Southern California’s Investment Diversity
April 9th, 2007 by Benjamin KuoI’m often asked by people from outside of the area, what part of the high tech industry Southern California is known for–and people are surprised when I tell them that we really have a diverse technology base, and there’s no “one” industry that defines Southern California.
Often, the first thought is digital entertainment and media — because of the proximity and influence of Hollywood — but remarkably, if you look at the deal flow and types of companies starting here, that’s only part of the picture. In fact, I think the stereotype of Southern California high tech companies being only digital media firms is actually very wrong if you look at the deal flow.
There are pockets of companies in specific industries here and there in Southern California, but if you look at it collectively our wide range of investment deals include everything from biopharmaceuticals and medical devices, to hardware and semiconductors, software, digital media and entertainment, to consumer and retail plays. I think that’s part of Southern California’s strength–and future potential. Because different industries ebb and flow depending on the economy and cycles, our broad base gives us a much better diversification.
Just glancing at the last few deals in the area over the last few weeks, you see the diversity: A few biotech deals - Sangart, GenVault, Protemix, AutoGenomics; Four online services - Zaadz, YouMail, LegalZoom, Slacker; optical hardware - Xponent Photonics; medical devices - CoreValve; electronics - H2O Audio, Real D; Digital media - GoTV Networks; Telecommunications - Amp’d Mobile. Also, if you pick other months or times you’ll find the mix is entirely different.
On another note, I’m finding that, interestingly enough, people are running across this blog who aren’t familiar with socalTECH. So, at the risk of duplicating what you can get by just going to socalTECH.com, here’s a link to my latest interviews:
