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San Diego Tech News - August 27, 2021

Aug 28, 2021

Neal: Welcome everyone to the weekly San Diego Tech News by Neal Bloom and Jonah Peake from Fresh Brewed Tech. Every Friday at 12:30pm Pacific on Clubhouse and now we record them for you to enjoy as well. 

I’m Neal Bloom, entrepreneur, investor, and community builder 

 

Jonah: And I’m Jonah Peake, serial tech operator and investor both, both of us big fans of growing the San Diego tech community. Let’s dive into our five stories of the week



For week of Aug 27, 2021

  1. ​​Smartphones in the sky: Qualcomm launches first 5G and AI platform targeting commercial drones
    1. Qualcomm stated on mars
    2. Supplying chips to NASA for Ingenuity helicopter
    3. Because why not start with a challenge
    4. QQ unveiled tech to power beyond line of site flight on earth 
      1. What do you think of this name? 
      2. Operation Swarm or Digital Eagle or 
    5. Platform is called RB5 5G platform
      1. Crop inspection
      2. Wsin turbine monitoring
      3. Package delivery
      4. Mapping
      5. Many other application potential
    6. Enabling applications like:
    7. They are also launching a physical drone kit

 

  • ModalAI https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210817005256/en/ModalAI-Serves-as-Distributor-for-Qualcomm%E2%80%99s-World-First-5G-and-AI-Enabled-Drone-Platform-and-Reference-Design

 

  1. Pretty clever strategy
    1. Speed up innovation for commercial applications
      1. Drone body, rotors, etc
    1. To date 12 flights
    2. 1 mile total flight
    3. Graduated from demonstration to aerial scout for Perseverance Rover
  3. A quick update on Ingenuity: 

 

  1. Rare defense unicorn: San Diego AI startup corrals $210M for drone technology used by military
    1. Shield AI is now worth over a billion
      1. After raising 
    3. Unicorn status completed
    4. An AI startup making military surveillance drones
    5. Used in combat zones over last 3 years US forces in the middle east
      1. Allows operations in low gps
      2. Degraded GPS environments
    6. They have a platform: Nova-class

 

  • Pretty cool origin story

 

  1. Founded by Navy Seal Brandon Tseng
    1. Goal:
      1. Help US forces scout for threats 
      2. Enter buildings
      3. Send back surveillance (maps or photos)
    1. An MIT Grad
    2. Who sold company WiPower to Qualcomm
  3. Brandon teamed up with brother Ryan
    1. Who worked on Draper Labs Robotic guidance system
  4. Pairing with last founder, Andrew Reiter

 

  • Shield has been growing through acquisition

 

    1. Heron Systems: which makes software designed to power autonomous jets
    2. Martin UAV: maker of 125 lb drones launched from vehicles
    1. From 200 to nearly 400
  2. Both acquisitions doubled the head count over night
  3. Shield is based out of DT SD! 



 

  • Incubator News - find deadlines and links
  • Founders Institute

 

  1. Final Admissions Deadline: Sep 19, 2021
  2. San Diego Virtual 2021
  3. Focus: pre-seed startup accelerator,

 

  • ConnectAll

 

  1. Fall 2021
  2. Cohort 5 applications are open! Apply by Aug. 30
  3. Focus: low to moderate income and diverse founders from broad backgrounds

 

  • EvoNexus

 

  1. Rolling
  2. Focus: DeepTech (MedTech, FinTech, AI/ML, IoT, Hardware)

 

  • Logicboost

 

 

  • Techstars Anywhere

 

    1. October 6, 2021
    2. Program starts January
    3. Join the Techstars Anywhere three-month virtual accelerator to gain funding, mentorship, and access to the Techstars network for life.
  • We Tha Plug - We Tha Incubator - https://www.wethaplug.com/new-page
    1. Application for Cohort 2 due September 24, 2021
      1. Have applied to an accelerator or incubator, but have not been accepted.
      2. Have been working on an idea, but cant figure out steps next.  
      3. Launched and still not getting the traction you need to scale. 
    2. Focus: 

 

  • Torrey Project - https://www.torreyproject.org/bootcamp
    1. We are offering a discounted early bird rate for our tuition until August 31st.
    2. Entrepreneurs who embrace stakeholder capitalism and use their business as a force for good.

 

  1. PureWater SD project - San Diego launching Pure Water, largest infrastructure project in city's history
    1. It’s formally been launched 3 years ago
    2. sewage recycling system that will boost local water independence
    3. Multi Billion Dollar Project named: Pure Water 
      1. Slowing it down
      2. Some Nimby
      3. Some Toilet to Tap
    4. That has navigated through a number of lawsuits

 

  • This story might be a little misleading

 

  1. Broke ground 3 years ago
  2. Stalling at a construction of a few critical components

 

  • The 3 essential pieces:

 

  1. Sewage purification plant in Miramar
  2. A pipeline through Clairemont supplying the plant
  3. Pump station in Morena

 

  • At completion of the first phase in 2025

 

    1. 34 million gallons of potable water / day
  2. Another 53 million gallons come online in 2035
  3. This project will drop imported water from 85% to less than 50%
  4. Prior to this project, only 8% of sewage had been recycled into irrigation water
  5. What are the steps of the water purification?
    1. Ozonization: 
      1. Ozone gas destroys microorganisms, 
      2. then consumers and converted them into O2
      1. helpful bacteria thrive in O2 environment
      2. Consuming 30-50% anything that was or is living
    3. Biological activated filters, 
  6. Steps:

 

  • Membrane filtration

 

    1. Particles, viruses, bacteria 
    2. Only salt, water and other very small molecules can pass through
    3. 300 times narrower than a human hair
    1. pulling out additional materials
    2. 50k smaller than smallest bacteria
  2. Reverse osmosis, 

 

  • Ultraviolet Disinfection

 

    1. Light (similar to extremely concentrated sunlight)
    2. Destroys DNA of any microbes left
    3. Other contaminants
  2. This results in water that meets or exceeds standards 
    1. But we need to factor in a rise in price 
  3. This is slightly more expensive at current rates
  4. Orange County produces 70 million gallons of purified water per day and is in the process of expanding production to 100 million gallons per day. 
    1. Singapore, Australia, Virginia, Texas, and Colorado
  5. Growing need and others are looking at this system:





IPOs - Carlsbad-based Tyra Bio files for IPO https://endpts.com/ra-capital-aims-to-take-preclinical-biotech-to-nasdaq-as-tyra-files-s-1-during-summer-lull/

 

Fundings -

ShieldAI - $200M Series D

AdarxPharm - $75M

ContaktWorld - $1.35M



Acq - SOCi acq Anaheim-based Brandify https://www.sdbj.com/news/2021/aug/15/soci-makes-first-acquisition/

 

Highmetric acquires NewRocket https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/highmetric-acquires-newrocket-301359129.html

Ra Medical  acq by Strata Skincare https://www.marketwatch.com/story/strata-skin-sciences-acquires-u-s-dermatology-business-of-ra-medical-271629147631

Copia https://www.sdbj.com/news/2021/aug/19/san-diego-based-biosurplus-merges-form-copia-scien/

 

Carwave acq by Kar for $450M

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kar-to-accelerate-dealer-to-dealer-growth-profitability-through-acquisition-of-carwave-301360260.html

 

Find us on twitter / Linkedin: @NealBloom & JonahPeake

And find this news and more at FreshBrewedTech.com