Overland Buys MaxiScale

San Diego data storage and management provider Overland Storage (NASDAQ: [[ticker:OVRL]]) said today it has acquired MaxiScale, a Sunnyvale, CA-based provider of data management and data protection technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. MaxiScale’s technology, which is being integrated into Overland’s file storage portfolio, provides infinitely scaling storage capabilities that promise to … Continue reading “Overland Buys MaxiScale”

Qualcomm Buys iSkoot

San Diego’s Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) said today it has acquired San Francisco-based iSkoot Technologies, a mobile social networks software developer. Financial terms were not disclosed. In a statement, the wireless technologies giant said iSkoot works with mobile device makers and mobile operators to bring popular social networks and Internet services to mobile handsets in ways … Continue reading “Qualcomm Buys iSkoot”

Venture Trend Toward Smaller-Size Deals Continues as Survey Shows Big Q3 Funding Surge in Texas, Drop in Massachusetts

Our friends at CB Insights made an early break out of the gate again today with data on venture capital investments in private companies, this time reporting total VC funding of $5.4 billion in 715 deals nationwide for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30. The CB Insights Venture Capital Activity Report shows, though, that … Continue reading “Venture Trend Toward Smaller-Size Deals Continues as Survey Shows Big Q3 Funding Surge in Texas, Drop in Massachusetts”

Halozyme Trims Workforce

Halozyme Therapeutics (NASDAQ: [[ticker:HALO]]) said it plans to decrease research relating to the discovery and preclinical assessment of new compounds in a strategic refocusing that will require laying off about 30 workers, or 25 percent of the company’s workforce. Halozyme said it is focusing its resources on developing and commercializing three compounds already in clinical … Continue reading “Halozyme Trims Workforce”

But How Will It Affect Me? An Xconomy Forum on Consumers, Innovation, and Opportunities in Health IT

These are days of tremendous changes in healthcare, as legislative reforms take effect over the next four years in an effort to make healthcare available to everyone—and at a cost they can afford. At the same time, technology advances in Web-based services, wireless communications, and other information technologies offer new possibilities to lower health costs. … Continue reading “But How Will It Affect Me? An Xconomy Forum on Consumers, Innovation, and Opportunities in Health IT”

Qualcomm Ends Direct Flo TV Service, Chumby Gets New CEO and $3M in Venture Funding, Equifax Acquires Anakam, & More San Diego BizTech News

We had a lot of wireless news pile up in San Diego last week. Good thing we had the bandwidth here at Xconomy to bring it all together for you here. —Aneesh Chopra, the first federal chief technology officer of the United States, offered numerous examples of how the Obama Administration is opening government data … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ends Direct Flo TV Service, Chumby Gets New CEO and $3M in Venture Funding, Equifax Acquires Anakam, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Cypress Bio Sells Diagnostics Business

San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]), has agreed to sell its diagnostices business to Albuquerque, NM-based Exagen Diagnostics for as much as $8 million in upfront and milestone payments, with additional future payments in the form of royalties on product sales. Exagen Diagnostics, which specializes in the discovery and development of genomic marker tests, is … Continue reading “Cypress Bio Sells Diagnostics Business”

Venter Institute, Synthetic Genomics Form Vaccine Company, Partner With Novartis

San Diego’s Synthetic Genomics, co-founded by human genome pioneer J. Craig Venter, and the nonprofit J. Craig Venter Institute, are forming a new company called Synthetic Genomics Vaccines. The startup plans to develop next-generation vaccines, using the latest advances in synthetic biology and genomic sequencing from the Maryland-based Venter institute, and intellectual property and “business … Continue reading “Venter Institute, Synthetic Genomics Form Vaccine Company, Partner With Novartis”

Wireless Health Meeting Draws ‘A’ List Speakers, Seidel Takes the GNF Reins, Apricus Bio Raises $9.3M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

It was a relatively quiet week for life sciences news. But we nevertheless saw some interesting developments in personnel moves and fund-raising, as some key local scientists helped start a couple of new companies, as well as in the clinical test of a new experimental cancer drug. —The Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation … Continue reading “Wireless Health Meeting Draws ‘A’ List Speakers, Seidel Takes the GNF Reins, Apricus Bio Raises $9.3M, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

In Verve Wireless, Founders Create a Mobile Technology Platform and a Lifeline for Local News

The New York Times has a pretty impressive website for mobile apps, with plenty of information to help its loyal readers access news on their iPhone, BlackBerry, Palm Pre, Android, and other mobile devices. As the premiere national newspaper, though, the Times also has more wherewithal than most local newspapers and broadcasters to develop customized … Continue reading “In Verve Wireless, Founders Create a Mobile Technology Platform and a Lifeline for Local News”

Qualcomm Ending Its Own Direct-to-Consumer TV Service

Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) today confirmed media reports from yesterday, saying it has decided to stop offering its Flo TV direct consumer mobile television service to new customers. In a statement this afternoon, the San Diego wireless giant said it also has stopped selling its Qualcomm pocket-sized personal TV. The company says it anticipates there will … Continue reading “Qualcomm Ending Its Own Direct-to-Consumer TV Service”

Strategy at San Diego’s Chumby Coming to Fruition Under New CEO

San Diego’s Chumby Industries, creator of the consumer gadget that is a plush toy, alarm clock, Web terminal, and video and music player, raised an additional $3 million in debt, options, and rights to securities, according to a regulatory filing yesterday. The latest funding, which co-founder and investor Steve Tomlin describes as “no real news…simply … Continue reading “Strategy at San Diego’s Chumby Coming to Fruition Under New CEO”

Equifax Acquires SD’s Anakam

Atlanta-based Equifax said Monday it has acquired Anakam, a privately held identity security and management software developer in San Diego. Terms of the transaction, which closed October 1, were not disclosed. Anakam, founded in 2004, specializes in multi-factor identity authentication technology that can replace key cards and other methods for verifying a person’s identity. The … Continue reading “Equifax Acquires SD’s Anakam”

Qualcomm Reportedly Moving to Close Flo TV Operation

Last year, Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) announced during the CTIA Wireless trade show that it was introducing a handheld personal TV to help boost interest in its Flo TV business, which has been flagging. This year, it looks like the San Diego wireless giant will be confronting reports of a planned shutdown of its Flo TV … Continue reading “Qualcomm Reportedly Moving to Close Flo TV Operation”

Mellmo’s Mobile Visualization Technology for Business Data Gets More Versatile

Mellmo, which makes mobile software for visualizing business intelligence data, just keeps expanding the capabilities of its Roambi graphics display applications for the iPhone and iPad. The Del Mar, CA-based startup announced two weeks ago that it has integrated Roambi with Oracle’s suite of business intelligence products. So the Roambi enterprise server, which connects to … Continue reading “Mellmo’s Mobile Visualization Technology for Business Data Gets More Versatile”

Entropic Raises $99M, SDSU’s VizLab Pioneers Web-Based Disaster Maps, Avalon Raises $161M for 9th Fund, & More San Diego BizTech News

The Connect Innovation Report that was released last week shows that San Diego’s innovation economy is a mix of contrary signals. We also saw a number of tech sector deals, and we’ve got it all wrapped up for you here. —San Diego’s Entropic Communications (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ENTR]], which makes semiconductors for home entertainment networks, raised $99.1 … Continue reading “Entropic Raises $99M, SDSU’s VizLab Pioneers Web-Based Disaster Maps, Avalon Raises $161M for 9th Fund, & More San Diego BizTech News”

Life Technologies’ Recent Deals Reflect $100M Initiative in Synthetic Biology

Back on May 28th, Carlsbad, CA-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: [[ticker:LIFE]]) said it had agreed to pay approximately $47 million in cash to acquire a 74 percent stake in Geneart, a German company that specializes in making synthetic genes. Less than a week later, Life announced that it had made an undisclosed investment (which later turned … Continue reading “Life Technologies’ Recent Deals Reflect $100M Initiative in Synthetic Biology”

Cal-Comp Buys Spectragraphics

Cal-Comp Electronics, a public company in Thailand, is acquiring Spectragraphics, a holding company that operates two San Diego-based electronics manufacturing services companies—Total Electronics and SMS Technologies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cal-Comp, which is controlled by the New Kinpo Group of Taiwan, ships more than $5 billion worth of products annually, and … Continue reading “Cal-Comp Buys Spectragraphics”

Avalon Still Raising Capital After Landing $161M for Ninth Fund

Avalon Ventures, the San Diego-based venture capital firm founded by Kevin Kinsella, has surpassed its targeted minimum fund-raising goal for its ninth venture fund. After closing on a significant investment in the fund yesterday, Avalon Ventures IX now stands at $161 million, according to Kinsella. These days, it is practically headline news when a San … Continue reading “Avalon Still Raising Capital After Landing $161M for Ninth Fund”

Cypress Rejects Ramius—Again, Federal Health Sciences Funding at 2-Year High, Opthonix Raising More Venture Capital, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

An economic report shows federal funding for medical research has become a substantial factor in fueling the innovation economy in San Diego. And as if on cue, the National Cancer Institute issued a couple of grants here. We have the rest of your life sciences news in queue here: —The board at San Diego’s Cypress … Continue reading “Cypress Rejects Ramius—Again, Federal Health Sciences Funding at 2-Year High, Opthonix Raising More Venture Capital, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Opthonix Raises $5.4M

Vista, CA-based Ophthonix, which has developed a laser-based diagnostic machine to precisely measure eyes for its proprietary iZon corrective lenses, has raised almost $5.4 million of a targeted $12.1 million financing round involving equity, rights, and securities, according to a regulatory filing. Ophthonix sells its diagnostic machine, the Z-View Aberrometer, to eye doctors. It also … Continue reading “Opthonix Raises $5.4M”

San Diego’s Wildfire Experience Provides an Edge in Disaster-Tracking Tech

Octobers have been cruel to San Diego. The infamous Cedar Fire started on a Saturday evening, Oct. 25, 2003, and raced more than 30 miles from the Cleveland National Forest into the San Diego suburbs by the next morning. The firestorm destroyed 2,232 homes and killed 15 people before it was contained nine days later. … Continue reading “San Diego’s Wildfire Experience Provides an Edge in Disaster-Tracking Tech”

Cypress Bio Rejects Buyout Again, Calls Offer Opportunistic, Undervalued

[Updated 9/28/10 2:05 pm. See below.] There’s little surprise in the announcement today by San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]), which says its board of directors has “unanimously rejected” the slightly higher buyout offer that Ramius Value and Opportunity Advisors made two weeks ago. But Cypress is doing a far better job in explaining itself, … Continue reading “Cypress Bio Rejects Buyout Again, Calls Offer Opportunistic, Undervalued”

San Diego Report on Innovation Economy Still Shows Mixed Picture of Economic Recovery

The Connect Innovation Report is not exactly timely—the report on San Diego’s innovation economy for the second quarter that ended June 30th was released just yesterday. But the almost 40-page report offers a more comprehensive overview than the more immediate picture we get from venture capital investments in San Diego startups during the quarter. The … Continue reading “San Diego Report on Innovation Economy Still Shows Mixed Picture of Economic Recovery”

Verve Wireless Gets $7M in Round Led by BlueRun Ventures

Encinitas, CA-based Verve Wireless, whose technology lets newspapers and other media companies publish their content and serve ads across a variety of mobile devices, says today it has raised $7 million in venture funding led by BlueRun Ventures of Menlo Park, CA. The Associated Press news service, a previous investor in Verve, joined in the … Continue reading “Verve Wireless Gets $7M in Round Led by BlueRun Ventures”

Entropic Plans Stock Offering

San Diego’s Entropic Communications (NASDAQ [[ticker:ENTR]]), a fabless semiconductor design company focused on the market for home networking and entertainment, announced after the market closed Monday that it plans to offer 10 million shares of its stock in a public offering. The company says it intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase … Continue reading “Entropic Plans Stock Offering”

Cylene Raises $12M for Early Stage Trial Oral Drug for Multiple Myeloma

San Diego’s Cylene Pharmaceuticals says it has raised an additional $12 million from its existing venture investors to help fund its early stage trial of an oral drug for multiple myeloma. The company says investors include Sanderling Ventures, HBM BioVentures (Cayman), Novartis BioVenture Fund, BioVentures Investors, Lilly Ventures, Mitsui & Co., and Morningside Venture Investments. … Continue reading “Cylene Raises $12M for Early Stage Trial Oral Drug for Multiple Myeloma”

Dave Matthews Plays at 25th Anniversary Festival, ViaSat Partners with JetBlue for Inflight Wi-Fi, Oceanhouse Media Adds 3 Berenstain Bears Titles, & More San Diego BizTech News

Short and sweet: it was a busy week, but not exactly an avalanche of local tech news. The countdown has begun, and your wrap-up of local developments begins in 3, 2, 1: —San Diego’s PCN Technology has developed technology that converts an existing copper-wire control system or power line that was installed before the Internet … Continue reading “Dave Matthews Plays at 25th Anniversary Festival, ViaSat Partners with JetBlue for Inflight Wi-Fi, Oceanhouse Media Adds 3 Berenstain Bears Titles, & More San Diego BizTech News”

PCN Technology Translates Industrial “Tower of Babel” Networks Into Language of the Internet

The key to the formation of San Diego’s PCN Technology came almost a decade ago, while co-founders Daniel Drolet and David Stumpf were working in a corner of the information technology sector that the Internet had seemingly left in the 20th century dust. In the world of industrial computer networks and embedded systems, Drolet tells … Continue reading “PCN Technology Translates Industrial “Tower of Babel” Networks Into Language of the Internet”

ATS Gets $3M in Cancer Funding

The National Cancer Institute awarded $3 million to San Diego’s Advanced Targeting Systems, a company that develops and provides products for neuroscience researchers, and has developed technology for targeting specific types of cells. In 1997, for example, ATS developed SP-SAP, a reagent that eliminates specific pain transmission neurons that propagate chronic pain signals. In a … Continue reading “ATS Gets $3M in Cancer Funding”

Qualcomm Hosts Dave Matthews Band for 25th Anniversary Festival

The tweets have been flying out of San Diego’s Sorrento Valley, where wireless technology giant Qualcomm is hosting the Dave Matthews band and multi-instrumentalist Tim Reynolds tonight as part of the company’s 25th anniversary festival. Thousands of Qualcomm employees and invited guests flocked to the party, which began at 5:30 p.m. at the company’s headquarters … Continue reading “Qualcomm Hosts Dave Matthews Band for 25th Anniversary Festival”

ViaSat to Provide JetBlue In-Flight Internet

JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: [[ticker:JBLU]]) has signed up for a substantial chunk of the high-speed Internet bandwidth that Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat is providing via its ViaSat1 satellite, which is scheduled for launch in 2011. ViaSat says its satellite will provide space-based Internet service in excess of 100 gigabits—which is about 10 times the capacity of existing … Continue reading “ViaSat to Provide JetBlue In-Flight Internet”

FDA Panel Votes Against Arena’s Weight-Loss Drug, ImThera Encouraged by Early Test Results, Novartis Wins FDA Approval for MS Pill, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

Much of San Diego’s life sciences news over the past week was about drug development and the FDA approval process. We’ve wrapped it up for you here. —As setbacks go, this one was pretty substantial for San Diego’s Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ARNA]]) and its partner, Japan-based Eisai Pharmaceuticals. The Food and Drug Administration’s expert advisory … Continue reading “FDA Panel Votes Against Arena’s Weight-Loss Drug, ImThera Encouraged by Early Test Results, Novartis Wins FDA Approval for MS Pill, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Oceanhouse Adds 3 “Berenstain Bears” Titles

Encinitas, CA-based Oceanhouse Media, the electronic publisher that landed publishing rights for the entire catalog of 44 Dr. Seuss childrens’ books for the iPad, iPhone, and iTouch, is expanding into another branch of the children’s library. The not-even-a-year-old startup, which I profiled last month, says today it is releasing three faith-oriented titles from the popular … Continue reading “Oceanhouse Adds 3 “Berenstain Bears” Titles”

ImThera Encouraged by Results of European Sleep Apnea Study

ImThera Medical, the San Diego medical device startup developing an alternative to respirator-type treatments for sleep apnea, has disclosed what it calls “promising” results from a very small group of patients in a European study. Even though the test involved just 10 patients, ImThera chairman and CEO Marcelo Lima anticipated the results would be a … Continue reading “ImThera Encouraged by Results of European Sleep Apnea Study”

WWHI Names Head of Commercial Engineering

The West Wireless Health Institute today named Eric Collins as its senior vice president of commercial engineering, according to a statement released today. Collin, who previously directed Motorola Labs’ DigitalDNA Systems Architecture Laboratory, will oversee a team developing the institute’s strategies for converting concepts for wireless health products into comprehensive, ready-for-market solutions. Collins, who has … Continue reading “WWHI Names Head of Commercial Engineering”

Molecular Response Names CEO

Molecular Response, a privately held molecular diagnostic services company based in San Diego, has named Cyrus Mirsaidi as CEO, according to a statement from the company. The molecular diagnostics startup identifies only the San Diego-based Biotech Investment Group as an investor on its website. Molecular Response says it was founded to reduce risk and increase … Continue reading “Molecular Response Names CEO”

What Becomes a Legend Most? San Diego’s Legend3D Boasts 700 Percent Growth

Barry Sandrew, whose imaging expertise as a Harvard neuroscientist led him to a mid-life career change in Hollywood, tells me the company he founded in San Diego remains on course with a 700 percent growth rate over the past year. As I reported in May, Sandrew founded San Diego-based Legend Films in 2001 as a … Continue reading “What Becomes a Legend Most? San Diego’s Legend3D Boasts 700 Percent Growth”

Qualcomm Promotes Mollenkopf

San Diego-based Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [ticker:QCOM]) today announced the promotion of Steve Mollenkopf to executive vice president and group president, recognizing his oversight responsibilities of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT), Qualcomm Internet Services (QIS) and Qualcomm MEMS Technologies. In a statement issued by the company, Qualcomm chairman and CEO, Paul Jacobs, says “aligning our current and future … Continue reading “Qualcomm Promotes Mollenkopf”

SG Biofuels Gets $9.4M to Develop Jatropha, Motorola Spinout Could Land in San Diego, Startup Grid2Home Emerges Here, & More San Diego BizTech News

If Motorola’s mobile devices spinout establishes its new headquarters in San Diego, as many as 200 new jobs would be created here. That would be good news, of course, for a county where the unemployment rate in August was just reported to be 10.6 percent. We have that and the rest of the BizTech news … Continue reading “SG Biofuels Gets $9.4M to Develop Jatropha, Motorola Spinout Could Land in San Diego, Startup Grid2Home Emerges Here, & More San Diego BizTech News”

CommNexus Industry Leader Series: Verizon Wireless West President Tami Erwin

Verizon Wireless has been testing 4G/Long Term Evolution wireless technology in Boston and Seattle since August, 2009. Successful data calls have involved streaming video, file uploads, and downloads, Web browsing, and calls using Voice over Internet Protocol. The company is preparing to launch commercial 4G service this year in some 30 markets serving 100 million … Continue reading “CommNexus Industry Leader Series: Verizon Wireless West President Tami Erwin”

San Diego Venture Group’s $20K PitchFest Dinner and Finalist Presentations

The San Diego Venture Group’s 11th Annual PitchFest provides an opportunity for early stage technology and life science companies to gain experience in refining their investor presentations and ultimately a chance at $20,000 in startup funding. The deadline for applications, which are free, are due Sept. 24. SDVG’s PitchFest selection committee, comprised of local business … Continue reading “San Diego Venture Group’s $20K PitchFest Dinner and Finalist Presentations”

Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha Talks Cloud Computing Strategy—and Eyes Bringing Mobile Division to San Diego

Sanjay Jha was lured from Qualcomm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:QCOM]]) to serve as co-CEO of Schaumburg, IL-based Motorola (NYSE: [[ticker:MOT]]) and the CEO of the nearby Motorola Mobility division, which includes mobile handsets, wireless accessories, and home digital media devices. Now there’s a chance the wireless industry’s prodigious son might return to San Diego—and bring the headquarters … Continue reading “Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha Talks Cloud Computing Strategy—and Eyes Bringing Mobile Division to San Diego”

We Can Get There From Here: The Automotive X Prize Awards $10 Million to 3 Winners

A very light car powered by an internal combustion engine (and fueled by a standard gasoline-ethanol blend known as E85) won the $5 million purse today in the Progressive Automotive X Prize—proving you don’t need an electric vehicle to get over 100 mpg. The nonprofit X Prize Foundation and Progressive Insurance, which sponsored the automotive … Continue reading “We Can Get There From Here: The Automotive X Prize Awards $10 Million to 3 Winners”

Astute Gets Cash Infusion

San Diego-based Astute Networks, Inc., which provides blade storage systems optimized for demanding applications, says today it received a significant capital investment from Tallwood Venture Capital of Palo Alto, CA. The amount of Tallwood’s investment was not disclosed. Astute, which was founded in 2000, last raised about $3.6 million of a targeted $10 million round … Continue reading “Astute Gets Cash Infusion”

Lorcaserin Weight-Loss Trials Weigh Heavily on Arena, Ramius Raises Offer to Buy Cypress Bio, Santarus Adds to Its Drug Portfolio, & More San Diego Life Sciences News

The game is afoot for Ramius Value and Opportunity Advisors, the private equity group in New York pursuing San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience, as it made a direct appeal to Cypress shareholders to support its unsolicited buyout offer. At Xconomy, we’re issuing a direct appeal to get your life sciences news here. —The stage has been … Continue reading “Lorcaserin Weight-Loss Trials Weigh Heavily on Arena, Ramius Raises Offer to Buy Cypress Bio, Santarus Adds to Its Drug Portfolio, & More San Diego Life Sciences News”

Grid2Home Gets Granite Ventures Seed Funding for Smart Grid Software

A new “smart grid” startup has emerged in San Diego. Grid2Home, which describes itself as a “smart energy communications company” that develops software for wired and wireless home area networks (HAN), is joining a technology land-rush among San Diego wireless and software companies seeking to stake a claim in smart grid territory. The local stampede … Continue reading “Grid2Home Gets Granite Ventures Seed Funding for Smart Grid Software”

In Appeal to Cypress Bio Stockholders, Ramius Raises Buyout Offer

[Corrected 9/16/10, 2:00 pm. See below.] San Diego’s Cypress Bioscience (NASDAQ: [[ticker:CYPB]]), which has been stubbornly refusing to negotiate or even meet with a private equity firm over an unsolicited buyout offer, says it will review the fund’s increased offer “consistent with its fiduciary duties.” Ramius Value and Opportunity Advisors, a subsidiary of the $7.8 … Continue reading “In Appeal to Cypress Bio Stockholders, Ramius Raises Buyout Offer”

Qualcomm Renews, Expands QPrize for Early Stage Startups

San Diego-based Qualcomm chose the Demo Fall 2010 conference in Santa Clara yesterday to announce the second round of the Qualcomm Ventures QPrize, an international venture financing competition for early stage startups. The wireless giant’s venture arm inaugurated the QPrize last year, offering a total of $550,000 in “incentive financing” to finalists from China, India, … Continue reading “Qualcomm Renews, Expands QPrize for Early Stage Startups”