Octane, the Orange County accelerator for startups in industries like ophthalmology, medtech and aesthetic medicine, said it set many milestones for 2022.
Octane’s Impact Performance Metrics, which is scheduled to be released in March, showed the following for 2022:
• About 5,073 high-paying jobs were created in 2022 by Octane portfolio companies. Since 2010, 28,372 such jobs have been created.
• Octane portfolio companies raised $1.6 billion in 2022. Since 2010, about $6.9 billion has been raised.
• Companies that raised capital through Octane have had liquidity events that total $5.2 billion.
• Octane has assisted 1,573 companies since 2011.
• 87% of the companies who have used the LaunchPad SBDC (Small Business Development Center) have successfully raised capital and 82% of those remain operational.
“That is a staggering number,” Octane Chief Executive Bill Carpou told the Business Journal.
Among other highlights last year for Octane, its conference on aesthetics competed directly with the largest aesthetics conference in the world, the IMCAS in Paris.
“Many global leaders of aesthetics companies selected Octane and Orange County over Paris,” he said.
“The level of innovation occurring in OC around aesthetics has accelerated and we showcase many companies.”
The accelerator, which moved its office from Aliso Viejo to Newport Beach at the end of last year, recently began a partnership with the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business.
Last year, it announced an expansion into healthcare and artificial intelligence, a new business line that has an emphasis on mental health.
“The mental health component of Healthsocal.ai is making large inroads,” he said.
A second new vertical launched last year focuses on the unmet needs in cardiology, highlight current buying trends of strategics and investors, review current funding models of cardiology innovation, present innovation trends, and showcase top emerging cardiology companies.
In May, the accelerator has also scheduled “Innovation Week” that aims to grow into Orange County’s version of South by Southwest, the world-renowned tech, film, music, education, and culture festival in Austin, Texas, that annually features many innovations.
“The Orange County innovation ecosystem will display the many industries and organizations that enable Orange County to be an epicenter of both technology and medical technology innovation,” Octane said in a Feb. 14 statement.