Start-up incubator EvoNexus to close downtown site, consolidate in new, larger UTC location

Start-up incubator EvoNexus to close downtown site, consolidate in new, larger UTC location Hayne Palmour IV Marius Buibas, co-founder of Accel Robotics, works on a prototype sales assistant robot at San Diego's EvoNexus start-up incubator in University City. Marius Buibas, co-founder of Accel Robotics, works on a prototype sales assistant robot at San Diego's EvoNexus start-up incubator in University City. (Hayne Palmour IV) Mike FreemanContact Reporter San Diego start-up incubator EvoNexus plans to close its downtown location and consolidate operations into its new, larger space in University City. The move will leave EvoNexus with two incubator locations – in UTC and in Irvine – instead of three. Both remaining offices are near University of California campuses. The non-profit first opened in UTC in 2010. It expanded into downtown in 2012. The Irvine building came on board in 2014. Earlier this year, EvoNexus moved into a new, larger 18,000-square-foot location in University City that – unlike its previous UTC location-- is custom designed for start-ups. It includes labs, open work areas and conference facilities, said EvoNexus Chief Executive Rory Moore. “We have plenty of room” at the new location, said Moore. “The downtown operation was one where we didn’t have as much room in the old UTC facility, so we expanded downtown. But at the end of the day, it is really difficult to give the companies the attention you need to give them” when they’re downtown and in UTC. The Irvine Co., Southern California’s largest office landlord, donates space to EvoNexus in all of its locations. Moore stressed that it was EvoNexus that decided to consolidate operations, which is expected to be complete by Nov. 1. The downtown start-up community didn’t welcome the news, in part because EvoNexus’ firms had solid technology teams, and it hosted networking events for entrepreneurs in the city’s core. “EvoNexus is a great program, and they are not leaving the area, but it definitely will be a short-term hit to downtown,” said Andy White, start-up advocate for the Downtown San Diego Partnership. White added that downtown today has a more vibrant co-working ecosystem for start-ups-- with firms such as WeWork, NEST CoWork and Plug & Play San Diego providing office space and services-- than it did when EvoNexus opened in 2012. EvoNexus is currently mentoring 51 start-ups – 19 in UTC and 16 each at its downtown site and in Irvine. Moore expects a handful of downtown start-ups will raise funds from investors and graduate from the program before Nov. 1. Eight to 10 are expected to relocate to UTC. Since it was founded, EvoNexus has incubated 150 young firms that have secured $1 billion in “outcomes,” either raising venture capital or being acquired.