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X10 TikTok Gadgets That Went Viral In 2022
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
Part of TikTok’s evolution over the years includes becoming another outlet for consumers to purchase popular gadgets. The app generated $821 million in global consumer spending across the App Store and Google Play in the first quarter of 2022 alone.
And since the holiday season is among us, it’s time to get some gifts checked off your list. So here’s 10 tech gadgets that went viral on TikTok that you can buy for your loved ones.
Scanmarker Air
@simplysalfinds How to prepare for your exams 📑#amazonfinds#tiktokmademebuyit#collegehacks#backtoschool#salfinds♬ original sound - Simply Sal Finds
The scanmarket air can be a great stocking stuffer and will help any student on your list. All you have to do is slide the scanning pen across any book and the text will appear on your screen. The device also has a text to speech feature that will read the words as soon as you scan over the text.
Photon Mini Projector
@sonne_projectors You will wish you had this earlier. Shop in bio. #projector#tiktokmademebuyit#unboxing#productreview#roomaesthetic#netflix#amazonfinds♬ original sound - Sonne Projectors
The Photon mini projector blew up on TikTok in March of this year and pushed many to participate in a “fake window trend,” where people would project a video of a window on a blank wall in their home. Not only can you turn any wall into a window overlooking any destination, but you can utilize this device for streaming and connecting to gaming consoles.
Phone Lock Box
@lovediamondly Replying to @freezingmoon999 I hope this helps 😂💓 #amazonfinds #amazonmusthaves #amazon
Another device that is circulating the #tiktokmademebuyit hashtag is the phone lock box. The lock box works great for someone who is constantly on or is easily distracted by their phone because once you stash your phone inside, the device can lock your phone for as long as 99 minutes.
Hanover Lock
@hanoverlock The best purchase I’ve made so far in 2022 😌 #fyp #foryou #tiktokmademebuyit #shoptok
The Hanover lock is best for anyone on your list that wants extra security to their home. This device is super convenient or for people who are super forgetful because it will automatically lock once the door is closed behind you. The Hanover lock became popular as various users on the app uploaded videos about their experience leaving their keys at home.
Yeedi Vac 2 Pro
@cherishandfavor Just wait… 😳 #Yeedi #YeediVac2Pro #NewProductLaunch #iboughtitsoyoudonthaveto
This robot vacuum cleaner is the perfect gift for people who work from home and don't have the time to clean. Priced just under $500, this device can detect cliffs to avoid falling, has mopping capabilities, avoids objects in its way and when it's done cleaning it empties its own dustbin.
Jacuzzi Mat
@dope_inventions Bath time just upgraded 🛁 #jacuzzi #fyp #gadget #dontgetelectricuted
Jacuzzi’s are expensive and bulky but this portable mat will provide you a jacuzzi like experience in the comfort of your bathtub. To install, you just have to connect the mat to the pump and your bath is instantly upgraded with a built-in warm air function and bubble massage feature.
Electric Heated Blanket
@lopwert Well this is amazing #lopwert #unboxing #review #tiktokmademebuyit #christmas #influu
If you’re strapped for time to find a gift, this electric heated blanket is an easy one for someone who loves camping or an athlete that needs to warm up after a long hike or run. The blanket has three different heating levels and unlike other heated blankets that need to be plugged into the wall, this one can be charged on the go with a usb power bank.
Anker 3-in-1 Charging Cube
@theshoppingexpert FINALLY got my hands on this 3-in-1 cube 🤩📱⌚️🎧 this portable, folding MagSafe cube can charge an iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch at their max output speeds! Beautiful form factor and so travel-friendly #gifts #tiktokmademebuyit #appleaccessories #unboxing #3in1charger #amazon #christmas #anker #amazonmusthaves #travelhacks #iphone #amazonfinds #gadgets
The 3-in-1 charging cube can charge an Apple watch, iPhone and Airpods all at once–perfect for any traveler pressed for time. The cube-shaped design is compact and portable, so you’ll stay charged anywhere you go without the hassle of carrying multiple cords.
Instax Mini Evo Instant Film Camera
@thatpineapplegirl Best purchase ever!!! #tiktokmademebuyit
Every seasoned traveler always wants to remember their trip and what better way than a camera that can print the photo instantly? Not only will you have a physical photo in hand, but you can also save the image to your smartphone. If you don’t have anyone to take your photo, the Fujifilm Instax camera also has a built-in mirror that allows you to be perfectly framed for a selfie in front of your next destination.
Cowarobot R1
@dope_inventions It’s perfect for lazy people. There’s no way they’re waking over 10 miles #amazonfind
The priciest item on this list is the Cowarobot ($1,799), a carry-on size robotic suitcase that stays with you at all times by using laser radar following and machine vision AI technology. As soon as you lift the handle up, the motorized wheels descend and the cameras will scan you to indicate that you are the correct person it will follow. The suitcase has the capacity to go 20 mph for 10 miles without being charged.
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
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LA Tech ‘Moves’: LeaseLock, Visgenx, PlayVS and Pressed Juicery Gains New CEOs
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.
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LeaseLock, a lease insurance and financial technology provider for the rental housing industry named Janine Steiner Jovanovic as chief executive officer. Prior to this role, Steiner Jovanovic served as the former EVP of Asset Optimization at RealPage.
Esports platform PlayVS hired EverFi co-founder and seasoned business leader Jon Chapman as the company’s chief executive officer.
Biotechnology company Visgenx appointed William Pedranti, J.D. as chief executive officer. Before joining, Mr. Pedranti was a partner with PENG Life Science Ventures.
Pressed Juicery, the leading cold-pressed juice and functional wellness brand welcomed Justin Nedelman as chief executive officer. His prior roles include chief real estate officer of FAT Brands Inc. and co-founder of Eureka! Restaurant Group.
Michael G. Vicari joined liquid biopsy company Nucleix as chief commercial officer. Vicari served as senior vice president of Sales at GRAIL, Inc.
Full-service performance marketing agency Allied Global Marketing promoted Erin Corbett to executive vice president of global partnership and marketing. Prior to joining Allied, Corbett's experience included senior marketing roles at Disney, Warner Bros. Studios, Harrah's Entertainment and Imagi Animation Studios.
Nuvve, a vehicle-to-grid technology company tapped student transportation and automotive sales and marketing executive David Bercik to lead the K-12 student transportation division.
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
This Week in ‘Raises’: Curri Scoops Up $42M, Mosaic Scores $26M
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
A local logistics platform raised fresh funding to put toward product development, infrastructure and sales and marketing initiatives, while a San Diego-based fintech company closed its Series C funding round to expand its investment in AI which will empower high-growth SMB and mid-market finance leaders.
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Venture Capital
Curri, a Ventura-based logistics platform, raised a $42 million Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners.
San Diego-based financial platform Mosaic raised a $26 million Series C funding round led by OMERS Ventures.
AHARA, a Los Angeles-based startup focused on providing personalized nutrition suggestions, raised a $10.25 million seed funding round led by Greycroft.
Per an SEC filing, San Diego-based developer of peptide therapeutics designed to assist in the treatment of autoimmune diseases and disorders selectIon raised $5 million in funding.
Miscellaneous
Los Angeles-based Sensydia, a company working on non-invasive cardiac diagnostics, said this morning that it has received $3 million in a NIH grant.
Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Decerry Donato (decerrydonato@dot.la).
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
Why a Downturn in Esports Investments Isn’t Something To Fear
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
Last year, global venture capital investment in esports dropped by more than 40%. Investors have been rapidly selling off teams and franchises, and the industry has witnessed a consistent decline in ad spend. This has prompted many critics to coin the term “esports winter,” referring to a fall-off in the industry, an indication that VCs believe their investments didn’t achieve success as expected.
A recent article in The New York Times highlighted two major esports leagues that recently divested from their teams: Madison Square Garden sold its team CounterLogic Gaming to NRG in April, while Team SoloMid sold its League of Legends Championship Series team in late May.
Arguing that the industry still has potential for growth, several gaming executives at a LA Tech Week panel said that instead of an “esports winter,” the industry was experiencing a period of “normalization.” The panel at SoHo House in West Hollywood featured Brian Anderson, CEO of Culver City-based esports outfit FlyQuest Sport, Gene Chorba, head of developer relations at Roku and Felix LaHaye, founder of United Esports.
“I'm actually very skeptical of the claim of an esports winter,” Anderson said. “I think that what I'm seeing in the market right now, ultimately, is just a lot of venture capital firms that deployed capital into the eSports space that are not generating the returns that they were looking for, and have now done the press junket and are labeling it an esports winter.”
“In reality,” Anderson said, “esports, in my view, is alive and well.”
Anderson said there were a lot of “unrealistic expectations” around esports since it became popular in 2016, and the current decline was a sign that the market was correcting itself. “This is a necessary pain point that any nascent industry is going to go through as it matures and develops, and I think that in, let's say, 24 months, 36 months, esports will be in a much better financially sustainable place,” he said.
“I think we're having a little bit of a normalization,” Chorba said. “We saw the entire economy was being shot to the moon, with nothing behind it… we were seeing valuations of companies, public and private, that just didn't make sense for what they were building.”
Other tech industries have experienced a similar “normalization” in recent years. Cryptocurrencies, NFTs and big tech have all seen a downturn in recent months after being flooded with VC interest for many years.
According to the panelists, the existing viewer base for esports was a clear sign that the industry still had potential for growth. “There's still a ton of attention on professional video games. There's still so much grassroots fan support,” Anderson said. “As long as organizations and developers are able to figure out how to actually monetize that fan base, I think esports is still alive and well and here to stay for a long time.”
According to Insider Intelligence in 2022, there were 532 million esports viewers globally, with nearly 30 million viewers in the U.S.; this is expected to increase to 34.8 million by 2026.
Chorba explained that the reduction in ad spend and brand deals in esports shouldn’t worry investors because these crucial revenue streams have slowed down for other industries as well. “Ad-supported is hemorrhaging money and really just trying to wait out what's really a bad economy right now,” he said. As more people stop paying for cable, Chorba said, eyeballs will move onto streaming sites like YouTube or Twitch to watch gaming content.
LaHaye and Chorba said that one of the reasons for the decline in esports investments could be that executives and VCs are running esports companies like tech or SaaS companies. “As a matter of fact, they are not tech companies. They are ad-supported entertainment products,” LaHaye said.
By taking their companies to IPOs too early, certain esports companies ruined their chances in the market, LaHaye added. “There's also a downswing that's done by a rush to [go] public,” he said. “There are some fairly poor business models in esports that are going through a rougher time.”
“[Game publishing] is a hit-making business,” LaHaye said. “I think there tends to be confusion between what is a fundamental issue for the esports industry itself and some business models within the esports industry being bad business.”
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Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.