PARTNERSHIPS
NuEyes Technologies Inc. in Newport Beach is working with Comcast to bring its Xfinity Stream live television and on-demand content service to customers with visual impairments such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.
The Xfinity Stream app will be preloaded onto the NuEyes e2 smartglasses, which enables users to customize magnification and contrast settings to optimize their viewing conditions.
The device also includes text-to-speech functionality. It retails for nearly $3,000.
The company in November secured its first patent for vision-related augmented reality use, including recording and picture-taking and storing capabilities via voice command. NuEyes also obtained insurance reimbursement and launched a flexible payment plan option earlier this year.
It has seen extensive sales growth in the last two years and sold the NuEyes e2 to several thousand customers since its launch in March, Chief Executive Mark Greget told the Business Journal.
He added the company will launch updated versions of its products next year, including the NuEyes e2 Pro, which includes 4K resolution, a 16-megapixel camera and a wider field of view.
The company also plans to launch a device for surgical use by the end of 2020.
The 8-person firm closed a seed round in excess of $1 million in 2017; it is now raising a Series A round.
NarrativeWave, an industrial Internet of Things company that focuses on renewable energy, is partnering with Overland Park, Kan.-based energy infrastructure company Black & Veatch to build customizable smart analytics platforms for B&V’s water utilities clients in Europe.
The software-as-a-service company charges annual subscriptions for its suite of tools, which captures sensor data, quickly builds analytics, and ultimately, gives clients the ability to track and manage assets.
“Using our innovative technology, we will jointly be able to offer European water sector clients the ability to optimize asset performance, improve uptime, and prevent failures before they occur,” said Benjamin Decio, chief executive of NarrativeWave.
Additional NarrativeWave customers include a subsidiary of Italy’s Enel Group, a publicly traded company that does an estimated $97 billion in annual revenue, and Energy Development Corp., the largest producer of geothermal energy in the Philippines.
The 4-year-old company moved its headquarters from the Irvine Spectrum to Aliso Viejo about a month ago to accommodate its growth. The company also has offices in Pasadena, Scottsdale, Ariz. and Guadalajara, Mexico.
NarrativeWave has raised nearly $5 million in funding, Crunchbase records indicate.
The industrial IoT market is expected to reach $751.3 billion by 2023. NarrativeWave said it plans to further market its services to firms in the wind, solar, geothermal, oil and gas, and water energy segments.
PERSONNEL MOVES
Tech Coast Venture Network, a nonprofit organization that provides educational resources and industry connections to entrepreneurs, has added Sonya Lee to its executive board.
Lee said that she hopes to encourage conversations between peers—young entrepreneurs and veterans—to foster a more collaborative startup community in Orange County.
She currently heads Mowie Media, a design agency that focuses on user experience and user interface, and works with tech startups, entertainment brands and more.
Lee is also the co-founder of Dude I Need A Truck, a mobile app and software-as-a-service platform that connects customers with truck drivers and moving companies. During her time as chief product officer, Lee brought the app to new markets including Orange County.
She started her career as a digital designer at Warner Bros. Entertainment and Walt Disney Co.
Evoke Neuroscience Inc., a medical diagnostic technology company with an executive office in Costa Mesa, has brought on Chief Commercial Officer Dane Shackleford.
Shackleford said he is excited to join the team and “begin a new journey with purpose and a product that can make a huge difference for people, their families and our healthcare system.”
Evoke’s eVox system helps identify biomarkers associated with dementia, Alzheimer’s and PTSD, among other medical conditions in the brain. The company is conducting a few active clinical trials and recently won a contract with the United States Air Force.
Shackleford has extensive experience in the medical device industry and recently served as chief commercial officer of Uluru Inc., a Texas-based wound management and drug delivery system developer.
He began his career at KCI, an Acelity Company, which recently merged with manufacturer 3M Co.
Evoke CEO Marinela Gombosev in 2015 was inducted into the University of California-Irvine School of Engineering Hall of Fame; she’s also an Expert in Residence at UCI Beall Applied Innovation.
COWORKING
Irvine-based Premier Workspaces, the largest coworking landlord in Orange County, has added an Anaheim Hills location to its local portfolio. It is now open.
The company took space at 155 N. Riverview Drive, near the Anaheim Hills Festival shopping center and along the 91 Freeway.
The 22,030-square-foot building features 63 private offices and accommodates about 130 workers, the company said.
“We have a lot of demand for the Anaheim Hills area and we’re excited to have the opportunity to add this newly renovated shared workspace center to our portfolio,” said Jeff Reinstein, chief executive of Premier.
This will be the 23rd OC location for Premier, and will bring its total area portfolio to about 492,000 square feet.
The coworking landlord has 93 locations that totals about 1,656,000 square feet nationwide.
LAUNCH
Flyhomes, a company that purchases houses with cash and holds onto them until buyers secure financing, announced its entrance in Orange County and Los Angeles markets on Dec. 9.
The Seattle-based startup focuses on housing in competitive markets and promises to help clients buy before they sell their former home to avoid losing the property to another buyer. It also claims it will find a buyer within 90 days or purchase the for-sale-home themselves.
The 4-year-old company in August raised a $141 million round in debt and equity. It claims to have helped more than 1,000 clients close on homes since then.
Also jumping on the millennial-focused housing market is Zillow, with Seattle headquarters and major operations in Irvine along Michelson Drive.
The real estate site launched its home-buying service Zillow Offers in Los Angeles and Orange County this month; it allows homeowners to sell their homes directly to the company to expedite the process.
