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Silicon Beach

Technology hub in California, US

Summary

Technology hub in California, US

Silicon Beach is the Westside region of the Los Angeles metropolitan area that is home to more than 500 technology companies, including startups. It is particularly applied to the coastal strip from Los Angeles International Airport north to the Santa Monica Mountains, but the term may be applied loosely or colloquially to most anywhere in the Los Angeles Basin. Startups seeded here include Snapchat and Tinder. Major technology companies that opened offices in the region including Google, Yahoo!, YouTube, BuzzFeed, Facebook, Salesforce, AOL, Electronic Arts, Roku, Sony, EdgeCast Networks, MySpace, Amazon.com, Apple, Inc., and Netflix. By some 2012 metrics, the region was the second or third-most prominent technology hub in the world. In the first six months of 2013, 94 new start-ups in Silicon Beach raised over $500 million in funding, and there were nine acquisitions.

The area offers relatively easy access to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport), the biggest and most connected airport in western North America.

As in the San Francisco Bay Area, the influx of technology companies has boosted home and office rents and real estate prices in Playa Vista, Playa Del Rey, Westchester, Santa Monica, and Venice, already high previously due to beachfront location. The effects are also spilling over into Marina del Rey and Hermosa Beach.

Start-up pockets have also emerged in nearby Culver City, West L.A., and El Segundo. Other pockets include Downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Glendale, and the San Fernando Valley. The tendency of companies to congregate in these centrally located, high income areas has raised concerns about the feasibility of racial minorities joining the workforce, as they tend to live in further outlying areas.

Silicon Beach is also home to start-up incubators and accelerators, such as Amplify.LA, Science, Disney Accelerator, TechStars, and Cedars Sinai.{{cite web|title=A list of top LA accelerators and incubators

The Los Angeles metro area was home to 88,000 engineers in 2021, the highest number of any metro area in the United States. Higher education institutions in Los Angeles County graduate 6,600 engineering majors a year, the highest of any county in the United States.

Higher education institutions headquartered in Silicon Beach include Loyola Marymount University and Otis College of Art and Design. Other higher education institutions in the nearby Southern California region or with satellite campuses in/nearby Silicon Beach include: Pepperdine University, Santa Monica College, Art Center College of Design, California Institute of Technology, University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, Occidental College, Cal State L. A., Cal State Northridge, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal Poly Pomona, and the Claremont Colleges.

List of technology companies based in Silicon Beach

CompanyYear foundedIndustryValuation
Abstract2020Govtech
AdColony2011AdtechAcquired by Opera for $350 million
Age of Learning2007Education
Bitium2012Cloud ComputingAcquired by Google for an unknown amount
Branded Online2010Ecommerce & Online Marketing Agency
Cornerstone OnDemand1992Cloud
Distillery2008Mobile Application Development, UX/UI
Dollar Shave Club2011Consumer packaged goodsurl=https://fortune.com/2016/07/19/unilever-buys-dollar-shave-club-for-1-billion/title=Unilever Buys Dollar Shave Club for $1 Billionwork = Fortunefirst = Danlast = Primackdate = 19 July 2016url-access = subscription}}
Eaze2014Cannabis
Enplug2012Softwarelast=Lawlerfirst=Ryantitle=Digital Display Startup Enplug Raises $2.5 Million Seed Roundurl=https://techcrunch.com/2014/04/17/enplug-2-5m/work=TechCrunchdate=April 17, 2014publisher=AOLaccessdate=21 May 2014}}
Fair2016Automotive, Fintech
Falcon Computing Solutions2014High Performance Computing, FPGA acceleration - tools and solutions
Flexport2013Digital Freight Forwarding
FloQast2013Accounting Software
Flustr2019Consumer Tech, Entertainment
Fullscreen2011Digital Media
Gnarbox2014Consumer electronics
GOAT2015e-commerce, Fashion (sneakers)
Headspace2010Health
HelenHealth (ZB Technologies, Inc.)2016Digital Health
The Honest Company2012e-commerce
Honey2012Cashback website, online couponsAcquired by PayPal in 2020 for $4 billion
Hulu2007Television Streaming Services$15.8 billion
Hyperloop One2014Transportation
LegalZoom1999Legal
Libermans Co2021Investments$400 million
MatchCraft1998Digital Marketing Platform Technology & Services
mayk.it2020AI Music Technology
Metropolis Technologies2017Parking and artificial intelligence company
MuteSix2014Performance Marketing Agency
Nasty Gal2006RetailUnknown - Chapter 11
Oculus VR2012Virtual realityAcquired by Facebook, Inc. in 2014 for $2 billion
Onestop Internet2004Full Service Ecommerce Agency
Ring2012Home Security DevicesAcquired by Amazon for $1 billion
Riot Games2006Video Games
Science 372014Medical technology
Scopely2011Video Games$1.7 billion
ServiceTitan2012Software technology platform$8.3 billion
Snail Games2000Video Games
Snap Inc.2011Social media$23 billion
Swagbucks2007Digital Rewards & Cash Back
Tala2011Fintech
Thrive Market2013e-commerce
TI Health2010Data and Analytics, Healthcare Digital Marketing
TigerConnect2010Messaging, Text Analytics, Communications Infrastructure$625 million
Tinder2012Social Media
TrueCar2005Automotive websites$1.65 billion
Wag2014Pets
WebJoint2014Cannabis
Whisper2012Social media
Wpromote2001Digital Marketing Agency
.xyz2014Internet Domain Registry
ZestFinance2009Fintech
ZipRecruiter2010Hiring

Other uses

  • 1983: PC Magazine reported that "some people are starting to call" Boca Raton, Florida—where IBM had developed its Personal Computer, and other technology companies had facilities—"Silicon Beach, in deference to the great valley of the West".
  • 1984: Silicon Beach Software was formed in San Diego, California.
  • 2008: Silicon Beach Australia was used to describe the country's tech industry, including startup hubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth.

References

References

  1. Machalinski, Anne. (May 22, 2019). "Los Angeles Tech Scene Expands Beyond Silicon Beach". Barrons.
  2. Hernandez, Daniel. (2019-08-23). "Snapchat's Disappearing Act Leaves Venice Beach Searching for Its Future". The New York Times.
  3. (16 January 2019). "Google, Netflix, Amazon, and Apple are planning on becoming millionaires of a different kind".
  4. (2012-11-20). "Startup Genome Ranks The World's Top Startup Ecosystems: Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv & L.A. Lead The Way". TechCrunch.
  5. (2012-07-15). "Silicon Beach emerges as a tech hotbed". USA Today.
  6. "Over $500M Raised by 92 LA Startups in the First Half of 2013".
  7. Sharp, Sonja. (2019-08-21). "'I'm not even 30, and I'm flying my own jet' — Silicon Beach elites take a seat in the cockpit". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  8. Logan, Tim (January 2, 2015) [https://www.latimes.com/business/realestate/la-fi-westchester-housing-20150102-story.html "Buoyed by Silicon Beach, Westchester enjoys a housing surge"] [[Los Angeles Times]]
  9. Khouri, Andrew. (January 15, 2016). "Bixby Land's $49-million office building sale a sign 'it's not the old El Segundo'". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  10. Chang, Andrea. (March 7, 2015). "Tech scene takes hold in revitalized downtown L.A.". [[Los Angeles Times]].
  11. Ungerleider, Neal. (October 31, 2014). "Why A Subway-Building Binge Could Transform L.A.'s Tech Culture". [[Fast Company (magazine).
  12. (February 25, 2016). "Why Tech Degrees Are Not Putting More Blacks and Hispanics Into Tech Jobs". The New York Times.
  13. Haya El Nasser. (April 29, 2015). "Job sprawl hurting minorities and the poor in suburbia".
  14. (13 Jul 2013). "America's Engineering Hubs: The Cities With The Greatest Capacity For Innovation". [[Forbes]].
  15. "May 2021 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA".
  16. "Engineering".
  17. Staff. (June 2018). "Silicon Beach: The Next Wave". Loyola Marymount University.
  18. Gagliordi, Natalie. "Opera Software acquires AdColony for up to $350 million".
  19. (September 26, 2017). "Google Cloud acquires cloud identity management company Bitium".
  20. Primack, Dan. (19 July 2016). "Unilever Buys Dollar Shave Club for $1 Billion". Fortune.
  21. Lawler, Ryan. (April 17, 2014). "Digital Display Startup Enplug Raises $2.5 Million Seed Round". AOL.
  22. Smith, Samantha. "LA Startup Goes from 0 to 100mph In Three Months". Forbes.
  23. (January 6, 2020). "PayPal Completes Acquisition of Honey". [[PR Newswire]].
  24. Taulli, Tom. "Why PayPal Paid $4 Billion For Honey Science".
  25. Peters, Jay. (2019-11-20). "PayPal acquires the company behind the Honey deal-finding extension for $4 billion".
  26. Curry, David. (24 May 2023). "Hulu Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023)".
  27. Heller, Nathan. (2022-07-25). "Is Selling Shares in Yourself the Way of the Future?".
  28. Sherman, Lauren. (26 May 2017). "Can Nasty Gal Be Saved?". BoF.
  29. (11 March 2020). "Honey's Billionaire Founder Buys $60 Million Bel Air Mega-Mansion".
  30. Green, Dennis. "Amazon's $1 billion acquisition of the doorbell-camera startup Ring is the company doing what it does best — and it should terrify every other retailer".
  31. Spangler, Todd. (29 October 2019). "Scopely Valued at $1.7 Billion After $200 Million Round, With Mobile Game Company's Sights Set on M&A".
  32. (26 March 2021). "ServiceTitan, Software Provider For Tradespeople, Reaches $8.3 Billion Valuation". Forbes.
  33. "SNAP Key Statistics {{!}} Snap Inc. Class A Common Stock Stock - Yahoo Finance".
  34. "Funderbeam".
  35. "TrueCar, Inc. Common Stock (TRUE)".
  36. (2018-09-27). "These Young Founders Give Cannabis Brands The Opportunity To Market Directly To Consumers".
  37. Porter, Martin. (November 1983). "The Talk of Boca". PC Magazine.
  38. Hill, Ryan (February 4, 2016) [www.triton.news/2016/02/813/ "San Diego is bringing back Silicon Beach"] [The Triton]
  39. LeMay, Renai. (July 28, 2008). "Silicon Beach Australia". ZDNet.
  40. Kohler, Alan. (November 21, 2012). "Australia's "Silicon Beach" is no Entrepreneurs Paradise". ABC.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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