LAUNCH
Intellivision Entertainment LLC of Irvine pushed the launch of its game console—a reboot of the short-lived Intellivision system from the ’80s—from October to April 2021 due to pandemic-related production, assembly and operational challenges.
Though disappointing, the new timeline presents an opportunity to capitalize on a fast-growing market after the Christmastime rush for games, according to Chief Executive Tommy Tallarico.
“From a retail perspective, there is nothing left to sell by the first quarter. So I think it’ll be a positive in the long run,” Tallarico said of the delayed launch.
In the meantime, Intellivision announced a series of exclusive games that will be available on the platform, including Earthworm Jim 4 and Evel Knievel.
It will also work with Mattel, Sesame Workshop and Usaopoly to create new games such as Hot Wheels and Major League Baseball.
The company, with about 30 employees, has already sold 13,000 pre-ordered units and promised about 100,000 units to retail partners including Amazon.com, Walmart and GameStop.
It’s raised some $10 million for its Series A round of financing, which is expected to close at the end of this year.
San Clemente-based Tuli Technologies Inc. kicked off its e-commerce marketplace and social network, with an initial focus on supporting restaurants.
Tuli initally planned to start as a marketplace for cannabis products, before pivoting to the restaurant industry when the pandemic struck, according to co-founder and Chief Executive David Wilmot.
Tuli is currently offering restaurants free, virtual menus and an online ordering function with a 10% commission and credit card fees.
The company aims to help businesses make the transition to the digital environment at a crucial time, while driving consumer spend through social interactions and recommendations, Wilmot said.
Wilmot, whose résumé includes leadership roles at Pressed Juicery, Jamba Juice and Starbucks, launched Tuli with co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer Meysam Moradpour.
Moradpour is a former vice president of digital products for Mastercard. He has also been a director with Yum Brands and Google.
Tuli has raised nearly $1 million to date, with lead investor Halley Venture Partners in San Francisco.
R&D
NuEyes Inc. of Newport Beach created a pilot study with Massachusetts Commission for the Blind and the Massachusetts eHealth Institute.
The four-month study will test 30 participants in Massachusetts with five augmented reality and virtual reality wearable devices, which NuEyes plans to release throughout 2021.
Study groups will focus on daily tasks, mobility issues, connectivity issues and visual acuity with the NuEyes headsets, according to the company.
NuEyes Chief Executive Mark Greget said, “We feel that the results of these studies will further advance smart glasses technology for the visually impaired.”
Greget told the Business Journal in May the company would launch several new products aimed at assisting patients with retinal diseases and macular degeneration, as well as a device for surgical use.
Expect to hear more about advanced headsets hitting the market in 2021; both Ocutrx Vision Technologies LLC in Irvine and Eyedaptic Inc. in Laguna Beach plan to unveil similar new products.
The University of California-Irvine is enrolling patients in a new clinical trial for patients with COVID-19.
The new treatment is a stem cell-derived natural killer cell therapy developed by Fordham Park, N.J.-based Celularity Inc.
Celularity’s CYNK-001 therapy has a range of properties that “destroy virus-infected cells” and “coordinate a robust immune response that may lead to an effective and durable defense against the viral infection,” according to Celularity Chief Scientific Officer Xiaokui Zhang.
The Phase I/II clinical trial, which is supported by a $750,000 grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, will start by evaluating the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the therapy in up to 14 patients in three doses over a week.
“As part of our rapidly scalable placental-derived cellular medicine platform, CYNK-001 could play an important role in the public health response to outbreaks of COVID-19 or other coronaviruses,” said Chief Executive Robert Hariri.
Celularity’s CYNK-001 has been well tolerated thus far in patients with severe COVID-19 under compassionate use programs, the company said.
DATA & INSIGHTS
Irvine-based productivity software developer Prodoscore revealed a new workplace behavioral survey, which shows 44% of employees feel they’re just as productive at home as in the office, while 36% think they are more productive at home.
The 1,000-participant study was conducted in July and included mostly white-collar workers.
About 77% of respondents reported working from home.
Behavioral insights show:
• 36% of employees say their manager does not coach them.
• 53% feel frustrated that their accomplishments have not been recognized.
• 75% are interested in a tool that highlights behaviors that have led to past success, so they can replicate these behaviors.
• Less than 50% find annual performance reviews helpful.
• 54% would be interested in replacing performance reviews with coaching sessions and routine engagement.
• 67% believe active coaching sessions would be more useful than traditional reviews.
RepuGen Inc., an Irvine-based healthcare reputation management software provider, is tracking patient engagement and satisfaction amid the pandemic.
In a recent survey across 500 primary care, urgent care and pediatrics practices, the company revealed most patients prefer virtual visits versus in-office appointments.
Primary care and urgent care virtual visits were met with an average satisfaction score of 9.7 and 9.8 out of 10, respectively, while pediatric virtual care scored 9.3 on average.
Telemedicine solves a number of issues that contribute to low patient satisfaction, such as long wait times or operational issues, said RepuGen Chief Executive Ajay Prasad.
These challenges “could be somewhat eliminated, if telemedicine continues to be a significant portion of healthcare delivery well beyond COVID-19,” he said.
Prasad recommended that providers continue to generate reviews; keep patients up-to-date on telemedicine offerings, pandemic operations and sanitization measures; and ask for patient feedback to continue managing their reputations.
Prasad founded RepuGen in 2016; its clients include Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Health System, UC Irvine Health and Greater Newport Physicians, among others.
