Scopely hits $400 million run rate; Tinder’s algorithm analyzed; Techstars creates L.A. aerospace accelerator

Mobile Games Lucrative for Scopely

Thanks to mobile games such as “Star Trek: Fleet Command,” Culver City-based game developer Scopely Inc. now boasts a $400 million run rate based on December revenue figures. VentureBeat reports the firm employs roughly 260 people locally with 10 studios worldwide, and has generated more than a dozen popular games.

Techstars Creates Aerospace Accelerator

A new Techstars accelerator is based in Los Angeles and focused on incubating space technology companies. Dubbed the Techstars Starburst Space Accelerator, it will be led by Matt Kozlov and advised by Paris-based Starburst Aerospace Managing Director Van Espahbodi. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, operating in Pasadena, Lockheed Martin Corp., and El Segundo-based Aerospace Corp. have signed on to formally sponsor the accelerator program.

Analyzing the Tinder Algorithm

Vox’s latest report on West Hollywood-based and Match Group Inc.-owned Tinder Inc. digs into the hidden ranking system behind the dating app’s matching service. An internal system tracks a user’s rank based on how many people swipe right, or “like” them on the app. The user’s score is not only tracked based on their “likes,” but the number of “likes” the person swiping right on them has received. Tinder then relegates certain users to specific tiers, so that the user and their potential dating pool are categorized as the same level of “desirability.”