VentureBeat .com recently published a great article on the maturing of the Los Angeles technology industry.
A new generation of tech start-up companies is emerging in LA and is attracting venture capital and giving the city a digital street cred that’s getting attention even from up North. From the article:
L.A. isn’t just a mecca for film and video game studios. In the past three years, the Los Angeles tech scene has evolved from a small cadre of social media-happy party animals to a legitimate and sustainable tech community to rival Silicon Valley.
The article’s almost exclusive focus on Internet / social media companies highlights not only the impact these firms are having in LA, but also how difficult it is to get a really firm grasp on the tech scene here.
Look at venture capital figures and you’d think that it’s all Internet, social media and entertainment.
Look at employee counts and number of companies, however, and you see a broader picture that includes companies in defense contracting, IT systems, networking, data security, wireless, green tech and semiconductors.
Not included in the article were some other significant indicators such as Intel’s purchase of Fulcrum Microsystems (disclosure: David James Agency client), which gives the Santa Clara stalwart its first local R&D presence.
The tech world is rushing headlong into a new cloud computing / Web 2.0 / social media generation and the start-ups featured in this article are leading the way. Which is great for the LA tech community.
And the publicity is welcome because the LA tech scene has always been shrouded by the diversity of the local economy and, of course, Hollywood. Just don’t write off LA as a place where other types of technology companies can flourish.