On Wednesday, Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel gathered an all-star group of influential leaders in Southern California's tech space from Google to Spotify and Headspace for some well-intentioned hand wringing. But the company's own diversity numbers paint a telling picture of what's happened with tech companies' efforts to hire more people of color: workers are still largely white and male.
Here's what else we're reading in the news:
- SecureAuth, an Irvine-based identity and access management company, has acquired Accepto to expand its AI-based identity assurance technology.
- HBO Max and Discovery Plus consider merging into one service, executives said in an earnings call.
- The Santa Monica-based robot food delivery company, Ottonomy, has launched its food-ordering app Crave.
- Santa Monica-based wine club Winc is shrinking its IPO size from five million shares to 1.5 million shares.
- Zoom users who use the free version may soon start seeing ads.
- Travel and accommodation spending among venture-funded startups is up, indicating a post-COVID economic recovery.
Snap Workers Still Overwhelmingly White and Male
Snap's first public diversity report in April says it increased hiring racial and ethnic minorities in leadership from .5% to 13.6%. Asians make up 33.4% of staff. 4.9% of Snap's staff is Black, and 6.9% are Hispanic or Latinx. Still, the Santa Monica-based company is overwhelmingly white, and male – nearly 50% of the company was white in its 2020 survey, while roughly 70% was male.
Fisker Suffers Deeper Losses Ahead of Its EV Debut
On its way to reveal its first car at this month's Los Angeles Auto Show, Manhattan Beach-based Fisker Inc. revealed that spending has ballooned in the last quarter putting more pressure on the EV startup's finances. Fisker reported third quarter 2021 losses of $109.6 million, roughly double the $53.1 million it lost in the second quarter of the year.
Is Your Child Required to get the Vaccine?
In time for the holidays, Los Angeles County is receiving a shipment of roughly 150,000 child-size coronavirus vaccines to inoculate 5 to 11 year olds as soon as next week. We answer some of the most basic questions about vaccines for young children.
The Concerts of the Future Will Be Hybrid, Says Wave CEO
As the pandemic shut down, cancelled and delayed events people had been looking forward to, Wave co-founder and CEO Adam Arrigo saw an opportunity. Wave has provided artists the ability to perform as virtual avatars in 3D spaces and allow fans at home to strap on their headsets and be immersed in a concert.
Dr. Sara Gottfried on Keeping Hormones Balanced In Stressful Times
A graduate from Harvard and MIT, Dr. Sara Gottfried is a board-certified physician who has spent her career demystifying hormones and helping patients improve their health more broadly with personalized medicine. On this episode of the Behind Her Empire podcast, Gottfried discusses her own struggles with stress and how that led her to become an expert in hormone treatment.