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🎮 Riot Games Cuts 500+ Jobs for a Sustainable Future

🎮 Riot Games Cuts 500+ Jobs for a Sustainable Future

dot.LA Weekly Update

Christine Rothacker
January 26, 2024

🔦 Spotlight

LA-based Riot Games, celebrated for its popular League of Legends game and the award-winning animated series Arcane, has announced a significant workforce reduction, laying off approximately 11% of its global staff, totaling 530 employees. While CEO Dylan Jadeja described this difficult decision as a necessity, there is a recognition that the broader video game industry has faced challenges with over 10,000 global layoffs since January 2023.

Image Source: Riot Games

Acknowledging the need for strategic adjustments due to rising costs and limited room for experimentation, Riot Games has decided to shutter its Riot Forge publishing arm, which collaborated with external studios for smaller-scale games. Despite these changes, there is optimism in the commitment to providing affected employees with at least six months of severance pay and eligibility for cash bonuses. Jadeja expressed the company's dedication to its workforce, emphasizing that this decision aims to ensure the long-term sustainability and creativity of Riot Games.

For the broader gaming industry in Los Angeles, this development may indicate a need for companies to adapt to evolving market dynamics. While Riot Games remains an indomitable player with its popular titles like League of Legends, Valorant, the industry as a whole may be reassessing strategies to ensure sustainability and innovation. The workforce reduction may prompt other gaming companies in the region to evaluate their own structures and business models in response to the changing landscape, with a focus on balancing growth, cost management, and creative exploration.

🤝 Venture Deals

Just Announced

Captura, a startup focused on open-ocean carbon capture, raised $21.5M Series A expansion round led by Future Planet Captial. - learn more
Acre Venture Partners participated in a $10M Series A for Farm-ng, a startup that has developed a robot that uses AI to help small- and mid-size farms with repetitive tasks like weeding. - learn more
M13 Ventures participated in a $11.1M Seed Round for Norm Ai, a startup that is using AI to automate some regulatory tasks for chief compliance officers. - learn more

Actively Raising

ReelCall, Inc., an entertainment technology company focused on powerful apps and platforms that help build and maintain the professional network of connections vital to career growth, is raising a $850K Pre-Seed Round. - learn more
CZero, a startup building software to decarbonize logistics for logistics businesses and goods business through a vetted marketplace and optimization software. - learn more
Couri, a technology startup addressing last-mile delivery issues, is raising a $450K Pre-Seed Round at a $2.2M post money valuation. - learn more
Sweetie, a marketplace to help people plan date nights, is raising a $1.5M Pre Seed Round. - learn more
StartupStarter, an investment platform that provides real-time data and analytics on startups, is raising an $850K Angel Round. - learn more

If you’re a founder raising money in Los Angeles, give us a shout, and we’d love to include you in the newsletter!

✨ Featured Partner

The WeAreLATech 'Experience' Club is for individuals working in LA tech; you can work at a startup or seasoned tech company.

We're engineers, investors, founders, designers, growth marketers, app developers, product managers and more... who do in person activities together 1-2 times a month. The concept is based on the saying 'More business gets done at the bar than in a boardroom.' That said, there's no panels or mixers. We have enough of those.

WeAreLATech was created by me, Espree Devora, back in 2012. I consider myself to be "an artist of human connection". Each event is my piece of art.

Activities include horseback rides, clay pigeon shooting, hiking, Price is Right gameshow, rooftop cocktails, surfing, escape rooms, food tastings, go karts, luxury beach picnics, drone flying, and the list goes on. We've done 100s of Experiences. Some events are curated by industry and others by role. The goal is to save you time making quality connections. Maintaining a strong culture and keeping the gatherings small, connective and curated is top priority.

Interested in more details about the Club? Check it out here.

And to listen to the WeAreLATech Podcast, click here

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Wednesday, January 31st

BioSync AI Mixer - Venture into the cutting-edge crossroads of AI and Biotech at the inaugural BioSync AI Mixer in Culver City! This is a brand-new initiative, a collaboration between AI LA, Bioscience LA, BitsinBio, and Nucleate.
Climate Circuit’s Casual Meetup at Broxton Brewery - Come join Climate Circuit to talk shop on climate tech! All are welcome no matter if you're dipping your toe into this world or have been building in climate tech for a while.

Thursday, February 1st

Music in the Era of AI- Listen to a conversation between some of the world’s leading artificial intelligence policymakers, scholars, and artists to discuss actions the entertainment industry can take to protect the rights of human creators.

Friday, Feb 2nd

Pitch and Run LA: Friday Runs - Join Founders and VCs for Pitch and Run Fridays! 7:30am near 17th St & San Vincente for a ~3.5 mile loop at an easy-conversational pace. Pitch and Run is designed to help you connect with others on ideas, passions, and life while enjoying a casual run. They started with a focus on people in tech/startups, but are open to everyone.

Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

📙 What We’re Reading

Amazon MGM Studios Division Cuts Deal For Esports Content. - learn more
Will the IPO Market Spring Back in 2024? The First Big Debut Offers Clues. - learn more
MovieTok Meets Sundance As Creators Hit Park City. - learn more