Cornerstone OnDemand celebrated its fourth annual LA Tech Summit Tuesday in Santa Monica, and some of LA’s brightest tech minds were on hand.
With panels covering topics like the current and future capabilities of VR/AR and why startups like Snap Inc. and Riot Games have become successful, the event was an opportunity to mingle with like-minded professionals and gain a little insight into LA’s fastest growing industry. Here are our five takeaways from the event.
Riot Games and Snap Inc. are the darlings of Silicon Beach.
In a panel featuring Mitch Lasky of Benchmark, a venture capital firm with early investments in the likes of Twitter, Snapchat, Uber and Riot Games, Lasky detailed what he believes has made Riot Games and Snap Inc. so successful. In the case of Snap Inc., Lasky told the audience about how Evan Spiegel describes Snap as a “camera company,” and how the Venice-based startup has made him a believer (somewhat) in the idea of a “monetization will happen,” method of building a startup.
LA Tech is LA’s best, and worst, kept secret.
Following a conversation that consisted of a number of local VC’s, entrepreneurs and media members, all of whom work in or around tech, it was apparent LA’s tech ecosystem is as significant, if not more, than its hype. The problem is, many Angelenos aren’t aware of the burgeoning tech community in their backyard.
One thing which was abundantly clear during the conversation was the potential the VCs and the entrepreneurs saw in LA, with the consensus being that LA will soon overtake New York City as the second most prominent tech market in the United States.
The drones are not coming: they’re already here.
During a panel titled “Drones take off in LA,” the founders of LA-based Airmap and PRENAV, as well as Silicon Valley-based Betterview, discussed the current landscape of drone technology. According to Nathan Schuett of PRENAV, when his startup pitches companies on implementing their technology as a way to increase safety and overall efficiency, it wasn’t safety concern companies were focused on, but cost. While using drones would certainly cut injuries in an industry like cellular tower inspections, companies were more interested in how PRENAV could help them save money in the long term. The panel also discussed alternative uses for drones which might not occur to some: anti-drone technologies and drone entertainment. Schuett acknowledged a number of companies working on technologies designed to stop commercial drones from trespassing on private property, while the three talked about drone racing.
Adoption of consumer-owned virtual reality systems is still a few years away, but VR's potential really is endless.
As consumers slowly learn about what virtual reality can do, it won’t be the dedicated VR systems they will be using, but add-ons to popular mobile and gaming devices. While augmented reality is already being successfully implemented by companies focusing on enterprise consumers, it will be a few years before Americans begin to adopt virtual reality as a viable means of entertainment.
After years of fighting any sort of innovation, hospitals are finally giving in to technology.
On a panel of former Techstars Healthcare graduates, panelists agreed many of their preconceived notions of working in the healthcare industry have been proven wrong. As members of a healthcare accelerator partnered with a major hospital, Cedars-Sinai, the startups had connections many healthcare companies didn’t have (in fact, all 11 graduating startups have signed commercial deals with the hospital, according to Techstars' Matt Koslov). In the case of Silversheet CEO Miles Beckett, who left the practice of medicine because he thought “the system was screwed,” the demand for innovation in the healthcare industry has not only been refreshing, but inspiring.
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