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XNew Years Tech Predictions: What to Expect in 2022

Last year brought big changes to L.A.'s startup and tech scene, from video streaming to blockchain technology to a boom in electric vehicles and the sectors supporting them, 2021 was a year that saw entire industries pivot to embrace a new tech landscape put in place by the pandemic. We asked experts from across the tech and startup world what they see coming for the city and its startup scene in 2022.
Check back for new posts. We'll be adding more predictions daily, and let us know what you see over the horizon; share with us on Twitter and Instagram.
The Streaming Wars Were Quaint. In 2022, Hollywood Will See an Era of Unorthodox Consolidation
As 2022 dawns, the Justice Department’s long-awaited decision on the Discovery/ WarnerMedia/ AT&T merger shines most brightly on the entertainment industry’s horizon.
2022 Will Be the Year Automation Changes Fast Food for Good
Restaurant innovation to improve customer convenience will continue to grow at a rapid pace around things like autonomous delivery vehicles, unmanned and automated 24/7 open food kiosks and app-based ordering and paying. Diners are embracing automation more than ever before and are open to change if it means added safety, convenience and efficiency, as well as consistency in the quality of food they receive.
In 2022, ‘Fan-Centric’ Accounting Will Bring Emerging Artists More Money from Streaming Music
Streaming subscribers and revenues hit new heights this past year. Label valuations climbed. Song catalogs from artists including Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young were purchased for record sums. Yet in the midst of this booming music economy, many artists felt that they were not receiving their fair share of the rewards.
In 2022, that will change. As pressure mounts from fans and rival services that offer a different model for payment, streaming music stalwarts will begin to change how the billions in streaming revenues get divvied up to benefit emerging musicians and bands with the most dedicated fans.
The Creator Economy and Social Commerce Proved Itself This Past Year. In 2022, Watch as It Booms!
With more than 50 million content creators across the globe and social media using new monetization tools and social commerce features, 2022 will witness an explosion of creative energy and the birth of a new type of online economy.
It has never been a better time to be a content creator: the cost for entry is incredibly low –sometimes totally free. You just need a device and an internet connection, social media platforms from TikTok to YouTube started creator funds in 2021, including incentives and monthly payments based on performance. The goal: to encourage creators to continue making content that keeps readers on their platforms and enables them to make a living out of it.
In 2022, Get Ready for a Battle of Kitchen Robot Concepts
The coming year will be a proving year around all the hype of robotics in food that was created in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the reality will set in that the labor shortage in restaurants is not a fleeting issue, though it may become less acute than it had been during the height of the pandemic. Restaurants will need to expand their robotics and AI pilots and roll-out new solutions.
This Will Be the Year We See Tech Equity Make Its Mark and Move Beyond Gesture
2022 will be a year of growth and momentum around tech equity and ethics.
Independent efforts for racial and gender equity through tech flourished in 2021. Many of us chafe at using the term “DEI” (which stands for “diversity, equity and inclusion”) as it’s become a marketing slogan for some. Instead, we’re designing ways to do things differently so that we can better tackle the ways that tech can be used to enforce inequalities.
Already there are some shining examples of efforts underway. Researchers, activists and journalists are looking into how they can use big data and AI to aid in these efforts.
'Billionaires in Space' Is Boring; 2022 Will See Entire Industries Go Galactic
This last year was a watershed for the commercial space economy. An incredible amount of capital was invested in the new aerospace economy, surpassing the likes of legacy space heavyweights Boeing and Airbus. The year saw incredible financial exits from California-based companies Momentus, Planet, Rocket Lab and Astra, among others (Long Beach-based Virgin Orbit is set to go public in 2022). And it captured the public’s attention with billionaires floating in microgravity.
EV Sales Will Soar in 2022 as New Models Flood the Market
Overall light vehicle sales plummeted last year because of pandemic-related supply chain issues, but electric vehicle sales are set to surge in 2022.
EVs are expected to reach over 450,000 sales in 2021, and EV sales through November were up 88% compared to 2020 EV sales through last November. This huge increase is due to a few key new models arriving in the marketplace this year, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Volkswagen ID.4. In its first full year, Tesla’s Model Y was by far the EV sales leader in 2021.
In 2022, Robots Will Conquer Food Delivery and Distribution
In 2022, the food service industry will experience more labor challenges as restaurant and hospitality workers continue to leave in droves.
Fortunately, food technology has come a long way in developing robotics and automation in these last 18 months. Automated solutions in the kitchen will be well established by Q3 of 2022 and more vending style machines will appear in high-foot-traffic areas such as airports and schools, but also in the lobbies of high-rise buildings.
In 2022, Expect More Cross-Platform Livestreaming from Creators
TikTok’s short form videos are ideal for discovering new audiences. Meanwhile long-form platforms such as Twitch and YouTube are perfect for maintaining, engaging and growing a community of fans. The marriage of these elements will change the game for creators in the new year.
From our Fingertips to Outerspace: Spencer Rascoff's 2021 Predictions
I started my journey as both an angel investor and founder over 20 years ago.
A handful of successful companies and hundreds of investments later, I realized a few common themes throughout my portfolio. One in particular stands out: democratization.
Democratization, or making things more accessible to more people, has been a considerable factor in much of my decision making as a founder and investor.
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Snap’s Money Woes Continue as Brokerages Say 'Sell'
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
Following a pretty dismal earnings report last week, Snap Inc.’s ongoing financial struggles continue to spook investors, and over a dozen investment banks and brokerage firms have issued downgrades on its stock.
Bloomberg reported Monday that over a dozen brokerages and investment banks issued a downgrade recommendation on Snap stock. A downgrade, while technically just an advisory, is a key indicator to the rest of the market how well – or, in Snap’s current case, how poorly – analysts expect the stock to perform in coming months, and could trigger further sell-offs if the recommendation is to dump shares instead of hold.
The company’s struggle to turn its camera app into a profitable, value-generating machine is clear in its financial statements. As Seeking Alpha noted yesterday, Snap’s second quarter earnings showed operating costs increased nearly 30% year-over-year, while the company continues to operate at a loss.
Snap declined to comment.
Snapchat saw its daily active user count increase 18% annually to 347 million, but a growing audience doesn’t mean much if the social media giant can’t monetize it.
Snap’s net loss in the second quarter of this year totaled $422 million, on revenues of $1.1 billion. The net loss was a steep increase from the same time last year, when it posted losses of $152 million.
After its earnings report Thursday, Snap stock sank over 26%. In the past 12 months, its value has dropped roughly 87%.
Equity researchers firm MoffettNathanson also branded Snap stock with a downgrade. In a letter Friday, the group said it “rarely ever” decides to issue a stock downgrade right after an awful quarterly report in a string of lackluster earnings statements, and claimed the last time it posted such a warning was “decades ago.”
“We have lost confidence in the company’s leadership team and their ability to forecast their business,” MoffettNathanson wrote. “Given the losing hand that Snap is now facing combined with the apparent lack of valuation support and the need to preserve free cash flow, absent a take-out, there really does not appear to us a compelling reason to buy this stock.”
(Disclosure: Snap is an investor in dot.LA)
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter at @Samsonamore. Pronouns: he/him
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Here's What To Expect At LA Tech Week
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
LA Tech Week—a weeklong showcase of the region’s growing startup ecosystem—is coming this August.
The seven-day series of events, from Aug. 15 through Aug. 21, is a chance for the Los Angeles startup community to network, share insights and pitch themselves to investors. It comes a year after hundreds of people gathered for a similar event that allowed the L.A. tech community—often in the shadow of Silicon Valley—to flex its muscles.
From fireside chats with prominent founders to a panel on aerospace, here are some highlights from the roughly 30 events happening during LA Tech Week, including one hosted by dot.LA.
DoorDash’s Founding Story: Stanley Tang, a cofounder and chief product officer of delivery giant DoorDash, speaks with Pear VC's founding managing partner, Pejman Nozad. They'll discuss how to grow a tech company from seed stage all the way to an initial public offering. Aug. 19 at 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Santa Monica.
The Founders Guide to LA: A presentation from dot.LA cofounder and executive chairman Spencer Rascoff, who co-founded Zillow and served as the real estate marketplace firm’s CEO. Aug. 16 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Brentwood.
Time To Build: Los Angeles: Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) hosts a discussion on how L.A. can maintain its momentum as one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the U.S. Featured speakers include a16z general partners Connie Chan and Andrew Chen, as well as Grant Lafontaine, the cofounder and CEO of shopping marketplace Whatnot. Aug. 19 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Santa Monica.
How to Build Successful Startups in Difficult Industries: Leaders from Southern California’s healthcare and aerospace startups gather for panels and networking opportunities. Hosted by TechStars, the event includes speakers from the U.S. Space Force, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Applied VR and University of California Irvine. Aug. 15 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Culver City.
LA Tech Week Demo Day: Early stage startups from the L.A. area pitch a panel of judges including a16z’s Andrew Chen and Nikita Bier, who co-founded the Facebook-acquired social media app tbh. Inside a room of 100 tech leaders in a Beverly Hills mansion, the pitch contest is run by demo day events platform Stonks and live-in accelerator Launch House. Aug. 17 from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Beverly Hills.
Registration information and a full list of LA Tech Week events can be found here.
Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.
Kitchen United Brings in $100M For New Locations
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
Kitchen United is beefing up its service with a $100 million raise.
The company announced Monday that the Pasadena-based ghost kitchen company brought in the cash in a Series C funding round. The new funds bring Kitchen United’s overall financing to $175 million. New investors Kroger, Circle K, Simon Property Group, Phillips Edison, B. Riley Venture Capital, HAVI Group and Burger King owner Restaurant Brands International joined previous investors and former NFL star Peyton Manning to complete the round.
Kitchen United CEO Michael Montagano told Business Insider that the money will go towards increasing the company’s physical locations from 15 to 500 over the next five years. Previously, the company opened new locations through partnerships with investors Kroger and Simon Property Group.
Founded in 2017, Kitchen United is focused primarily on operating its 200 kitchens across California, New York, Illinois, and Texas. The company was an early entry in the booming ghost kitchen trend, which uses kitchens to prepare delivery-only meals. The pandemic boosted the business model’s popularity—and famed restaurateur Guy Fieri has stated that ghost kitchens are here to stay.
But the concept is changing, with many startups expanding beyond simply renting out locations. FooDoo is utilizing ghost kitchens to stock its microstores across Los Angeles. In 2019, Canter Deli’s Alex Canter launched NextBite, which partners restaurants with ghost kitchen brands to complete orders. Kitchen United, in particular, has repurposed mall food courts to allow shoppers to buy from multiple restaurants in one transaction.
Not all restaurant tech companies are thriving, with NextBite, for example, forced into downsizing in response to “changing markets.” Kitchen United’s sizable raise comes as some startup funding is drying up in the face of worsening economic conditions.
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Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.