Richard Branson to announce new venture in US

NEWPORT BEACH, California (AP) — Billionaire adventurer Richard Branson is expected to unveil his latest business venture Tuesday at a Southern California yacht club.

A news release about the announcement in Newport Beach hints that there is only one frontier left for the Virgin brand, which has reached "the seven continents of the earth, up into the jet stream, and soon, even into space."

Last year, Branson unveiled a three-person submarine called the Necker Nymph, which is available for $2,500 a day for guests of his private resort in the Caribbean. The submarine, created by San Francisco-based Hawkes Ocean Technologies, can go almost 100 feet (30 meters) deep.

In a subsequent interview with Popular Mechanics, Hawkes officials said they were also working with Branson on submersibles capable of high speed deep sea travel.