Alliance in the News

The Alliance for Southern California Innovation partners with HCVT to support early stage startups in the region

December 13, 2023 | The Alliance for SoCal Innovation (“The Alliance”) is pleased to announce that they have formally entered into a multi-year agreement with HCVT to be a new supporting sponsor of the SoCal Venture Pipeline program (SVP) which connects the most promising early stage startups with venture capital in order to improve access to institutional capital across the SoCal region.

The Alliance for SoCal Innovation Secures $25,000 Grant from Edison International to Launch “The SoCal Venture Pipeline – Edison Track”

November 15, 2023 | Alliance for Southern California Innovation (the “Alliance”) is thrilled to announce the receipt of a generous $25,000 grant from Edison International to establish “The SoCal Venture Pipeline – Edison Track”. This innovative initiative aims to augment the existing SoCal Venture Pipeline (“SVP”) program, further propelling Southern California’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

An Innovation Ecosystem Grows in Pasadena

December 22, 2022 | Over the past couple of decades, the start-up ecosystem in Southern California has blossomed and developed an ecosystem with the funding, institutional collaboration, and people to support start-ups in fields from robotics to biotechnology, says Andy Wilson, executive director for the Alliance for SoCal Innovation. While Silicon Valley is known for innovations in software and computing, Wilson says, and “Silicon Beach” on Los Angeles’s west side focuses on digital content and film, the east side’s ecosystem centered around Pasadena has become a hub for start-ups in what he calls “frontier technologies” like solar energy, telescopes, batteries, and artificial intelligence.

SoCal Venture Pipeline, Pacific Western Bank Partner on Getting Early-Stage LA Startups VC Funding

September 15, 2022 | The SoCal Venture Pipeline program is partnering with Pacific Western Bank to continue connecting early-stage startups with venture capital. Now formally known as the SoCal Venture Pipeline powered by Pacific Western Bank, the program has matched new startups with investors since launching in 2021. Pacific Western will serve as its lead sponsor, joining continuing supporters Wilson Sonsini and KPPB LLP. 

Verizon Media & Alliance for SoCal Innovation partner to digitally connect and energize SoCal region

December 9, 2020  |  As a global leader in innovative experiences, Verizon Media knows the next great hub of innovation when it sees it. That’s why Verizon Media is excited to announce its partnership with the Alliance for SoCal Innovation, a nonprofit who directly supports leaders and stakeholders to nurture and grow the SoCal innovation ecosystem.

This Nonprofit Just Launched a Hub to Introduce SoCal’s Regional Tech Communities to One Another

December 9, 2020  |  The Alliance for Southern California Innovation is LongLA, as regional investors and boosters like to frame their investment outlook. Launched three years ago in a bid to help build a hub for technology that can rival Silicon Valley, the nonprofit has been slowly building up a network of tech companies, backers and entrepreneurs beyond Silicon Beach.

An Early Peek at First Look’s Showcase of Cutting-Edge Science Startups

September 15, 2020 | Eliminating battery waste, developing new hair growth therapy, fixing carbon dioxide. These are among some of the ambitious problems that companies are trying to solve at the First Look SoCal Innovation Showcase beginning Tuesday. Hosted by nonprofit Alliance for SoCal Innovation, the online event connects early-stage tech and life science companies with investors and serial entrepreneurs.

Southern California needs to find its hub for it to develop its own tech ecosystem

March 22, 2018  |  Recognizing the tens of billions of dollars that the Southern Californian region leaves on the table because it hasn’t taken its rightful place in the American technology industry, a new group called the Alliance for Southern California Innovation has just released a report to analyze how SoCal can work to assume its pole position.

Stars Aligning: How Southern California Could Be the Next Great Tech Ecosystem

March 20, 2018  |  The ingredients are in place for SoCal to emerge as the next major global tech ecosystem.The region’s challenge is to successfully navigate a short list of critical steps necessary to make that happen. The Boston Consulting Group, in partnership with the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, took a fresh look at Southern California as a magnet for a new generation of tech innovators. We found a growing, surprisingly potent and robust region on the cusp of greater things.

Tech Study Critical Of Region’s Fragmentation, Geography

June 23, 2017  | A new study, released by the Alliance for Southern California Innovation, has surprisingly come out highly critical of the region’s fragmentation and “lack of a compelling geographic center”, saying those factors are keeping the region from emerging as a “tech hub as robust as Silicon Valley”.

Allied for Innovation – UCSB joins newly launched Alliance for Southern California Innovation led by tech entrepreneur Steve Poizner

June 23, 2017  |  Joseph Incandela, vice chancellor for research and a professor of physics at UC Santa Barbara, has joined the board of directors of the Alliance for Southern California Innovation. Founded by technology entrepreneur and former California insurance commissioner Steve Poizner, the non-profit organization is aimed at nurturing and accelerating the growth of an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southern California.

Former insurance commissioner seeks to rally start-up creation in Southern California

June 25, 2017  |  Steve Poizner, the former state insurance commissioner who sold a GPS technology start-up to Qualcomm years ago, launched a nonprofit venture this week that plans to bring together investors, universities and entrepreneurs. Poizner, who splits time between La Jolla and Los Gatos, plans to work nearly full time on the staff-less operation, a spokeswoman said. The Alliance for Southern California Innovation initiative remains in the early stages, but its major goals include serving as a local conduit for investors from other regions and coming up with a branding strategy for Southern California’s tech community. Boston Consulting Group plans to work for free to develop recommendations by the fall on boosting technology development in Southern California.

Initiative to Boost SoCal’s Startup Scene Teams With GV Founder

June 26, 2017  |  A Silicon Valley entrepreneur has set out to boost the startup ecosystem in San Diego and the rest of Southern California—and he already has scored a coup by partnering with Bill Maris, the founder and former CEO of Google Ventures, now known as GV. Steve Poizner, who sold two of his startups to Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM) and served as California Insurance Commissioner a decade ago, has signed a collaboration agreement with a venture fund that Maris founded in suburban San Diego.

Alliance that touts SoCal as alternative to Silicon Valley teams with Google Ventures founder

July 13, 2017  |  Can Southern California emerge as a technology hub on par with Silicon Valley over the next few years? A new non-profit group led by former state Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, a serial tech entrepreneur, aims to make the southern part of the state a viable alternative for start-ups to the increasingly congested north.

SoCal Alliance Seeks Entrepreneurial Clout

June 29, 2017  |  Iconic entrepreneurial ecosystems have sprouted up in the main regions of Southern California. The first venture fund to partner with the alliance is Encinitas-based Section 32, a $160 million fund created by Bill Maris, founder and former chief executive of Google Ventures.

New Alliance Seeks to Unify SoCal Entrepreneurs

July 3, 2017  |  Over several generations, substantial entrepreneurial ecosystems have sprouted in Southern California.