Fast-growing Irvine company Numecent has acquired employees, customers and intellectual property from Approxy, a joint venture it spun out in 2012 with private investors to deliver “cloud paging” for next-generation cloud-gaming services.
Numecent describes cloud paging as a patented virtualization software service that delivers applications from the cloud 20 to 100 times faster than traditional digital downloads without installing them on a device.
Think accessing PhotoShop within seconds without the need to boot it up on your computer or the program taking up space on your hard drive.
The venture-backed company is targeting software vendors, Internet service providers, and the gaming sector, which has experienced a void in the specialized cloud niche with the restructuring of OnLive Inc. in Palo Alto and the acquisition of Aliso Viejo-based Gaikai Inc.
Gaikai is now primarily providing in-house services to Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the gaming unit of Tokyo-based Sony Corp. that produced PlayStation.
“When you’re running one of these games, it could take hours on your machine,” said Chief Executive Osman Kent, who said he ran into similar issues trying to run a Star Wars game on a computer for his son.
Sony Computer acquired Gaikai in 2012 for $380 million. OnLive laid off its entire staff that year and was acquired by Silicon Valley investor Lauder Partners LLC.
Numecent has doubled its employee base in the past year to about 42 people. Osman wouldn’t disclose revenue figures, saying only that the company has “a lot more revenue than Oculus” and is on pace to double revenue again this year.
Irvine-based Oculus VR Inc., which was acquired in July by Facebook Inc. for $2 billion, has sold more than 75,000 of its prototype virtual reality headsets, generating more than $22 million in sales.
Numecent, launched in 2008, raised $13.6 million this year in a funding round led by T-Venture Holding, the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom in Bonn, Germany.
It has raised an additional $11 million from angel investors.
Acacia Execs Sell Shares
Several top executives at Newport Beach-based Acacia Research Corp. sold several chunks of shares when they reached $18.14 on Nov. 21.
Chief Executive Matthew Vella sold 18,925 shares, reducing his personal stake by 8.8%.
Chief Financial Officer Clayton Hayes shed 4,365, reducing his personal stake by 4.2%. Edward Treska, senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary, sold 8.115 shares, reducing his personal stake by 14%.
Acacia shares are up about 7.5% since the sell-off and about 34% this year to a market value of about $977.3 million.
The company licenses patents from its own portfolio and for other companies.
It typically splits sales, licensing fees and court settlements with patent holders.
Acacia posted strong September quarter earnings, snapping a yearlong slump as it navigates a tougher pricing climate on patent licensing and works through a glut of underperforming, smaller portfolios that are costly to manage.
Lock Maker Grows Reach
Lake Forest-based Kwikset, a U.S. residential lock maker, has expanded distribution of its smartphone-powered door lock to Australia, with plans to launch the product next year in Southeast Asia and New Zealand.
The company also launched a private beta on Android devices for the Kevo door lock that allows users to create “guest keys” for others to enter a home, schedule day and time constraints, and adjust the radius where users can power the device.
The lock costs about $200.
