The company that makes Pleo, a sophisticated interactive robotic dinosaur, has moved back to Idaho. Officials at Ugobe announced on Saturday the firm would pull up stakes in Emeryville, Calif. to consolidate sales and operations with its existing design and R&D facility in Eagle. The move makes Ugobe, which invented the Jurassic-era Camarasaurus “Life Form” about three years ago, a cornerstone of Eagle’s potential technology corridor.
"Pleo and our Life-Form technology started right here in Idaho,” Ugobe co-founder and chief technology officer John Sosoka said in a release. “Ugobe’s headquarters were later established in Emeryville. As the corporate and R&D teams traveled between California and Idaho, the benefits of consolidating in Eagle became apparent.
“The depth and loyalty of the technical work force, the pro-business attitudes of Eagle and the state government's support for new technology made this an easy decision,” he added. “We are delighted to have the international attention on Pleo being directed to Eagle.”
Pleo was called one of the best inventions of 2006 by Time Magazine and has been featured by The Wall Street Journal, ABC’s “Nightline,” “The Today Show, Australia” and Wired magazine. The company operates a 9,000-square-foot R&D facility in Eagle, and may bring in about 60 more workers, according to Eagle Mayor Phil Bandy.
“We’re excited to have them relocate here. They’ve had their research and development folks here for a little while… and I think they just saw they could take advantage of our educated work force here in the Valley,” he said.
“We were presented with a compelling business case for headquartering our company in Eagle,” said Ugobe CEO Liz Gasper. “The dedicated efforts of the Eagle Chamber of Commerce, the Idaho Department of Commerce and Idaho Economic Advisory Council Chairman and former Apple Computer executive C. Lloyd Mahaffey caused us to consider the key benefits of business costs, work force and quality of life that ultimately prompted us to relocate our headquarters to Eagle.”
Eagle and Star officials hope that Ugobe’s return will usher in other tech firms, adding to a growing number of businesses planned to make up the Eagle-Star Technology Corridor – a potential area specially zoned to foster and develop tech companies. Bandy said it could become a model for the rest of the state.
“If we can get this tech corridor idea piloted and successful, then perhaps eastern Idaho and northern Idaho could be able to take advantage of a similar effort,” he said.
The state is excited about Ugobe’s return to the Treasure Valley as well, celebrating the move as a prime example of the Department of Commerce’s “top-to-top” strategy of using home-grown executives to reach out and attract out-of-state colleagues. Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter released a statement saying the move fits right in with his Project 60 initiative to increase the state’s gross domestic product from $51.5 billion to $60 billion before he leaves office.
“Our best salesmen are the folks who already live, work and raise families here. They know the quality of life, the quality of our work force and the kind of business climate that appeals to those with entrepreneurial spirit,” Otter said in the statement. “We're pushing economic opportunity on a number of fronts, and I'm proud of the great example being set by the community of Eagle.”
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8 Comments
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The Eagle Tech What? It's almost an hour from the airport in traffic, the same to BSU - and I don't think the new community college is going to crank out the requisite geeks to prop up tech companies. No other concerns out there? Comment By Joe Nobody
Monday, October 6, 2008 @ 9:40 PM
Synthetic life forms are a great niche economically and the science underlying is seriously cool. @Joe - if workforce is the only bottleneck, we should be ok. (Also, the ventures that start up in this nascent cluster will be all over the TV & Idaho.) The real story is that Eagle/Star have decided to nurture their tech community. Ugobe is a coup, no doubt, and will be a talent magnet. However, this is only one part of the long-term story. This is one community that's thinking entrepreneurially. Great leadership from Teri & Lloyd and great teammates. (Those of you who know me... think what it would take to get to 7 am meetings... cheerfully! LOL) Anyway... welcome home Pleo! (if any of you have missed the Pleo story, surf over to www.pleoworld.com & turn up the sound! LOL) Kudos, Eagle/Star! Comment By Norris Krueger
Monday, October 6, 2008 @ 11:16 PM
RE: "Eagle tech corridor"...you guys are smokin' some powerful weed. Most in Idaho wouldn't know a 'tech corridor' if it walked up and bit them on the butt. Gimme a break! Comment By Bill
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 10:35 AM
Tech Corridor is a stretch at this point, but you have to start somewhere. Instead of focusing on excuses why something can't be done, try looking for ways to make it work. I applaud the chamber for not sitting on their hands in an economy like this. Comment By Scott
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 11:18 AM
To the naysayers: hey guys, how about a little support. Rather than abandoning ship, try staying aboard and watching something great happen. Eagle wasn't even on the map 20 years ago, I remember when the question was not, "Eagle tech what?", but "Eagle? What's Eagle?" I have watched city planners and developers devise a long term plan that has brought the beautiful riverside Eagle to a spot on the map. I have no doubt they will do it again with the Tech Corridor. Honestly, I cannot believe the short-sightedness of people in this community. Just because we aren't "there" yet, doesn't mean that we can't get there with a little dream and a whole lot of work. How about some hands helping, rather than the yammering of what we can't do. While we are setting ourselves up for potential greatness, you have successfully created a lose-lose situation for yourself. If the Tech Corridor doesn't work, we all lose. If it does and it is great, only those who refused to believe will be losers. Comment By Zach
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 11:56 AM
To pre-empt any accusations of my violating journalistic objectivity, I wanted to clarify that I am not the above commenter, we just seem to share a fairly uncommon first name. Thanks. Comment By Zach Hagadone/IBR
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 1:27 PM
@Zach H. - there's an online commenter I used to read whose tagline was: "These opinions do not reflect the official position of ACS... but they should!" LOL @Zach non-H -- right on! Are you interested in learning more? Heck, I'm on the cmte & I live in SE Boise, LOL Comment By Norris Krueger
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 8:20 PM
“We were presented with a compelling business case for headquartering our company in Eagle,” said Ugobe CEO Liz Gasper. Uh-huh. That "compelling business case" being a toy company masquerading as a tech company hemorrhaging money and desperately doing something, anything to stave off the inevitable. Considering the current financial climate, just how much life do you think is left in a company making five hundred dollar dinosaur toys? Comment By Dan
Saturday, October 11, 2008 @ 2:09 PM
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