Daily Business Report-Nov. 16, 2015
In partnership with LG Electronics, Independa has developed a revolutionary flat screen smart TV that offers technology-enabled independent living solutions for the elderly.
EvoNexus MarketLink Celebrates
10 Years of Connecting Tech
Industry Giants with Tech Startups
MarketLink, the EvoNexus program that connects tech industry giants with emerging technology companies across the globe, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The program introduces participating companies to top-level executives searching for new products and technologies, all at no cost to the applicant.
Since its inception MarketLink has received over 3,000 applications from emerging technology companies all over the world, and has organized and managed 51 MarketLink programs with multinational corporations such as Samsung, LG, ZTE, Sony, Huawei, T-Mobile, AT&T, Nokia/Microsoft, Ericsson, Vodafone, and Verizon.
“One of the biggest difficulties for a small company is to access the global value chain of multinationals worldwide, and MarketLink has demonstrated its ability to provide this access at the highest levels of decision making executives,” said Mario Diez, MarketLink committee chair and trade commissioner for the Consulate of Canada. “Such access has always been important to Canadian innovation, making Canada an important partner of MarketLink for the past 10 years.”
More than half of the one-on-one meetings, which are an hour long, between multinational corporations and emerging technology startups result in follow up meetings.
A few of the partnerships and deals:
ZTE and Rock My World
RockMyRun, an app built by Rock My World that offers professionally created workout mixes that adjust to your body, is now preloaded on ZTE’s flagship Axon phone. The partnership with ZTE and Rock My World was formed following Rock My World’s presentation and meeting with ZTE executives at a MarketLink.
“As CEO of a startup with an innovative technology, working with the right partner can provide a huge boost in growth. Through MarketLink, we had the opportunity to connect with ZTE, one of the largest smartphone manufacturers in the world, and form a partnership that has moved the needle for our business,” said Adam Riggs-Zeigen, CEO of Rock My World.
LG and Independa
Independa, an integrated community engagement and remote care technologies company, announced a partnership with LG to install its software on LG’s commercial TVs and create the world’s first and only TV with embedded remote engagement and care services. This partnership between Independa and LG was formed following Independa’s meeting with LG executives at a MarketLink.
Verizon and Antengo
Antengo, a mobile solution to buying and selling online, connected with Verizon at the corporation’s first MarketLink program. This meeting eventually led to Verizon investing in Antengo in both 2011 and 2013 for a total of $400,000.
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Drug Targeting Alzheimer’s
Disease Shows Anti-Aging Effects
Salk Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals.
The Salk team expanded upon their previous development of a drug candidate, called J147, which takes a different tack by targeting Alzheimer’s major risk factor–old age. In the new work, the team showed that the drug candidate worked well in a mouse model of aging not typically used in Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with J147, they had better memory and cognition, healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features, as detailed November 12, 2015 in the journal Aging.
“Initially, the impetus was to test this drug in a novel animal model that was more similar to 99 percent of Alzheimer’s cases,” says Antonio Currais, the lead author and a member of Professor David Schubert’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk. “We did not predict we’d see this sort of anti-aging effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parameters.”
General Atomics Physicist Speaks
At White House Energy Summit
Speaking at the White House Summit on Nuclear Energy last week, physicist Dr. Christina Back of General Atomics highlighted the urgency of developing next-generation fast-gas reactors with new materials to enhance safety and ensure energy security.
As General Atomics’ director of nuclear technologies and materials, Back specializes in developing new heat-resistant ceramics to enable delivery of cost-competitive clean energy with unprecedented safety via the innovative gas-cooled reactor, the Energy Multiplier Module or EM2.
She participated as one of five expert panelists at a forum spotlighting the Obama Administration’s commitment to advanced nuclear energy and maintaining U.S. technology leadership in the industry. Back emphasized during her remarks that nuclear energy is the dominant energy source that is sustainable, compatible with 21st century power grids and free of greenhouse gases
The panel focused on innovations in nuclear energy, with Back explaining that the design of EM2 draws on General Atomics’ 60 years of experience in designing and building safe reactors, and aims to solve four big challenges: safety, waste, economics and nonproliferation.
“Nuclear energy is important for the security of our country,” said Back, noting that to turn new technology innovation into clean-energy reality, “We need investment and support from the DOE and Congress and the nation to understand what the challenges are, but also to understand what the huge payoff and benefits are for our country.”
EM2 is a gas-cooled fast reactor designed to deliver low-cost nuclear energy by using a high-efficiency system, a “convert-and-burn” fuel cycle able to produce 265 megawatts-electric, in a compact modular design. It incorporates industry-leading safety and nonproliferation features and can run on nuclear waste.
Professional Development Forum
Ric Militi, CEO and creative director of InnoVision Marketing Group, is the guest speaker at the Nov. 19 Professional Development Forum sponsored by the North San Diego Business Chamber.
Militi will share his strategies on: establishing trust with clients; implement improved, effective communication; and getting your numbers up.
The forum will be held at the chamber offices at 10875 Rancho Bernardo Road, Suite 104, San Diego. Registration is at 7:30 a.m. and the program is at 8 a.m. Cost for chamber members is $29. Nonmembers pay $49.
To register, click here.
Existing Home Sales on Track
For Further Expansion in 2016
Following the housing market’s best year since the recession, existing-home sales are expected to increase in 2016 at a moderate pace; although affordability pressures from inventory shortages and rising mortgage rates could slow the potential for even stronger sales momentum, according to an economic forecast forum Friday at the 2015 Realtors Conference & Expo in San Diego.
Lawrence Yun, chief economist of the National Association of Realtors, presented his 2016 economic and housing forecast. He said the pent-up demand for buying in recent years finally broke out in a meaningful way in 2015, fueled by sustained job growth in many parts of the country and rising home values giving more homeowners the incentive to sell – a trend that he expects to continue next year.
“Sales activity in 2016 will once again be primarily driven by the ongoing release of more pent-up sellers finally realizing their equity gains and using it towards the down payment on their next home,” said Yun.
With demand expected to remain stable through the final two months of the year, Yun forecasts home sales to finish 2015 at a pace of 5.30 million and then expand 3 percent to around 5.45 million in 2016. The national median existing-home price is expected to rise to around 6 percent this year before slightly moderating to around 5 percent in 2016.
Although Yun anticipates further expansion in existing-sales next year, rising mortgage rates and supply constraints are two likely roadblocks that have the potential to slow the pace of sales from being even more robust.
“Rents and home prices are expected to exceed income growth into next year because of the insufficient creation of new home construction and the detrimental impact its inadequacy continues to have on housing costs in several markets,” said Yun. “The real solution to preserving affordability is a substantial ramp-up in housing starts and more homeowners listing their home for sale.”
