As COVID-19 vaccines roll out worldwide, InVixa is working on a new delivery method for a cholesterol-lowering drug to treat respiratory inflammation caused by the coronavirus. 

In a world of portability and to-go orders, Grass Valley-based startup BoxPower delivers energy in a box.

The 2020 presidential election may be over, but the team at Warchest still has work to do.

You might not associate remote work with construction, but Mare Island-based Factory OS is redesigning the business model by building multifamily homes off-site, then shipping them to the designated location.

The challenge for treatment programs can be broken down into four parts: lack of workforce, limited capacity, timing conflicts and insurance issues.

The future of vertical farming begins on the genetic level. That’s the philosophy of Unfold, a Sacramento-based startup focused on innovating fruit and vegetable seeds to better serve indoor growing facilities.

Comstock’s spoke with Cherry about the groundbreaking work that led UC Davis to name him and co-inventor Ramsey Badawi among the recipients of the 2020 Chancellor’s Innovation Awards.

With the help of artificial intelligence, this Sacramento-based startup wants to make the hiring process run smoother for companies flooded with applications.

There’s nothing worse than pouring wine down the drain, says Brett Bayda, so he created Drinjk Wines for consumers who want more portion control.

How do you measure the thirst of a plant? Michael Santiago, founder and CEO of FloraPulse, says give it a chip.

Not only have Black Americans suffered more from COVID-19 infections and deaths, but Black-owned businesses were hit the hardest due to the shutdown.

“We make it easier for our most vulnerable community members to get the care they need to stay independent and stay home,” says Kwamane Liddell, DispatchCare’s founder and CEO.

This spring, COVID-19 forced schools to go online. But, for the most part, the teaching models remained the same. Sama Learning, a Nevada City-based startup, wants to transform those models.

With teleconferencing, email, e-commerce and social media, the internet makes it possible for many people to work virtually. However, being “always online” comes at a cost.

As the U.S. grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, factors such as socioeconomic status, education, neighborhood and employment play a pivotal role in the fight against systemic racism and social injustice. 

As a hospital assistant at UC Davis Medical Center, Tony Braham helps nurses lift and move patients. In other words, “We’re the muscle of the hospital,” Braham says, and his startup aims to help “the muscle” be more mobile.

After screening millions of cells that secrete antibodies, scientists at a Rancho Cordova-based automated cell processing company and its collaboration partners believe they found a potential path to treat COVID-19.

In the face of climate change, environmental stress and population growth, advanced technology can lead to enhanced weather forecasting, which could make a huge impact in preventing floods and keeping reservoirs full.

Based in Sacramento, OpenGrants is a free platform that uses machine learning to sift through, list and match users with grant writers and opportunities. The platform reduces the opportunity cost inherent in the grant funding process by 30-40 percent.

Nytch, a Woodland-based mobile app, connects independent, offline businesses to local shoppers looking for specific items.

Since 2015, Comstock’s has spotlighted more than 60 regional startups in our Startup of the Month column. Here are five standouts from the column that are going stronger than ever.

With gift cards continuing to soar in popularity, a Woodland-based startup aims to bring their convenience to small businesses while cutting down on plastic.

With industries moving at the speed of the internet, many companies have trouble keeping pace. Zennify, a Sacramento-based cloud solutions and consulting firm, wants to help legacy businesses catch up.

Humaxa uses artificial intelligence and natural language processing to help employers boost productivity and satisfaction among their workforce.

In California, where 90 percent of American strawberries are grown, the time is ripe for a faster, better way to pick them. That’s the idea behind Advanced Farm Technologies, a Davis-based startup that uses customized tools to lend farmers a helping robotic hand.

Medical carts are mobile storage units for health care equipment, supplies and medication, and may include workstations for access to electronic data.

If your manager tosses you a $200 gift card for reaching a milestone, it’s nothing personal — and according to Anna Straus, that’s a problem when it comes to employee retention and workplace productivity.

PairAnything, run by an eight-person team, won the $10,000 Food + Agriculture Sector Award at the 2019 Big Bang Business Competition at UC Davis.

Before 2012, Nick Barbato was a software developer working in a cubicle, and he was miserable. He wanted more control over his life, so he left that job to start a company called Pangia Games. Not long after he and his cofounder, Lee Hobbs, released their first game, he received an email in 2013 from someone who played it.

Prior to 2019, the California Retail Food Code had strict limits on which facilities could store, package and serve food at the retail level. These restrictions were put in place for health and sanitation purposes.

As a leadership educator and coach working from home, Leslie Bosserman had a tough time being fully present with both her first child and her clients. Eight months into her second pregnancy, she came up with the idea for The Makers Place, a Sacramento-based coworking space customized for families.

Sacramento boasted of being one of the first four test cities for Verizon’s 5G network, with officials calling it a major step toward the future. But nearly a year after launch, none of the city’s eight council districts have full 5G coverage — and it isn’t clear when any of them will.

For Akshay Prabhu, nothing ties a meal together like community. His Davis-based startup, Foodnome, reflects that philosophy, turning regular homes into restaurants the way Uber turned regular cars into taxis.

The first book Amy Altstatt wrote was about a little girl in a world in which color represents what one wants to be when grown up. The girl tries different colors to see which one suits her, but none feels  right. Then she cries, and, in her rainbow tears, she realizes all the colors are part of her.

When HealthCare.gov — the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance exchange website — went live in 2013, it was slow, buggy and hard to navigate — a digital mess. Two weeks later, three programmers in the Bay Area launched HealthSherpa.com, an alternative website to help online shoppers understand their options under the ACA and see plans and prices quickly.

Throughout the region, public and private-sector players are rethinking women’s health, expanding and diversifying their approach to maternal and infant health.

Nematodes pose a conundrum to farmers. The worm-like microscopic creatures are everywhere. Some are parasitic, infecting plants and destroying crops — but others actually  attack insect pests. The ability to target the “bad” while leaving the “good” unharmed would be a boon for agricultural production.

Eric Sweet used to be a pilot, hauling cargo and flying corporate jets. Then he tried his hand at real estate. Now, through his Sacramento-based startup, Robotics Evolution, he’s focused on educating youth on robotics by offering special arenas where their robots can compete in various competitions.

As part of an entrepreneurship course at UC Davis, Mathew Magno was instructed to come up with a problem to solve. He didn’t think twice: Magno wanted to solve the nightmare that is finding a place to park.

City officials and developers are eyeing transit hubs for residential projects — but can it be effective in the Capital Region, which lacks the mass transit hubs of larger cities?

Anybody who says video games are bad for your health hasn’t met Dr. Tony Simon.

Telehealth is on the rise throughout the Capital Region, with video visits that save patients and hospitals both time and money. But can it reach the patients who need it the most?

For more than 50 years, Yolo Family Service Agency provided mental health services to Yolo County. In May, the small nonprofit agency shut down for good.

California is in the throes of a mental health crisis. But there’s a severe shortage of mental health professionals, which experts predict will only get worse. Comstock’s looks into access to mental health resources and efforts to get services to the people who need them most.

The Sacramento-based startup makes cannabis-infused topical skin care products and for Chelsea Dudgeon, CEO and cofounder, her grandmother was “a tough sell” in the beginning.

The Tuesday after renowned chef Anthony Bourdain committed suicide, Patrick Mulvaney asked for help. The owner of Mulvaney’s B&L restaurant in Midtown Sacramento could no longer cook in good conscience — but he needed guidance.

In 2017, Aaron Watkins launched a rental service called STEMtrunk because he doesn’t believe educational toys should be left behind. He calls his Yuba City-based startup “Netflix for learning toys” because it works with the same subscription-based concept.

Before big-time Sacramento developer Mort Friedman passed away in 2012, he handed the keys of the family business to his son, Mark Friedman. The transition was relatively seamless. Mort’s other sons pursued careers outside the industry and in different cities.