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This week saw the legal challenges against Activision Blizzard continue to mount. The company is also dealing with regulators weighing antitrust concerns, disgruntled shareholders and lawsuits from employees who say they experienced sexual harassment at work.
With its $69 billion sale to Microsoft looming, the Santa Monica-based video game developer was dealt another set of blows this week. Just as it finalized an $18 million settlement with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Wednesday, four women stepped forward with new claims that the company promoted a culture of sexual misconduct. To make matters worse for the company, a group of U.S. senators urged the FTC on Thursday to reconsider approving the gaming giant's merger with Microsoft over concerns it wouldn't benefit workers.
Reporter Samson Amore took a look at what it could all mean for one of gaming's biggest companies, and one of tech's largest mergers.
Here’s What Happened in LA’s Entertainment Tech World This Week 🍿
Netflix is gamifying television with its latest interactive show, “Trivia Quest,” encouraging viewers to answer questions to gain points and rescue characters.
One of the gaming industry’s biggest conventions, E3, was canceled for this year, but promises to return in 2023.
Last year, Apple TV-Plus paid $25 million for the distribution rights to the film “Coda.” On Oscar night, the streaming service walked away with the Best Picture.
Photographer Ethan Pines has made a name for himself portraying tech titans as heroes for magazines and websites. His new NFT profile project is less generous.
A non-fungible tokens conference drew crowds in L.A. for an evening of panel discussions, product drops and performances by rappers and DJs.
Social Media 📱
Attorney generals from 44 U.S. states and territories are urging Snap and TikTok to do more to protect kids online.
Facebook parent company Meta reportedly paid a consulting firm to launch a national campaign that includes placing op-eds in regional news outlets and pushing for unfavorable news coverage of TikTok.
TikTok users will soon be able to access a newly launched tool that provides GIFs and soundbites from entertainment media partners.
To Space and Beyond 🚀
Hadrian Automation raised $90 million and plans to open its second factory this summer to manufacture parts for rockets, satellites, jets and drones.
The U.S. Space Force contracted Slingshot Aerospace to build its space simulator and virtual training technology.
It’s facing some stiff competition, but Hawthorne-based underdog Astrolab is working towards creating a viable moon lander for NASA's 2025 Artemis mission.
Raises and $$ đź’°
Actor Leonardo DiCaprio will serve as a strategic advisor to a $45 million venture capital fund targeting early-stage climate and sustainability startups.
Trading cards, coins and other collectibles are becoming big opportunities for investment. Santa Ana-based marketplace Collectors just raised $100 million to expand.
Operating out of Brea, Asian food and ecommerce site Yami carries goods from more than 4,000 brands. And it now has $50 million to expand.
Newport Beach-based Vivosense raised $25 million to build technology that could make data-collecting for drug testing faster and more accurate.
Unlock Ventures has created a new virtual world, complete with mini-games, virtual representations of its portfolio companies and… a virtual bathroom?
See all this week's Southern California raises in our weekly round up.
🎧 Listen UpÂ
On this episode of LA Venture, Impulsum Ventures’ Ed Wilson outlines how he uses his product studio to help his portfolio companies solve problems.
From stay-at-home cosmetologist to the owner of a business with 150 locations, Drybar co-founder Alli Webb talks about her struggles and successes.
Also...
These startups are experimenting with new methods to speed the process of clinical trials and make participants more reflective of potential patients.
Santa Monica-based Graze has four landscaping robots completed and is building more. And Glendale just became one of their early adopters.
What was once a storage space for The New Mart in Downtown L.A. is now an incubator and workspace for Fashion Tech Work.
Beyond Meat's collaboration with McDonald's is falling short of predicted sales, delivering about half of what was expected at their pilot locations in the Bay Area and Dallas-Fort Worth.
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