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BAY AREA TECH WIRE -- April 5, 2017
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Sponsored By: Baird Global Technology Investment Banking
http://techservices.rwbaird.com/investment-banking/
o Omidyar Network Commits $100M to Boost Journalism, Fight Misinformation
o Andreesen Horowitz Leads $10.5 Million Round for Shield AI
o Palo Alto-Based Varian Medical Names Longtime Dell Executive as CFO
o California Ranks Among Bottom Half on CTA's Most Innovative States List
o Report: U.S. IPO Market Off to Strong Start in First Quarter
> Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation
o Briefly Noted: EY Entrepreneur Of The Year - Northern California,
Seal Software, Science Exchange - Y Combinator
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o Omidyar Network Commits $100M to Boost Journalism, Fight Misinformation
Redwood City, Calif. -- Omidyar Network, the Redwood City-based philanthropic investment firm established by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, said on Wednesday it has committed $100 million over the next three years to tackle the growing problem of misinformation online while strengthening investigative journalism. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the group behind last year's Panama Papers investigation, will be one of the first recipients, landing a three-year grant of up to $4.5 million to expand its investigative reporting. Omidyar cited recent events, such as the UK's debate on EU membership, the impeachment of Brazil's President Rousseff, the U.S. Presidential election and ongoing corruption globally, for creating an "environment of misinformation, `alternative facts' and "post truth" that has eroded the public's trust. "Across the world, we see a worrying resurgence of authoritarian politics that is undermining progress towards a more open and inclusive society," said Matt Bannick, managing partner at Omidyar. "Increasingly, facts are being devalued, misinformation spread, accountability ignored, and channels that give citizens a voice withdrawn. These trends cannot become the norm, and we must protect the principles of openness, participation and accountability. These are the foundations of a healthy democratic society."
https://www.omidyar.com/news/%E2%80%98panama-papers%E2%80%99-group-among-initiatives-benefit-omidyar-network%E2%80%99s-100m-commitment-address-trust
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o Andreesen Horowitz Leads $10.5 Million Round for Shield AI
Menlo Park, Calif. -- Andreesen Horowitz, the Menlo Park-based technology venture capital firm, said it has led a new $10.5 million round of funding for San Diego-based artificially intelligence startup Shield AI. Homebrew, Bloomberg Beta and Founder Collective also participated in the company's first round. The company plans to use the proceeds to accelerate the development and deployment of AI products drones, designed to find people and threats inside buildings without a remote pilot. "When deployed, Shield AI drones will be the first example of service members using artificial intelligence on the battlefield to gather real-time information that saves lives and will provide immediate protection to U.S. ground forces and innocent civilians caught in conflict," said co-founder Brandon Tseng, who previously served in combat in Afghanistan. Peter Levine, a general partner at Andreesen Horowitz, will join the company's board of directors.
https://a16z.com/
http://shield.ai/
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shield-ai-raises-105-million-in-series-a-funding-led-by-andreesen-horowitz-300433742.html
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o Palo Alto-Based Varian Medical Names Longtime Dell Executive as CFO
Palo Alto, Calif. -- Varian Medical Systems, a Palo Alto-based maker of medical devices and software for treating and managing cancer, on Wednesday named longtime Dell executive Gary Bischoping Jr. as its new chief financial officer (CFO). He will succeed Elisha Finney, who is retiring after more than 29 years with the company, including 18 as its first CFO. Bischoping, who officially will take the resigns on May 8, has spent 17 years with Dell, most recently as the CFO of its Client Solutions Group. He also previously served as the CFO of Dell's Enterprise Solutions Group & Commercial Business, as well as its treasurer. "Gary brings broad financial experience to Varian that will enable him to serve our management team and the company as a very effective business partner who will help to drive our ongoing growth strategy," said CEO Dow Wilson.
http://www.varian.com
http://newsroom.varian.com/2017-04-05-Varian-Medical-Systems-Names-New-CFO
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o California Ranks Among Bottom Half on CTA's Most Innovative States List
Arlington, Va. -- Citing its large technology workforce mitigated by tax policies it calls "very unfriendly" to business, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has labeled California an "Innovation Adapter" -- the second lowest of four categories -- in its 2017 Innovation Scorecard. The rankings are based on 10 indicators comparing economic and educational data and the regulatory frameworks for workplace flexibility, ridesharing, homesharing, self-driving cars, drones and sustainable policies. All told, the organization picked 10 states as its best places in the nation in creating high-paying jobs and promoting innovation-friendly policies. They include first-timers Maryland, Colorado, New Hampshire and Washington, as well as returning winners Virginia, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Dakota and Utah. It also singled out 14 states for enacting rules or policies that it said inhibited homegrown innovation. The CTA's full interactive scorecard, including profiles of each state, is available at the link below.
http://www.cta.tech/scorecard
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o Report: U.S. IPO Market Off to Strong Start in First Quarter
New York -- The U.S. IPO market is off to a strong start this year, according to a new report by EY. All told, 24 IPOs raised $10.8 billion during the first quarter, an increase of 200% by volume and 1,380% by proceeds from the same quarter in 2016. The U.S. accounted for four of the 10 largest deals globally. "The first quarter of 2017 was one of the strongest for the U.S. IPO market and established a solid runway for more deals for the remainder of the year," said Jackie Kelley, the EY Americas IPO markets leader. "This positive performance should attract more tech and unicorns to the public markets and further open the door for other sectors such as retail, energy and real estate." Kelley expects more companies to soon enter the filing process, with the market currently insulated from political uncertainty. EY's complete global IPO report is available at the link below.
http://www.ey.com/Publication/vwLUAssets/ey-global-ipo-trends-q1-2017/$FILE/ey-global-ipo-trends-q1-2017.pdf (PDF)
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Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation
In a recent commentary on the ever-evolving Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, Baird's senior technology bankers discuss how the proliferation of IoT-enabled software and services and ongoing industry consolidation.
Today's sophisticated IoT software and systems not only connect disparate devices, they collect, verify and cleanse data -- diminishing the long-time challenge of cutting through "noise" inherent to data aggregation and facilitating in-depth analysis and application of the collected information into actionable intelligence. This IoT revolution is quickly catching up to its hype by transforming businesses across many sectors. The value of IoT technology has become imperative, and growing demand is fueling tremendous acquisition interest from a diverse range of buyers, pushing competition higher and accelerating consolidation in the space.
Read Baird's insights into this rapidly evolving space and the related M&A activity:
http://www.rwbaird.com/news/Unlocking-Intelligence
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o Briefly Noted:
(San Francisco) EY has named 47 semifinalists for its Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 Awards in Northern California. The award annually recognizes business people excelling in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Finalists will be announced May 15, with winners revealed at an awards gala June 23 at The Fairmont in San Jose. Details are at the link below.
http://www.ey.com/us/eoy/norcal
(San Francisco) San Francisco-based Seal Software, a developer of contract analytics and discovery technology, on Wednesday named John O'Melia as its senior vice president of customer success. O'Melia most recently served as the senior vice president of worldwide services and customer success for the enterprise content division of Dell EMC.
https://www.seal-software.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170405005337/en/Seal-Software-Appoints-Industry-Leader-Drive-Customer
(Palo Alto, Calif.) Palo Alto-based Science Exchange, developer of a marketplace for outsourced research and development, said on Wednesday it has forged a partnership with Mountain View-based Y Combinator, which provides seed funding to startups. Under the deal, Y Combinator-backed companies will gain access to the Science Exchange-powered YC marketplace, where they can order experimental services from a network of 2,500 scientific service providers, all under pre-established contracts.
https://www.scienceexchange.com/
http://www.ycombinator.com/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/y-combinator-launches-science-exchange-130000635.html
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> Baird Commentary: How the IoT Revolution Is Driving Consolidation
In a recent commentary on the ever-evolving Internet of Things (IoT) revolution, Baird's senior technology bankers discuss how the proliferation of IoT-enabled software and services and ongoing industry consolidation. Today's sophisticated IoT software and systems not only connect disparate devices, they collect, verify and cleanse data -- diminishing the long-time challenge of cutting through "noise" inherent to data aggregation and facilitating in-depth analysis and application of the collected information into actionable intelligence. This IoT revolution is quickly catching up to its hype by transforming businesses across many sectors. The value of IoT technology has become imperative, and growing demand is fueling tremendous acquisition interest from a diverse range of buyers, pushing competition higher and accelerating consolidation in the space. Read Baird's insights into this rapidly evolving space and the related M&A activity: http://www.rwbaird.com/news/Unlocking-Intelligence
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