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:
- Open Raven Adds Three Cloud and Security Veterans to its Team
- Tinder Tests Video Feature for Pandemic Dating
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Open Raven Adds Three Cloud and Security Veterans to its Team
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM5ODY1Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNDcxMjM5NX0.xQkGkfQGXF98L06L8AGjttxsMAYYSOfVlFxjgPo6fIA/image.png?width=980" id="e485c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ec1c76ab18e8234992ef7bc99899994a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Open Raven, a Los Angeles-based company that offers a cloud data security platform, said Thursday that it has expanded its leadership team to include three new cloud and security industry veterans. The move comes weeks after the company announced its second major round of funding.</p><p>Rob Markovich joins the company as its new chief marketing officer from his prior role as chief marketing officer at Wavefront. Alan Buckley has been hired as the senior vice president of sales, finance and operations, from his prior role as the business operations lead at Tanium. Bill Hau will be the new vice president of customer success. Hau has more than 20 years of offensive and defensive cybersecurity operations experience and previously worked at companies including Cylance, Mandiant/FireEye, IBM and McAfee.</p><p>Their hire follows <a href="https://dot.la/cloud-data-security-2646187838.html" target="_self">Open Raven's raise of a $15 million Series A round this June</a> — four months <a href="https://dot.la/open-raven-data-security-2645111465.html" target="_self">after it emerged from stealth to announce seed funding</a>. The round was led by Kleiner Perkins as well as existing investors like Upfront Ventures, bringing its total capital raised to $19.1 million.<img alt="" src="https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=bwnews&sty=20200709005277r1&sid=web01&distro=nx&lang=en"><em>__</em></p><p><em></em><em>Do you have a story that needs to be told? My DMs are open on Twitter </em><a href="https://twitter.com/latams" target="_blank"><em>@latams</em></a><em>. You can also </em><em>email me at tami(at)dot.la</em><em></em><em>, or ask for my Signal.</em></p>Tinder Tests Video Feature for Pandemic Dating
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjY1Njc5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNTgwMjc4M30.77K73_L-avsg-F23cDrsbpaatY6opyXUnhd7KLz-3QE/img.jpg?width=980" id="15305" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="500459f03dada1f31bdae9f4fe09131d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p><span style="background-color: initial;">As COVID puts a pause on dating for many singles, Tinder has rolled out a new video chat feature. The dating app </span><a href="https://www.tinderpressroom.com/Tinder-Begins-Testing-Face-to-Face-Video" target="_blank">announced</a> Wednesday that users in 13 countries, including four U.S. states, can now try out "Face to Face."<br></p><p>This is part of Tinder's big sell on a feature Bumble launched last year that has become popular. The video calls "prioritize control and comfort" by prompting users to agree to a set of<a href="https://www.gotinder.com/community-guidelines" target="_blank"> ground rules</a> (keeping the interaction PG) and letting them disable the video feature at any point. You're also able to leave a report once the video ends.</p><p>"We're looking to better understand how video chat fits in with the overall journey of getting to know someone new," Tinder spokesperson Evan Bonnstetter explained in an email.</p><p>Users in Virginia, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado can meet their matches face-to-face. But the feeling has to be mutual — both parties need to opt-in before the chat switches to a split-screen video call.</p><p>Like Snapchat, the appeal of talking on dating apps lies in anonymity, for some. Plus, chatting on an app relieves the stress of giving out personal information.</p><p>As stay-at-home orders remain in place, virtual dates have become default. Will this last? A Tinder survey of users found that over half of its U.S. users have used the video date function with a match in the past month. Plus, 40% of Gen Z members surveyed who tried video dating said they'd continue using the feature "as a way to decide whether to meet IRL (in real life) in the future — even once their favorite date spot is open again."</p><p>Launched in 2012, Tinder, now boasting over 60 million subscribers, is available in 190 countries and over 40 languages.</p>From Your Site Articles
- Open Raven Raises $15M to Keep Data Secure in the Cloud - dot.LA ›
- Open Raven Data Security Firm Raises $4.1 Million - dot.LA ›
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If you think someone is attractive, swipe right. If you don't, swipe left and you never see them again. That's how Tinder and its scores of imitators have defined online dating for the last eight years. But for those looking for a deeper connection, S'More, which stands for "Something More," expands to Los Angeles Wednesday, bringing what it bills an "anti-superficial" dating app to a city with a reputation for superficiality.
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQxMDMwMS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjE3MzY1NH0.xAH13cyzlh2IsXqegzFgnAsaz3ZSHaXF9WMYU8gHEHg/img.png?width=980" id="1ec8f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="b03a1c29c7d6ac339e7f6409de6dba9e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Courtesy S'More
<p>Users receive recommended profiles each day based on common interests, similar to Coffee Meets Bagels. However, on this app the pictures are blurred out. As you start to chat more with someone, their pictures come into focus. The idea is to get people to interact rather than just quickly swiping through photos. The process has drawn comparisons to the Netflix hit, "<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11704040/" target="_blank">Love is Blind</a>," though S'More launched last year, before the show premiered in February.</p><p>There have been signs of <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/content/dating-app-growth-slows-but-advertisers-shouldnt-ignore-hopeful-single-users" target="_blank">dating app fatigue</a>, though Bumble and Tinder both saw <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/25/why-the-coronavirus-might-change-dating-forever.html" target="_blank">large upticks in usage</a> when people were confined to their homes during stay at home orders. For those who do not want to meet in-person, S'More also allows users to initiate a video chat where during the first two minutes, both sides are blurred. If both decide they want to see each other, the blurring goes away.</p><p>"With video dating, women often express feeling uncomfortable with existing technology because it feels too invasive and unsafe," said Adam Cohen Aslatei, CEO of S'More. "S'More completely changes the experience, removes the risk, and makes the process fun and exciting. If a user isn't enjoying the conversation, they can end it before ever seeing (or being seen) by the other person. Blurred videos also encourage longer conversations, and provide an added sense of security."</p><p>The company says it already has a waiting list of thousands in L.A., which will be its fifth market, after New York, Boston, Washington DC, and Chicago.</p><p>Aslatei is former managing director of Chappy, Bumble's gay dating app. S'More has backing from Benson Oak Ventures, Social Discovery Ventures, and power angels Josh Black (Apollo Management), and Mark Rosner (App Lovin).</p>
From Your Site Articles
- dating-apps - dot.LA ›
- Tinder is Booming During the Coronavirus Quarantine - dot.LA ›
- S'More Wants to Make Online Dating 'Something More' - dot.LA ›
- S'More Wants to Make Online Dating 'Something More' - dot.LA ›
- S'More Wants to Make Online Dating 'Something More' - dot.LA ›
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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.
- Mega talent agency Endeavor seeks sale of Epic games in bid to restructure amid COVID-19
- Forget swiping left and right on Tinder to meet a match. The app now wants to take you on a virtual date
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Mega talent agency Endeavor seeks sale of Epic games in bid to restructure amid COVID-19
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI0MzA3MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTYwMTczOX0.FizonWmdb22fKemkBgjH0D8mLr8z6F817Gbz4lwYnRw/image.jpg?width=980" id="acd62" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="028972444d95189ce2a11d8bc37da06c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /> <p>Hollywood appears to be poised for dealmaking as COVID-19 rearranges priorities and business models. Endeavor Group Holdings Inc., the Tinseltown talent agency and owner of Ultimate Fighting Championships, is said to be close to sell off investments as a way to streamline their overall business. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-06/endeavor-to-sell-part-of-stake-in-fortnite-creator-epic-games" target="_blank">Bloomberg News reported</a> that Endeavor, led by Chief Executive Ari Emanuel, is looking into selling part of its stake of Epic Games. The North Carolina-based video game maker is known for its popular <em>Fortnite</em> franchise, and was once valued at about $15 billion. </p><p>Endeavor built a sprawling empire of media, sports and entertainment assets predicated on the growing value of live events, according to Bloomberg. It operates the mixed martial arts league UFC and stages hundreds of live events all over the world. The temporary pause on such events in most parts of the world has forced Endeavor to lay off, furlough or cut salary for about one-third of its workforce, and prompted credit ratings to downgrade its debt.</p>Forget swiping left and right on Tinder to meet a match. The app now wants to take you on a virtual date
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://dot.la/media-library/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzI0NjMxMC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NzIyNDQwMH0.1cOjLl1H8wz1OyX5a3NQ5u8vbC9cFXhKWHOyso_FeTU/image.png?width=980" id="f4b15" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="25af75422d64e4e73937f91b3a6e7762" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /> <p>Love in the age of pandemic: Tinder wants to match you to your perfect mate, but also facilitate the first date. The West Hollywood-based dating app told shareholders Wednesday it will launch a video chat function later this year to virtually allow users to meet. The app has an estimated 57 million people who log on to the service globally, all of them swiping left and right before being allowed to contact matches. </p><p>Match group also owns a number of other dating apps including Hinge and OkCupid. Though, the new video function will only be rolled out on Tinder in late summer. Match reported Tuesday that it saw usage growth spike across all its dating brands during the first quarter, and generated more than $544 million in revenue — a 17% increase year-over-year.</p><p><br></p>From Your Site Articles
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