Daily Business Report: Friday, Nov. 19, 2021
UC San Diego’s Design and Innovation Building:
sparking disruptive ideas, products and services
By Leslie Sepuka
UC San Diego is super-charging the region’s capacity for new discovery by opening the Design and Innovation Building, a 74,000-square-foot space dedicated to sparking disruptive ideas, products and services.
The Design and Innovation Building includes four distinct spaces to incubate and accelerate groundbreaking ideas: The Basement, Maker Space, The Design Lab and the Entrepreneurship Center. All four provide opportunities for students to guide products through the full lifecycle — design, prototype creation, testing, fabrication and commercialization — bringing products to market and ideas to impact.
“UC San Diego students benefit from having access to the equipment, expertise and funding that drives knowledge forward,” said Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Elizabeth H. Simmons. “This space will bring a university world-renowned for innovation to new heights of problem-solving and creativity.”
TOP PHOTO: The Design and Innovation Building is a 74,000-square-foot space dedicated to sparking disruptive ideas, products and services. (Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Communications)
San Diego’s Kandji raises $100 million
in Series C funding in Apple support
San Diego-based Kandji, the next-generation Apple device management and security solution, has raised $100 million in Series C funding at a nearly 10x increase in valuation since the company’s Series A funding round one year ago.
This latest round was led by Tiger Global with participation from Definition, Frontline Ventures, and existing investors First Round Capital, Greycroft, Felicis Ventures, The Spruce House Partnership, B Capital Group, SVB Capital, and Okta Ventures.
The recent financing, the company’s third funding round since last year, brings Kandji’s total funding raised to $188.5 million. Kandji will use the funds to further evolve its product offerings, increase global hiring, and open a London office.
“The future of work is remote and hybrid. Kandji is helping businesses provide an elegant, seamless experience for remote employees while raising the bar for security throughout the organization,” said John Curtius, partner at Tiger Global. “IT admins can easily secure, authenticate, and manage employee devices, allowing team members to work from anywhere, worry-free. We look forward to seeing Kandji’s continued company growth, and we’re thrilled to invest in their success.”
San Diego home price gains slow from summer peaks
San Diego County’s median home price was unchanged in October as the number of sales hit its lowest level since winter.
The median home price was $740,000, unchanged from the previous month, reported CoreLogic/DQNews on Wednesday. The price is down from the peak of $749,750 reached in June. On a yearly basis, prices are up 13.8 percent.
There were 3,755 home sales in October, the lowest since February. For most of the year, the region has averaged around 4,300 sales a month, still low by historic standards, but expected given low interest rates and feverish demand.
Pacific Building Group earns AGC
Build San Diego Award for Portside Pier
General contractor Pacific Building Group was honored by the Association of General Contractors of America’s San Diego chapter at the organization’s biennial Build San Diego Awards with an AGC Build San Diego Merit Award for Portside Pier, a complete transformation of San Diego’s flagship waterfront restaurant site at 1360 North Harbor Drive along the North Embarcadero.
The destination today offers dock-and-dine options, views of San Diego Bay and free public access to enjoy those views.
Recognized by the Association of General Contractors for its ingenuity, Pacific Building Group consistently overcame construction challenges — from working off floating barges around tides/waves and creating a pulley system to move things around more effectively — to adapting to COVID-19 safety changes and materials delays.
Pacific Building Group team members on the project included Wayne Hickey, Andre Childers, David McNiff, Randy Stoner, Jeff Denny, Michael Giannini and Cindy Jones. B&G Consultants served as the construction program manager and Tucker Sadler was the architect.
UC San Diego opens exhibit
on 19th-century patent models
Through the spring of 2022, UC San Diego’s Design and Innovation Building is hosting a historic exhibition of 19th-century patent models in partnership with Hagley Museum and Library, sponsored by Qualcomm Inc. “Patent Models: A Celebration of American Invention” showcases the breadth and depth of American industry and ingenuity—in telecommunications, medicine, the maritime trades and more.
Hagley’s collection, which includes nearly 5,000 patent models, is the largest private collection of its kind and second only to the Smithsonian in scale.
“Patent Models: A Celebration of American Invention” is now available for viewing, and is located on the 4th floor of UC San Diego’s newly opened Design and Innovation Building.
THEATER SPOTLIGHT
Richard Baird, left, and Brandon J. Pierce appear in ‘Ben Butler’ at the North Coast Repertory Theatre. (Photo by Aaron Rumley)
Thumbs Up!
“Ben Butler” is the engaging story of Benjamin Franklin Butler, a lawyer, major general, politician and businessman faced with a Rule of Law and humanitarian dilemma at Fort Monroe, Va. during the Civil War.
Fast-paced with marvelous dialogue, sparks of humor and memorable characters, it’s currently playing through Nov. 21 at the intimate North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Ste D, Solana Beach, CA 92075.
Order tickets online (northcoastrep.org) or call the box office (open noon to 4 p.m.) at 858-481-1055). Vaccinations and masks are required.
City of San Diego recognized as a top dgital city
Following a citywide expansion of public Wi-Fi and a successful shift to remote work amid a pandemic, the City of San Diego won the No. 2 ranking in the 2021 Digital Cities Survey that recognizes cities utilizing technology to tackle social problems, enhance services, strengthen cybersecurity and more.
This marks the fifth consecutive year the city has finished in the top three in the annual survey by the Center for Digital Government (CDG). San Diego tied with Los Angeles for second place this year, with San Jose topping the list for major U.S. cities.
The city has taken several actions to help close the digital divide that has left an estimated 53,000 San Diego households without Internet access. The city has installed public Wi-Fi at more than 300 locations; opened 10 outdoor computer labs at neighborhood libraries; purchased hundreds of Chromebooks and mobile hotspots that members of the public can checked out from select libraries; and hired a community outreach organization to help San Diegans sign up for federal broadband discounts.
County encourages COVID-19 boosters
for eligible San Diegans
The County of San Diego supports the California Department of Public Health recommendation for a COVID-19 booster dose for anyone 18 and older who wants one and meets the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for time between doses.
People who completed the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine series more than six months ago are eligible for a booster shot at this time. Those who received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine more than two months ago are also eligible to get a booster shot.
Boosters are safe and effective and increase people’s immunity to the COVID-19 virus. Close to 345,000 San Diegans 18 years of age or older have received a booster dose.
Flu cases in San Diego County
outpace last season’s cases
Flu cases continue to outpace last season’s numbers, the County Health and Human Services Agency reported.
To date, 315 flu cases have been reported locally this year, compared to 25 at the same time last season. In the last week, 28 cases were reported, compared to seven in the same week last year.
Flu vaccination status is especially important around the holidays when people stay indoors and gather in large groups, increasing the risk of getting sick.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot every year. It takes about two weeks for immunity to develop. The CDC also indicates you can get a flu and COVID-19 vaccination at the same time. The coronavirus vaccine does not work against influenza and the influenza vaccine does not protect against COVID-19.
San Diego community leaders launch
ballot initiative to invest in libraries, parks
Local community leaders gathered in front of a shuttered library on Wednesday to launch a ballot initiative that will improve City of San Diego libraries and parks. The Libraries and Parks For All community initiative will invest in San Diego’s deteriorating public facilities by fixing long-standing issues and historical inequities that have resulted in some communities having access to fewer educational and recreational opportunities.
The proposal was developed by a diverse and non-partisan group of residents who believe that public spaces are essential to the health, safety and overall quality of life of the community.
The grassroots effort to put the measure on the November 2022 ballot will be led by the San Diego Public Library Foundation and the San Diego Parks Foundation.
Community members made the announcement in front of the Clairemont Library, an aging building constructed during the Eisenhower administration that is currently closed due to staffing shortages.
SDG&E wins national award for
electric reliability in the U.S.
Sempra announced that one of its operating companies, San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E), received national recognition for its continued excellence in reliability and innovation.
SDG&E, which serves 3.7 million people in San Diego and southern Orange counties, was honored by PA Consulting with three of its most prestigious awards: ReliabilityOne National Reliability award, Outstanding Reliability Performance in the West Region Metropolitan Service Area (also known as the “Best in the West”) and Outstanding Grid Sustainability.
This is the 16th consecutive year that SDG&E has received the ReliabilityOne award for “Outstanding Reliability Performance” among utilities in the Western United States.
