L.A. Tech Updates: Quibi's Woes, TikTok's Riches, Snap Rolls Out Pride Lenses

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

Snap Pride lenses

Here are the latest updates on news affecting Los Angeles' startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for more.

Today:

  • New Streaming Data Underline Quibi's Struggles
  • John Legend Takes to Wave's Virtual Stage
  • TIkTok Reportedly Rakes in $200M
  • Snap Rolls Out Pride Lenses For U.S. Regions

    New Streaming Data Underline Quibi's Struggles

    lh3.googleusercontent.com

    Things started so rosily for Quibi, with a fat $1.75 billion fundraise, loads of content deals with A-listers, and a sold-out advertising slate. But lately it's been nothing but bad news.

    Recent reports have depicted all kinds of troubles: low demand, executive departures, unhappy advertisers, an ongoing intellectual property lawsuit, and a potential rift between its two chiefs, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman. All this on top of a global pandemic that has done no favors to the company's initial value proposition of serving the "on-the-go" moments of consumers' lives.

    Quibi is apparently trying to respond. Variety reported on Wednesday that the L.A.-based mobile-first, short-form video platform has been negotiating with Amazon and Roku to accelerate its availability onto connected devices. Company executives have also reportedly taken pay cuts.

    Data provided to dot.LA by JustWatch, an analytics firm with offices in L.A. and Berlin, show that in May, Quibi and its content library captured just 0.5% of the U.S. streaming audience's interest. Netflix led the way at 31%, followed by Amazon Prime Video at 18%, Hulu at 11%, and Disney+ at 8%.

    Industry observers have frequently cited Quibi's lack of a hit show, combined with its nonexistent back catalog of familiar favorites, as a key reason why it has struggled since its April launch.

    JustWatch's data suggest that Reno 911!, which debuted on Quibi in early May, was far and away the most popular show on the app last month. The firm estimates that the rebooted police satire was four times more popular than the runner-up, The Stranger, and 12 times more popular than Quibi's third-ranked title, Most Dangerous Game.

    Quibi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    John Legend Takes to Wave's Virtual Stage

    v.fastcdn.co

    Wave, an entertainment technology company that turns performers into digital avatars and puts them on virtual stages where they can entertain and interact with fans, announced that John Legend will perform on the platform on Thursday, June 25th at 3:00pm PT.

    Legend had previously been slated to participate in the L.A.-based entertainment firm's "One Wave" virtual concert series, but no date had been announced before Wednesday.

    The performance, available via YouTube and Twitter, will feature new songs from the EGOT winner's upcoming album, "Bigger Love." Leveraging the Wave platform's interactivity, attendees will be able to send "visual gifts" throughout the performance, with 100% of the proceeds going to Legend's FREEAMERICA criminal justice reform campaign.

    Wave is partnering with PEOPLE for the Legend performance. Sponsors also include Yamaha and Valence, a "new social network addressing diversity by connecting Black talent with economic opportunity." The Ad Council will also be providing public service announcements and resources during the show for fighting racial injustice.

    Fresh off a $30 million Series B fundraise, Wave has hosted over 50 events, for up to 400,000 people at a time.

    ​TIkTok Reportedly Raked in $200M

    The Information reported Wednesday that TikTok earned between $200 million and $300 million in revenue worldwide in 2019. The news site also said the Culver City-based social media phenomenon's 2020 revenue goals are $500 million in the U.S. alone. These figures follow a separate report from Bloomberg last month that TikTok's parent company ByteDance raked in $17 billion in 2019, and pocketed over $3 billion in profit.

    A TikTok company spokesperson would neither confirm nor deny the figures, saying "we don't publicly share company data or revenue metrics."

    In response to The Information's report that TikTok is considering hiring an American executive to oversee its sales team, the spokesperson said, "We are always looking at new opportunities to scale and attract great talent for our teams."

    TikTok, which is now under the leadership of former Disney streaming executive Kevin Mayer, will be participating later this month in the NewFronts, the digital media world's jamboree of presentations to woo advertising buyers, which will be virtual this year.

    Snap Rolls Out Pride Lenses For U.S. Regions

    Courtesy of Snap

    June is Pride Month, and instead of the annual in-person festivities, L.A. Pride has been celebrating its 50th anniversary with a series of virtual events. Now, Snap is adding augmented reality (AR) to the mix. The Santa Monica company released five new AR lenses on Wednesday in partnership with L.A.'s Pride Media. The "community of storytellers, innovators and influencers" reaches over 6 million monthly unique users, which Pride says surpasses any other LGBT media brand.

    The new lenses, which is Snap-speak for the digital overlays that transform a camera image, "spotlight diverse, queer-identifying changemakers advancing equity for all people in every U.S. state," according to a company statement. The release is paired with the annual "Champions of Pride" issue from The Advocate, a Pride Media subsidiary publication.

    A Snap spokesperson describes the five new lenses as "art gallery-style spaces" that help Snap's young-leaning users learn about LGBTQ+ and BIPOC advocates. These include "Mighty" Rebekah, a 13-year-old who successfully lobbied for an LGBTQ-inclusive school curriculum in her home state of New Jersey, and Brandon Wolf, the first survivor of the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando to testify before Congress.

    Snap tapped five designers from its official lens creator cohort to represent five U.S. regions. Each creator has regional ties and either identifies as LGBTQ+ or an ally, the company says.

    Brielle Garcia, designer of the Pacific West lens, says, "I wanted to work on a Pride lens that was not just a celebration of the past, but a celebration of our future. I hope these Lenses can be an encouragement to everyone in the LGBT community. Encouragement that people as unique as you can have success in business, politics, art, or anything you can dream of. This message is important to me because this kind of success has not always been available to us. So many amazing people have come before us to pave the way and this is a celebration of their success and a guide to what you can achieve."

    Joshua Keeney, repping the Northeast, says, "The takeaways that I want people to have with this Lens is that there is incredible diversity within the LGBTQ community, that everyone can be a champion in their own way, and can bring changes to their own communities."

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    LA Tech Week 2025: Sunday’s Event Lineup

    Here's the Sunday, October 19th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

    ARTS DISTRICT

    3:00 PM

    BEL AIR

    3:00 PM – 7:00 PM

    BURBANK

    6:30 PM – 9:30 PM

    CULVER CITY

    9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

    4:30 PM – 7:30 PM

    INGLEWOOD

    10:00 AM – 2:00 PM

    • Spinovation: The Future Is Femme, The Future is Frequency: See Details Here
      Sonder Impact, Black Women Spin, Sip & Sonder

    KOREATOWN

    12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

    MARINA DEL REY

    12:00 PM

    • Sunday Tech Brunch
      Sawubona

    MID CITY

    9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

    • Women in Cleantech Hike and Network: See Details Here
      Women in Cleantech and Sustainability

    SANTA MONICA

    9:00 AM

    10:00 AM

    3:45 PM

    4:00 PM – 7:30 PM

    • OFF THE HOOK Santa Monica Seafood Festival: See Details Here
      Spin PR Group, City of Santa Monica, Tech St.

    6:00 PM

    7:00 PM

    • Pritam: A Musical Legend - Live in Concert: See Details Here
      American South Asian Network

    7:00 PM

    • Building AI workflow editor in React with Workflow Builder SDK: See Details Here
      Workflow Builder

    7:00 PM

    8:00 PM

    • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup!: See Details Here
      iStore by St. Moritz

    TOPANGA CANYON

    3:00 PM

    • Dreamore Hike and Picnic: LA Tech Week: *Invite Only*
      Dreamore

    VENICE

    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

    • Coffee, Walk, and Schmooze: See Details Here
      JFE (Jews For Entrepreneurship) Network

    VIRTUAL (LA)

    10:00 AM

    • Level Up with LinkedIn: A Student’s Guide to Networking & Opportunities (Virtual Event): See Details Here
      FIMAC

    10:00 AM

    WEST ADAMS

    1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

    For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

    Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

    Download the dot.LA App


    LA Tech Week 2025: Saturday’s Event Lineup

    Here's the Saturday, October 18th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

    BEVERLY HILLS

    2:00 PM

    CENTURY CITY

    7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

    CULVER CITY

    9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

    10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    1:00 PM

    DTLA

    7:00 PM

    • {MiniMax x Nakid x SkyPortalx}: TECH/MOTION/MUSIC/ART: See Details Here
      MiniMax (Hailuo AI)

    10:00 PM – 2:00 AM

    EL SEGUNDO

    10:00 AM

    • Venture on the Green: *Invite Only*
      BLCK VC

    4:00 PM

    INGLEWOOD

    7:00 PM

    • Valar Atomics, Durin and Discipulus Ventures - Night With A Nuclear Reactor: See Details Here
      Valar Atomics, Durin, Discipulus Ventures

    MARINA DEL REY

    8:30 AM

    12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

    5:00 PM

    • LOST iN Sunset Sail: Navigating the Tides of the Creator Economy & Media: See Details Here
      LOST iN

    PASADENA

    9:00 AM

    PLAYA VISTA

    2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

    SANTA MONICA

    7:00 AM

    9:00 AM

    • Pedal & Network: Tech Cyclists @ LA Tech Week 🚵: See Details Here
      Instafill.ai

    9:30 AM

    • Getty Center Guided Tour & (Optional) Photography Scavenger Hunt: See Details Here
      NEW MOON Impact Productions

    10:30 AM – 11:30 AM

    11:00 AM – 2:15 PM

    12:00 PM – 5:00 PM

    1:00 PM – 5:00 PM

    1:30 PM

    • Self-Defense in Court and the Streets: See Details Here
      Santa Monica Striking, Luri Inc.

    2:00 PM

    • SMARTUP 500: THE FIRST AT TECH WEEK LA - Launching the world’s first Startup Ranking: See Details Here
      Smart Times

    2:00 PM

    • NLPs (No Lame Panels) The Creator X Founder Rooftop Party: See Details Here
      Startup Village, Sanctuary

    3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

    4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

    • Just Do It?: Helping Founders Perform Like Olympians: See Details Here
      Elite Psychology Group

    5:00 PM

    6:00 PM

    6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    6:00 PM

    6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    • The Future of Hospitality: Poetry, Provenance & Passports: See Details Here
      Villa Kitchen, Airble, We Speak Dance, Techstars San Francisco

    7:00 PM

    • 🚀 Investor x Founder Open Mic Pitches: See Details Here
      Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

    7:00 PM

    • Life is a Pitch - LA Edition: *Invite Only*
      DeepMyst

    TOPANGA CANYON

    5:00 PM – 8:30 PM

    • Walk&Jam: Use AI to make art while hiking Topanga Canyon: See Details Here
      Formhaus llc, Wonderland Immersive Design

    TORRANCE

    1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

    • Crunches & Conversations Presented by The Differentials and KIS Training Studios: See Details Here
      The Differentials, KIS Training Studios

    VENICE

    1:00 PM – 4:30 PM

    • Beyond the Language Barrier: Exploring AI's Next Frontier: See Details Here
      Medusa AI

    VENICE BEACH

    8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

    • SŨRFED Club @ Venice Beach: Founders, Creators, Investors share the waves: See Details Here
      SŨRFED Club, Go Vitamins

    WEST ADAMS

    9:30 AM – 10:45 AM

    • Funders Shaping Democracy, AI & Media: See Details Here
      New Media Ventures, New Rising Ventures

    WEST HOLLYWOOD

    4:00 PM

    6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

    9:30 PM

    • Vibe Check Comedy Show, Tech Week Edition! @ Hollywood Improv: See Details Here
      Vibe Check Comedy

    For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

    Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

    Download the dot.LA App


    LA Tech Week 2025: Friday’s Event Lineup

    Here's the Friday, October 17th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

    ARTS DISTRICT

    8:30 AM – 12:00 PM

    • Power Day: Ideas, Pitches, Connections: See Details Here
      Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)

    6:00 PM

    • WEB3 GAMING IS DEAD - Happy Hour: See Details Here
      Plassa Capital, Yee-Haw Monster Trucks

    BEVERLY HILLS

    10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

    1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

    2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

    3:00 PM – 4:00 PM

    4:00 PM

    6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    • So you went viral, Now what? (pt II): See Details Here
      Verci, Study Fetch, TechSpace

    8:00 PM

    • Private Pool: GP x LP x FO: *Invite Only*
      Visionlist Commons , Bay Area Innovest

    BRENTWOOD

    8:00 AM

    • Founders & Investors Hike: See Details Here
      Salehpour Legal, Technology Founders of America

    CARSON

    11:45 AM

    • Lightspeed x SVB Porsche Experience: *Invite Only*
      Lightspeed Venture Partners, SVB

    CULVER CITY

    8:00 AM – 6:00 PM

    11:00 AM

    1:00 PM

    • Surf Parks & Wave Pools: From Doja Cat to Mark Zuckerberg: See Details Here
      Surflytics

    8:00 PM – 12:00 AM

    EL SEGUNDO

    11:30 AM – 2:00 PM

    5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

    HOLLYWOOD

    10:00 AM

    • AI, Revenue, and Reality: How Fortune 500s Work With Startups That Ship: See Details Here
      Sunrise AI, OpenTable

    12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

    • Unplugged: LA Tech Week Recharge Experience with TAY × Checked Out: See Details Here
      TAY Fitness, Checked Out

    9:00 PM

    INGLEWOOD

    8:00 AM

    • TCSI Presents: Caffeine & Connections: See Details Here
      The Cyber Security Intellects Nonprofit

    LONG BEACH

    7:00 AM

    MALIBU

    10:00 AM

    • Great Leaders Podcast & Profiles: See Details Here
      NEW MOON Impact Productions, Origin Studios

    12:30 PM

    MARINA DEL REY

    9:00 AM

    • Keeping Your Freedom as a Founder: Real Talk on Funding: See Details Here
      Lighter Capital

    10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

    • D-Wave Research Day & Hackathon!: See Details Here
      USC Information Sciences Institute, D-Wave

    4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

    • The Sky is Not the Limit: All About Aerospace: See Details Here
      Sunstone Management, USC Viterbi Startup Garage

    PASADENA

    10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

    11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

    • Deep Tech Entrepreneurship Pillars of Pasadena Tech: See Details Here
      Innovate Pasadena, Pasadena SBDC, City of Pasadena

    PLAYA VISTA

    9:00 AM

    12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

    • Vision to Venture - AI Media Showcase powered by Google AI: See Details Here
      Google

    SANTA MONICA

    7:00 AM – 8:30 AM

    • Signal Run : RTC x Wildwood VC: See Details Here
      Run Tech Club, Wildwood Ventures

    7:30 AM

    8:45 AM – 10:45 AM

    9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

    • Slash Burn Rates & Scale Your Startup: See Details Here
      Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA)

    9:00 AM

    • Driving a Digital Ecology Relay: What is at Stake: See Details Here
      The PORT GLOBAL, GLOBAL PORTAL INSTITUTE

    9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

    10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

    • The Enduring Value of Inclusive Capital: See Details Here
      Founders Registry. Nervana

    10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

    10:30 AM

    11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

    • Advisors to Investors Lunch: Venture Capital for enterprise leaders: See Details Here
      Collinear Capital, Worlds

    12:00 PM

    • Powerhouse Capital & a16z speedrun Investor Lunch Mixer: See Details Here
      Powerhouse Capital, a16z, speedrun

    2:00 PM

    • Where Robotics Meets Heart - Embedding Family Values in a Future with AI: See Details Here
      Trove, Puerto Rico Blockchain Association, MindfulBytes

    2:00 PM

    3:00 PM

    3:00 PM

    3:00 PM

    • Workshop: Create An Enterprise Chatbot and Unlock the 70% of Data Data You’re Not Using: See Details Here
      Aparavi

    4:00 PM

    5:00 PM – 10:00 PM

    5:30 PM

    5:30 PM – 9:30 PM

    6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

    • USC Alumni Founders & Investors: See Details Here
      USC Alumni Entrepreneurship Network, Techstars

    6:00 PM

    • Social Currency Series/Greenlit presents PitchPop: See Details Here
      Social Currency Series, Greenlit

    6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    6:30 PM

    6:30 PM – 10:00 PM

    6:30 PM

    • Lets get the LA Bioeconomy brewing: See Details Here
      Founders, Friends & Fermentation, Saku Biosciences

    7:00 PM – 11:30 PM

    7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

    7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

    7:00 PM

    7:00 PM

    • Liquid Equity 2: The Premiere Gathering for Founders, Creator
      Coeus Collective

    7:00 PM

    7:00 PM

    • For the Love of Tech | Speed Dating for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
      Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

    7:00 PM

    SOUTH LA

    3:00 PM

    TORRANCE

    9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

    • The Future of Space & Security Panel: See Details Here
      Northwood Space, Anduril Industries, Impulse Space, Astranis

    VENICE

    9:00 AM – 10:45 AM

    9:00 AM – 11:30 AM

    11:00 AM

    11:30 AM – 2:30 PM

    12:30 PM

    • Creative Partners: Human + AI Storytelling: See Details Here
      Othelia, Primordial Soup

    2:00 PM – 3:45 PM

    5:00 PM

    • EarthHouse: Critical Minerals, Mobility & Modern Power: See Details Here
      The Strategye Group, Alpha Sierra One

    6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

    6:00 PM

    • Pizza+Soda: *Invite Only*
      Schmoozd , The KINN

    7:00 PM

    VENICE BEACH

    2:00 PM – 6:30 PM

    5:00 PM

    8:30 PM – 2:00 AM

    VIRTUAL (LA)

    2:30 PM – 4:00 PM

    3:00 PM

    • Government of Alberta: ProcurementAsCode // Done in 60 Seconds: See Details Here
      Government of Alberta

    4:00 PM

    • Stop Hitting Yourself 🥊: See Details Here
      Stop Hitting Yourself, HOWDY, Company Policy, Snowbird Global

    WEST HOLLYWOOD

    3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

    6:00 PM

    WESTSIDE

    5:00 PM

    5:30 PM – 8:30 PM


    For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

    Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

    Download the dot.LA App


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