LA Tech Updates: Microsoft Reportedly Looking to Buy TikTok; HBCUvc and PledgeLA's New Partnership
Jul 31 2020
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:
- Trump could order ByteDance to divest of TikTok today, Bloomberg reports
- HBCUvc and PledgeLA offer $5,000 grants to founders from HBCUs
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HBCUvc and PledgeLA offer $5,000 grants to founders from HBCUs
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ1OTg0Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Nzk2NDIxM30.USZ0uaglvnNlRachpixeUdJ2El5XbF51jkqBoAEyUpo/img.png?width=980" id="2e0e1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="669fea31b69e26838e22a13d9e6a2288" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>HBCUvu, a non-profit increasing racial diversity in venture capital, has partnered with PledgeLA to provide $5,000 grants to startup founders from historically Black colleges and universities. The program, dubbed the The Summer Lab Fund, is now accepting applications through August 6.</p><p>Supported by Crosscut Ventures, the <a href="https://blog.hbcu.vc/pledgela-announces-fund-for-hbcu-entrepreneurs-d688eeda3681" target="_blank">fund</a> will award equity-free grants to technology and tech-enabled startups founded by HBCU students and alumni. Selected startups will also receive mentorship and support from participating sponsors as well as access to HBCUvc and PlegeLA networks. </p><p>The funding opportunity, launched last week, is managed and operated by the current cohort of PledgeLA VC interns who were matched at firms across Los Angeles in a 10-week program.</p><p>PledgeLA is a cohort of tech companies and VC firms created by the Annenberg Foundation and the mayor of Los Angeles. Last week, the organization <a href="https://dot.la/pledgelas-2nd-annual-survey-finds-women-non-whites-still-lack-equity-representation-2646415502.html" target="_self">released</a> results from its annual survey on diversity in tech companies across the city. </p><p>Current intern Evan Hamilton told dot.LA the plan is to establish the Lab Fund as an annual project. Although it only has three spots now, he said, if demand is high enough they will look to raise more funds. </p><p>"What I really hope for, as a result of this, is to encourage that pipeline of investors to go to HBCUs to find interesting entrepreneurial talents because as we've seen many times, most folks are in hoodies coming from Stanford," Hamilton said. </p><p>"Five thousand dollars is a nominal amount of money, but what it does is give someone that ability to say, 'I am an entrepreneur, I have been funded,'" Hamilton said. "It really doesn't take a lot to validate a lot of the thoughts, feelings and opinions that people have. If we're doing this correctly, we're going to help these companies grow, even the ones that aren't able to receive funding."</p><p>He said it hopes to dispel preconceived notions and encourage investors to look toward HBCUs for talent.</p><p>After applications close on August 6, interns will form an investment committee to present and review the interested companies, which come from industries including entertainment tech, retail, education services and sports. Winners of the fund will be announced August 14.</p><p>PledgeLA intern Liza Katsman hopes the thinking behind this initiative will one day extend beyond the HBCU ecosystem. She pointed out that entrepreneurs of different backgrounds - that had largely been excluded from tech companies - bring new perspectives and ideas that can turn into successful products or services.</p><p>"Diversity and inclusion is not just the right thing to do," Katsman said. "It's the smart thing to do." </p><p><em>dot.LA is a member of PledgeLA.</em></p>Trump and Microsoft Are Looking at TikTok
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ0ODQ3Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMzI2Nzc5OH0.nqOLhJhVWxeEzL1-Bs6w7LNxiiNnnx0-o7rlFhF1f1w/img.jpg?width=980" id="b7b3a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7ac4ba0a2e1685d81d3a3c2cedb4b6b8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Amazon Tells Employees to Delete TikTok, Then Claims Directive Was Sent in Error<p>Microsoft is in talks to buy TikTok as President Donald Trump plans to ban it, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-sign-order-demanding-chinas-bytedance-to-divest-tiktok-11596219920?mod=hp_lead_pos1" target="_blank">various</a> <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-to-sign-order-demanding-chinas-bytedance-to-divest-tiktok-11596219920?mod=hp_lead_pos1" target="_blank">media</a> reported Friday. </p><p>TikTok has come under increasing pressure from the administration that Chinese Internet company ByteDance is sharing data with Beijing and has threatened to ban it. <br></p><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-31/trump-to-order-china-s-bytedance-to-sell-tiktok-u-s-operations-kdaib6eb" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a><em> </em>reported the Trump administration had planned to order ByteDance to divest of the Culver City-based company as early as Friday. </p><p> Microsoft could alter the question of ownership. It's unclear how advanced the talks are.<br></p><p>The White House could immediately be reached for comment. </p><p>But in an emailed statement a spokeswoman for TikTok said, "While we do not comment on rumors or speculation, we are confident in the long-term success of TikTok." </p><p>Trump's move would not come as a surprise. He told reporters on Friday: "We're looking at TikTok, we may be banning TikTok. We may be doing some other things. There's a couple of options."</p><p>Earlier this month, Trump suggested he would ban the app as punishment over China's handling of the coronavirus. Those comments came after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo <a href="https://dot.la/could-u-s-ban-chinese-owned-tiktok-2646359784/could-the-u-s-ban-chinese-owned-tiktok" target="_blank">told Fox News </a>that the United States is considering whether to restrict TikTok and other social media apps amid concerns that information was being shared with China's communist government. </p><p>"We are taking this very seriously and we are certainly looking at it," Pompeo <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/mike-pompeo-tik-tok-china-communist-social-media-spying-fox-ingraham" target="_blank">said</a>. </p><p>In March, another Chinese company, Beijing Kunlun Tech sold the West Hollywood-based gay dating app Grindr for more than $600 million after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States forced it to divest. </p><p>Two months later, Beijing-based parent company ByteDance appointed Kevin Mayer, once widely considered Bob Iger's heir apparent at The Walt Disney company, to head TikTok in a move that would help distance itself from its Beijing parent company. </p><p><span></span>TikTok, has around 30 million active users and has increasingly become a favorite of advertisers to sell their products among the youth-oriented social media app. <br></p>From Your Site Articles
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Coronavirus Updates: Newsom Relaxes Restrictions; Microsoft CEO Isn't Convinced of Working From Home Future
May 18 2020
Here are the latest headlines regarding how the novel coronavirus is impacting the Los Angeles startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for the latest updates.
Today:
- CA Gov. Newsom announces loosening of restrictions
- Microsoft CEO Nadella isn't completely convinced about working from home permanently
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CA Gov. Newsom announces loosening of restrictions
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4ODExNy9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTU4MTQ5NH0.JoUnbE3OlIpTmNOcy7OvxZ58Ac66BkKgq2jQAbzrR5k/image.jpg?width=980" id="feac9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="050dee52ed7c93695dd8c1542de093d5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /> <p>California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at his daily update on Monday that "roughly" 53 of the state's 58 counties are now eligible to move into a less restrictive phase that may include reopening restaurants and office buildings, at each county's discretion. Newsom did not specify which five counties must remain under strict stay-at-home orders, but he mentioned that some of the "larger counties" will be able to advance their re-openings. The Governor emphasized that local officials will be empowered to move at their own pace based on local conditions. </p><p>"We are also looking forward in the next few weeks to a number of significant milestones that are worthy of highlighting," he continued. </p><p>If current rates hold, in-store retail could "be loosened up" statewide, and professional sports could resume without live spectators and under strict conditions as soon as the first week of June. Hair salons and barbershops are now eligible to open on a region-by-region basis and are candidates for statewide loosening if trends hold. Religious gatherings, too, were described as "a few weeks away – not months, weeks – if everything holds." </p><p>"We are encouraged by the progress and the only thing that will set us back is if we move too quickly," said Newsom.</p>Microsoft CEO Nadella isn't completely convinced about working from home permanently
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI4NzI3Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODk4NTUzM30._SlU7wa9WEkTVPnLwjwl46gIotY8YIAD3razwgd7Lbg/image.jpg?width=980" id="a2a83" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0ed3e9032f95bbbe64c05ddf8240bc33" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /> <p>Microsoft is not taking the same financial beating as many of its peers due to the pandemic. <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/microsoft-posts-35b-revenue-15-sees-minimal-net-impact-covid-19-quarter/" target="_blank">Revenue jumped 15%</a> in the first quarter of 2020, Microsoft Teams users increased by more than 70% in April, and the company's stock price is up 14% this year. But financials aren't everything to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. </p><p>He is still concerned about the changes to work that the coronavirus crisis is forcing. Nadella <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/14/business/dealbook/satya-nadella-microsoft.html" target="_blank">spoke with the staff of the New York Times</a> this week about the challenges he's navigating as Microsoft's leader. "What I miss is when you walk into a physical meeting, you are talking to the person that is next to you, you're able to connect with them for the two minutes before and after," he said.</p><p>Nadella's concern doesn't appear to be shared widely throughout the technology industry. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey notified staff this week that they should feel free to work from home indefinitely if they choose. Other big tech players have also given employees the option to telecommute for the rest of the year. <em>--GeekWire</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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‘We Should’ve Done More’: Bill Gates Says U.S. Was Too Slow on COVID-19, Shutdown Now Unavoidable
Mar 24 2020
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Tuesday morning that the U.S. acted too slowly and missed its chance to avoid mandatory stay-at-home orders to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, saying that "everybody should have taken notice back in January" when the first case was detected in Washington state.
"There's the period between where we realized it was transmitting and now where we should've done more," Gates said during a video discussion with Chris Anderson of TED, a non-profit organization that hosts talks and online communities.
<p>"It's very tough to say to people, 'Hey keep going to restaurants, go buy new houses, ignore that pile of bodies over in the corner, we want you to keep spending because there's some politician that thinks GDP growth is what counts,'" Gates said. "It's hard to tell people during an epidemic … that they should go about things knowing their activity is spreading this disease."</p><p>"It's disastrous for the economy, but the sooner you do it in a tough way, the sooner you can undo it and go back to normal," Gates added.</p><p>President Trump has said over the past day that he wants to quickly reassess shutdowns across the country to lessen the economic impact.</p><p>In his talk Tuesday morning, Gates acknowledged that the economy would suffer but said that "there really is no middle ground." He suggested that we maintain a mandated shutdown of six to 10 weeks across the country. </p><p>A leading philanthropist on global public health, Gates over the past decade has foreshadowed something like the novel coronavirus, which has now infected 408,892 people worldwide and killed 18,259. His TED Talk from 2015 titled <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/bill-gates-warned-us-covid-19-like-pandemic-watch-ted-talk-2015/" target="_blank">"The next outbreak? We're not ready"</a> has been viewed more than 16 million times on YouTube.</p><p> The clear message is that we have no choice to maintain this isolation, and that's going to keep going for a period of time</p><p>The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged up to $100 million to combat COVID-19 worldwide. The foundation is also giving an additional $5 million to help Washington state officials deal with the crisis.</p><p>Gates said on Tuesday that the U.S. needs to accelerate and better navigate COVID-19 testing. </p><p>"We can figure out which antiviral drugs work within two or three weeks and get those scaled up and we can make the vaccine if we're really ready probably in six months," Gates said.</p><p>Continue reading for highlights from Gates' responses on TED.</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7e4dfb014499564d62fa09e4615e5daa"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/TED/videos/1071228706574778/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p><strong>How will the U.S fare amid the coronavirus outbreak?</strong><br/></p><p>Gates: The clear message is that we have no choice to maintain this isolation, and that's going to keep going for a period of time. So this is not going to be easy. We need a clear message about that. It is really tragic that the economic effects of this are very dramatic. I mean, nothing like this has ever happened to the economy in our lifetimes. But money, you know, bringing the economy back, that's more of a reversible thing than bringing people back to life. So we're willing to take the pain in the economic dimension, huge pain in order to minimize the pain and disease in the death dimension.</p><p><strong>What are you thoughts on the idea of reopening the economy?</strong></p><p>Gates: It is very irresponsible for somebody to suggest we can have the best of both worlds. What we need is an extreme shutdown. If things go well then you can start opening back up.</p><p><strong>How should countries who don't have the luxury of social distancing or great health systems in place be handling this virus?</strong></p><p>Gates: But in the developing countries, particularly in the Southern hemisphere, the seasonality is large. The ability to isolate — when you have to go out to get your food every day and earn your wage, when you live in a slum where you're very nearby each other — it gets very hard to do. I think it's way more difficult as you move down the income ladder than it is in a country like the United States…and so we should all accelerate the vaccine, which eventually will come. </p><p><strong>What can people do from their own homes right now to try and help?</strong></p><p>Gates: "Well, there's a lot of creativity. Can you mentor kids who are being forced into an online format where school systems weren't really ready for that? Can you organize some giving activity that gets the food banks to step up where there's problems there? The U.S. has this tradition of philanthropy, traditional civil society coming together. There's a few things the government needs to do, but most of the things that will moderate the pain, the isolation, the damage here…everyone can think how they jump into that. These are such unprecedented times, and it really should draw out that sense of creativity, while complying with the isolation mandates.</p><p><a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2020/shouldve-done-bill-gates-says-us-slow-covid-19-shutdown-now-unavoidable/" target="_blank"><em>This story originally appeared on GeekWire.</em></a></p>
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