In a nondescript two-story building in Chatsworth, a little-known company is rethinking manufacturing using artificial intelligence— and winning contracts from the U.S Air Force and NASA, among other clients. Reporter Decerry Donato takes a tour of Machina Labs’ facility and talks to the company’s CEO, a veteran of Relativity Space, Google and SpaceX.
Here’s what else we’re reading in the news:
- Micromobility company Bird is partnering with the city of Nashville on their new scooter program.
- L.A.-based Butterfly Equity is reportedly close to a deal to sell its Orgain protein powder to Nestle.
- ARExperience will hold its next AR-focused marketing event in Santa Monica in April.
- L.A.-based Fast Studios will launch a 24-hour streaming channel for women’s sports.
How Machina Labs Wants to Transform Manufacturing
“We’re not actually getting rid of [manufacturing] jobs, we’re getting rid of the expensive machinery you have to put in to get it done.” Meet Machina Labs, the company that uses AI-driven sensors to create parts for the aerospace, architecture, energy and automotive industries quicker and cheaper.
Sunroom Goes After OnlyFans' Sex-Positive Creators
Sunroom co-founder Lucy Mort was fascinated with OnlyFans and how creators would move to the platform to monetize the followings they’d built on Instagram and TikTok. Today, she launched Sunroom, a membership platform geared toward empowering women and non-binary creators.
Stoggles Raises $40 Million for Its Stylish Spin on Safety Goggles
Just as direct-to-consumer brands FIGS and Clove brought sophistication and flair to medical scrubs and health care shoes, respectively, so is Pasadena-based Stoggles looking to spice up its own niche: the protective eyewear market.
Knowledge Creator Platform Kajabi Raids TikTok for New President
Kajabi’s new president has big plans to use what he learned as TikTok’s head of product to develop the growing platform for business and personal coaching expertise.
Disney Is Beefing Up its NFT Team As Digital Collectibles Boom
Disney is looking for someone to lead its foray into the world of digital assets. The Burbank-based media giant posted a job this week for someone to “help lead Disney’s efforts in the NFT space.”