Capstan Medical, founded in 2020, is developing a minimally invasive technology to treat mitral and tricuspid valve disease. The Santa Cruz company recently raised $31.4 million in a Series B fundraising round led by Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Eclipse. The funding will help with hiring in four key areas — software and controls engineering, mechanical engineering, clinical and operations.
Tech
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Could Dave have talked HAL into opening the pod doors if HAL was an advanced AGI?
Doug Erickson, Santa Cruz tech guru and founder of Santa Cruz Works, helps us understand artificial intelligence by taking us back to 1968’s cult classic “2001: A Space Odyssey.” Could that fictional scenario of machines taking over for people happen with today’s AI? He leads us through some scenarios.
Posted inLatest News
As California fires worsen, can AI come to the rescue?
Cal Fire is the first fire agency to use artificial intelligence to look for signs of wildfires and directly alert dispatch centers.
Posted inAptos
Aptos, Microsoft’s new default font, chosen for the community’s ‘widely ranging landscape and climate’
Aptos is a sans serif font, which is designed to be easily readable and features letters that are simpler, with fewer flourishes. Microsoft said Steve Matteson designed the typeface “with a slight humanist touch.”
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
AI is our friend, even in Santa Cruz County. Why are we so afraid of it?
Local tech guru and Santa Cruz Works co-founder Doug Erickson ponders the fear surrounding artificial intelligence and the push to regulate it. It’s not a demon monster, he says, but something we all already use in Santa Cruz County. And he applauds our leaders for being open to it. He suggests we approach it with cautious optimism. “AI has the potential to carry us into an epoch of remarkable transformation — one where human effort is minimized, decisions are optimized and public services reach heights of quality previously unimagined,” he writes.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
In the Age of Doomscrolling, how do we find hope in the always-on drumbeat of bad news?
The central experience of our era is a constant, surround-sound, 24/7, weaponized and ruthlessly engineered sense of doom, Wallace Baine writes. And while every era has its crises, our internet addiction and algorithms aimed at keeping us doomscrolling puts an extraordinary, crushing psychic weight on all of us.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
Joby Aviation opens new Santa Cruz office, where another revolutionary company once did business
Monday was another landmark moment in the unfolding story of Joby Aviation, as the company welcomed more than 100 local guests, dignitaries, media members and investors to the opening of its new offices at Sylvania Avenue and Encinal Street. The event featured a few speeches, a ribbon cutting, and then a tour of the former Plantronics office now officially the home of Joby which, one staffer estimated, employs about 300 in Santa Cruz.
Posted inUncategorized
How I Got My Job: UCSC creative writing lecturer Steve Coulter charted unconventional path to academia
Steve Coulter, UC Santa Cruz creative writing continuing lecturer, spoke with Lookout about what it’s like being a lecturer, busking in Europe and what the future holds for writing with the advent of ChatGPT.
Posted inUncategorized
How I Got My Job: Alexandra Navarro sees role as disruptor, model for Latinas in tech
Alexandra Navarro, chief of staff for Scotts Valley-based Paystand, spoke with Lookout about being a Latina in the tech industry, advice to women and people of color seeking jobs in the industry, and what to expect when getting into this career field.
Posted inUncategorized
How I Got My Job: Tech entrepreneur Chris Miller on what it takes to build an IT business
Cloud Brigade CEO Chris Miller spoke with Lookout about being involved in the early stages of tech, running a small technology business and how students can break into this industry.