First Resonance Lands $3.5M as Aerospace and EV Manufacturing Expand

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

First Resonance

A work collaboration and inventory management software for aerospace manufacturers — including rocket-part maker Phase Four — First Resonance is poised to take off.

The startup raised a $3.5 million Series A on Wednesday, and will use the funding to expand its footprint in Los Angeles.

Eventually, the downtown-based company wants to be the software behind a new wave of mobility, from jetpacks to air taxis.


First Resonance initially targeted aerospace companies, but has since expanded to other industries, including automotive and robotics. CEO Karan Talati said the company eventually plans to help build air taxis.

"We're bringing on companies even right now that start to get into the kind of blurry lines of what the future of mobility looks like," Talati said.

First ResonanceA screenshot of First Resonance's inventory management software.

First Resonance

The new round of funding will allow the company to double — "if not triple" — its headcount by the end of this quarter and develop its main product, the Ion factory management software, which allows manufacturers to automate and streamline operations.

The funding round was led by Blue Bear Capital, a Beverly Hills-based venture capital firm that looks to invest in automation, artificial intelligence and the industrialization of renewable energy.

First Resonance has now raised a total of $5.3 million since its 2018 launch.

The startup began working remotely last March. Its six-person team is made up of engineers that come from top manufacturers in town including SpaceX, Toyota and NASA.

Blue Bear Capital partners Ernst Sack and Vaughn Blake decided to invest in First Resonance because they saw the long-tail potential for First Resonance's software as the market for electric cars soar and the space market expands.

Karan Talati

First Resonance CEO Karan Talati

Manufacturing in both of those areas requires a complex set of processes.

"At the global level, the revolution of next-gen manufacturing is critical to solving the climate and mobility challenges that we'll be facing in the years ahead," Blake said. "First Resonance' software ignites that revolution by enabling the manufacturing workflows required to electrify transport, reach orbit and propel satellites."

The software lets factories automate their manufacturing and manage their supply chains, freeing up more time for engineers to focus on futuristic designs, Talati said. It also uses data visualization and analytics to help builders troubleshoot design issues.

First Resonance is already backed by notable firms including Santa Monica-based Wavemaker Partners and Westwood-based Fika Ventures, but Blue Bear has a foothold in Texas, where aerospace activity and manufacturing are exploding, giving it an edge over other firms. Elon Musk has reportedly moved to Austin, and some of SpaceX's manufacturing has migrated to Boca Chica Village in Texas.

"It's been really great [to access] new customer acquisition or networks, with their extended team in San Francisco as well as Texas," Talati said, noting at First Resonance has plans to expand far beyond Los Angeles' borders.

https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la

Subscribe to our newsletter to catch every headline.

Relativity Space Launches World’s First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Falls Short of Orbit

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Relativity Space Launches World’s First 3D-Printed Rocket, But Falls Short of Orbit
Photo: Relativity Space

The largest 3D-printed object to ever fly had liftoff yesterday as Long Beach-based Relativity Space launched its Terran 1 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Terran 1 lifted off from Cape Canaveral at around 7 p.m. PST March 22. It was Relativity’s third attempt at sending Terran 1 to the cosmos and the nighttime launch was quite a sight to behold. The clarity of the night sky was perfect to see the blue jets of flame cascading out of Terran 1’s nine Aeon 1 engines, all 3D-printed, as the rocket took off.

Read moreShow less
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la

Sports Stadiums Are Turning to Immersive Sound to Keep Fans Engaged

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College and previously covered technology and entertainment for TheWrap and reported on the SoCal startup scene for the Los Angeles Business Journal. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Sports Stadiums Are Turning to Immersive Sound to Keep Fans Engaged
Photo: Edge Sound Research

In 2020, the Minnesota Twins experimented with a new technology that brought fans the ability to physically feel the sounds they were hearing in the stadium in the back of their seats as part of a new immersive way to experience baseball.

The tech was made by Riverside-based startup Edge Sound Research, which built a mobile lounge – basically, a small seating section equipped with its technology and on wheels to travel around the stadium – for Twins fans to experience what it calls “embodied audio” around Target field. It was a bid on the Twins’ part to keep fans more engaged during the game, and Edge Sound Research CEO Valtteri Salomaki said the Twins were impressed.

Read moreShow less
https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la

LA Venture: B Capital’s Howard Morgan on What To Look For in Potential Founders

Decerry Donato

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.

LA Venture: B Capital’s Howard Morgan on What To Look For in Potential Founders
Provided by LAV

On this episode of the LA Venture podcast, B Capital Group General Partner and Chair Howard Morgan discusses his thoughts on early stage investing and the importance of company ownership.


Read moreShow less
RELATEDEDITOR'S PICKS
LA TECH JOBS
interchangeLA
Trending