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1 | Even six figures cannot guarantee financial stability with increasing inflation and housing prices. A survey by Smart Asset showed that over half of those earning over $100,000 lived paycheck to paycheck, and the average LA/Long Beach resident, after expenses, was left with just $44,623 making it one of the most expensive metros to live in after San Francisco and New York. |
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2 | Snapchat's stock plummeted as much as 20% in after-hours trading on Thursday, as it reported a 7% YoY drop in Q1 revenue, falling short of the $1B revenue estimate. This marks Snap's first revenue decline since going public and could continue as the company faces headwinds in the ad space due to the macro environment. 
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3 | The California State Transportation Agency has granted over $224M to rail transportation and clean energy projects in the LA metro. They include station upgrades and infrastructure, including extending passenger platforms to accommodate longer trains. Other improvements include different transportation agencies using the funds to purchase zero-emission buses, upgrade bus service, and construct new transit centers, potentially boosting transportation in the Southern California region. |
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4 | Cross-cloud data-sharing platform, Bobsled, has raised $17M in a Series A funding round led by Greycroft and Madrona Venture Group. The LA-based company allows businesses to connect and share data between cloud providers to catch the market as companies increasingly move into the cloud and digitally native space. |
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5 | British regulators have blocked Microsoft's planned $68.7B acquisition of LA-based video game publisher Activision Blizzard over concerns that it would harm U.K. gamers and reduce competition. An appeal from the companies is expected after The Competition and Markets Authority noted that the merger could lead to a substantial lessening of competition in cloud gaming services. |
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6 | Tinder jumps into AI, as the company announced it will use AI-powered tools to require users to take a video selfie instead of photos to prove their real identity. The move comes as the company looks to offer additional trust and safety tools to ensure safety for its users. |
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7 | Los Angeles and Long Beach ports have received part of a one-time allocation of $27M to streamline supply chain constraints through a state-wide shared data system. The system is designed to standardize through cloud-based data interoperability among all California ports. It comes at a time when many are still facing significant backlogs and delays from the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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