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.”
Kavli remembered: Physicist employed thousands, gifted millions
Born in Norway, Kavli made his way to the United States after World War II to pursue physics and expand on his lifelong entrepreneurial streak. In the late 1950s, he founded Kavlico Corp., a Moorpark-based maker of advanced sensors for cars and aircraft. He also invested in real estate for more than 50 years.
Cal Poly boots up cybersecurity program
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is rolling out a new Cybersecurity Center in collaboration with Northup Grumman and Raytheon with an eye toward training security experts for the defense industry and giving all of its engineering students a firmer grasp of how to make their creations secure against hackers.
Active Life device finds link between diabetes, bone issues
A device made by Santa Barbara-based Active Life Scientific played a critical role in a new study at the Mayo Clinic linking Type 2 diabetes to bone problems.
Cal Poly engineering students team with firms to tackle projects
An in-bottle wine aerator, a Spider-Man-like robot that can climb walls and a peach pit detector were among the projects on display at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s mechanical engineering expo on Nov. 21.
