July 31, 2026

		

Jorge Mercado

Jorge Mercado is a staff writer with the Business Times. His beats include technology, agriculture, cannabis, energy and the environment, and higher education.


| Thursday, July 30th, 2026

ChipAgents keeps venture capital dollars flowing

Latest news, left, Technology

Just five months after ChipAgents tacked on $50 million to its Series A round, the AI company is piling on the cash yet again, adding another $60 million in Series A2 financing, bringing the expanded round to $134 million in total. New investors in the round included B Capital, joining Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek, Read More →

| Thursday, July 30th, 2026

Procore announces $845M buy

Central Coast, Latest news, Technology, Tri-County Public Companies

Carpinteria-based Procore Technologies is beefing up its AI capabilities by announcing the acquisition of DroneDeploy for approximately $845 million in cash. Announced July 29, DroneDeploy is a robotics and visual intelligence platform for the built world, used on over 3 million job sites across more than 180 countries. Procore said in the press release that Read More →

| Tuesday, July 28th, 2026

Kate Farms expands national footprint

Latest news, Retailing, Santa Barbara County

Goleta-based Kate Farms, the top doctor-recommended plant-based brand, announced the continued national retail expansion of its High Protein Nutrition Shake, including expanded distribution at Walmart and a new launch into CVS.  The foundational nutrition brand also unveiled Vanilla, the newest flavor in its growing HPNS lineup, according to the July 28 press release. Known for Read More →

| Monday, July 27th, 2026

MannKind wins FDA approval for Furoscix ReadyFlow

East Ventura County, Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology, Tri-County Public Companies

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| Monday, July 27th, 2026

Taking stock: AeroVironment details latest contract as shares see volatility

Latest news, Subscriber content, Technology, Tri-County Public Companies

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| Sunday, July 26th, 2026

Executive coach brings psychology to founders meeting

Latest news, middle, Santa Barbara County, Small Business, Subscriber content

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| Sunday, July 19th, 2026

Business Times wins 5 awards at annual California Journalism Awards

Latest news

The Pacific Coast Business Times took home a bit of hardware at the annual California Journalism Awards. Hosted by the California News Publishers Association, the Business Times won five awards across five different editorial categories for reporting done in 2025. The Business Times competes statewide against other weekly newspapers with a circulation of under 4,300. Read More →