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- Weekly Tech Recap: LAUSD's Pandemic Spending Spree
Weekly Tech Recap: LAUSD's Pandemic Spending Spree
Weekly Tech Recap: LAUSD's Pandemic Spending Spree
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If you were at the helm of the second-largest school district in the nation at the height of the pandemic, how would you spend $390.5 million?
New reporting from reporter Sarah Favot reveals how the Los Angeles Unified School District spent millions in emergency funds when the pandemic forced students out of the classroom. The bulk of the spending, $227.6 million, went to tech companies for supplies and services such as iPads, internet service, masks and COVID tests.
But also part of that spending, $23.4 million, included several licenses for edtech apps including Edgenuity, Discovery, Rosetta Stone, Blackboard and Edpuzzle — tools that, in some cases, were too cumbersome and confusing to navigate for some students.
👉 VideoAmp. The L.A.-based firm revealed Thursday that it raised $275 million as it takes on Nielsen's media-measurement empire.
👉 Winc. Buoyed by a surge in sales during the pandemic, the Playa Vista-based digital wine club aims to raise as much as $92 million in a public debut that's anticipated this week.
👉 Universal Hydrogen. The Hawthorne-based company is set to launch its first test flight using their hydrogen fuel cell powertrain on a 40-person passenger regional airliner in 2022. Last week, it announced it had secured $62 million to accelerate its technology in time for the test flight.
➡️ CarbonCapture raised a $35 million Series A round Tuesday to grow its team and begin deploying a network of machines that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using renewable energy.
➡️ Scopely, one of Los Angeles' most valuable startups, acquired GSN Games from Sony Pictures Entertainment for $1 billion. As a result of the acquisition, Sony Pictures will become a minority shareholder in Scopely, and the startup will take control of mobile titles like "Wheel of Fortune Slots" and "Solitaire TriPeaks.
➡️ Digital storage company OpenDrives is making a move into esports, hiring former Activision Blizzard post production lead André Rievers to help lead the effort.
🗞 Snap CEO Evan Spiegel this week blamed his company's revenue shortfalls on Apple's new privacy policies that, he said, disrupted Snap's targeted digital advertising plans.
🗞 Netflix is calling "Squid Game" its "biggest series launch ever." It's credited with boosting the streaming service's subscriber base by 4.4 million in the last quarter.
🗞 Santa Monica-based wineseller Winc has postponed its expected debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The company had planned to go public this week at a value of around $263 million.
🗞 Recently 20 Activision Blizzard employees were fired and 20 more were reprimanded following widespread accusations of sexual harassment and discrimination based on gender.
🗞 Amazon said Monday that it is adding 150,000 seasonal jobs to bolster the ranks of its operations network during the busy holiday season.
🗞 In an exclusive interview with dot.LA, Bobacino CEO Darian Ahler argues that his $50,000 boba making-machine will elevate food service, bringing fast, quick specialty drinks to mom-and-pop stores and eliminate lines in the process.
Need a podcast recommendation this weekend? Here are some new pods we have for you:
🎙 Rhoshan Pharmaceuticals CEO Hitha Palepu joins this week's Behind Her Empire to talk about how she became an angel investor focused on women-founded businesses as well as her latest book, "We're Speaking: The Life Lessons of Kamala Harris." Listen on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.
🎙 Jessica Jackley has been around the world starting up businesses like Kiva and Alltruists. Now she's on this week's LA Venture podcast to talk about how to pursue a vision. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
🗞 More than two million Angelenos will be able to get a booster shot in the coming week after the CDC approved Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots.
🗞 Dozens of Netflix employees and LGBTQ supporters walked out of the streaming giant's offices in Hollywood this week in protest of comedian Dave Chappelle's incendiary new special "The Closer." Find more photos of the walkout on our Instagram.
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Check out these upcoming Southern California tech and startup events in November:
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