If Los Angeles is going to gain traction as a startup powerhouse, angel investors will likely play a big role in backing local innovation. That's why today we published a list of L.A.'s top angel investors as determined by our panel of local VCs. Altogether, these angel investors have backed some of L.A.'s most innovative companies when they were just getting started, including Tapcart, RentSpree, The NFT Company and Honeybee Health. So, who made the list? Take a look.
🔬 Heal.LA is now accepting applicants for its Bioscience Accelerator program's 2021 cohort.
⬆️ Loomly, an L.A.-based marketing platform, has been acquired by Traject.
🖥 More than 2 million content creators have YouTube's partner program.
🎥 Decentralized Pictures, an L.A.-based nonprofit, says it will launch a blockchain-powered web platform to feature and support underrepresented filmmakers.
📈 Valuations for venture-backed companies in the U.S. are reaching record highs in the second quarter of 2021.
📖 Sketchy, an L.A.-based edtech company, has launched a new visual spatial tool for those studying for the Medical College Admission Test.
⏳ Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, have 2 to 5 years before they hit a plateau, according to Gartner's 2021 Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies.
How We Found LA's Top Angel Investors
Our list of L.A.'s top angel investors was the most recent results of a survey that dot.LA does on a quarterly basis.
We surveyed dozens of prominent L.A. investors to find out who they believe to be the top angels in the city, as part of dot.LA's third VC sentiment survey. Then, we tallied the votes and made sure each was still based here and still active. And voila!
Long Beach-Based Virgin Orbit Is Going Public
Virgin Orbit, the four-year-old spinout of Richard Branson's space firm Virgin Galactic, is going public via a SPAC. The Long Beach-based company is set to merge with NextGen Acquisition Corp. 11 at the end of the year.
What Does Larry Elder Think of Big Tech?
Larry Elder's political views are not the only ones under a microscope. As the GOP's current leading candidate in California's recall election, Elder's views on technology are also coming under scrutiny in the state where a big chunk of the industry lives and works.
Reporter Harrison Weber has this roundup of statements and views Elder has made on big tech, and why they matter.
How Technology Is Changing the Way Refugees Get to Safety
Technology is changing the way refugees move, cope and integrate into the world. And today nowhere is that better exemplified than with Afghanistan. These are some of the ways tech is helping refugees connect to resources.
California Court Rules Prop 22 Unconstitutional
On Friday afternoon, a California Superior Court judge delivered a blow to the state's Proposition 22, calling it unconstitutional and unenforceable. The proposition was approved last year by 58% of voters to allow Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other app-based services to treat workers as independent contractors, rather than employees.