"The reality is we are the problem. We've obviously all contributed to this in some form or fashion, whether it was passively or actively."
Just 4% of employees in venture capital are black in an industry that prides itself on embracing disruption and being true to its consumers. How did we get here and how can we move forward?
Reporters Ben Bergman and Rachel Uranga have the first in our series of stories examining diversity in L.A.'s venture capital community. We'll follow it up with several others in the coming weeks, and we'd love your thoughts.
TikTok reportedly earned between $200 million and $300 million in revenue in 2019.
Low demand, executive departures, unhappy advertisers, an ongoing intellectual property lawsuit and a potential rift between its chiefs. They're just some of the setbacks Quibi is facing.
NASA's rover will head to Mars with a monument to COVID-19 medical teams.
Time's almost up to register for tomorrow's virtual roundtable on increasing diversity in the workplace with Oona King of Snap Inc. and Kobe Fuller of Upfront Ventures. Read more and register here >>.
Venture Capital's Diversity Problem
You would be hard-pressed to come up with a deal-making process more exclusionary than the status quo in venture capital, where pre-existing networks and who you know are paramount. That may be working against firms' ultimate aim of generating revenue. Read more >>
DroneBase Gets Into Renewables
DroneBase announced today that it's raised $7.5 million to expand its efforts to inspect wind and solar facilities, and to open an office overseas. Read more >>
L.A. Congressman Slams Amazon
Congressman Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif) blasted Amazon's handling of its facial recognition software, Rekognition, calling on the company to provide detailed info about privacy and bias inherent in the program. Read his letter >>
Updates: Snap Rolls Out Pride Lenses
June is Pride Month and Snapchat has rolled out five new lenses as "art gallery-style spaces" to help its younger-leaning users learn about LGBTQ+ history. Read more updates >>
Our Next Strategy Session: The View From Wall Street
Join us at 11:00 a.m. PST on Tuesday for our next strategy session with Spencer Rascoff and Evercore analysts John Scuorzo and Zaheed Kajani. Read more and register here >>
Join us for Roundtable on Increasing Diversity in Tech
Join us at 11 a.m. Thursday for a virtual roundtable on increasing diversity in the workplace. We'll look at concrete steps the L.A. tech and startup community can take to break down racial barriers to jobs and capital. Read more and register here >>