalyte Takes Aim at Lab Testing Giants with Cloud-Based Service”

Security Evangelist Tony Anscombe on the Tech Backlash of 2017

It’s time to ring out the old year. Or perhaps in the case of 2017, with its litany of data security breaches, social media manipulations, and allegations of sexual harassment, to just wring out the old. As the year drew to a close, Xconomy asked a variety of tech industry observers for their perspective on … Continue reading “Security Evangelist Tony Anscombe on the Tech Backlash of 2017”

Cybersecurity Expert Ash Mozano on the Tech Backlash of 2017

There may be nothing more subjective than trying to gauge public attitudes about technology. Yet a series of highly publicized events in 2017—from the massive exposure of personal data in the Equifax breach to the use of Twitter and Facebook to manipulate voters in the U.S. Presidential election—has prompted some to question the utopian promise … Continue reading “Cybersecurity Expert Ash Mozano on the Tech Backlash of 2017”

San Diego Life Sciences 2022: Photos and Takeaways

Making predictions can be a tricky business. Nevertheless, Xconomy recently brought together some of San Diego’s most prominent life sciences leaders to offer their vision for what the regional biotech cluster will be like in five years. They broadly agreed that San Diego has proven itself as a great seedbed for life sciences startups. The … Continue reading “San Diego Life Sciences 2022: Photos and Takeaways”

Metacrine Raises $22M to Advance New Drugs for Chronic Liver Disease

Metacrine, a biotech developing new drugs for treating chronic liver diseases and related metabolic diseases and disorders, said today it has raised $22 million in a Series B financing led by New Enterprise Associates, a new investor. Proceeds will be used to advance Metacrine’s lead drug candidate, MET409, into first-in-human studies during the first half … Continue reading “Metacrine Raises $22M to Advance New Drugs for Chronic Liver Disease”

Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development

The reaction on Wall Street was a little anticlimactic after the FDA approved a new hepatitis B vaccine last month for Berkeley, CA-based Dynavax Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DVAX]]). Many investors sold stock on the news. In the days following the company’s Nov. 9 announcement, the price of Dynavax shares slipped about 8 percent, from $20.05 a … Continue reading “Dynavax Co-founder Takes Long View on Vaccine Development”

Connect Marks 30th Year of Most Innovative New Product Awards

In its yearly celebration of entrepreneurship and invention, San Diego’s Connect gave its Most Innovative New Product Award to 10 local companies at a dinner gala Thursday evening. Speaking in an interview before the late-night ceremony, Connect CEO Greg McKee said the awards highlighted the diversity of innovation in San Diego—from an oxygen mask that … Continue reading “Connect Marks 30th Year of Most Innovative New Product Awards”

Intel Deepens Move into Sports Tech with ScoreStream Investment

ScoreStream, a five-year-old startup that created a social media platform for crowd-sourcing local sports scores, has raised $3.7 million in a Series A round that includes Intel Capital as an investor. According to a recent ScoreStream statement, San Diego’s Avalon Ventures, a longtime ScoreStream investor, led the round, and was joined by Sinclair Broadcasting, Verizon … Continue reading “Intel Deepens Move into Sports Tech with ScoreStream Investment”

Xconomy Peers into Biotech Future with Vividion’s Diego Miralles

What’s new in San Diego life sciences? Diego Miralles, who was named just three months ago as the CEO of San Diego-based Vividion Therapeutics, has a lot to say on that topic. Miralles, an immunologist who previously served as the CEO at Adaptive Therapeutics and before that led innovation and West Coast R&D for Johnson … Continue reading “Xconomy Peers into Biotech Future with Vividion’s Diego Miralles”

Raken Aims for Growth in Mobile App for Construction Site Reporting

When it comes to disrupting an industry, Raken founder and CEO Kyle Slager says it would be hard to find a sector that is more resistant to spending money on new technologies than the construction business. As Slager puts it, even bankers and insurers spend more on technology as a percentage of revenue than building … Continue reading “Raken Aims for Growth in Mobile App for Construction Site Reporting”

Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure

Aquam, a San Diego company with technology for cleaning out and re-lining aging utility pipelines, has raised $26 million in a growth capital round led by NewWorld Capital Group, a New York private equity firm that makes investments in sustainable energy and natural-resources related deals. As municipalities and utilities confront intractable infrastructure problems that range … Continue reading “Aquam Raises $26M to Expand Tech, Services for Aging Infrastructure”

Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup

Bose, the privately held maker of headphones, loudspeakers, and other electronics for audiophiles, has acquired Hush, a San Diego startup founded by three undergraduate engineering students to develop “smart” noise-masking earbuds designed to help users sleep. The Framingham, MA, audio giant has incorporated the Hush technology in a prototype product that Bose is testing in … Continue reading “Bose Develops Prototype “Sleepbuds” After Buying San Diego Startup”

OncoSec Medical Names Former Advaxis Exec O’Conner as CEO

OncoSec Medical (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONCS]]) has named former Advaxis (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ADXS]]) CEO Daniel J. O’Conner to take over as chief executive at the San Diego-based company, which has been developing technology to enhance the delivery and uptake of its anti-tumor drug therapies. O’Conner resigned in July from Advaxis, a cancer immunotherapy biotech in Princeton, NJ, and … Continue reading “OncoSec Medical Names Former Advaxis Exec O’Conner as CEO”

Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health

Progenity, a San Diego molecular diagnostics company focused on women’s health, reproductive medicine, and oncology, has raised $125 million in a Series B financing led by New York’s Athyrium Capital Management, an earlier investor. The financing marks one of the biggest life sciences deal involving a San Diego company this year. Proceeds from the financing, … Continue reading “Progenity Raises $125M to Expand Diagnostics for Women’s Health”

At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup

A lot of ink has been spilled on the subject of building tech startups and creating entrepreneurial communities for tech innovation. But to Etienne de Bruin, a disproportionate amount of attention has focused on the tech founder as CEO, and what it takes for a CEO to build a tech business. Search for “CEO books” … Continue reading “At First Summit, 7CTOs Takes Baby Step to San Diego Tech Buildup”

Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal

One thing to bear in mind with today’s news that Broadcom Ltd. (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AVGO]]) has made an unsolicited offer of about $105 billion to acquire San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) is that this deal, if it happens, is going to take time. Aside from the complications involved with combining the global operations of two Fortune … Continue reading “Broadcom-Qualcomm M&A: Layers of Complexity Cloud Biggest Tech Deal”

New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease

It struck me as a little perplexing when Organovo (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ONVO]]) announced in April that CEO Keith Murphy was departing to pursue “entrepreneurial opportunities.” The San Diego company, founded a decade ago on 3D bio-printing technology developed by the University of Missouri’s Gabor Forgacs, appeared to be gaining momentum on multiple fronts. Organovo had built … Continue reading “New Biotech Viscient Partners with Organovo on Fatty Liver Disease”

Klotho Therapeutics Raises $10M to Test Drug in Kidney Disease

Klotho Therapeutics, a virtual biotech developing a kidney disease treatment based on its proprietary engineered version of the human klotho enzyme, said Thursday it has raised $10 million in Series A financing from San Diego’s Thynk Capital. Thynk Capital founder and principal Jim Plante also is Klotho’s founder and CEO. Plante is a technology industry … Continue reading “Klotho Therapeutics Raises $10M to Test Drug in Kidney Disease”

John Mendlein Passes Torch to New CEO at San Diego’s aTyr Pharma

San Diego-based aTyr Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) said John Mendlein is stepping down as president and CEO, effective today. According to a statement released after the market closed, Sanjay S. Shukla, who has served as aTyr’s chief medical officer since March 2016, is succeeding Mendlein, who plans to continue to serve on aTyr’s board as a … Continue reading “John Mendlein Passes Torch to New CEO at San Diego’s aTyr Pharma”

San Diego Positions Itself as Autonomous Technology Proving Ground

UC San Diego is becoming a test bed for self-driving vehicle technology. With a campus that encompasses more than 3.3 square miles and a daytime population of roughly 65,000, “It’s a small city,” said Henrik Christensen, who is leading the new project as director of the university’s Institute for Contextual Robotics. Christensen, who announced the … Continue reading “San Diego Positions Itself as Autonomous Technology Proving Ground”

Tocagen Adopts “Seamless Pivotal Trial” for Brain Cancer Therapy

Three-year survival rates are rarely reported for a deadly form of brain cancer known as recurrent, high-grade glioma (HGG). Under the current standard of care, the median survival rate is seven to nine months. Yet San Diego-based Tocagen (NASDAQ: [[ticker:TOCA]]) says five patients in a high-dose cohort of its gene therapy treatment Toca 511 and … Continue reading “Tocagen Adopts “Seamless Pivotal Trial” for Brain Cancer Therapy”

Terminated Blood Cancer Drug Springs Back to Life at SD Biotech

A blood cancer drug resurrected by the scientist who helped discover the compound, and who shepherded it through years of R&D, got a shot in the arm today, in the form of a $90 million financing deal with New York’s Oberland Capital. The financing paves the way for San Diego’s Impact Biomedicines to move forward … Continue reading “Terminated Blood Cancer Drug Springs Back to Life at SD Biotech”

SmartDrive Raises Capital, Rolls Out Distracted Driving Technology

At the American Trucking Association Management Conference in Orlando, FL, this week, San Diego’s SmartDrive Systems announced that Michelin North America has led a new investment round in the company, though SmartDrive wouldn’t say how much it has raised. SmartDrive, founded in 2004, specializes in dashboard video cameras and related analytic technology to identify dangerous … Continue reading “SmartDrive Raises Capital, Rolls Out Distracted Driving Technology”

Xconomy Q&A: An Update with Arcturus Therapeutics CEO Joseph Payne

Things have been moving quickly in recent weeks for the San Diego RNA drug developer Arcturus Therapeutics. After initiating a reverse merger last month, Arcturus signed a research collaboration and worldwide licensing agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of the Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: [[ticker:JNJ]]) family of companies. In a statement last week, Arcturus said it … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: An Update with Arcturus Therapeutics CEO Joseph Payne”

Lab Focused on Human-Centered Design Moves to Put San Diego on Map

For Michèle Morris, the big question hanging over organizers as they laid the groundwork last year for the first Design Forward Summit was whether the innovation community in San Diego understood the value of design. “We didn’t know who was going to show up—and 600 people showed up,” said Morris, who is associate director of … Continue reading “Lab Focused on Human-Centered Design Moves to Put San Diego on Map”

JLABS Takes Stock of Its Experiment in Life Sciences Innovation

What began as a kind of business experiment in innovation has acquired a life of its own. The idea in 2011 was to create a space at what was then Johnson & Johnson’s pharmaceutical research and development facility in San Diego for an “innovation center,” a place where 18 to 20 life sciences startups could … Continue reading “JLABS Takes Stock of Its Experiment in Life Sciences Innovation”

Xconomy Q&A: Security Sleuth Stefan Savage Wins MacArthur Grant

After winning a MacArthur “genius” grant late Tuesday, the San Diego cybersecurity sleuth Stefan Savage acknowledged the honor “definitely triggers my imposter syndrome.” Savage, a computer scientist at UC San Diego (and a San Diego Xconomist), added in an e-mail Wednesday, “It’s very nice to see all the work that I and my collaborators and … Continue reading “Xconomy Q&A: Security Sleuth Stefan Savage Wins MacArthur Grant”

San Diego VC Funding at $426.5M in Third Quarter; Plus Top 10 Deals

The San Diego artificial intelligence company Brain Corp. topped the chart for raising the most venture capital in San Diego during the third quarter that ended September 30, according to Venture Monitor data released Tuesday. As Xconomy reported in July, Brain Corp. raised $114 million in a Series C funding round led by Softbank’s new … Continue reading “San Diego VC Funding at $426.5M in Third Quarter; Plus Top 10 Deals”

VC Funding Surges in Fewer Deals in Third Quarter, and Top 10 Deals

[Updated 10/11/17, 12:25 am. See below.] “More dollars, fewer deals” has been a prevailing trend in venture funding over the past couple of years, and it was evident again in the three months that ended September 30, according to the latest Venture Monitor report. Venture firms invested $21.5 billion in 1,699 startups nationwide during the … Continue reading “VC Funding Surges in Fewer Deals in Third Quarter, and Top 10 Deals”

San Diego Startup Uses Algae Feedstock to Make Renewable Flip-Flops

Every year, petroleum-based feedstocks are used worldwide to make roughly 3 billion flip-flops, the rubbery, flat-sole sandals held on the foot by a Y-shaped strap that fits between the first and second toes. It might seem like a throwaway product—and it is, according to Stephen Mayfield, a UC San Diego professor of biology and director … Continue reading “San Diego Startup Uses Algae Feedstock to Make Renewable Flip-Flops”

Under New Ownership, San Diego’s Ad-Juster Names Dennis Clerke CEO

Ad-Juster, a San Diego adtech startup acquired earlier this year by the investment arm of China’s Innotech International Group, Wednesday named local software entrepreneur Dennis Clerke as CEO. He succeeds Ad-Juster founder and president Mike Lewis, who has left the company. Clerke (a San Diego Xconomist) was previously the CEO of Sunnyvale, CA-based NetSeer, an … Continue reading “Under New Ownership, San Diego’s Ad-Juster Names Dennis Clerke CEO”

ServiceNow Buys San Diego Specialist in Customer Experience, Design

[Clarified 10/10/17, 11:15 am. See below.] ServiceNow (NYSE: [[ticker:NOW]]), the Santa Clara, CA-based giant that provides cloud-based IT services, is boosting its emphasis on human-centered design with its acquisition of Telepathy, a San Diego specialist in customer experience and design. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. “ServiceNow chose us because of the design … Continue reading “ServiceNow Buys San Diego Specialist in Customer Experience, Design”

Wind Startup Evokes Puerto Rico’s Plight, Wins EvoNexus Pitch Event

San Diego’s Uprise Energy won the audience vote for best presentation at EvoNexus Demo Day, with a pitch that highlighted how its mobile wind turbines could help alleviate the plight of Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria’s apocalyptic devastation. The startup event drew more than 400 people to Qualcomm’s San Diego headquarters late … Continue reading “Wind Startup Evokes Puerto Rico’s Plight, Wins EvoNexus Pitch Event”

San Diego Meets the Xconomists: When Social Media Is Not Enough

The technology for online social networks arrived practically hand-in-hand with the Internet. Since the advent of the World Wide Web in the mid-1990s, we’ve seen such networks proliferate, from the Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link (remember The WELL?) and chat rooms on Bulletin Board Systems to Yahoo message boards, LinkedIn, Myspace, Twitter, and Instagram. Nowadays, Facebook … Continue reading “San Diego Meets the Xconomists: When Social Media Is Not Enough”

Sumeru Leads $45M Growth Equity Round in Treasury Fintech Kyriba

The venture rounds are over for Kyriba, a cloud-based provider of corporate treasury and financial management software that is based in New York and San Diego. After raising $23 million in a Series D funding round last September, Kyriba says today it has raised $45 million in a growth equity round led by Sumeru Equity … Continue reading “Sumeru Leads $45M Growth Equity Round in Treasury Fintech Kyriba”

Poizner Updates Plan for Alliance on Southern California Innovation

After launching a study to identify how tech hubs work, the leader of a nonprofit consortium created to boost Southern California’s startup ecosystem says he is focusing on three initiatives to supercharge the seven-county SoCal region as a hotbed for innovation. “Our focus is on priming the pump,” Steve Poizner said Friday, after providing an … Continue reading “Poizner Updates Plan for Alliance on Southern California Innovation”

Lawyer Sues Venter’s Synthetic Genomics “Boys Club” over Gender Bias

Against a contentious backdrop of a gender gap in the life sciences, a lawyer who spent more than eight years managing intellectual property at San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics (SGI) has sued the star-studded company for discriminating against women. In a state civil lawsuit filed September 7, Teresa Spehar alleges that SGI is permeated by a … Continue reading “Lawyer Sues Venter’s Synthetic Genomics “Boys Club” over Gender Bias”

Venture Group’s Krenn Sees Improving VC Deals for SD Tech Startups

Call him an optimist if you must, but San Diego Venture Group president Mike Krenn says venture financings for San Diego’s early stage tech startups are on a tear. “I haven’t seen it this good since 2007,” he says. As head of the non-profit organization supporting local startups, Krenn says the venture group will help … Continue reading “Venture Group’s Krenn Sees Improving VC Deals for SD Tech Startups”

Presage Bio Licenses Anti-Cancer Drug to San Diego’s MEI Pharma

San Diego’s MEI Pharma (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MEIP]]) has agreed to pay $2.9 million upfront to Seattle-based Presage Biosciences for exclusive worldwide rights for the anti-cancer drug candidate voruciclib, which has shown some promise in a small, early stage study of patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Additional payments could eventually add another $181 million if MEI … Continue reading “Presage Bio Licenses Anti-Cancer Drug to San Diego’s MEI Pharma”

Bill Maris Takes Stage for 2nd Act, Says New Fund Mostly Committed

[Corrected 9/1/17, 7 am. See below.] In his first public appearance since leaving Google Ventures, Bill Maris said Wednesday his new venture fund, Section 32, is nearly fully invested—less than four months after he officially unveiled its existence in the San Diego area. In a keynote talk at a venture summit in San Diego, Maris … Continue reading “Bill Maris Takes Stage for 2nd Act, Says New Fund Mostly Committed”