Incubation program EvoNexus has officially reopened its office at the UCI Research Park after a shutdown caused by COVID-19.
“Covid had a big overhang,” co-founder Rory Moore told the Business Journal. “Even the large companies have trouble getting employees back into the office.”
Last month, it held an open house attended by alumni mentors and companies, some of whom are members of the UC Irvine Chief Executive Roundtable.
EvoNexus is a nonprofit founded in 2010 in San Diego by Moore, a co-founder of Peregrine Semiconductor, and Vice Admiral Walter Davis USN (Ret.). In 2015, it expanded to UCI Research Park. The Irvine Company played a big part in EvoNexus’ start in San Diego and then in Irvine, Moore said.
“They believe that the fastest way to grow the ecosystem is by starting dozens of companies every year,” Moore said.
EvoNexus operates a “unique incubation program” aimed at early-stage technology ventures worldwide who seek to benefit from its strategic advisors and capital connections. The nonprofit is backed by some of the largest multinational technology corporations, including San Diego-based Qualcomm Corp., the world biggest supplier of chips for cell phones.
Its board members have executive experience at well-known tech companies such as Broadcom, AMD and Intuit and several mentors are members of venture capital firms like the Cove Fund and notable Silicon Valley legal firms like Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
85% Success Rate
EvoNexus, which has received almost 9,000 applications, says it has successfully incubated over 272 startups with a survival rate of over 85%.
Since the incubator’s formation, EvoNexus companies have achieved over $5.1 billion in funding and outcomes, $6 billion in pre-exit valuation and 55 acquisitions.
“We’re looking for companies that do something that’s hard,” Moore said. “If it’s another Airbnb, forget that.
“We’re not looking for lifestyle businesses. We’re looking for companies that might be the next Edwards Lifesciences.”
Most recently, Carlsmed Inc., a San Diego-based medical technology company pioneering AI-enabled personalized spine surgery solutions, went public at $15 a share in July when it raised $100 million. At press time, it traded at $13.62 and a $361 million market cap (Nasdaq: CARL).
Its Irvine facility has launched 42 companies, 26 of which are still generating revenue while 10 are no longer operational and five have been acquired: Abtum, Kadho, Kast, Lextrum and Zelegent. The total venture capital secured has exceeded $500 million.
One of EvoNexus’ best known OC successes was Syntiant Corp., which has developed ultra-low-power AI processors and received funding from companies like Intel Corp.
Bob Genthert, managing director of EvoNexus in Irvine, co-founded ecoATM, which got its start in 2010 at EvoNexus and now has 6,500 kiosks where a consumer can sell his or her cell phone.
The companies chosen for EvoNexus typically begin as two to three founders. EvoNexus says it’s a nonprofit that acquires 1% of the shares; in exchange, it provides advice and doesn’t charge the company for their space.
EvoNexus’ Irvine office, which is now accepting applications for its fall 2025 cohort, has 26 engineering seats, design desks and four offices.
EvoNexus is located near the Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“What we do is take a lot of those startups from the Beall Center and build them out,” Moore said. EvoNexus is like “a graduate school for startups out of UCI.
“We’ll take these students right off campus and build their companies with them.”
