Everyone from financier Michael Milken to bankers and venture capitalists had an opinion about the market-rattling coronavirus at the annual Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica that gathered top-flight investors and entrepreneurs. "Some of you made a tough decision by coming here," conference organizer Jamie Montgomery told a lunchtime crowd. "I'll breath easy the next couple weeks if nothing happens."
<p>Between pitch sessions from companies as varied as 3D rocket-maker Relativity Space to interactive game publisher Scopely, attendees sipped matcha lattes, pumped hand sanitizer and talked deals. </p><p>The normal routine of handshaking was out, replaced by somewhat awkward fist bumping. Attendees lingered longer than usual at bathroom sinks, making sure to vigorously wash their hands, and constantly pumped hand sanitizer from one of several germ eradication stations set-up at the Fairmont Hotel.</p><p>Montgomery told the crowd to alert him if "anything happened" in the next couple weeks, not the most reassuring thing to hear as people dug into their chicken salads and a discussion about the next decade of artificial intelligence.<br/></p><p>The fast-spreading COVID-19 cast a pall over the summit that gathered hundreds as markets continued their roller coaster ride on Thursday.<br/></p><p>Meanwhile, people like partner Marko Papic, chief strategist at Clocktower Group, were already predicting a recession.</p><p> "The U.S. consumer is 15% of global GDP, that's a large chunk," he told a crowd that had gathered for a pre-lunchtime talk about coronavirus. And warned that an over stimulus response from governments could lead to inflation. </p><p>The same day, Congress approved $8.3 billion to fight the virus that's topped 200 cases in the United States. In California, already under a state of emergency, a cruise ship with thousands aboard en route from Hawaii to San Francisco was held in quarantine as officials rushed to test passengers. And around the country signs that the virus would take an economic toll became in sharper focus</p><p>Montgomery said he had considered canceling the conference, but was assured by his discussion with health officials that the risk was low. </p><p>Then, just as the Montgomery Summit was set to open, <a href="https://dot.la/new-coronavirus-cases-in-l-a-2645382520.html" target="_self">Los Angeles County officials declared a health emergency</a>, confirming six new cases of coronavirus, and warning that schools and business may need to be closed if COV1D-19 continues to spread.</p><p>Milken tried to temper what he painted as a bit of a frenzy, telling a crowd on Wednesday that he saw this as an opportunity to harness the power of big medical companies like United Health Care and Kaiser Permanente. He predicted in weeks small prototype test kits would be available for the virus. And suggested the medical giants come together to fight the virus, much like big companies did during World War II. </p><p>"Science can accomplish in an hour what might have taken in a year," he said. "We should be much better prepared to deal with this issue, once we get the facts."</p><p><em>Ben Bergman contributed reporting</em></p>
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The fast-moving coronavirus, which has been roiling markets for more than a week, is pushing the U.S. economy toward a recession, according to Marko Papic, partner and chief strategist at Clocktower Group, who spoke to a conference crowd on Thursday.
<p>"Where I see this heading is in a recession," Papic told a crowd at the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica. "The U.S. consumer is 15% of global GDP, that's a large chunk."</p><p>Just how long and deep it is could largely depend on the virus' trajectory and government response, he said. If the virus behaves in the the U.S. and other countries as it has in China, peaking and then quickly declining, then there will likely be a short-lived recession, Papic said. </p><p>He warned that the U.S. government could bring on inflation if responds with too much stimulus.</p><p>Papic spoke as part of a panel of health experts brought together at the last-minute by Jamie Montgomery, the founder and managing director of Los Angeles-based March Capital Partners. The idea: To address what was already on top of everyone's mind: Just how serious a threat is this virus?</p><p>Asked to rank the scale of the problem the virus poses from one to 10, panelist Christopher Mores, program director for the Global Health Epidemiology and Disease Control program, said "I'm a seven on this thing." <br/></p><p>"It's kind of a blend between our outbreak response, and the concerns I have for our policy response," he said, "and damage to other systems in the economy."</p><p>On Wednesday — the day the Montgomery Summit was set to start — <a href="https://dot.la/new-coronavirus-cases-in-l-a-2645382520.html" target="_self">Los Angeles County officials declared a health emergency</a>, confirming six new cases of coronavirus, and warning that schools and business may need to be closed if COV1D-19 continues to spread.</p><p>Montgomery said <a href="https://dot.la/montgomery-summit-santa-monica-2645365855.html" target="_self">just days before the summit that he was wrestling with whether to cancel it</a> as Facebook and other tech companies have done with their conferences.</p><p><span></span>Coronavirus was the talk of the conference, with a family doctor on standby, as folks elbow-bumped and pumped hand sanitizer between talks about raising capital and revenue projections.</p>
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Relativity Space co-founder Tim Ellis said Thursday that he expects that 20,000 satellites will launch in the next five years, representing a $25 billion market for the 3D rocket printer to compete in.
The company, which recently announced it is moving into a new headquarters complex in Long Beach, is currently building its first rocket, which is expected to launch next year. His goal is to make the company a strong competitor in the $350 billion space economy against bigger rivals like Space X and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin.
<p>Ellis told an audience at the Montgomery Summit in Santa Monica that private companies are paving the way for cheaper and more efficient ways of getting satellites into orbit in an aerospace industry dominated by legacy giants like Boeing. </p><p>"We still use the same tools in aerospace that owe did sixty years ago," he said. "The aerospace industry just hasn't had a renaissance yet." </p><p>Ellis said his rockets, made using giant 3D printers, builds components with 1,000 parts in two to six months. Meanwhile, traditional rocket building uses about 100,000 parts and can take up to 48 months.</p><p>Relativity's Terran 1 rocket can be built in about 60 days, he said. The company counts Mark Cuban and Tribe Capital among its backers, and has raised $185 million in venture funding. Ellis expects the industry to flourish as manufacturing shifts away from traditional methods.</p><p>"Everything that flies will be 3D printed in 20 years," he said. </p>
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