Posted on: Saturday, January 5, 2002
Local tech firms attract investors
By John Duchemin
Advertiser Staff Writer
Three Hawai'i technology companies have received close to $8 million in venture investments in recent weeks.
Software developer HotU last week secured a $4 million investment, said Ron Higgins, a member of the company's board of directors. The money includes $2 million in bridge financing set up in the fall, and $2 million in new investments, much from Hawai'i investors, Higgins said.
In December, Hoana Technologies Inc., a newly incorporated maker of medical sensing devices and a spinoff of Honolulu research firm Oceanit, received $1.7 million in startup money, according to Oceanit president Pat Sullivan. The money all comes from local investors, Oceanit marketing manager Ian Kitajima said.
And on Dec. 31, 'Aiea research firm Hawaii Biotech Inc. received $1.9 million, much of it raised from local investors including Higgins, the lead investor, an entrepreneur who founded high-speed Internet service Digital Island.
Other investors in Hawaii Biotech include Barry Weinman, managing director of San Francisco Bay area venture firm Allegis Capital; his wife, Virginia; University of Hawai'i business professor Rob Robinson; and venture firm HMS Hawai'i. HMS managing partner Bill Richardson will sit on the Hawaii Biotech board of directors.
The three companies are the latest Hawai'i firms to attract venture capital and early-stage "angel" investments in the fall, bucking the nationwide post-Sept. 11 gloom and the grim venture capital market.
Software firm Viata and Kailua-based AssistGuide, which develops Internet capabilities for long-term care providers, have also received investments.
Hawaii Biotech, HotU, Hoana and AssistGuide are all members of HiBeam, a nonprofit organization formed last year and dedicated to helping startup companies get access to venture funding. Several of the companies credited HiBeam with helping them find investors.
All the companies are using the money to develop products, hire new staff and attract new customers. Hawaii Biotech, for instance, plans to start a human clinical trial for a dengue fever vaccine the company has developed after years of federally financed research, company president David Watumull said. The company will also perform a dengue market study and conduct trials on other products.
