California – Page 2 – Swanson Reed | Specialist R&D Tax Advisors

Pyka, Inc. Has Secured $37m in Funding for their Electric Autonomous Ag Aircrafts

Washington Patent of the Month - August 2021

Pyka Inc. began their journey in 2017 as they set out to develop a new form of aviation – one which is autonomous and electric; fast and environmentally friendly. In recent news, the company has secured $37 million in Series A Funding.

This funding is meant to provide the means for the startup to fast track the production of their Pelican aircraft and ramp up R&D even further.

In a statement, Pyka CEO Michael Norcia said, “We are extremely pleased with this successful raise and the opportunities it affords Pyka to rapidly boost our manufacturing and begin executing on our more than $320 million in MOUs and commercial agreements from customers.”

Back at the start, Pyka was focused on the development of Big Bird, their proof of concept (POC) vehicle. This POC got them accepted into Y Combinator’s summer 2017 batch, and the company spent three months building, testing, and flying Big Bird – a 400 lb unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). After a successful and fully autonomous mission, the company raised $3 million in funding out of their round at Y Combinator and moved into the design and development of their first full product – the Egret.

With success from the Egret, ,a 200 lb payload 100% autonomous electric crop duster, the company made history as the creators of the first-ever human-scale autonomous electric aircraft certified for commercial work. They used this momentum to launch the development of the Pelican, the second generation electric autonomous agricultural airplane. In 2021, the Pelican took to the skies for the first autonomous fixed wing aerial application on a banana crop – in human history.

The Pelican is a fully autonomous, crop-spraying aircraft with LIDAR-enabled collision and terrain avoidance systems. The aircraft is powered by three electric motors and redundant batteries and it can take off in as little as 450 feet and spray up to 130 acres an hour at a fifth of the operating costs of piloted aircraft. Its payload triples that of its predecessor, the Egret.

This impressive history shows the dedication of the company and the drive behind their R&D. With the influx of this Series A funding, the company intends to further their development to create an ecosystem of technologies including proprietary flight control software, avionics, high power density motors, motor controllers, batteries, and custom carbon-fiber composite airframes.

Are you developing new Technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Nuro Inc. Secures Funding for Autonomous Vehicle Expansion

Nuro, Inc. has completed a successful investment round, totalling $600 million, with some of this coming from Kroger Co.

California-based Nuro is a robotics company working towards the development of a self-driving vehicle designed specifically to deliver groceries. Their vehicles have been tested in pilot programs for delivering pizza and groceries.

With the $600M in funding, the company is set to grow, using the capital influx to accelerate the development and deployment of their autonomous vehicles across the country.

“We’re thrilled to have the backing of these prominent investors and world class companies, and honored that they support our vision of improving communities and revitalizing local commerce,” Nuro co-founder and president Dave Ferguson said in a news release. “We believe this investment will allow us to accelerate our commercialization strategy and better everyday life with Nuro’s technology.”

Nuro has designed their vehicles to drive in neighborhoods, and programmed them to always prioritize others safety first since they only carry goods. This overcomes one of the key problems faced by other autonomous vehicles which is how to balance safety of passengers with safety of external people or other cars.

Are you developing new technolgoy for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

StoreDot Opens California Based R&D Innovation Hub

Oregon Patent of the Month - August 2021

StoreDot, an Israeli developer of extreme fast-charging (XFC) battery technology for electric vehicles (EV), has come to California. They opened an R&D innovation hub in the state with intentions of creating automotive battery technology aimed at eradicating range anxiety.

This innovation hub will work alongside the Israel-based R&D headquarters, increasing the manpower and time committed to developing technology. With this increased R&D effort, they are aiming to achieve mass production of their XFC automotive battery technology by 2024.

Other R&D teams in the hub will work on their next generation extreme energy density (XED) solid state capability and materials. Their aim for this technology is mass production by 2028.

Doron Myersdorf, StoreDot CEO, said: “This new US R&D innovation hub signals that our business is rapidly expanding, as we are scaling up our extreme fast charging technology. Establishing a facility in California will allow us to harness the world-class talent pool that’s available there, with many people and organisations at the forefront of next generation advancements. This will bolster the development of our world leading XFC technologies and onto XED solid-state batteries.”

“Our new US team will work in tandem with our rapidly expanding global network bringing new skills and ideas in order that we can execute our clear technology roadmap, enabling automotive manufacturers to develop vehicles that overcome range and charging anxiety.”

StoreDot said it was now in advanced discussions “with many of the world’s leading automotive manufacturers” and was already shipping samples for real world testing.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

MycroDose Therapeutics and HAVN Life Sciences Partner Up in Psychedelic Research

Kansas Patent of the Month - August 2021

MycroDose Therapeutics has announced their plans to partner with HAVN Life Sciences, a Vancouver based biotechnology company. Each of these companies are focused on research and development of psychedelic compounds. HAVN Life Sciences is specifically focused on the standardized extraction of psychedelic compounds for the creation of APIs.

MycroDose Therapeutics is one of the few private companies to be granted a Schedule 1 License to research four psychedelic compounds by the DEA.

Psilocybin
MDMA
DMT
LSD

This partnership will be apparent as HAVN Life Sciences will export their naturally derived psilocybin to MycroDose Therapeutics, where it will be used in the development of advanced drug delivery (ADD) systems. These ADD systems will aim to treat mental health and cognitive degenerative diseases.

This is the beginning of the formation of an important supply chain to support the growing field of psychedelic research. This supply chain will be important to beginning the legal and licensed distribution of naturally derived GMP psilocybin throughout the United States. Distribution will include pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, and nonprofits, effectively increasing the body of research and access to naturally derived products in the field.

Are you developing new pharmaceuticals for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Pony.ai Receives Driverless Permit from California DMV

Pony.ai is an autonomous vehicle technology company with headquarters in California and China. This startup launched with plans to create a driverless Robotaxi service California. They have made major progress, even initiating testing driverless vehicles on public roads in California ahead of their schedule.

“The technology is moving from experience-level to application,” says James Peng, CEO at Pony.ai. “The first half of the game is to build stable and mature products and accumulate experience. The second half is to move from R&D to mass production and scale, in addition to achieving commercially viable products.”

The company has just received a driverless permit from California DMV – a huge milestone that will allow engineers to perform driverless testing without a human driver behind the wheel on real public roads within California. With this advancement, Pony.AI hopes to accelerate their commercial growth across all their operation sites. Even better, they now intend to officially launch their driverless Robotaxi service to the public in California starting 2022.

Pony.ai currently offers ride-hailing in its autonomous vehicles in five markets: Irvine and Fremont in California; as well as Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in China. The company plans to install its technology in hundreds of vehicles next year, rising to tens of thousands in 2024-2025.

Are you developing new software for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Strateos Brings Remote R&D to Life

Strateos, a California startup might have the solution to remote R&D. With the events of the past year, many employees and workers experienced a “work from home” lifestyle. Some industries had a much harder time – especially those in R&D, who needed to be in the lab to work on their projects.

They have developed the Smart Lab to allow life science researchers to conduct experiments and analyses from anywhere in the world. With the use of robotics, the SmartLab platform connects a remote R&D team to one of two SmartLab Studios. Each of these labs are fully equipped with advanced research instruments for use in drug discovery, cell and gene therapy, and synthetic biology processes. Each of these tools and instruments will be operated by a fleet of robotics and automated workflows. Researchers can control or customize these workflows, removing the physical labor and without requiring a physical presence. Strateos recently had a successful series B funding round, bringing $56.1 million in to continue development of the SmartLab platform.

Are you developing new technology for an existing application? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Orbillion Bio Joins Y Combinator to Advance their Alternative Meat Startup

Orbillion Bio is officially the latest addition to the Y Combinator, a startup funding program which aims to give new companies the best chance at success. Y combinator works closely with their invested companies for the first three months, offering advice and guidance to refine their pitches and business plans. At the end of the three months, each startup presents themselves to a select audience on “Demo Day”. Following Demo Day, Y Combinator continues to help the startup but allows them to really take the wheel.

Orbillion is a female-founded food tech company bringing cell-cultured meat to the table. In an effort to reduce the strain on the agricultural industry and provide a sustainable, slaughter-free method of feeding the world, Orbillion has developed an alternative to classic meat. Through advanced bioprocessing, they have successfully isolated and selected the cells which are best suited for commercial scale food production. Their methods allow them to move from sample to finished product 5x faster than other companies. Their cell-culturing has created lab-based wagyu beef, lamb, elk, and bison jerky. They successfully created these alt-meats in just four months of R&D and are now focused on enhancing the cost-effectiveness of their high-quality meat products. Orbillion believes this is the only future, “with 10 billion people to feed by 2050 and a food system already on the brink”.

Are you developing new technology? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Cabana Expanding their Mobile Hotels into California

Cabana has announced their expansion into Los Angeles as well as enhanced experiences for their Seattle customers. They intend to revolutionize the way people travel through the streets of Seattle – in mobile hotels. They have taken the new #vanlife trend to a new level, by providing the experience of luxury hotels on the road. They designed a campervan that could incorporate this form of luxury to make your road trips an experience to remember.

Their new options include concierge services to provide trip planning assistance for customers; van delivery to make starting a trip even more convenient; early check-in and late check-out to provide more flexibility in travel plans; and one-way rental options for travelers with itineraries that don’t accommodate a two-way trip.

These mobile hotels are great for a socially-distanced vacation. Cabana made sure the entire process is contactless by incorporating virtual methods for reservations and both van pick-up and drop-off. With the expansion into LA, Californians will soon be able to take advantage of these mobile hotels and experience the west coast in a new way.

Are you developing new technology? Did you know your development work could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? Even if your development isn’t successful your work may still qualify for R&D credits (i.e. you don’t need to have a patent to qualify). To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’ largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

The DOE has Announced Plans for Hydrogen Fuel Cell R&D

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched its plans to advance fuel cell truck and hydrogen production. The Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M²FCT) and the H2NEW consortia will work to identify ways to make the technologies more durable, efficient, affordable and viable in today’s market. This comes off the DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office’s (EERE’s) announcement to invest $100 million into the projects.

The combined intention of the projects is to produce hydrogen in environmentally-friendly ways, and then use that hydrogen as a fuel source.

H2NEW

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (Colorado) and Idaho National Laboratory will lead this project, and attempt to develop large-scale electrolyzers, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen produced is perfect for hydrogen fuel cells.

Electrolysis has been around since 1800, and a number of methods have been developed. However, it’s not always a cheap endeavor. This consortia will look at how to make the electrolyzers more efficient and cost effective.

M²FCT

Fuel Cell Trucks (FCTs) have the diesel engine replaced with a battery-hydrogen fuel cell hybrid system. The hybrid feature allows for optimal performance in heavy duty applications, with minimized environmental impact. FCTs produce no emissions, only water. Los Alamos (New Mexico) and Lawrence Berkeley (California) National Laboratories will lead the project, focussing on fuel cell durability, performance, and minimizing cost.

Are you developing a new invention? Did you know your R&D experiments could be eligible for the R&D Tax Credit and you can receive up to 14% back on your expenses? To find out more, please contact a Swanson Reed R&D Specialist today or check out our free online eligibility test.

Who We Are:

Swanson Reed is one of the U.S.’s largest Specialist R&D tax advisory firms, offering tax credibility assessments, claim preparation, and advisory services. We manage all facets of the R&D tax credit program, from claim preparation and audit compliance to claim disputes.

Swanson Reed regularly hosts free webinars and provides free IRS CE and CPE credits for CPAs and CFPs. For more information please visit us at www.swansonreed.com/webinars or contact your usual Swanson Reed representative.

Berkley Lab Will Carry Out R&D To Assist In The COVID-19 Response

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has recently received funding from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to carry out R&D that will help to improve testing capabilities for COVID-19.

The project will be carried out over the next six months in eight DOE national labs and will seek to improve current COVID-19 diagnostic methods and help develop new capabilities for the future, such as scaling up testing if required.

Five teams have been created to manage different aspects of the research. Berkeley Lab scientists will participate in four of the teams, which will:

Validate diagnostic alternatives;
Evaluate the performance of a prototype digital microfluidic platform to miniaturize the assay used to detect COVID-19;
Develop computational approaches to optimise diagnostic tests and detection methods;
Explore structure-based protein design for diagnostics.

This project is one of many that has been initiated to provide rapid assistance in the US COVID-19 response.

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H2NEW

M2FCT

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M²FCT