A technology company housed at an Irvine incubator closed a $320,000 seed round, bringing its total funds raised to more than $750,000, Chief Executive Behnam Analui said.
Abtum has developed radio frequency technology to improve the functionality of filters for mobile devices, wireless networks and the Internet of Things, including smart-home devices, automobiles and infrastructure.
Abtum, housed at incubator EvoNexus, also signed two strategic partnership agreements, one with a partner in Taiwan, the other with a partner in Korea, both of which it didn’t disclose. Both partners are working with it on its first product for the mobile market, an offering designed for 4G LTE-Advanced smartphones. Phones that incorporate Abtum’s filters will support a feature that increases by two to five times the data bandwidth consumers can get from their mobile devices, Analui said.
The company plans to release initial samples in the second quarter and anticipates “high volume” in the fourth quarter, he said.
“If all goes well, we expect to go through a hyper growth in the second half of 2017,” Analui said.
Silicon Valley seed funding group Band of Angels invested an undisclosed amount in the company in November, he added.
Dude, Where’s My Charger?
An Irvine company that’s developed phone cases to charge iPhones launched a campaign on Indiegogo to raise $25,000 for manufacturing.
RosHoff Inc., short for the names of co-founders Parker Rosen, 19, and Robby Hoffman, 20, created two iPhone case styles to eliminate the hassle of a phone running out of juice in the absence of a charger.
The basic case is the EZ Charge Case and contains only the backup battery. The more advanced model is the EZ Charge Case Pro, which has both a backup battery and a built-in charger. The charger is attached to a 28-inch cord that extends from the case, enabling a person to talk on the phone during charging.
The duo have been friends since they were eighth-graders in Corona del Mar. They left the colleges they were attending to work on the startup, telling their parents they would be the next Bill Gates, said Rosen, who’s chief executive. They were accepted into incubator FastStart Studio in Irvine, participating in its 20-week program.
The business partners already raised nearly $10,000 from friends and family.
A Cause in a Coupon
An entrepreneur has created a company that enables consumers to seek out businesses that donate to causes the purchaser is passionate about.
Benjamin Yip cultivated Aidtree at California State University-Fullerton’s incubator in Placentia. He’s since taken an office in Fullerton.
Yip organized the company to emulate Groupon’s discount business model, while adding causes to the formula.
Aidtree starts the process with businesses. A restaurant, for example, would create a $10 discount coupon on a $50 dinner. It would select a category of causes to support, such as nonprofit groups or school-related fundraising efforts. Once a business selects a category of causes, all individual causes in that category will list the business as a supporter.
A user would then visit Aidtree’s website and find a cause he or she wants to support. A list of businesses supporting that cause will appear, for example a restaurant. The user would pay $5 for a $10-off dinner coupon. About 80% of the payment would go to the cause, and the balance to Aidtree for expenses and transaction costs, Yip said. Donations are automatically deposited into the cause’s account, reducing the time and energy needed for a person or entity to collect, count and deposit the money, Yip said.
“Usually when you do a fundraiser, everyone has to go to one restaurant at the same time,” Yip said. “Then the restaurant counts the receipts, takes a percentage and gives it to a cause.”
Yip is rolling out Aidtree to CSUF clubs to start—the Center for Entrepreneurship already has signed on as a cause—and Titan Shops, the official supplier of CSUF gear, has posted coupons on its website.
He said he’s bootstrapped the company with his savings and a supportive wife and that the incubator was a big help in Aidtree’s early development.
