SCTVF
2002: A Renewed Focus
SCTVF has always remained dedicated
to the dissemination of thoughtful, grounded and unbiased
information to keep the investment community abreast of
emerging technologies and trends. The current uncertainty
that looms over the technology industry now makes the need
for timely, sound, and relevant information even more important.
The urge to identify the next big thing has become a confusing
guessing game that has left new areas of innovation at risk
of being overhyped. This year SCTVF has chosen to focus
on three sectors which have generated much attention and
interest (Life Sciences, Nanotechnology, and Security Technologies),
in an effort to bring sound, useful
knowledge and information on how they really are important
to investors, the marketplace, and the future.
Life
Sciences
For much of the mid to late 90's technology stocks surged,
while bioscience stocks and startup activity achieved only
modest growth and, for the most part, failed to gain the
public eye. Now that tech investments are volatile at best
and have fallen below recent levels, bioscience investing
has become a fashionable venture capital. Yet with the recent
(and rapid) decline that has burdened the tech sector in
the past two years, and with the recent progress in research
and development, there have been significant funds and faith
invested in the life sciences.
Although
capital is necessary to stimulate any industry, there is
a significant risk of repeating the hype of the dot com
boom. As the long-term results of the bioscience industry
have yet to be played out, the progress is leading to a
crossover of industries and resources, thus allowing life
sciences to have application in engineering, physics and
chemistry that have opened up new possibilities for innovation
and business growth.
Keynote
Speaker: Dr. Chih-Ming Ho, Associate Vice Chancellor for
Research, UCLA
Nanotechnology
The attention surrounding nanotechnology has increased recently,
with heightened expectations for both innovation and capital.
With media and analyst speculation at an all-time high,
and government funding for R&D hanging in jeopardy,
the challenge is identifying what will become a reality
once nano hype fizzles out. With this ascent of interest,
activity and attention, there is also a clamoring need to
define and assess thisarea. What first of all is nano, and
the ultimate question, what kinds of nano based products
are near term, what was ten or even twenty years away, and
what was simply science fiction. Analyst predictions for
nano have been encouraging, with Merrill Lynch publishing
a 2001 study that predicted nano as one of the "darlings"
for the investment community in 2002. However, there is
also a widely acknowledged education gap amongst VC's when
it comes to nano, as investors partake in a cautious identification
process. "VC's are just beginning to get an understanding
of who it is they trust," says John Roy, a Technology
Strategist with Merrill Lynch who co-authored the study.
"There may be 500 researchers out there who want to
spin out companies but maybe ten will actually see funding."
Speaker:
Arati Prabhakar, Partner, U.S. Venture Partners, Former
Director of NIST
Security Technologies
The
issues that face the entertainment industry as it grapples
with ways in which to deliver content securely over the
Internet are applicable to many types of businesses trying
to secure assets and protect the exchange of information
and property while making it more accessible. The ways in
which security can be violated--from piracy, to hacking,
to theft--tend to stay one step ahead of the technologies
created to circumvent it. The various methods in which information
can be wrongfully exchanged are already vast, and they will
continue to be so. Resolutions will not come in a swift,
simple answer, but will be borne out of continuing innovation.
Keynote
Speaker: James Ramo, CEO of Movielink
April
18th: Southern California Technology Venture Forum Knowledge
and Investment Conference
Come
to SCTVF 2002 to learn about emerging markets--including
nanotechnology, security technologies, and bioscience. Renowned
keynote speakers will present industry analyses on these
emerging markets, followed by a select group of companies
representing the best technologies in Southern California.
SCTVF is the meeting point for anyone who needs to know
about the state of cutting-edge technology--venture capitalists,
corporate investors, private investors, analysts, corporate
executives, and entrepreneurs. 7:30 am-2:30 pm, Regent Beverly
Wilshire, Beverly Hills, California.
more information>
