By all accounts, L.A.'s startup community had a good year in 2021. Venture funding and valuations skyrocketed and tech jobs were plentiful. As we head into the new year, we asked more than 30 leading L.A.-based VCs for their take on the hottest firms in the region. They came back with 26 venture-backed startups. Of them all, three rose to the top. Check out our annual list of startups to watch in 2022.
Here’s what happened in LA’s entertainment tech world this week 🍿
If you’re going to next weekend’s Super Bowl, your ticket is coming with its own NFT.
Disney is the latest major cooperation to join the NFT craze.
Epic Games is getting in the movie business, backing Spire Animation Studios with a $20 million raise.
Snap Inc. and Universal Pictures team up for their first ever bitmoji virtual concert starring J.Lo and Maluma.
📱Social Media and Content Creators
Apple’s privacy policies took a toll on Meta (Facebook) this week, but Snap found a way to adjust and walk away with its first ever profitable quarter.
Meet Sunroom, the new content creator app geared to empowering women and non binary creators.
Kajabi, a platform for “knowledge economy,” just got a new president: TikTok’s former head of product, Sean Kim.
As the Winter Olympics kicked off, gay dating app Grindr was banned from China following an “internet crackdown.”
New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter and world renowned DJ Tiësto were just a couple of the investors that backed botanically-infused booze-maker AMASS this week.
Meanwhile, healthy soda alternative Olipop has the backing of major celebs like the Jonas Brothers. Now it's expanding nationwide.
Raises and $$ đź’°
Voyage SMS just closed a $10 million funding round and made its first acquisition, former “frenemy,” LifeRecover.
With its second fund on the horizon. MaC Venture Capital, a Black-led firm, intends to raise as much as $200 million.
Streaming surged during the pandemic. MNTN, an adtech firm for the smart TV market, got a boost in the form of a $119 million raise.
Known for its live-in startup accelerator, Launch House is expanding to more cities and to the metaverse.
Unlock Venture Partners launched a $62 million fund focused on L.A. startups this week.
See more at our new weekly recap of funding news, Raises.
🎧 Listen UpÂ
On this week’s Behind Her Empire podcast, Melanie Strong talks about leaving her career at Nike behind to pursue a career in venture capital. She’s now a founding partner of NEXT VENTŪRES, a VC firm that focuses on building sports, health and wellness brands.
On LA Venture, Acrew Capital’s Richard Wolpert talks about the future of the entertainment industry and digs into why social media needs to be fixed.
As Super Bowl LVI, approaches, Office Hours revisits a classic episode with L.A. Ram’s COO Kevin Demoff at a time when the Ram's prospects (and that of SoFi Stadium) wasn't so secure.
Also...
L.A.-based Tripp is acquiring mediation community EvolVR, bringing virtual psychedelic experiences to its weekly live meditation sessions.
Electreon plans to turn American roads into charging stations for electric vehicles -- one that can be used even while cars are moving.
Machina Labs wants to lead an AI-enabled revolution in hi-tech manufacturing.
Stoggles are bringing sophistication and flair to bulky protective goggles for those in the medical field.