Startup Buzz: SDVG Launches a San Diego Business Hub in Silicon Valley

Plus: Molecular Assemblies and Fhoosh get funding

The Beachhead

The San Diego Venture Group has launched a new effort to help San Diego innovators take advantage of Silicon Valley without having to move their company there. Launched this week with a GoFundMe campaign, the effort will include creating a space—inside WeWork in San Francisco—called the San Diego Corner, and the goal is to connect San Diego entrepreneurs with the funding, mentors, and other benefits of the Bay Area. Companies will apply to be part of the program. One day in on the campaign and a quarter of the goal is already funded with enthusiastic support from the San Diego startup community. The effort also has the support of Mayor Kevin Faulconer who partnered with SDVG to make it happen.

Follow the Money

Molecular Assemblies has raised a $2.3 million seed round to hire additional scientists and advance its enzymatic DNA synthesis technology.

Fhoosh has raised $2 million from private investment group Volta Global to back its effort to create faster, safer data transmission. Fhoosh is a drop-in software solution that aims to combine high speed data transmission with cyber security.

Stocking Up on San Diego AI

Silicon Valley Business Journal takes a look at AI acquisitions among the big tech companies—Apple, Google, Intel—and notes two of the big gets came from San Diego. Earlier this year, Intel bought San Diego-based Nervana and Apple bought Emotient. The number of AI companies being purchased this year is way up according to a report from CB Insights.

PitchFest Winners and Finalists

The San Diego Venture Group hosted its Pitchfest last night, where the audience gets to play the VC role and decide which company should win funding. The big winners were Lymber, the fitness app that helps you find classes and workouts that won’t cost you big monthly fees, and Sun Genomics, a life sciences research company focused on genomic sciences. The finalists who competed last night in addition to Lymber and Sun Genomics were Approved and Poiesis.