The Tech Coast Angels is reporting this morning that its members have now invested a total of $100M in Southern California companies, since it started in 1997. The angel investing group said the $100M was invested in more than 150 California-based companies, and included firms in the life sciences, software, Internet, biotechnology, media, business services, and consumer products areas. In addition to the lifetime total, the TCA released stats on its recent investing activity, and said it invested in 15 first-time financing and 16 follow-on funding rounds in 2008. ...Tags:

We thought today for our interview, that we'd get an update on the angel investment environment here in Southern California from Scott Sangster , the incoming President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels , the biggest angel investment group in Southern California. Scott sat down with us last week and gave us some hints and tips about finding angel investment nowadays, and how the economy has affected local angel investors. It It seems that the economy hit angel investors pretty badly over the last

Luis Villalobos , the founder of the Tech Coast Angels , the largest and arguably the most influential angel group in Southern California, has passed away. Villalobos was instrumental in creating the Tech Coast Angels, which has been one of the most active groups in both investing, as well as mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs across Southern California. "His Villalobos was 72, and had been in the intensive care unit at St. Joseph's in Orange for treatment of a lung infection.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010 -- Tech Coast Angels Fast Pitch. Pitches are judged on the quality of the CEO��s presentation and the company��s investment potential. Over the years, Tech Coast Angels and several venture capital firms have funded many companies that have been Fast Pitch participants. Our Fast Pitch Competitions are "the" place for Southern California entrepreneurs to present their ideas to investors. Each competition consists of 10-12 entrepreneurs giving fast pitches to a panel of investors and other members of Southern California's

Tuesday, February 24, 2009 -- Tech Coast Angels Fast Pitch. VCs and angels are still investing. This is a unique opportunity for you to present to the leading local VCs and nation's largest angel investing group at the fourth annual TCA Fast Pitch at Korn Hall at the Anderson Business School at UCLA. Last year the event attracted over 350 people. See [link] (mor

The Tech Coast Angels said this morning that the group has made an investment in Amplyx Pharmaceuticals, a drug development firm developing small molecule drugs. According to the Tech Coast Angels, it invested $289,000 in a Series A round for Amplyx, which also scored $492,000 in funding from the Life Science Angels. The TCA's investment was led by San Amplyx is based in the Bay Area. The Tech Coast Angels is the largest angel investment group in Southern Californi

What's the state of one of the largest angel groups in the world, the Tech Coast Angels ? As an investor, "two thirds of my investments are in life science", which enjoys a special emphasis in the San Diego network. Ralph sees parallels between life science and clean tech, too, but his assessment of venture capital in San Diego surprises me. How has deal flow been affected by the downturn? And what about membership; how soon will it rebound?

The Orange County Chapter of the Tech Coast Angels is promoting a program to help jumpstart small companies, O.C. Tech Coast Angels, the new program will provide seed funding, strategic planning, and execution of day-to-day functions of startups. TCA said it would invest no more than $100,000 in companies applying to the program, which it said it just launched. SeedTrack, building off of earlier efforts by the group's San Diego and other chapters. According to the O.C.

Last week's angel investment report by the Angel Capital Association reported that investments by angel investors dropped nine percent in 2008, with a hefty percentage of angel investors--40 percent--expecting this year will be a down year. However, a quick check of local, Southern California angel investors finds that although angel investment is down, investors are still investing--albeit much more selectively. "Capital Capital efficient companies offering very competitive terms are still getting funded," says Al Schneider of the Tech Coast Angels , although it appears the group is much more sensitive about how it is investing in deals.

Irvine-based eGuardian , a provider of service aimed at protecting children on the web, has partnered with safety education firm i-SAFE, according to investor the Tech Coast Angels. The TCA invested in eGuardian in August of 2008. Tags: eguardian safety tech coast angels angel investment isaf eGuardian develops technology for verifying the age, gender, and location of children on web sites. i-SAFE