Entrepreneurs guide high school students in business pitch contest
A six-week program that helped more than 450 middle and high school students in Ventura learn about entrepreneurship and craft business plans will culminate in a final pitch competition on Dec. 11.
Transphorm, Fujitsu partner on GaN plant
Transphorm, the Goleta-based energy efficiency chipmaker spun out of UC Santa Barbara that has raised $110 million in venture capital, is partnering with Tokyo electronics giant and one-time rival Fujitsu Ltd. to create a new company in Japan.
Cal Poly startups tackle roommate relations and the textbook market
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo continues to pump out student startups at a steady rate, with a new expense-splitting app for roommates and textbook reselling service both gaining traction on launch.
Inogen files IPO to raise up to $86.2M
Inogen was founded in 2001 by three UCSB students, one of whom had a grandmother who had recently been placed on oxygen therapy. The therapy required heavy, bulky oxygen tanks that could not be taken on airplanes and other places.
After winning the New Venture Competition business plan contest at UCSB, the team went on to develop a device that used electricity to concentrate oxygen from the air. The concentrators were lighter and less bulky, weighting between 4.8 and 7 pounds.
Transphorm, Fujitsu join forces on GaN
Transphorm, Fujitsu and Fujitsu Semiconductor said they had reached an agreement to merge their gallium-nitride, or GaN, power supply lines of business. The deal is expected to result in Fujitsu and its semiconductor subsidiary both taking minority stakes in Transphorm in exchange for creating a new entity in Japan that will be capable of high-volume production. The companies said the move will “dramatically improve the market competitiveness of Transphorm’s GaN power device business.”
