STARTUPS & INNOVATIONS

VENTURE CAPITAL

Costa Mesa-based CerraCap Ventures, which focuses on software plays in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, fintech and medtech, said it closed its second fund with $35 million. 

Its backers include Mexico Ventures, which aims to provide south of the border enterprises with global access; India Infoline Group, India’s largest wealth management firm; and John C. Cushman III of commercial brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. 

About 40% of its second fund has been deployed across nine companies that can “make a significant impact on humanity,” Managing Partner Saurabh Ranjan said.

Investments include Robotic Skies, which is building the first network of service centers for commercial unmanned aircraft systems with support from Boeing; and artificial intelligence firm Deep Instinct, which works with tech giant HP Inc. on cybersecurity. 

It’s still looking to deploy about $21 million in companies, with an eye toward women-owned organizations and local startups, Chief Marketing Officer Nikki Arora said.

CerraCap was co-founded by a trio of UST Global executives, including Ranjan and Arora, in 2015.

The team has more than 150 years of experience in software technology, and has the “ability to find the right customers, purchase orders, talent,” and ultimately, “the ability to bring the ecosystem together to find the right exit,” Ranjan said.

Venture studio Quantum Fund OC LLC is raising some $30 million to $50 million for its first fund.

The catheter and medical imaging-focused fund is the brainchild of medtech veterans Dave Ferrera and Bill Colone.

Ferrera has exited several startups such as device maker Blockade Medical, which was acquired by Balt USA in 2016. He was most recently chief technology officer of Balt USA, before his retirement in May.

Colone was previously chief executive of San Clemente-based Spinal Singularity. His résumé also includes senior roles at device makers Direct Flow Medical Inc. and Endologix Inc. in Irvine.

Ferrera and Colone are using their industry contacts to build a portfolio of physician-inspired ideas, ranging from a catheter line designed specifically for pediatrics to a biopsy cauterizing device.

All of these ideas, many of which are patent-pending, target challenges for practicing physicians, said Ferrera.

For example, its biopsy cauterizing device can be used with a biopsy needle to stop bleeds post-biopsy, which typically occur during a deep tissue biopsy, said Ferrera.

Quantum Fund has also established a strategic relationship with M4D LLC in Lake Forest, which gives its portfolio companies access to a 12,000-square-foot facility for prototyping, manufacturing, assembly, regulatory approvals, and commercialization.

FINANCING

With a new $350,000 award from the Department of Energy, Metaseismic Inc. in Irvine is taking a road trip north to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in Berkeley to develop its shock-absorbing metamaterials. 

The DOE Advanced Manufacturing Agency funds and laboratory access will help Metaseismic build its artificial materials, which are designed to protect buildings during earthquakes. The company says its products can absorb up to 90% of vibration energy rather than resisting it, leaving objects unaffected during ground-shaking events.

Chief Executive Noemi Bonessio launched Metaseismic about three years ago, and since then has worked to refine her invention. 

The company was previously awarded about $1 million from the National Science Foundation to support these developments. 

Bonessio, who has a Ph.D. in structural engineering, pursued a career in the field after experiencing an earthquake that killed more than 300 about 75 miles from her hometown of Rome.

Krzysztof Palczewski, a world-renowned biochemist focused on vision issues and University of California-Irvine professor, received the Research to Prevent Blindness Stein Innovation Award.

The $300,000 grant will support ophthalmic research in retinitis pigmentosa and other mutations that cause blindness over a two-year period.

The Stein Innovation Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the eyecare field; former awardee Gregg Semenza won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Palczewski is the only person to have won both the Cogan Award (1996) for the most promising young vision scientists and the Friedenwald Award (2014) for continuously outstanding ophthalmology research.

Last October, he was elected into the National Academy of Medicine, which is one of the highest distinctions for academic medical professionals.

Palczewski was profiled in the Dec. 16 print edition of the Business Journal.

LAUNCH

VetCell Therapeutics USA recently kicked off a clinical trial for its investigational stem cell therapy for cats.

The Santa Ana-based company acquired the rights to its DentaHeal therapy, which targets the 30% of cats that don’t respond to standard treatments for feline chronic gingivostomatitis, an inflammatory condition that impacts the gums and areas around the mouth, from the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

Professor Boaz Arzi, who led the development of the treatment, will continue to work with VetCell as the lead investigator for its clinical trial, which will enroll up to 200 cats across 15 sites in the U.S.

“We’ve had a longstanding collaboration and partnership with UC Davis,” said VetCell’s Chief Medical Officer Chad Maki. “Now we’re picking up what they’ve built and looking to take it to market approval … and with everything we’ll know about the product delivery, that will open new indications and opportunities.”

The trial includes pet cats with other preexisting conditions or diseases.

VetCell is the pet-focused division of PrimeGen US (formerly PrimeGen Biotech).

PrimeGen US is backed by its founder and chairman Tom Yuen, who is most often recognized as the former chief executive of Santa Ana-based audio technology company SRS Labs Inc., as well as the co-founder of the now-defunct Irvine-based PC maker AST Research.

Pure Products of Huntington Beach unveiled its smart closet for retailers and consumers last week.

The company’s “PureCouture” is a standalone closet about 5’10” by 1’11”; it uses ultraviolet light and heat technology to sanitize up to five garments in less than two minutes.

“It’s the retailer’s best friend [in order] to bring back consumer confidence,” said Chief Executive Michaela Johnston, who notes a higher-end version of the product includes steaming capabilities for delicate garments.

Pure launched as a manufacturer of commercial cleaning products in 2014 before expanding to the direct-to-consumer market amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Its offerings, which use hypochlorous acid to kill 99.9% of bacteria and viruses, range from a handheld disinfectant device for $79 to a walk-though disinfection unit for $13,999.

“Hypochlorous acid is effective and safe,” added Johnston, who notes customer education is very much part of the company’s sales approach. “It’s known as nature’s sanitizer because it’s produced in our white blood cells.”

It’s also commonly used in eye drops and produce-sanitizing products, she said.

Johnston, 27, leads the 20-person company with Chief Operating Officer Irtiza Mahmood.