Second Sight Medical Products Inc. plans to combine with Pixium Vision SA, a French company, to pursue their common quest to develop bionic vision systems.
The Sylmar company is working on its next-generation vision prosthetic, called the Orion system, which is complementary to a retinal-based system being made by Pixium.
According to Acting Chief Executive Matthew Pfeffer, both companies have been aware of each other for many years and have had interactions in the past. The transaction will secure the future of both companies by reducing overhead costs and creating synergies, he said.
Read the full story in the March 1 issue of the San Fernando Valley Business Journal.
Charter flight operator Avelo Airlines is hiring about 150 employees for operations at Hollywood Burbank Airport, according to the company.
The announcement from airline gave no indication when it plans to start flights to and from the Burbank airport. It currently has no operations at the San Fernando Valley’s only commercial airfield.
Avelo, based in Houston, is a transportation startup with domestic commercial service. The company seeks pilots, flight attendants, aircraft maintenance technicians and supervisors, plus customer service and ramp workers.
The Avelo fleet currently consists of two Boeing 737 passenger jets.
Avelo, formerly known as Xtra Airways, is a subsidiary of Houston Air Holdings Inc. About a year ago, its Chief Executive Andrew Levy raised $125 million for the airline.
Lex Heslin with Toyota Mirai.
Lancaster became one of the first cities in the country to debut the new Toyota Mirai hydrogen-powered car.
Lex Heslin, senior project developer for Hitachi Zosen Inova, the Swiss/Japanese energy and engineering company, took delivery of the latest model of the Mirai – which means future in Japanese – this month.
Hitachi Zosen Inova is developing a $100 million anaerobic digestion plant to convert organic waste into hydrogen fuel at the City of Lancaster’s landfill in partnership with another company.
Heslin is working with city officials to advance their plans to make Lancaster a Hydrogen City and to expand the use of hydrogen-powered cars.
AeroVironment Inc. completed its acquisition of Arcturus UAV Inc. making it a wholly owned subsidiary under the AeroVironment brand.
The $405 million transaction between the Simi Valley drone manufacturer and Arcturus in Petaluma was originally announced on Jan. 13.
“As we welcome the Arcturus UAV team to AeroVironment, we commit to maintaining or exceeding the high level of service our existing and new customers experience,” Chief Executive Wahid Nawabi said in a statement.
Founded in 2004 and based in Petaluma, Arcturus UAV designs and manufactures Group 2 and Group 3 drones. Those groups are for unmanned aircraft weighing between 21 pounds but no more than 1,320 pounds. AeroVironment already provides aircraft in the light-weight Group 1 segment.
Capstone Turbine Corp. will receive $5 million in a settlement with a former parts supplier that took a dispute to arbitration.
The proceeds will go toward the Van Nuys microturbine manufacturer providing additional resources to improve reliability and performance of its C200 and C1000 products, the company said.
Chief Executive Darren Jamison said in a statement that the settlement is a positive result for Capstone, and he was proud of the team effort to reach a resolution in the highly technical case.
“Having this case settled not only lets us increase our focus on our core business but also provides the required financial resources necessary to put the issue fully behind us,” Jamison said.