MalibuIQ Strikes Ideation Deal with HRL Laboratories
MalibuIQ assembles entrepreneurial team and investment capital to commercialize
HRL’s use-inspired inventions and IP assets with Ideation model
MALIBU, CA – January 17, 2012 – HRL Laboratories (HRL) and MalibuIQ founding investors today announced the launch of MalibuIQ, LLC; a collaboration that harnesses a new model of innovation to accelerate the commercialization of HRL technologies in new markets. Many of these proven technologies were developed for the defense, aerospace and automotive sectors, and will now be applied to rapidly solve domain challenges in new markets including electronics, energy, life sciences, networking and communications.
The world’s lightest material is a recent example of this type of advanced technology, one of many from HRL. This architected material, unveiled in Science in November 2011, addresses high performance material requirements in the defense, aerospace and automotive sectors. The architected material is 99.99 percent air and 100 times lighter than styrofoam. MalibuIQ will seek to use similar architected materials to revolutionize and vastly improve products in sporting, health care, and many other industrial markets.
“Having a committed capital pool partnered with developed, disruptive American inventions is a new and powerful equation,” said David Moxam, Chairman, MalibuIQ. “Our Ideation model will be a new and repeatable process for successful commercial innovation, both domestically and globally.”
“We view the agreement between HRL and MalibuIQ as a way to dramatically speed the adoption of HRL inventions by our Members through the leveraging of broader markets,” said Dr. William Jeffrey, President and CEO of HRL. “This approach will potentially create entirely new industries with technologies pioneered at HRL.”
HRL, formerly Hughes Research Laboratories, located in Malibu, California, is one of the world’s premiere private research and development laboratories. Formed as an LLC in 1997, HRL performs R&D for its members, The Boeing Company and General Motors, and government agencies.
MalibuIQ’s founding investment partners consist of legendary oil exploration wildcatters, Charlie Winn of Winn Interests, and Lee Barberito of Manti Ventures. They are joined by financial entrepreneurs David and Frank Hanna via Bravo Ventures, an investment arm of their family interests; the high tech, high societal impact focus of TomorrowVentures, the private investment arm for Google’s Chairman, Eric Schmidt; off-shore marine innovators Paul Candies and Philip M. Plant of Pioneer MPW; and General Motors Holdings LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Company.
“We are known to identify a good business opportunity and convert it into a great one. We’ll apply a similar strategy into commercializing HRL’s proven intellectual property and assets,” said Charlie Winn, founder of Winn Exploration Co., Inc.
“The innovative technologies being commercialized will have a profound impact and can potentially transform the way people live,” said Court Coursey, Managing Partner, TomorrowVentures, LLC.
MalibuIQ’s Managing Member is Manti Ventures, a fund with ties to Manti Resources Inc., a Texas-based Oil and Gas exploration company, founded by Lee Barberito.
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HRL Laboratories, LLC, Malibu, California (www.hrl.com) is a corporate research-and-development laboratory owned by The Boeing Company and General Motors specializing in research into sensors and materials, information and systems sciences, applied electromagnetics, and microelectronics. HRL provides custom research and development and performs additional R&D contract services for its LLC member companies, the U.S. government, and other commercial companies.
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