TOP 15 COMPANIES WIN CALIFORNIA INNOVATION AWARD

Written by William Simon

Los Angeles, CA -- Apr 25, 2007 -- /prbuzz/ -- California Innovation Corridor partners selected the best innovative companies in the State today from more than 75 Innovation All-Star candidates originating from over 300 initial nominations. The California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, a nonprofit corporation whose members are chosen by the Governor to advise him on how to expand job and economic growth, will be presenting the awards tonight at the Irvine Hilton/Orange County Airport.

“We believe innovation and entrepreneurship are the drivers of economic growth in California,” added Mark Mosher, Executive Director for the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth. Mosher, along with Duane Roth, Commission Member and chairman of Alliance Pharmaceutical Corporation who are presenting the California Innovation Awards to 15 market-leading companies.

The award recipients include Autobytel, Inc. in Irvine, DJO Inc. in Vista, FormFactor, Inc. in Livermore, Symantec in Cupertino, QAD in Carpinteria, Kintera, Inc. and QUALCOMM in San Diego, IXYS Corporation and NETGEAR in Santa Clara, and Callidus Software and Covad Communications Group, Inc. in San Jose. The City of Sunnyvale was the big winner though with four local companies winning the award: Kyphon, Juniper Networks, Network Appliance, Inc., and Trimble.

The awards cap off the California Tech 100 event—the “first-of-its-kind” statewide conference that has brought together a unique ensemble of angel investors, venture capitalists, CEOs, educators, and workforce talent professionals focused on celebrating the Golden State's success as an innovation hotbed. California State Secretaries Victoria Bradshaw of the Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) and Dale Bonner of Business, Transportation and Housing (BTH) both spoke before enthusiastic audiences yesterday.

The California Innovation Corridor partners, managed by the California Space Authority (CSA), a statewide nonprofit organization, and administered through the Labor Workforce Development Agency (LWDA), chose the final recipients based on market leadership within their industry, employment figures, continuous innovation of products and services, contribution to the California economy, and significant accomplishments in 2006.

“These innovative companies” added CSA Executive Director Andrea Seastrand, “give people hope and dreams. They make us globally competitive and proud of our heritage as a nation of inventors, creators, and thinkers.” The California Innovation Corridor is a region spanning the length of the state from Alameda county in the north to San Diego county in the south, and eastward into the Inland Empire.

CONTACT

Wil Simon, Media Mgr., California Space Authority
805-349-2633 x111; cell 805-358-7038 William.Simon@CaliforniaSpaceAuthority
http://goldencapital.net/Events/OC_CAInnovation.asp

15 CALIFORNIA INNOVATION AWARD RECIPIENTS COMPANY DESCRIPTIONS

Autobytel (Irvine, CA)
www.autobytel.com

Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL) is one of the largest online automotive marketplaces, empowering consumers to make smart vehicle choices using objective automotive data and insightful interactive editorial content. The result is a convenient car-buying process backed by a nationwide network of dealers who are committed to providing a positive consumer experience.

Callidus Software (San Jose, CA)
www.callidussoftware.com

Callidus Software is the leading provider of Sales Performance Management (SPM) software and services, allowing the world’s largest companies to more strategically and effectively manage sales operations and incentive programs. Callidus’ best-in-class solutions and domain expertise across a broad range of industries enable enterprises to better align sales and incentive strategies with corporate objectives to improve sales performance, increase profits, and enhance payment processing efficiency.

Covad Communications Group, Inc. (San Jose, CA)
www.covad.com

Covad is a leading nationwide provider of broadband voice and data communications. The company offers DSL, Voice Over IP, T1, Wireless broadband, Web hosting, managed security, IP and dial-up, and bundled voice and data services directly through Covad's network and through Internet Service Providers, value-added resellers, telecommunications carriers and affinity groups to small and medium-sized businesses and home users. Covad broadband services are currently available across the nation in 44 states and 235 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) and can be purchased by more than 57 million homes and businesses, which represent over 50 percent of all US homes and businesses.

DJO Incorporated (Vista, CA)
www.djortho.com

DJO Incorporated is a global provider of solutions for musculoskeletal and vascular health, specializing in rehabilitation and regeneration products for the non-operative orthopedic, spine and vascular markets. Marketed under the Aircast(R), DonJoy(R) and ProCare(R) brands, the Company's broad range of over 700 rehabilitation products, including rigid knee braces, soft goods and pain management products, are used in the prevention of injury, in the treatment of chronic conditions and for recovery after surgery or injury

FormFactor (Livermore, CA)
www.formfactor.com

FormFactor, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORM) is the leader in advanced wafer probe cards, which are used by semiconductor manufacturers to electrically test ICs. The company’s wafer sort, burn-in and device performance testing products move IC testing upstream from post-packaging to the wafer level, enabling semiconductor manufacturers to lower their overall production costs, improve yields, and bring nextgeneration devices to market.

IXYS Corporation (Santa Clara, CA)
www.ixys.com

IXYS develops and markets primarily high performance power and RF semiconductors and control ICs that are used in controlling and converting electrical power efficiently in power systems for telecommunication infrastructure, motor drives, medical systems and transportation. IXYS also serves emerging markets with digital and analog ICs that control flat panel displays, medical instruments and telecommunication products.

Juniper Networks (Sunnyvale, CA)
www.juniper.net

Juniper Networks develops purpose-built, high performance IP platforms that enable customers to support a wide variety of services and applications at scale. Service providers, enterprises, governments and research and education institutions rely on Juniper to deliver a portfolio of proven networking, security and application acceleration solutions that solve highly complex, fast-changing problems in the world's most demanding networks.

Kintera (San Diego, CA)
www.kintera.com

Kintera®, Inc. (NASDAQ: KNTA) provides software as a service to help organizations quickly and easily reach more people, raise more money and run more efficiently. The Kintera Sphere® technology platform empowers The Giving Experience™, and features a social constituent relationship management (CRM) system, enabling donor management, e-mail and communications, Web sites, events, advocacy programs, wealth screening and accounting.

Kyphon (Sunnyvale, CA)
www.kyphon.com

Since its founding in 1994, Kyphon has been dedicated to improving patient quality of life through revolutionizing the practice of medicine. Kyphon's mission is to be the recognized global leader in restoring spinal function with minimally invasive therapies. The company develops and markets medical devices designed to restore and preserve spinal function and diagnose the source of low back pain. The company's products are used in balloon kyphoplasty for the treatment of spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis or cancer, in the Functional Anaesthetic Discography(tm) procedure for diagnosing the source of low back pain, and in the Interspinous Process Decompression procedure for treating lumbar spinal stenosis.

NETGEAR (Santa Clara, CA)
www.netgear.com

NETGEAR (Nasdaq: NTGR) designs technologically advanced, branded networking products that address the specific needs of small and medium business and home users. The Company’s product offerings enable users to share Internet access, peripherals, files, digital multimedia content and applications among multiple personal computers and other Internet-enabled devices.

Network Appliance (Sunnyvale, CA
www.netapp.com

Network Appliance, Inc. (NetApp) is a world leader in unified storage solutions for today's data-intensive enterprise. Since its inception in 1992, Network Appliance has delivered technology, product, and partner firsts that simplify data management. NetApp® storage solutions include specialized hardware, software, and services, providing seamless storage management for open network environments.

QAD (Carpinteria, CA)
www.qad.com

QAD is a leading provider of enterprise applications for global manufacturing companies. QAD applications provide critical functionality for managing manufacturing resources and operations within and beyond the enterprise, enabling global manufacturers to collaborate with their customers, suppliers and partners to make and deliver the right product, at the right cost and at the right time.

QUALCOMM (San Diego, CA)
www.qualcomm.com

QUALCOMM Incorporated is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., QUALCOMM is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2006 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.

Symantec (Cupertino, CA)
www.symantec.com

Symantec is a global leader in infrastructure software, enabling businesses and consumers to have confidence in a connected world. The company helps customers protect their infrastructure, information, and interactions by delivering software and services that address risks to security, availability, compliance, and performance.

Trimble (Sunnyvale, CA)
www.trimble.com

Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Trimble has a worldwide presence with more than 3,400 employees in over 18 countries.

Twiistup Official Press Release

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Stephanie Macadaan
925-408-7412
steph@twiistup.com
www.twiistup.com

SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TECH TALENT AT TWIISTUP
Yahoo, Userplane, dev.aol.com, Microsoft, and Interfuel to Sponsor Inaugural Event

Santa Monica, California, April 23, 2007 – Innovation will be the focus of the first Twiistup™ event that will take place on Wednesday, May 9th at Zanzibar Club (zanzibarlive.com) in Santa Monica.

The evening event will showcase some of the best and the brightest tech talent in the Los Angeles area. As the West Side continues to attract both large and small technology companies, Twiistup provides a venue for tech enthusiasts to interact.

“Twiistup provides the stage for start-ups to showcase their ideas and the venue to network with fellow innovators, investors, job seekers, and established technology leaders,” said Mike Macadaan, Founder of Twiistup. “One of the most important ingredients in a successful business venture is generating energy and excitement from those that can help move an idea along.”

A contest for Southern California start-ups was held by Twiistup, and the winners will demo their new products and give a presentation during the event. The companies chosen to present are Buildv1, Goodreads, Verse Studios, Yourminis, and Urbaniacs. For more information on these companies, visit www.twiistup.com/presenting.html.

Joseph Kosinski, Director of commercials for Gears of War, Halo 3 and others, will be at the event to discuss the tech behind his work. Twiistup will also feature exciting demos, appetizers, cocktails, swag bags, DJ entertainment, robotic art, and prize giveaways.

Twiistup was founded by Mike Macaddan. Based in Silicon Valley, Mike works with AOL, overseeing product development and design efforts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC. He has worked with Netscape, Disney, and Intuit. Most recently he has turned his attention to promoting innovation within a corporate setting.

Joining Mike on the Twiistup team is Ryan Buckholtz, a Los Angeles based entrepreneur. Ryan is the founder of Teendriving.com, one of the most popular sites on the internet devoted to teen driving safety. He is currently working on building an online community of entrepreneurs, with the goal of changing the way that new ideas are funded and developed.

Presenters Set for Twiistup 1

Start-ups are alive and well in Southern California. We received a tremendous response, and chose these 5 companies for Twiistup 1:

BuildV1 (http://www.buildv1.com/) is an experiment to find out if aspiring entrepreneurs can meet online and create successful businesses. They hope to create a space where entrepreneurs can explore ideas, learn from successful entrepreneurs, and begin their entrepreneurial journey. They believe that more people could start successful businesses if there's an easier way to find the right people.

Goodreads's (http://www.goodreads.com/) mission is to improve the process of reading and learning throughout the world. Goodreads is a privately run website started in 2006 by software engineer and entrepreneur Otis Chandler. Prior to founding Goodreads, Otis was Product Manager of LoveHappens.com, a subsidiary of Tickle.com. Monster Worldwide, the leading purveyor of online jobs, purchased the company in 2004. Otis graduated with a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. Along with a passion for building websites, he’s also a voracious reader.

Urbaniacs (www.urbaniacs.com) are funky urban heroes that YOU create and customize by combining different body parts together to form your very own alter ego... an Urbaniac! There are thousands of possible combinations! Go on... get your URB ON!

Verse Studios (http://www.verse-studios.com) was founded by Travis Savo, Sean Murphy and Marcus Riedner in early 2006, and shortly there after Nathan Moore joined the team. They came together with the shared vision of developing exciting next generation online video games with unique science fiction themes, community driven game play, and novel economic models.

Yourminis (www.yourminis.com) is a personalized dashboard of minis (mini applications, also known as widgets) that let you perform specific tasks, and get information and features from all over the web in one place. You can configure minis to see your email, check the weather, watch youtube videos, search the web, browse flickr photos, read news and rss feeds, save notes & to dos, listen to music, and much, much more.

For more information about Twiistup, including tickets and sponsorships, please visit http://www.twiistup.com/.