For many years, we have waited for the perfect storm - a confluence of academia and industry funded locally. Maybe, it's finally here.

Check out local startup Synapsense. Founded by Peter Van Deventer, an ex-Intel executive and Raju Pandey, an associate professor at the University of California, Davis, and funded by local venture capital funds American River Ventures and DFJ Frontier. The company has raised $2M in funding and has just announced its first product in the fast-growing wireless sensor networks market. And on the website and you find two additional ex-Intel employees in leadership roles. Employees are now at 15 and expected to grow quickly.

So, here it is. Local academic and corporate talent coupled with local funding. Hot market doesn't hurt either. ON World estimates the global market for WSN technology will grow from $141 million this year to $5.2 billion by 2010.

Let's keep a close eye on these guys. They could have found the secret formula we have all worked so hard to discover.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive