How Eyedaptic Uses Augmented Reality to Treat Visual Impairment

Deirdre Newman
Deirdre Newman is an Orange County-based journalist, editor and author and the founder of Inter-TECH-ion, an independent media site that reports on tech at the intersection of diversity and social justice.
​Pairs of Eyedaptic AR glasses.
Courtesy of Eyedaptic

A longtime executive at successful companies, Jay Cormier had been thinking about retiring in 2010.

At the time, Teridian Semiconductor, where he served as vice president and general manager, was acquired for $315 million. Cormier was working on a side project helping some entrepreneur friends with an augmented reality idea.

Around the same time, macular degeneration forced his grandmother into an assisted living facility.

That got him wondering whether AR could help the visually-impaired.


Twelve years later, Eyedaptic — the company that was born of Cormier’s curiosity — is booming.

The company creates augmented reality (AR) software to help the visually-impaired.

A recent deal with Vispero, a more-established firm that makes visual aids, has greatly increased the exposure of its augmented reality glasses, giving the Orange County-based company access to a national dealer network, and jumpstarting its ability to sell its new technologically advanced AR glasses.

Sales have skyrocketed, Cormier–who serves as Eyedaptic’s CEO–said, though he declined to release any specific numbers. He expects revenue to grow this year, as he works on securing more deals for sales channels, especially internationally.

OC’s Tech Epicenter for Ophthalmology

Eyedaptic’s success is a win for the tech community in Orange County, which has long been an epicenter for ophthalmology and eye care in general.

“The resources available [here] for that are some of the best, perhaps, in the world,” Cormier said.

Eyedaptic officially launched in 2016. Its original headquarters were in Laguna Beach.

Early on, it participated in an accelerator that’s part of Octane OC, a multi-faceted organization based in Aliso Viejo. Octane also hosts an annual Ophthalmology Tech Summit at the Balboa Bay Resort.

Eyedaptic was a presenter at one of the early summits, which increased the company’s exposure to investors, Cormier said. He added that he finds easy access to strong tech talent on the software side in Orange County, “that is more stable than being in the Bay Area.”

The company recently moved its headquarters to Laguna Hills, in close proximity to the sprawling retirement community of Laguna Woods. Cormier said that makes it much more convenient for potential customers to come to Eyedaptic’s office to try out their newest products.

The company has raised around $11 million from angel investors and a recent crowdfunding round, according to Pitchbook.

A Growing Need for Vision-Enhancing Products

The market for vision-enhancing products is large, and growing. There are approximately 7.2 million visually-impaired adults in the U.S., according to the National Federation of the Blind. By 2050, the number of Americans experiencing vision loss is expected to increase — by 114% due to macular degeneration and by 169% due to glaucoma.

During the pandemic, many who were experiencing declining vision believed that what they were dealing with wasn’t critical and could be delayed, Cormier said, making the problem worse.

Low vision is a common type of vision loss, occurring in about one in six people over 45. It’s loss of sight that cannot be fixed by a variety of means, including contact lenses, prescription glasses or surgery, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It’s not total blindness, but does include blind spots, poor night vision and blurry sight.

Legally blind means someone can not see any better than 20/200 with correction, and/or a restricted field of vision that’s less than 20 degrees wide.

Eyedaptic claims it can help those with vision up to 20/800, using

AR to enhance a person’s natural vision.

The company currently has four patents and another 14 are pending.

How It Works

AR is technology that overlays a digital image onto the real world. That’s in contrast to virtual reality (VR), which totally immerses a user in a computer-generated scene — blocking everything else out.

Eyedaptic uses a hybrid of the two. It employs what’s known as video see-through — so that users can see an enhanced image of the natural world coming through the lens of their glasses.

Unlike typical AR, there are no overlaid images. Those with low vision can’t resolve overlays, Cormier said.

“It confuses them,” he said.

So instead of overlaying, the company’s glasses re-display images from a user’s surroundings, after manipulating the images and enhancing the pixels.

The glasses are also open on the sides, to enable the wearers to continue using their peripheral vision.

Eyedaptic CEO Jay Cormier.

Image courtesy of Eyedaptic

Eyedaptic recently launched what it says are two major upgrades: its premiere Eye3 and its Eye4 glasses.

The Eye3 is completely wireless and hands-free, with a 55-degree field of view. In addition to its internal battery, it has an external battery. This magnetic, clip-on battery enables users to swap it out as needed.

Special features of these glasses include multiple viewing modes, so users can toggle among auto zoom, plain zoom and image stabilization. There’s also more available modes for contrast enhancement. Magnification is provided up to 10 times. The glasses can be used for more than 4 hours continuously, without cords or recharging.

The Eye4 is lightweight, weighing three ounces. Its features include an auto zoom mode, image stabilization and contrast enhancement.

Both models come with phones. With the Eye3, the phone is a separate accessory and used to control the glasses.

Providing high resolution is very important for Eyedaptic’s customers, Cormier said. The upgraded software provides 1080p, also referred to as "full high definition."

The Eye3 sells for approximately $5,995 and the Eye4 sells for about $1,999.

The company’s main competition comes from Toronto-based Esight and Pleasanton-based Iris Vision.

For Eyedaptic, “ease of use, and being able to accomplish a range of activities are very important,” Cormier said.

“We have algorithms that survey the scene the customer is looking at, and will take autonomous action for the user,” he said. “They don’t have to be pressing any buttons or do anything. That really does set us apart. On the software side.”

Cormier contrasted Eyedaptic’s glasses with Google glasses, the consumer version of which only was on the market for two years, starting in 2013. Cormier described those glasses as having low-resolution, a narrow field-of-view and not evenly distributed, as the optical display was mounted above only one eye.

Our glasses “are like two high-def TV’s right in front of your eyes,” he said.

Eyedaptic partners with Samsung to provide its Galaxy phone, and while it focuses exclusively on software, it does work with manufacturing partners to customize the hardware.

“I think it’s better for our business model and investors, and for our customers, because we can be more nimble and take advantage of the best hardware as it comes to market,” Cormier said.

He declined to disclose any of his “several” hardware partners around the world, and how Eyedaptic works with them to customize the hardware.

Keeping People Independent

For Cormier, it’s not just about helping people see better. It’s about keeping them independent for as long as possible. He noted recent studies that show a strong link between visual impairment and cognitive decline.

Mitul Mehta, a vitreoretinal surgeon at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at UCI and one of the optometrists Cormier initially sought out to help him fully understand the condition, is now a co-founder of the venture. He serves as chief medical officer.

The other co-founders are Dave Watola, the company's CTO, and Brian Kim, an opthalmologist who functions as a medical advisor.

His grandmother, for one, would have benefitted from Eyedaptic’s glasses, Cormier said.

“I wish she was here to use these,” he said. “I think they would have greatly helped her stay independent and enhanced her quality of life.”

His father is now experiencing macular degeneration, “so the glasses can help him and others across the world,” he added.

LA Tech Week 2025: Monday’s Event Lineup

LA Tech Week 2025 begins Monday, October 13, with a citywide program built to inform and connect. Start with morning coffee meetups, drop into afternoon workshops, then close with evening gatherings that keep ideas flowing. The schedule below is organized by neighborhood to help you navigate Monday efficiently and make the most of Day 1.

BEVERY HILLS

8:30 AM

11:00 AM

6:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • Tech for Good: Building Human-Centered Innovation: See Details Here
    Evolving Potential, CoachLabs.ai, Light Dao

BRENTWOOD

9:00 AM

  • How Tech Executives Can End Homelessness: See Details Here
    Better Angels United, Inc.

BURBANK

1:00 PM

CENTURY CITY

6:00 PM

CULVER CITY

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

3:00 PM - 7:30 PM

EL SEGUNDO

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

HAWTHORNE

6:00 PM

  • Startup seed and pre-seed funding through grants: See Details Here
    Ekvacio Venture Services

MALIBU

4:30 PM – 6:45 PM

MARINA DEL REY

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM

6:00 PM

  • Women in Climate Tech Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
    Sawubona

MID CITY

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Return to Vision: A Female Founder's Reset for Clarity, Leadership & Growth: See Details Here
    Immersive Impact, Marketing with Mari

PASADENA

5:30 PM

  • Beautéverse: Where beauty +fashion Tech meet: See Details Here
    Beaute in Tech, The Foundry at Atelier, Candelitas

PLAYA VISTA

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

  • Perform at your Peak: See Details Here
    Product Advisory Collective (PAC), Swift Insights

5:00 PM

  • The AI-Powered Storyteller: Making MarComms a Growth Driver for Tech Companies: See Details Here
    Arteria.io, Ketchum

SANTA MONICA

6:00 AM

7:30 AM

7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

  • Pitch Masters: See Details Here
    iNov8 Capital, Core Family Office, StartupStarter

7:30 AM

  • LA Tech Week Surfing and Tech Networking Meetup: See Details Here
    Cake Equity, Stifel Bank, DLA Piper, TenOneTen, Progression

8:15 AM – 10:30 AM

  • HIIT the Ground Running: Founder + Investor Bootcamp @ Barry’s: See Details Here
    Fenwick

8:00 AM

  • 7500 sq ft venue & speakeasy available: *Invite Only*
    Sportsfest

8:00 AM

9:00 AM

10:00 AM

  • Ganas Ventures Coffee
    Ganas Ventures

10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

  • STARTUP WORLD CUP REGIONAL PITCH 25: See Details Here
    Syndicate AI, Startup World Cup, Alumni Ventures, Hustle Fund

10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

  • 🇧🇷 Brazil Tech for Earth - Innovation & Sustainability: See Details Here
    Brazil California Chamber of Commerce

11:00 AM

  • 2nd Annual LADYDAYDAO #buildinpublic event LA TECH WEEK: *Invite Only*
    TYME INC., SilverDoor / AZOS

12:00 PM

  • Investors at the Cutting Edge Luncheon: See Details Here
    Actuate Ventures, Mercury

12:15 PM

12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

4:00 PM

4:00 PM

4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

  • Mission 008: WhizGirls Academy x Two Bit Circus present : The Great LA Tech Week Mystery 2025: See Details Here
    PlayWerks Inc presents WhizGirls Academy, Two Bit Circus, Startup Starter

4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

  • The Wealth Salons Presents: OGs & LPs.: See Details Here
    The Wealth Salons, DVRGNT Ventures, Musa Capital

4:00 PM

  • Ask a Psychic Medium: Tapping Into your Intuition in Tech: See Details Here
    What to Where

5:00 PM

  • The Wealth Salons Presents: OGs & LPs - LA: *Invite Only*
    The Wealth Salons, DVRGNT Ventures, Musa Capital

5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

  • The Future of Developer Experience: See Details Here
    Deskree, Arthur AI, Grafana Labs, Runware

5:00 PM

  • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup!: See Details Here
    iStore by St. Moritz

5:00 PM

  • Founders' Happy Hour at Esters: See Details Here
    Objective, AllianceBernstein, Law Office of Langston A. Tolbert

5:30 PM

  • OBLIVIOUS: DEATH OF A JOB....The Movie Premiere: See Details Here
    AI Music Video Show, Death of a Job

5:30 PM

  • Techstars Startup Weekend: Consumer x AI by DigitalOcean: See Details Here
    Catalyst Bay, Empat, Techstars

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

  • AI Builders & Innovators in Healthcare: See Details Here
    Product Advisory Collective (PAC), Coalition for Health AI (CHAI)

5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

  • Mission Matters: AI’s impact on Entertainment Investing: See Details Here
    Mission Matters

6:00 PM

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

6:00 PM

  • Speed Networking for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
    Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

  • Cinema 2.0: Technology, Storytelling, and the Future of Film: See Details Here
    Strelitzia Entertainment Syndicate

6:00 PM

6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • Black LA Tech Week Mixer: See Details Here
    Tech Circles: The Gathering Spot, Tec Leimert, NSBE| LA, Black Professional Network

6:30 PM

7:00 PM

  • Decoded: The Tech Behind Music
    HITMKR

7:30 PM

  • Comedy- Tech Pitch Roast Show- Oct. 13: See Details Here
    Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

8:00 PM

  • AfterHours.LA - The Official Unofficial LA Tech Week Nightcap: See Details Here
    Salesbricks, StreetStop, Trinet

VENICE

9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

10:00 AM

10:00 AM

11:00 AM

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

  • The Human House: Connect By Design: See Details Here
    Human To Human, House of Coda

5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Product & Design Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
    Product Managers Association of Los Angeles

6:15 PM - 9:00 PM

6:30 PM

VIRTUAL LA

8:00 AM

8:00 AM

8:00 AM

9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

WEST HOLLYWOOD

8:30 AM

  • AI that Amplifies Human Connection: See Details Here
    Wildwood Ventures, Entrepreneur VC, Mostest

5:30 AM – 8:00 PM

  • Hollywood’s New Golden Age: Thriving in an Age of Disruption: See Details Here
    Workday, Boston Consulting Group, Globalization Partners

6:15 PM

  • ElevenLabs - Cocktails & Convos: *Invite Only*
    ElevenLabs

7:00 PM

  • Apply to Pitch Influencers -Influence Meets Venture Dinner: See Details Here
    Bulletpitch, Justworks, UBS

WESTSIDE

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Each session is a chance to learn, connect, and explore the ideas shaping LA’s tech ecosystem. For full details, RSVP information, and any venue specifics, visit the official Tech Week calendar. Enjoy the kickoff to LA Tech Week 2025!

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California Passes Landmark AI Law as Russell Westbrook Backs Eazewell

🔦 Spotlight

Good Morning Los Angeles,

What do a new California law and Russell Westbrook’s latest startup have in common? AI at its most powerful and most personal.

California has officially passed the nation’s first AI safety law (SB 53). Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the measure requires companies developing large scale AI models to disclose risk assessments and safety testing. On the surface, it sounds procedural. But in practice, it is a potential reset on how quickly AI companies ship new products. For years, the narrative has been “innovation first, oversight later.” With this law, California is betting that transparency can move in tandem with progress. Whether it becomes a model for federal policy or a cautionary tale depends on how the industry responds.

Meanwhile, Eazewell, a newly launched startup co-founded by NBA All Star Russell Westbrook, is tackling one of the most difficult spaces in tech: end of life planning. The company offers an AI platform designed to guide families through complex care transitions. It is not the kind of space most founders rush into. It is emotional, often uncomfortable, and full of fragmented systems. But precisely because of that, the potential impact is significant. By blending AI with healthcare navigation, Eazewell is aiming to make one of life’s hardest processes less overwhelming. Westbrook’s involvement draws attention, but the real story is a startup willing to bring technology into conversations many people would rather avoid.

Taken together, these stories capture the stretch of AI right now. On one end, lawmakers are moving to contain its risks. On the other, founders are pushing it into the most intimate corners of our lives. It is not often that state legislation and end of life care land in the same conversation, but that is the reality of AI in 2025.

🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Midi Health raised $50M in a Series C round led by Advance Venture Partners. The women’s health startup, which focuses on perimenopause, menopause, and midlife care, claims a $150 million revenue run rate and is now building its own AI powered search engine tailored for women’s health. The funding will support scaling operations, expanding the longevity and care services it offers, and investing in AI and infrastructure to advance its platform. - learn more
      • PINC Technologies, a Caltech spinout, announced a $6.8M Seed+ round led by Quantonation, with backing from investors including Wilson Hill Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Hamamatsu Ventures, Qubits Ventures, Santec, and the Caltech Seed Fund. The company develops integrated nonlinear photonic devices and circuits aimed at making scalable nonlinear photonics practical for real-world applications. The funding will be used to accelerate commercialization, scale the team, and bring the technology built in Caltech’s Nonlinear Photonics Lab into broader markets. - learn more
      • Swan announced a Series C financing to support the launch of Swan International, expanding its concierge Bitcoin wealth services globally under U.S.-regulated custody. The company also added a Head of Private Wealth to its team to lead this expansion into new markets. This move aims to position Swan as a high-touch, cross-border wealth platform anchored in crypto. - learn more
      • Vatom announced a strategic investment led by the Hilton Family Office, supporting its mission to power next-generation digital finance engagement. The funding will help Vatom deepen its infrastructure for tokenized assets, NFTs, and blockchain experiences across Web3 ecosystems. This injection positions the company to expand its reach and build tools that make digital finance more immersive and user-centric. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds

      • Powerhouse Capital led a growth funding round for Five Iron Golf UAE’s franchisees, backed by a network of investors and professional athletes. The capital is targeted to fuel expansion, new venues, and enhanced operations across the UAE market. This investment reflects confidence in pairing tech-driven sports entertainment with scalable hospitality models. - learn more
      • MTech Capital remains a backer as CyberCube announces a fresh infusion of more than $180M led by Spectrum Equity. The cyber risk analytics firm is using the capital to accelerate product innovation, expand globally, and deepen its presence across insurance, reinsurance, and broking markets. The investment will help CyberCube scale solutions that quantify cyber risk at portfolio levels and power smarter underwriting decisions. - learn more
      • Helena participated in Phaidra’s $50M Series B round, joining lead investor Collaborative Fund and backers like Index Ventures and NVIDIA. Phaidra builds AI systems to optimize energy, cooling, and operational efficiency in data centers, striving to help infrastructure run smarter. The new funding will be used to scale its platform, deepen customer deployments, and expand its reach in facility control and AI automation. - learn more
      • Lasagna joined DeepWork Capital, Florida Opportunity Fund, and Lookout Ventures in backing Circuitry.ai’s seed financing round. Circuitry.ai offers a Decision Intelligence platform that powers “Autonomous Service Journeys” for manufacturers, layering AI advisors, agents, and analytics to optimize service operations. The funding will help scale engineering and go-to-market teams, deepen integrations with service platforms, and expand the solution across industries like automotive, industrial systems, and medical devices. - learn more
      • B Capital led a $64M seed round in Axiom Math, the startup founded by a Stanford dropout aiming to build an AI system that not only solves the hardest math problems, but also invents new ones. Axiom has pulled talent from top places like Meta to push toward next-gen mathematical reasoning. The funds will support scaling research, expanding the team, and accelerating their vision of AI that thinks deeper in pure and applied math. - learn more
      • Alexandria Venture Investments and Wedbush Healthcare Partners joined the $205M capital raise for Crystalys Therapeutics, which emerged from stealth mode to fund late-stage trials of its gout treatment. The San Diego based biotech is pushing forward dotinurad, a once-daily oral drug being tested across U.S. and European trials for patients who don’t respond to first-line therapies. With this backing, Crystalys aims to fast-track clinical development and bring a needed second-line gout treatment to market. - learn more
      • GordonMD Global Investments joined new and existing backers in Star Therapeutics’ oversubscribed $125M Series D financing round. The biotech, co-led by Sanofi Ventures and Viking Global, is deploying the capital to push forward its lead program VGA039, a monoclonal antibody targeting bleeding disorders. The funds will help accelerate its clinical trials and advance its pipeline toward commercialization. - learn more
      • Hawke Ventures joined a funding round in Tie, which raised $10M in Series A to support its AI identity platform for e-commerce brands. Tie helps retailers reclaim hidden website visitors by identifying and enriching anonymous traffic to build better marketing audiences. The capital will go toward scaling the team, deepening integrations with commerce and marketing stacks, and expanding reach among D2C brands. - learn more
      • Foxhog Ventures led a ₹44.37 crore (~$5.3M USD) seed investment in Assessli, a Kolkata deep-tech startup developing what it calls “Large Behavioural Models” (LBMs) that combine genomics, psychology, and digital life data into highly personalized AI twins. The funding will support Assessli’s expansion into the U.S. and U.K., accelerate product commercialization, and increase its technical hiring to scale out its platform. - learn more
      • Bonfire Ventures participated in Alvys’ $40M Series B round, alongside RTP Global, Alpha Square Group, Titanium Ventures, Picus Capital, and others. Alvys offers an AI powered transportation management system (TMS) that streamlines freight operations including dispatch, load management, billing and analytics by automating workflows and integrating across platforms. The funding will help the company build out enterprise features, scale engineering, deepen integrations, and accelerate growth in the logistics and freight sector. - learn more
      • M13 participated in an $11M Series A round for Anything, an AI platform that turns natural-language prompts into production-ready mobile and web applications. Rather than just generating prototypes, Anything’s backend includes infrastructure like authentication, payments, and storage under the hood. With this funding, the company will scale development, expand its user base (now over 700,000), and deepen its platform capabilities to support full app deployment. - learn more
      • Halogen Ventures closed a $30M Fund III and has committed to invest in early stage startups in Alabama, becoming the first out of state VC to partner with Innovate Alabama’s InvestAL program. They have already begun deploying capital into the state, backing startups like Moxi, Auditocity and Croux, and are actively running pitch events to build a local pipeline. - learn more

      LA Exits

      • Griffin Club has been acquired by Bay Club, deepening Bay Club’s footprint in Los Angeles. Griffin Club is a legacy athletic, aquatic, and social club in West LA, known for features like tennis and pickleball courts, pools, wellness classes, and high-end amenities. Bay Club intends to bring Griffin into its LA campus and integrate it into its broader network of fitness and lifestyle clubs. - learn more
      • Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center has been acquired by Motivant, with Sarah Gabriel installed as its new CEO. The deal brings the med spa franchise into Motivant’s portfolio, aligning it with a growth-focused investment platform. Gabriel’s appointment signals a strategic push to leverage new leadership and scale operations under Motivant’s guidance. - learn more

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            Salt AI Secures $10M to Untangle Healthcare’s Toughest Workflows

            🔦 Spotlight

            Hello Los Angeles,

            Not every startup raise deserves the spotlight, but this week’s news from Salt AI is worth paying attention to. The LA based company just closed a $10 million round led by Morpheus Ventures with participation from Struck Capital, Marbruck Investments and CoreWeave. The goal is to expand what it calls “contextual AI,” and if it works, it could quietly change how some of the most complex corners of healthcare get untangled.

            Healthcare is notorious for slow, clunky systems. Even the smallest workflow, like drug trial data, clinical documentation, or compliance reviews, can drag on for weeks because the tools were never built for speed. Salt AI is betting that the fix is not flashy consumer apps or billion parameter models, but something more practical: AI that slots directly into the day to day grind of life sciences. Their platform lets non technical teams visually build and deploy workflows that would normally take months of coding. Drag, drop, done.

            It sounds simple, but the implications are not. Imagine a biopharma team testing a new drug, able to cut through compliance hurdles in days instead of months. Or clinical researchers spinning up experiments and seeing usable results in real time. Salt AI’s pitch is not about replacing scientists, it is about giving them back time in an industry where time can literally mean lives.

            The new capital will help scale engineering, grow its customer footprint, and push further into healthcare and biopharma. But more importantly, it gives Salt AI the chance to prove that “contextual AI” is more than a buzzword. If they succeed, the company will not just chip away at bottlenecks, it could reshape how innovation itself moves through one of the world’s most heavily regulated and mission critical industries.

            🤝 Venture Deals

                LA Companies

                • Bonsai Health raised $7M in a seed round led by Bonfire Ventures and Wonder Ventures. The Santa Monica based company builds an agentic AI platform that automates front office healthcare workflows, things like patient outreach, scheduling and clinical follow-ups, working behind the scenes to keep patients connected to care and reduce administrative burden. It plans to use the funding to accelerate its specialty AI agents, expand into new medical specialties, and scale its commercialization nationwide. - learn more
                • Genstore raised a $10M Seed round led by Weimob, with participation from Lighthouse Founders’ Fund. The Los Angeles based startup is building an AI-native e-commerce platform that lets merchants launch and run online stores using conversational prompts, automating everything from product listings and copywriting to customer service. The funds will go toward accelerating product development, expanding into new markets, and refining features that simplify online commerce for small and midsized sellers. - learn more
                • TransAstra secured a $5M investment to scale its asteroid capture technology in partnership with NASA. The company aims to advance systems that can snag and repurpose small bodies in space, contributing to sustainable space infrastructure and debris mitigation. With this funding, TransAstra will expand development, deepen its relationship with NASA, and accelerate deployment of its capture hardware. - learn more

                LA Venture Funds

                • Fika Ventures led a seed round investing in MaxHome, joining BBG Ventures, Four Acres and 1Sharpe Ventures. MaxHome is building an AI-native platform focused on automating real estate transaction coordination, the messy, manual work that slows deals. Fika backed the team because it sees a huge opportunity in streamlining broker workflows, reducing errors, and improving the experience for agents and homebuyers alike. - learn more
                • MANTIS Ventures joined NEA, Sequoia, NVIDIA, J.P. Morgan and others in leading a $50M Series B for Factory, valuing the AI coding company at $300 million. Factory builds “droids,” AI agents that automate software development tasks across environments, and claims their platform now tops the Terminal Bench benchmark. With this capital, Factory aims to expand enterprise adoption, deepen integrations, and scale its engineering team globally. - learn more
                • SafeHill (formerly Tacticly) announced a $2.6M pre-seed round led by Mucker Capital, with participation from Chingona Ventures, Techstars, Chicago Early Growth Ventures, The Source Groups, and others. The Chicago-based cybersecurity startup is launching from stealth with SecureIQ, a continuous Threat Exposure Management platform that blends AI-driven testing with human validation to help organizations find and shore up attack paths. The funding will be used to expand engineering, enhance AI-assisted ethical hacking, deepen enterprise partnerships, and broaden compliance and monitoring capabilities. - learn more
                • Prototype Capital was among the investors in Nilo Technologies’ $4M seed round, alongside backers like Supercell, a16z Speedrun, KFund, and Flex Capital. Nilo is building an AI native 3D creation platform that makes game development more accessible, letting creators build interactive worlds in their browser without complex tooling. The funding will help accelerate product development, bring in more users as “Founding Builders,” and expand the platform’s capabilities for real time, multiplayer creation. - learn more
                • Rebel Fund participated in a $7.5M funding round for Indian fintech Gold Firm Gullak backed by Y Combinator. Gullak offers digital gold savings and lending solutions targeted at underbanked consumers in India. Rebel Fund’s investment will help Gullak scale operations, deepen financial inclusion, and expand its product offerings. - learn more
                • B Capital joined Wellington Management, General Catalyst and others in a $400M funding round for Capital Rx, which is rebranding as Judi Health. The company, which operates a pharmacy benefits management platform, will use the capital to expand into full-spectrum health benefits, integrating medical, dental and vision claims processing with its existing PBM capabilities. The move positions Judi Health as a unified tech backbone for benefits administration across employer and plan clients. - learn more
                • Supply Change Capital joined a seed funding round that raised $4.7M for Helios AI, a startup building the first AI co-pilot for food and agriculture supply chains. Helios’ platform combines climate modeling, commodity forecasting, and real-time data to help buyers and suppliers make smarter decisions in volatile markets. The funding will be used to scale the product, expand data coverage globally, and bring its AI tools to more players across the agri-food sector. - learn more

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