This Week in ‘Raises’: Whatnot Gets a $260M Boost, Fifth Wall Closes a $500M Fund
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
The three-year-old livestream shopping platform secured over $200 million in fresh funding to expand beyond collectibles, while Marina del Rey-based Fifth Wall closed a half-billion-dollar fund aimed at companies bringing carbon neutral technology to real estate.
Venture Capital
Whatnot, a Marina del Rey-based live shopping platform, raised a $260 million Series D funding round co-led by DST Global and CapitalG.
Divergent, a Torrance-based motor vehicle manufacturing company leveraging 3D printing technology, received a $60 million venture loan led by Horizon Technology Finance Corp. Bridge Bank, and a $20 million line of credit from Western Alliance Bank.
Flip, an Inglewood-based social and live ecommerce platform that uses a TikTok-like discovery system, raised a $60 million Series B funding round led by WestCap.
San Diego-based synthetic biology startup Persephone Biosciences, raised a $15 million seed funding round co-led by First Bight Ventures and Propel Bio Partners.
Agoura Hills-based AI platform Cynthia.io, raised a $10 million seed funding round led by New York City based CMT Portfolio Advisors.
Ghost, a Los Angeles-based inventory distribution marketplace, raised a $13 million Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures.
Fairplay, a Los Angeles-based software company that uses AI to reduce "algorithmic bias" in lending for people of color and women, raised a $10 million Series A funding round led by Nyca Partners.
San Diego-based crypto investments services company Onramp Invest, raised $7 million in a Series A funding round co-led by JAM FINTOP and EJF Capital LLC.
MELON, a Los Angeles-based metaverse startup that’s in charge of major music events on Roblox, raised a $5 million seed round from Crush Ventures, Gaingels, Comcast Spectacor, and former Roblox CFO Matt Finick.
Santa Monica-based Perelel, a women’s vitamin subscription-based company, raised a $4.7 million seed funding round led by Unilever Ventures.
Funds
Marina del Rey-based Fifth Wallraised $500 million for its first climate fund, focused on technologies aimed at decarbonizing the real estate industry.
Manhattan Beach-based B Capital Groupclosed a $250 million early-stage fund focused on digitizing large, traditional industries such as health care and finance.
Tech Coast Angels’ Los Angeles Fund (TCA LA), an Irvine-based venture capital and private equity firm, raised an undisclosed amount for its third fund aimed at a large range of startups based in the L.A. area.
Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Decerry Donato (decerrydonato@dot.la).
Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.
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