- dot.LA
- Posts
- 🎓 LA’s Startup Edge
🎓 LA’s Startup Edge
Christine Rothacker
August 14, 2024
Los Angeles is a key center for tech and entrepreneurship, driven by its major universities. Caltech produced a “founding father” of artificial intelligence and USC's Viterbi School collaborates with industry and has produced companies like Riot Games.
Image Source: UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
UCLA is a major source of tech talent in LA, granting approximately 2,000 engineering degrees from Bachelor’s of Science to Ph.D.s annually. The university fosters innovation through:
Startup UCLA: An on-campus accelerator program that provides mentorship, funding, and resources to student entrepreneurs.
Anderson School of Management: Offers entrepreneurship programs and hosts startup competitions.
Companies Founded by UCLA Alumni: ChowNow by Eric Jaffe; Blizzard Entertainment by Mike Morhaime; BAM Ventures, LegalZoom.com & The Honest Company by Brain Lee
Image Source: USC
University of Southern California (USC)
USC is another key player in developing LA's tech workforce offering numerous programs and resources for aspiring entrepreneurs, including the Viterbi Startup Garage, USC Stevens Center for Innovation, and the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which provides over 68 entrepreneurship courses taught by 27 professors and practitioners.The university fosters innovation through:
USC Marshall School of Business: Runs programs focused on entrepreneurship and innovation.
USC Viterbi School of Engineering: Collaborates with industry partners on cutting-edge research and technology development.
USC Stevens Center for Innovation: Helps commercialize USC research and supports faculty startups.
Companies Founded by USC Alumni: Riot Games by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill; Salesforce by Marc Benioff
Image Source: CalTech
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Caltech is a significant contributor to the tech talent pool in Los Angeles, producing around 600 graduates annually across various STEM fields, with a large portion likely in engineering disciplines. Additionally, Caltech alumni have founded 238 startup companies between 1995 and 2016, with 35% still active as of 2016, demonstrating the institution's strong support for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region. The university fosters innovation through:
Caltech Entrepreneurs Club: This student-run organization aims to develop Caltech's startup ecosystem through educational speaker series, networking events, and collaboration with administration to establish a founder-friendly environment.
Caltech Innovation Center: Provides startups with space to test, develop, grow, and commercialize deep technology ideas collaboratively.
Companies Founded by Caltech Alumni: Intel by Gordon Moore, Quora by Adam D’Angelo, and John McCarthy one of the “founding fathers” of Artificial Intelligence
Image Source: Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University contributes to Los Angeles' tech talent pool through its strong entrepreneurship programs and MBA offerings that emphasize innovation and startup development. 33% of its MBA students are actively working on startups during their studies and 85% are aspiring to start businesses
Pepperdine Graziadio Business School: Offers entrepreneurship programs and hosts startup competitions.
Companies Founded by Pepperdine Alumni: Eventbrite by Julia Hartz
These universities are crucial in developing LA's tech talent pool, offering programs that bridge the gap between academia and industry. Their initiatives in entrepreneurship and partnerships with local startups are helping to create a robust tech ecosystem in Los Angeles.
    |