A China-based venture capital and private equity firm chose Irvine as its first outpost in Southern California. Cybernaut Green Tech USA Inc. opened an office at The Cove, the physical space of the University of California-Irvine’s innovation institute, Applied Innovation. The Irvine location is significant. That’s because it’s before planned outposts in Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, a Cove spokesperson said. Cybernaut specializes in early-stage, middle-stage, and growth-stage investments. Total assets under management are nearly $30 billion in U.S. dollars, the spokesperson said.
Cybernaut, launched in 2005, has investment funds for green-tech, fin-tech, artificial intelligence and healthcare. Investments by the firm include China-based LianLian Pay, a third-party payment service provider; China-based Focused Photonics Inc., a manufacturer of analytical instruments for industrial processes and environmental monitoring; and San Diego-based Spreadtrum Communications, a mobile phone chip manufacturer.
Leo Yong Gao, vice general manager of Cybernaut, could not be reached for comment. A spokesperson for The Cove said that Gao established an office in Orange County based on the quality of technology created using intellectual property from UCI. Irvine is also a well-known hub for Chinese entrepreneurs moving to the area with the intent of building a company, working for an organization or participating in the OC startup ecosystem, he added. And the virtual reality, medical device, biotech, and life sciences industries here piqued the firm’s interest. Cybernaut may eventually develop a fund for OC-based startups, the spokesperson said.
Other funders at The Cove are K5 Ventures, an early-stage venture fund with headquarters in Newport Beach that partners with and invests in technology-driven businesses; the OC chapter of Tech Coast Angels, the largest angel investor group in the U.S., with five chapters in Southern California; Auctus Global Capital Group, which partners with emerging-growth businesses—mostly in Asia—in clean technology, life sciences, and information technology; and the Cove Fund 1, which although housed at The Cove, is not directly affiliated with Applied Innovation. The fund of approximately $5.6 million provides startup money to new OC-based ventures, investing a maximum of $250,000 in any given startup.
Parcel Pending Growth
An Irvine-based company that provides electronic lockers to apartment complexes announced that it achieved “record sales” in July. Privately held Parcel Pending chooses not to publish sales numbers, founder and Chief Executive Lori Torres said. Sales of the company’s indoor lockers experienced 72% year-over-year growth from July 2016 to July 2017, she said. Prior to July 2017, May was its highest sales month, she added.
“We are experiencing exceptional growth in 2017 and anticipate the same increase in 2018,” she said. “Our growth was fueled not only by the sales of our existing indoor lockers, but also our recently launched refrigerated and outdoor lockers.”
To manage this growth, Parcel Pending is adding 10 positions, she said.
RollOutt Rolls Out
Zachary Martin and Matt Strack launched Costa Mesa-based RollOutt. The company provides a shuttle service for commuters, starting with a route from Newport Beach to Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles. It has a fleet that can accommodate 150-plus people.
Seventy-two percent of commuters in Southern California drive to work alone, according to the company. RollOutt’s vans aim to provide an affordable alternative where riders can sit back and enjoy the ride, whether working, sleeping or just not having to deal with the pressure of driving, Martin said.
Rides are booked through RollOutt’s website. The company does not have an app yet. A daily roundtrip is $12, and a monthly pass is $199. The retail prices are based on calculated data that makes the shuttle cheaper than driving alone, Martin said.
Using the Stanford University Commute Calculator, Martin put in the following data: a car averaging 25 mpg, $2.75 a gallon for gas, a commute of five days a week, and about 100 miles roundtrip daily from OC to Santa Monica in a straight shot. When Martin plugged those numbers in, he said he found it costs “way more” than $200 a month per driver, including other costs, such as maintenance and parking.
The shuttles departs from Newport Center, which surrounds Fashion Island in Newport Beach, each weekday morning. In the evening, shuttles bring everyone back to the departure area.
If five people need to be dropped off in Santa Monica, for example, a shuttle will drop those riders off at their office or within close walking distance.
The intention is to eventually serve all of Southern California, based on demand, Martin said.
Last year, he launched Costa Mesa-based Loil for on-demand oil changes at customers’ homes or offices. That company experienced 200% monthly growth beginning in January and has partnerships with organizations such as Irvine Co. and Centreville, Va.-based Carfax, according to Martin.
He’s also community manager of The VineOC, an Irvine Co. property in University Research Park. Strack’s been in the transportation industry for about 15 years. He’s the chief executive of Costa Mesa-based Strack Premier Transportation, a limousine company.
RollOutt plans a seed round soon.
