L.A. at A Glance

Tapping L.A. Innovation

USC is proud to call Los Angeles home. Fueled by a highly talented workforce that offers a broad and deep expertise in entertainment, technology, trade, medical devices, life sciences, research testing and diagnostics, higher education, and professional services, Los Angeles is a driving force in innovation across all sectors and industries. In fact, Southern California received more venture funding last year than New England – and was surpassed only by Silicon valley!  And, in its position as the capital of the Pacific Rim, Los Angeles' geography provides a unique position for global innovation expansion.  

The breadth of industry and depth of funding means USC is uniquely position to bring meaningful innovations into the marketplace for the benefit of society.  Discover what's new and what's next in Southern California, and how you can get involved in future innovations through USC Stevens.

 

If Los Angeles County was a separate nation (with a gross product of $389.72 billion in 2001), it would rank 14th in the world, larger than Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Taiwan, Argentina and Switzerland.  (Source: U.S. Conference of Mayors)



For the first time, SoCal beat New England in VC investing, making the region only second to Silicon Valley for number of deals and amount of funding  ($835M / 83 deals in SoCal / Q3 2006) – PWC Report



Los Angeles produces 37.5% of the gross national product in California compared to 5.9% for the Silicon Valley and 13.2% for San Francisco.  (Source: Mayors Report)



Metro LA is a leading and growing employer in biosciences. In 2005, LA was:
  • 1st in medical device employment
  • 2nd in research, testing, medical labs employment
  • Employment in LA county grew 10%, compared with 1% nationwide
SoCal Investors Industry Groups
Okapi Venture Capital 
Marc Averitt - averitt(at)okapivc.com
Redpoint Ventures
Rustic Canyon Partners

TechCoast Angels
Palomar Ventures
Clearstone Venture Partners
Miramar Ventures
Sheperd Ventures
Bio Star Private Equity Fund and LLC
DJF Frontier
NGEN Partners LLC
Forward Ventures
Anthem Venture Partners
ITU Ventures
National Healthcare Services
Shelter Capital Partners LLC
Zone Ventures
Avalon Ventures
Ventana Capital

OCVG
Marc Averitt - averitt(at)okapivc.com


OCTANe


LAVA


LARTA


PricewaterhouseCoopers


Entretech



Did you know?

Because of the unique geography and culture in Los Angeles, the city is a natural center for innovations and economic impact:

Los Angeles is the birthplace of the Mickey Mouse, Barbie, the DC-3, the Mazda Miata, the fortune cookie, the hot fudge sundae, the Space Shuttle and the Mars lunar rover.


USC is the largest private employer in Los Angeles


USC was the birthplace of the T-shirt


Zamboni machines, the ice rink resurfacers, were invented and are still being manufactured in Los Angeles.


There are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any time in the history of civilization.  There are more than 1,100 annual theatrical productions and 21 openings every week.


Los Angeles boasts the most museums of any city. There are also numerous art galleries and music, dance, theatre, and film offerings.