The Aliso Viejo-based company uses artificial intelligence, automation, and data and analytics to help retail businesses experiment with and curate music, including audio advertisements that boost customer moods, actions and sales.
Its platform connects to in-store infrastructure, smart devices and sensors, enabling businesses to automatically adjust volume levels speaker by speaker and tailor content in real time as customers move and shop around.
“In contrast to consumers’ online profiles, the in-store experience is largely untapped when it comes to driving intelligent, measurable and direct initiatives,” Nick Larkins, co-founder and chief product officer, said.
“By merging the physical retail environment with multiple data inputs, and overlaying AI and machine learning, we’re helping brands create a more holistic experience that transcends online and bricks and mortar.”
New funds for the company, founded in Australia in 2012 by Larkins and Matt Elsley, will support both national expansion in the U.S. and product development, the company said.
Qsic has grown its reach to over 26 million unique visitors a month. Customers include McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, Mecca, WeWork and Carl’s Jr., among others.
It took a novel approach to crafting its seltzers, aiming to differentiate its products from others such as White Claw and Truly brands with cocktail-inspired flavors such as Soda and Lime, Mai Tai, Moscow Mule and Margarita.
“We saw a void in the market,” said Partner Chris Van Dusen, who invested in the distillery in mid-2018.
“All of these [competitor] companies are coming out with simple flavors. We have spirits at our core, so we wanted to recreate the taste of a cocktail.”
Furthermore, Van Dusen said the seltzers are right in line with the reason people seek seltzers; they are gluten-free, low in sugar, low in alcohol content (5% ABV), zero carb and only 100 calories per 12-ounce can.
While the seltzers will be available in stores in California later this year, Surf City Still Works already sells to 248 retail doors, 110 restaurants and event venues.
Also on tap for the distillery, launched by Elena and Josh Kornoff: its nearing completion of a major expansion including a full-service kitchen and tasting room that is expected to open in July.
Zarina Bahadur, a recent graduate of the UCI Paul Merage School’s Masters of Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, came up with the idea for the business after seeing a working mom juggling two young children and a cart full of essential products at a local grocery store.
Boxes not only come with products that are “tuned to the developmental stages of the child,” but are also designed as a “time saver because new moms will typically spend [countless hours] researching products for their babies,” Bahadur said.
The company offers monthly, semi-annual and annual subscription boxes that range from $45.99 to $59.99 a month and each contain a total product value of $100 or more.
For example, a newborn box comes with a sound machine, a milestone blanket, a nasal aspirator, a swaddle, a developmental book, as well as something extra for mom such as a bath bomb or fuzzy socks.
123 Baby Box last year won venture competitions at California State University, Fullerton and the University of California, Irvine, and was recently accepted into the Long Beach Accelerator. It has received seed financing at a $2 million valuation.
NEW HIRES, BOARD MEMBERS
Irvine-based patient recruitment platform StudyKIK named Kevin Vass chief financial officer.
Vass was most recently vice president of finance at electronics maker Harman International. He previously held senior financial positions at biotech firms Amgen and Johnson & Johnson.
Vass joins StudyKIK “at an extremely exciting stage of growth due to the adoption of our expanded services in patient recruitment and digital clinical trial technologies,” Chief Executive Matt Miller said in a statement.
“These services will help to better support patients as they enter and participate through a clinical trial and Kevin’s experience will help support StudyKIK through our next stage of growth.”
The company, founded in 2013, couples its knowledge of therapeutics with technologies such as electronic informed consent and telemedicine to offer patient recruitment and retention under one platform.
It has reached over 6 million patients and connected over 3.5 million patients to studies across 3,600 research sites in more than 32 countries around the world.
Bioniz Therapeutics Inc. has added two Allergan veterans to its team. Eric Carter joined its board of directors, and Simon Daggett was named its vice president of clinical operations and project management.
Daggett will help progress the Irvine-based pharmaceutical company’s three clinical-stage programs. It is developing therapies for a rare type of blood cancer, as well as the autoimmune disorders alopecia areata and celiac disease.
Daggett comes to Bioniz from Allergan, where he was most recently an associate vice president of clinical operations. Throughout his 14 years at the company, he oversaw therapeutic operations including dermatology, neurology and psychiatry.
Carter will lead Bioniz’s board of directors’ science committee. He was previously senior vice president and chief medical officer at Allergan from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that, he was chief scientific officer at King Pharmaceuticals and held senior leadership roles at GlaxoSmithKline.
Carter joins board members Nazli Azimi, founder and chief executive of Bioniz; chairman David Pyott, a longtime CEO of Allergan; Joe Kiani, founder and chief executive of Masimo Corp.; and Michael Martin, president of Takeda Ventures.
ACQUISITION
Under the terms of the agreement, Trigr shareholders will receive about 10.2 million shares of Compass’ common stock, valued last week at more than $40 million, and will be eligible to receive up to $9 million in additional milestone payments.
Trigr was founded in 2018 by George Uy, an industry veteran who led marketing and commercial initiatives at Roche for over 20 years. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at Celgene Corp. (known as Abraxis Biosciences at the time) and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Trigr’s lead candidate, CTX-009, aims to treat gastric, colorectal, ovarian and pancreatic cancers for patients who don’t respond or build resistance to currently available treatments such as Eli Lilly’s Cyramza.
Phase 1 studies of CTX-009 have shown multiple confirmed partial responses in several types of tumors, which is uncommon in advanced patient populations, according to the companies.
Following the deal close in the second quarter, Compass said it will kick off Phase 2 trials for CTX-009.
