LAUNCH
Newport Beach-based NuEyes Technologies Inc. recently unveiled its Pro 3 smart glasses.
The Pro 3, which starts at $1,799, uses augmented reality and a variety of light, depth and gravity sensors to support patients with macular degeneration and other low-vision conditions with daily tasks, mobility issues and visual acuity.
The device (about two-tenths of a pound) also features a camera and a 52-degree field of view.
NuEyes is also marketing the Pro 3 to enterprise businesses, touting capabilities for guided workflows, remote assistance, step-by-step training, data visualization and MRO maintenance, repair and operations.
“This is an exciting pivot for NuEyes. Over the past four years, we have been approached by a multitude of medical, government, and enterprise customers asking for a smart glass solution to meet their needs. With our new multiyear exclusive manufacturing relationship with PFC, we now can deliver on those needs with the Pro 3 product line,” said Mark Greget, chief executive and founder of NuEyes.
NuEyes, founded in 2016, has about a dozen employees and recently added Fraser Bowie to its advisory board. Bowie previously led the global learning and development team at Verizon, where he introduced virtual and augmented reality training and support to the company’s operations and helped train over 20,000 employees worldwide.
Okami Medical Inc., an Irvine-based medical device maker, has received federal clearance for its LOBO-5 vascular occluder.
The company’s LOBO system, which stands for low-profile braided occluder, is intended to obstruct or reduce the rate of blood flow in arteries and veins during various medical procedures.
The approval is the second for the three-year-old firm, which treated its first patient in March. The LOBO-5 can be used for larger blood vessels (3 to 5 millimeters) compared to the LOBO-3 (1.5 to 3 millimeters).
“LOBO-3 and LOBO-5, to be followed by LOBO-7 and LOBO-9, are designed and built to enable fast, predictable and complete occlusion of a diverse set of vascular targets without the need for multiple embolic devices,” Bob Rosenbluth, chief executive of Okami, said in a statement.
Okami raised a $7.2 million Series D round of financing in June from 18 investors, which was led by U.S. Venture Partners.
The privately-held firm has raised about $16 million to date and is the second portfolio company of medical device accelerator Inceptus LLC in Aliso Viejo.
Inceptus in 2013 spun out Inari Medical Inc. (Nasdaq: NARI), the ninth-largest public company in OC with a market cap more than $4 billion.
FINANCING
San Clemente-based acai beverage and product maker Sambazon Inc. recently raised $8 million, regulatory filings indicate.
Sambazon is reported to have raised nearly $46 million since its 2000 inception, according to Crunchbase. Backers include RC/Fontis Partners, yogurt brand Stonyfield Farms and Verlinvest.
The company makes a variety of acai bowls, superfruit packs, energy drinks, frozen desserts and sorbet with organic and vegan ingredients.
Every time a purchase is made, a portion of proceeds go to charities and philanthropic efforts protecting the Amazon, the company says.
Its products sell through thousands of doors in Albertsons, Costco, Target, Whole Foods Market and more.
Orange County is home to a number of organic and sustainable food and beverage brands such as plant-based meals maker Abbot’s Butcher in Costa Mesa and Irvine-based ZenWTR.
ACQUISITION
Irvine-based communication services firm YouMail Inc. acquired Thumbtel on undisclosed terms last month.
Thumbtel, a United Kingdom-based phone number and voicemail service for small businesses, expands YouMail’s collection of security-focused phone services such as robocall blocking, spam protection and voice-to-text features.
“YouMail’s acquisition of Thumbtel provides us with a platform for quickly providing call protection in the United Kingdom, our first foray outside of the US and Canada,” said YouMail Chief Executive Alex Quilici.
YouMail, founded in 2007, handles over a billion calls
per year for over 10 million users.
“It also nicely increases the footprint and scale of YouMail’s premium consumer subscription business and expands and improves our product and engineering teams,” Quilici said.
YouMail is currently growing via acquisition of companies that it can support on its platform; it acquired voicemail-to-text transcription service PhoneTag in September.
The company has about 40 employees and raised $8 million in investment funds to date; backers include the Tech Coast Angels.
NEW HIRES
Irvine-based Healthdesk.ai, an artificial intelligence-powered assistant for gyms and fitness facilities, recently named Christopher Patton and Adam Lowe to its advisory board.
Patton is the chief revenue officer of Peerfit, a provider of fitness employee benefits such as gym memberships and fitness programs.
Lowe was previously chief operating officer of Peerfit. Before that, he served as chief technology officer of WellMatch, an Aetna-owned healthcare price platform.
Healthdesk, founded in 2018, is a cloud-based platform with automated messaging, voice and video communications. The company estimates it automates about 82% of all inquiries, decreases member acquisition cost by 12% and reduces payroll costs by 11% on average.
CerraCap Ventures of Costa Mesa recently announced a multi-million-dollar impact fund and foundation called CerraCap Cares.
The new organization, which operates independently from the venture firm, is led by founding partners Nikki Arora and Sylvia Kim.
“CerraCap Cares is an extension of our dreams to impact vision for the world and communities we live in,” said Arora, a founding partner of CerraCap Ventures since 2016 and previously chief marketing officer at Aliso Viejo-based UST Global.
“Good technology has enabled so much of the enterprise world, and we think its high time to leverage it in the nonprofit world for more sustainable outcomes,” she said.
CerraCap Cares said it will invest in innovative companies focused on the environment, education and the empowerment of communities.
The majority of returns will go to the foundation, which is working with Orange County Community Foundation, among others, to determine causes to support in OC.
“We’re leveraging CerraCap Ventures’ successful track record and applying its business methodology to the world of social impact and nonprofit in order to help reduce disparities by creating sustainable technologies and unleashing the power of technology to do good,” said Kim, a former practicing human rights attorney and nonprofit director.
Kim and Arora attributed CerraCap Ventures’ success to its ‘sales-to-scale’ model and abilities to assess product-market fit, make connections and drive purchase orders.
