Russell Nichols is a freelance writer who focuses on technology, culture and mental health. His work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Governing Magazine and Government Technology.
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Are Probiotics Safe for Infants?
UC Davis spinoff startup comes under fire after infant death linked to product
In recent months, Infinant Health has come under fire after the death of a preterm infant has been linked to its probiotic product. The FDA issued a warning in September to hospitals, advising them against administering Evivo with MCT Oil, the product which contains the live bacterium B. infantis.

How Investing Works
The road to investing is wide and full of many different kinds of drivers that often overlap. Here is a basic guide to understanding how various investors work and what makes each one unique.

Startup Revolution
The Capital Region’s emerging startup community is attracting big investments
Since 2020, the global economy has been mired in uncertainty. On Oct. 5, 2023, investors and entrepreneurs convened at the Roebbelen Center @The Grounds in Roseville to address certain questions regarding business in the Capital Region.

Startup of the Month: Botanical Solution Inc.
Lab-grown plants offer key compounds for crop protection, vaccines
Grown in a lab from raw materials, so-called “baby trees” could be essential for protecting not only the future of fruits and vegetables, but also people. This is the aim of Botanical Solution Inc., a Davis-based ag tech startup with global roots.

Startup of the Month: RePurpose Energy
Fairfield startup puts sustainable spin on retired EV batteries
For an old electric vehicle battery, retirement doesn’t mean the end of the road. This fact was the catalyst for RePurpose Energy, a Fairfield-based startup that converts retired EV batteries into renewable energy storage systems.

The Beat Goes On
Sacramento-area medical centers get high marks for their heart care
Advancements in heart care tools and technology have made surgery less invasive, reducing pain, hospital stays and overall recovery time. These innovations have not only improved patient outcomes, but have also led to greater recognition of hospitals in the region as high-quality heart care centers.

Startup of the Month: Scopi
A portable endoscope helps clinicians diagnose nasal problems
Nasal and sinus problems can be tricky and costly to diagnose. Based on a hardware prototype developed at Stanford University, Scopi Medical aims to solve both problems with the first AI-enabled portable nasal endoscope for diagnosis at the point of care.

Startup of the Month: Badaye Technologies
Machine helps farmers clean maize more efficiently
In Uganda, farmers clean maize in three traditional ways: hand sorting, winnowing and sieving. During an internship in eastern Uganda in 2018, Ismael Mayanja observed these processes and believed there had to be a better method.

Startup of the Month: Biosense
Innovative test strips measure glucose and other substances from saliva
Founded in 2020, Biosense is based on technology with development
led by Luis Bojorquez, founder and CSO. Bojorquez specializes in
combining tiny natural substances (e.g. proteins) with inorganic
materials to develop novel biosensing technologies.

Going Meta
Are Capital Region tech companies buying into the metaverse and Web3?
Will the metaverse be entirely virtual reality, which immerses users in an artificial environment, or utilize augmented reality, which superimposes computer-generated images in the real world? Will it be primarily a gaming and entertainment platform? Or a socioeconomic ecosystem? Or will it be — like many over-hyped ideas — a bust?

Startup of the Month: Shared Vision
For influencers, Sacramento startup compiles scattered affiliate links into micro storefronts
“These content creators, they have thousands of products they’ve
recommended over thousands of posts over a dozen platforms, but
there’s no good way to manage all of those products,” Bardsley
says. “It’s not that they weren’t doing affiliate links, but they
weren’t paying attention to them enough to make money.”

Startup of the Month: AIVision Food
An early detection tool to protect crops from pests
Insect infestation affects crops worldwide, and manually
monitoring food processing and storage facilities is a costly and
time-intensive endeavor. SmartProbe technology aims to make pest
control easier, cheaper and more effective.

Unlocking Reality
As technology evolves, regional entrepreneurs look to unlock the possibilities of augmented reality
Unlike virtual reality, which immerses users in an artificial environment, augmented reality superimposes information in the real world. This information can take the form of graphics, text, audio and other sensory inputs to enhance one’s experience.

Startup of the Month: HuLoop Automation
AI bots streamline workflows to free up human workers from mundane tasks
Too many employees get stuck doing tedious tasks on legacy systems that can impact job satisfaction and the bottom line. This is why Todd Michaud launched HuLoop Automation, a Sacramento-based AI-powered solution to transform the way work gets done.

Startup of the Month: Optimized Foods
Davis company cultivates caviar without harming fish
Optimized Foods, a Davis-based food tech startup, has created a new kind of caviar that is sustainable, nutritious and, most notably, fish-free.

Startup of the Month: Advance Ag
Agtech company aims to bring real-time data tools to farmers
Using Internet-of-Things devices and sensors, the Sacramento-based startup analyzes real-time plant data to monitor the health and performance of crops and water soil saturation.

Startup of the Month: Core Impact
Wearable tech company aims to enhance peak performance of athletes
For athletes, consistency can lead to greatness. Performance data can help get them there. The sports technology startup Core Impact offers a targeted solution through its patent-pending wearable technology.

Startup of the Month: California Cultured
Food tech company makes real chocolate from plant cells
It takes about five years for a cocoa tree to grow and start producing cocoa beans. But Alan Perlstein, who spent the last 20 years in cellular agriculture and pharmaceuticals, had an idea: Why not bypass the tree and just grow the bean?

Startup of the Month: EV Life
Financing platform gives potential EV buyers a boost
EV Life was created to help make the cost of an electric vehicle
equal to or less than a car that runs on gas. The startup’s
founder and co-CEO explains how his business works with potential
EV buyers in three phases.

Startup of the Month: Mediminder
New device helps people with allergies track EpiPens
With her Davis-based startup, CEO Liz Tang wants to remedy the
problem of people with medical conditions not having immediate
access to the medical devices that may save their lives.

Meet Dr. Robot
Advanced robotics bring speed and accuracy to operating rooms
Robots may not possess empathy, but they provide precision
and consistency that’s hard for even the most highly trained
health professionals to replicate.
Can AI-informed technologies hit the medical
mainstream?

The Legacy of Robodoc
Four decades later, the first surgical robot lives on
Robodoc co-creator Dr. William Bargar talks with Comstock’s
about the legacy of Robodoc.

Startup of the Month: VestLife
Elk Grove startup creates app to collect, customize disability information
VestLife, founded by a special needs attorney, enables
parents of children with developmental disabilities to
organize, manage and instantly access their child’s key
disability information via one secure web app.

Starting From Scraps
Developers look to convert the region’s rotting eyesores into unique visions for business
While repurposing old warehouses for new use comes with
technical and financial challenges, it also presents great
benefits, and is one way to build green and sustainable.

Startup of the Month: Matrubials
UC Davis spinoff finds big potential in breast milk
Breast milk has antibiotic-like health benefits? It sure does. Matrubials, a startup out of UC Davis, is developing products that use breast milk components to treat bacterial infections.

Call to Interaction
To reach young consumers, advertisers think outside the checkbox
Savvy advertising won’t help a business if its core values aren’t
consistent on every level. In today’s marketing landscape,
authentic messaging aimed toward building trust and
engagement is critical.

Startup of the Month: Neural Lab
Touchless technology ushers in new wave
Based in El Dorado Hills, Neural Lab has developed touchless technology that turns hand and body motions into commands for devices like keyboards, mice, touchscreens, games and TV controllers.

Startup of the Month: June Care
Platform for child care connects parents to hosts
Davis-based June Care is an online platform that connects parents who need child care with host parents who can provide it.

Startup of the Month: EyeRate
Elk Grove team wants service workers to get their due
Elk Grove-based EyeRate is a social platform designed to recognize and reward employees for their product knowledge and customer service, helping them earn more of what their labor is worth.

The Power of the Breath
UC Davis professor develops device for COVID-19 detection
Cristina Davis, a professor of mechanical and aerospace
engineering and associate dean of research for the UC Davis
College of Engineering, is developing a breathalyzer-like
device to detect COVID-19 and its severity in individuals.

The Doctor Will See You Now
COVID-19 gave a major boost to telehealth services, but for how long?
During the pandemic, the benefits of patients connecting
virtually have been transformative in many ways.

Startup of the Month: VasoBio
UC Davis medtech team pumps life into potential kidney dialysis solution
Davis-based VasoBio has created a medical device that could improve the quality of life for people with kidney diseases.

A Cardiologist’s Guide to Good Health
Dr. Ramin Manshadi, founder of the Manshadi Heart Institute in
Stockton, has been studying human hearts and health for
decades.

Older, Better, Faster, Stronger
Capital Region innovators build new paths to wellness and longevity
Doctors, researchers and trailblazers are exploring how
to use both tried-and-true methods and new tools to
improve physical and mental health as we age.

Startup of the Month: FarmX
E-commerce platform empowers farmers
Fairfield-based FarmX enables farmers to sell directly to grocery chains and restaurants via its e-commerce platform.

Startup of the Month: Yolo Robotics
Davis-based company aims to recycle space debris
Tech company Yolo Robotics aims to melt and reshape space debris into useful products while remaining in orbit.

Startup of the Month: Expert IEP
App optimizes education plans for neurodivergent students
Davis-based tech company Expert IEP developed an app to help parents of neurodivergent students optimize their academic, behavioral, occupational and speech goals.

Show Me the Money
Automation and ag-tech help fuel Capital Region’s funding boost
As the pandemic shifts the landscape of investing in
the Capital Region, so too are the dynamics between tech startups
and investors.

Startup of the Month: INN>CHRG
Yolo County-based startup aims to eliminate range anxiety for electric vehicle drivers
INN>CHRG is developing an app that allows any private property (residential, business, etc.) with electricity to potentially become a charging location.

Startup of the Month: RevShopp
Platform shapes a better way to shop
Every body has a type. But clothing stores typically focus on sizes, which does a disservice to both retailers and customers, says Amy Wister, cofounder and CEO of RevShopp.

Assembled With PRIDE
Long-standing social enterprise builds on legacy of inclusion
From its beginnings in a church basement in Auburn to its current status as the Capital Region’s leading employer of people with disabilities and other hurdles to employment, PRIDE Industries has always promoted an inclusive workforce.

Startup of the Month: Trusty
Real estate platform adds perspective
“Why can you read reviews on what restaurant to eat at or hotel to stay at or what vacuum to buy, but when it comes to the largest financial purchase of your life, there’s nowhere to go?” says Tim Hyer, cofounder and CEO of Trusty.

Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Mental Health?
After the disruption of 2020, the push for more collaborative affiliations has become even more urgent. At the core of this evolving model is technology.

Startup of the Month: Reviver
Digital license plates turn cars into smart machines
How much would you pay to never have to step foot in the Department of Motor Vehicles again?

Startup of the Month: TurtleTree
Business grows cells to create milk and milk ingredients
Milk may do the body good, as the 1980s campaign stated, but Fengru Lin, cofounder and CEO of TurtleTree, believes milk production without cows could do the planet even better.

Startup of the Month: BCD Bioscience
Young scientist develops method to revolutionize fiber
BCD Bioscience wants to help adults benefit from essential carbohydrates that naturally occur in breast milk.

Startup of the Month: Hank
Artificial intelligence platform helps building systems run efficiently
Summer heat in Sacramento can be stressful — especially for air conditioning units in office buildings.

The New Industrialists
Meet four entrepreneurs in the Capital Region who are making a positive difference
Here are four entrepreneurs who are transforming ideas of manufacturing for the well-being of the world.

Startup of the Month: Foodom
Business serves up on-demand home cooks
The Folsom-based startup Foodom launched in March 2020 to bring experienced cooks into the homes of busy families.

Maturity Loves Company
Trends point to a growing interest in mergers and acquisitions
The recent spate of mergers and acquisitions in the Capital Region tells a story beyond the pandemic, speaking to growing interest in the area and a red-hot financial craze that catapults private companies into public markets.