Newport Beach-based NuEyes Technologies Inc. closed a seed round in excess of a million dollars, co-founder and President Justin Moore said. The company will use the funds to fuel its growth in helping the legally blind live more independent lives.
NuEyes works closely with San Francisco-based ODG, short for Osterhout Design Group, a developer of augmented, virtual and mixed-reality smart glasses, and the platform on which NuEyes technology sits.
The funding was provided by strategic partners, as well as early-stage venture capital firm Arab Angel, with offices in Abu Dhabi, New York and Washington, D.C.
“This funding will see us through to profitability, something extremely rare among AR firms at this point in the evolution of this industry,” NuEyes Chief Executive Mark Greget said in a news release.
NuEyes launched last year to assist those suffering from eye conditions, such as macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa. The company said it’s seen “extensive” sales growth over the last 18 months. It recently added a chief technology officer and a director of sales and business development.
Incubator Dialogues
Chapman University launched an incubator with the underlying premise that cultural and creative processes are the driving force for innovation and economic growth. The Creative and Cultural Industries Incubator’s first step is to build connections around Southern California to develop projects and initiatives, said Patrick Fuery, dean of the university’s Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
The operating model calls for a network of creative and cultural industries in SoCal—Orange County in particular—to be established, and then foster a dialogue about what is distinctive about this network.
“This is important because even though they (already) exist, not many identify as creative and cultural industries, and very few see connections beyond their immediate fields,” Fuery said. “A creative and cultural industries network would begin by acknowledging shared qualities—creativity, innovation, risk taking, strong community engagement and local identity—and then work within the network for shared opportunities.”
Fuery likened that kind of network to the mindset of millennials, including networks and connectivity, rapid movements and making lines of connection across traditional divisions. As a sector, the creative and cultural industries are heavily populated by millennials, and the relatively recent recognition of this sector as a distinct part of the economy has led to strong identification and examination in other countries, Fuery said. The incubator would ultimately look to develop partnerships and projects beyond the SoCal region. Fuery said he’s in discussions with people in Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington state, to see how Southern California might someday connect its creative and cultural industries sector with theirs.
Game Co. Eyes IPO
A San Juan Capistrano-based game company is looking to raise $1.1 million in an initial public offering. RuRoo Games launched two years ago and develops and publishes games for hand-held devices, including tablets and phones. Although its office is in OC, team members work out of their homes throughout the world, said Renae Bell, company administrator. RuRoo hasn’t raised capital so far and is going public because it has a network of people that look to invest in penny stock companies but are willing to invest only if those companies are listed, Bell said.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based Cloudvirga has hired Michael Schreck, a longtime tech entrepreneur and former managing director of the Altisource Labs innovation center, as chief executive following the company’s Series B funding round. The mortgage software developer raised $15 million in Series B funding in March after raising $7.5 million in Series A funding last August. … Ernst & Young announced at its recent regional Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala in OC that 17-year-old Maryam Edah-Tally from Irvine is the 2017 Youth Entrepreneur for Orange County. She launched her third startup, Fleur À Cheval, shortly before graduating from high school. She owns and runs the multinational e-commerce business that sells original, handcrafted floral accessories for equestrians and horses. Edah-Tally completed four years of high school by age 16 and is now a business student at Irvine Valley College. She said she plans to transfer to the University of California-Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. … Erik Jones is the new chief technology officer of Irvine-based SetSchedule. He will spearhead the development of new desktop and mobile platforms for the real estate marketplace. SetSchedule is a technology-based marketing firm that connects Realtors with homeowners, buyers and investors. … Savvy Travelers added Paula Schneider as board chairwoman. The company sells on-the-go beauty products for female travelers, both online and in department stores. Schneider most recently served for almost two years as chief executive of Big Strike LLC, a portfolio company of The Gores Group. She also founded her own consulting company, Paula Schneider Consulting.
