Glytch Wants to Build 32 Esports Arenas Across the Country. The Industry is Skeptical.

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Glytch Wants to Build 32 Esports Arenas Across the Country. The Industry is Skeptical.
Credit: Glytch

An undisclosed location along 405 Freeway could soon be home to one of the biggest experiments in esports’ evolution: A hulking, postmodern 3,000-person arena packed with professional-grade gaming tech that could serve as a meeting place for fans of all ages.

And if Irvine-based Glytch has its way, the stadium would be the first of many.

The company is poised to build 32 esports arenas across the nation in the next decade, betting big on a vision of competitive video game playing that follows the model of more traditional sports, where in-person action and ticketing income is key.


But others in the local esports market have pulled back on their plans for stadiums, focusing instead on the lucrative merchandising and sponsorship income that ballooned during the pandemic.

After a whirlwind few years when interest in esports skyrocketed, the industry is grappling with what the future of competitive play looks like.

In particular, teams and tournament organizers are facing a critical question: Is an in-person presence necessary to their operations?

‘Fans Need a Home’

Glytch is one esports outfit gunning for more arenas, betting that ambitious, state-of-the-art facilities could draw in even larger crowds by providing a centralized infrastructure for esports.

The company is currently working on the first of its stadiums in Los Angeles, home to a slew of top-talent esports teams and gaming companies, including TSM, Immortals, Cloud 9, Team Liquid and FaZe Clan. All have bases or training facilities in L.A.; none own stadium space, although gaming organization 100 Thieves operates its own broadcast center at its Culver City headquarters.

Glytch co-founder and chief financial officer Michael Williams wouldn’t disclose the exact location for his planned stadium, but he’s already inked a partnership with events company Legends that would see the New York-based firm – which has deals with Inglewood’s SoFi stadium and the LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium Downtown – operating all Glytch’s completed venues.

“There’s a lot of different stadiums [esports teams] can play at, but ultimately [fans] need a home,” Glytch’s CEO, Gerome Seeney told dot.LA.

The company’s custom-built arenas will each cost between $54 million and $75 million to construct and encompass 1,500 to 3,000 seats across a total 120,000 square feet, combined with a mixed-use stage and broadcasting capabilities.

Glytch is looking to subsidize some of that development cost with municipal funds. While it is not seeking city funding in LA, the company is “exploring” bond agreements with the cities of Chicago and Atlanta, Williams said.

Glytch, which counts Joe Montana and Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin among its investors, plans to host at least 16 events each month. While it won't say precisely how much esports event tickets will cost, non-esports event tickets average around $80 in Los Angeles per Pollstar data, Williams said, adding that he was optimistic that price will continue to rise.

Williams wouldn’t disclose how much Glytch has raised since its 2020 launch but said, “the vast majority of our funding is from sports industry people, not venture people.”

Williams’ prior ventures include esports tournament organizer Oomba and video arcade chain GameWorks, which shut down in December 2021.

Glytch plans to generate revenue by hosting other events at its venues, along with esports.

“Today, we might have an esports event, tomorrow, there might be a TED talk,” Seeney said.

There currently aren’t any sponsors lined up to slap their name on Glytch’s forthcoming arena, and it’s too early for teams to be signed up to play there. Williams said Legends is responsible for courting naming rights deals roughly a year prior to opening.

To cater to a more casual crowd, Glytch’s stadium will contain a place for people to rent equipment to play live games on a local area network (also called a LAN center).

“We plan to charge very little for our LAN center because that will not be our primary source of income,” Williams said. “Having great gaming machines at a reasonable rental rate is not sufficient to pay the high rents charged in the L.A. basin. Instead, the company must have a complete solution that includes multiple revenue sources.”

And the venue would be part of a “broader, master-planned… entertainment, sports and wellness district” with a number of tenants and upcoming projects, according to Brian Mirakian, who works for Populous, the architecture firm tasked with designing the complex. The firm has helped build 1,300 sports stadiums globally, and is now working on a redesign of the L.A. Convention Center.

Mirakian compared Glytch to Topgolf, the driving range chain that recently opened a facility in El Segundo, adding that “there's a tremendous amount of excitement around returning to the live events.”

He said the arena is in the “early stages of design” and hasn’t yet broken ground – its estimated opening is first quarter of 2025.

Glytch isn’t alone in its ambitions to build an in-person esports center in the city.

Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owner of the LA Times, announced plans to build “the Staples Center of esports” adjacent to the Times’ El Segundo headquarters in 2019, but construction never got underway, though his company did build a seven-acre lot near the El Segundo campus that hosts Epic Games’ L.A. production lab.

Hillary Manning, a spokeswoman for Soon-Shiong, told dot.LA the billionaire hasn’t totally abandoned plans for a stadium.

“The Soon-Shiongs remain interested and invested in esports and are still considering building an esports arena,” she said.

A rendering of the design of Glytch's esports arena, which it says will seat thousands.Credit: Glytch

Competition, Live and At Home

Paying for premium stadium real estate could be difficult if people fail to show up, and many in the esports world see venues as an unnecessary money suck, given that fans have become used to not watching in-person.

“The beauty of the sport is it clearly doesn't matter” where fans are, said Bruce Stein, former co-founder of esports organization Team Liquid. “It's a different kind of affinity and connection, and it works really best online… that means you have to adapt your business to it.”

The pandemic prompted a renewed interest in watching esports – the global fan base is set to grow nearly 9% annually to 532 million people by the end of this year, according to analysts at Newzoo.

The esports industry, which is on pace to rake in nearly $1.4 billion by the end of 2022, has been doing just fine without a concentrated network of in-person venues, especially because many tune in strictly online. Its unprecedented rise during the pandemic has been thanks mainly to lucrative sponsorship deals, which made up an estimated 60% of the entire market.

“A typical day for us would be like 4,000 people at our facility and 100,000 people online,” Williams speculated.

Reaching a broad audience is key to not going bankrupt when you’re a facility owner. One cautionary tale: OGN’s now defunct 35,000-square-foot esports arena.

The South Korean broadcast company moved into a Manhattan Beach arena in 2018 but couldn’t fill the seats.

“They couldn't book it enough and it didn't drive enough revenue and we shut it down,” said Greg Lovett, executive managing director of Cushman Wakefield’s L.A. realty office, who oversaw the deal while working at Cresa Partners.

“We had to sublease it to a production company,” he said, adding that OGN ultimately found that, unlike South Korea, U.S. gamers just weren’t used to going out to see live esports events.

Another example: Irvine’s now defunct Esports Arena. According to an insider, the property was built by a mall operator unfamiliar with the specifics of building a venue for hundreds or thousands of spectators. The arena quickly shut down because it couldn’t get enough fans through the doors each month to keep the lights on.

“An audience-rated facility is very expensive, and very difficult for permitting because of fire safety,” Lovett said. “If you go to the city today and say, ‘I want to build something like [an esports arena], that’s a mega-project,” he said, adding that retrofitting a building to be a stadium instead of custom construction is “almost impossible."

Glytch’s plans for an esports stadium differ from OGN’s and the Esports Arena’s in terms of scale: Glytch wants its first L.A. outpost to be part of a network of nationwide arenas that all feed into the esports fandom and prop up company revenue.

Williams said he thinks esports can succeed if it mirrors traditional sports, partly because that’s an ecosystem that regional fans – but perhaps more crucially, big-box advertisers with sponsorship cash to flex – are familiar with.

“We had the idea of, ‘Let's build these sports stadiums across America. If esports is the next NFL, then there ought to be stadiums,’” Williams said.

A rendering of the design of Glytch's esports arena, which it says will seat thousands.Credit: Glytch

If You Build It, Will They Come?

Still others in the industry see an opportunity for a forward-thinking company backed by investors with deep pockets and vision to build esports into an in-person event in the U.S. But much will depend on whether fans prove interested and venue operators are able to find sponsorship.

“Most esports organizations don’t own a stadium,” said Dominic Kallas, vice president of esports company TSM, which operates 12 teams from its base in Playa Vista.

Kallas said TSM’s focus is on sponsor deals, but he noted that it recently inked a $210 million naming rights deal with cryptocurrency exchange FTX in early June.

“You can stay profitable off of doing large deals like that” to offset pricier franchise or venue costs, Kallas said.

Williams told dot.LA that Glytch’s arenas will have to rake in at least $8 million across box office, merchandising and concessions in order to break even, but is targeting $10 million annually.

Others agreed that the potential is there, but say the model still hasn’t been created, in the U.S., at least.

“I think that there is a bigger demand, if people can figure out the programming side of it,” said Erik Anderson, head of esports for gaming group FaZe Clan.

“On our side, it's something that we find super interesting at a certain size, [but] when it goes over a certain size, it's no longer interesting and starts to become a burden… There's a certain size when experimenting is no longer an option, because it's too expensive,” Anderson said, adding that “1,000 seats might be too much in the current marketplace.”

Riot Games’ Esports Event Producer Daniel Lee said he thinks locality plays a role in esports, but isn’t convinced that means stadiums would play the same role as they do for other types of sports.

“I believe a city-based [team] will create fandom,” he said. “But traditional sports and esports are completely different beings,” he said, added.

Stein agreed.

“If you try to make it look the same, you're investing for the wrong reason. You may get much more out of it than traditional sports, but don't try to make it the same just because there's competition.”

For his part, Williams said he isn’t daunted by the prospect of building the stadiums along with the market for them.

“We hope that we can be the home team [stadium]” for all local esports teams, he said, adding “I hope the numbers in esports continue to grow, the way football has.”

As the industry transitions back into blockbuster events and in-person championship, will esports follow a trajectory that mirrors the NFL’s rise to its place as an intrinsic part of American sports culture? The answer may simply depend on who shows up.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the make-up of Glytch's founding team.

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Snap’s AI, Paramount’s RTO, and NeueHouse’s Exit: LA’s Wild Week

🔦 Spotlight

Good Morning LA,

If you blinked this week, you might’ve missed Snap unveiling new AI-powered Lenses, NeueHouse announcing its closure, and Paramount rolling out a five-day return to office mandate. Let’s get into it.

First up: Snap. The company introduced its new “Imagine” Lenses powered by generative AI. Instead of the playful filters we all know, these tools feel closer to an on-demand art studio, letting people turn imagination into visuals instantly. It shows Snap leaning into what it does best: pushing the boundaries of how we express ourselves through the camera.

Meanwhile, NeueHouse announced it will be closing. Known for blending hospitality, community and high-design workspaces, it attracted a mix of entertainment, design and tech professionals who wanted something beyond the typical co-working setup. Its exit comes as Paramount is moving in the opposite direction, requiring employees to return to the office full time starting in January. Together, these moves highlight the different paths workplaces are taking in a post-hybrid world, from phasing out to doubling down.

On the global stage, the world’s eyes are on Berlin, where IFA 2025 is underway. The trade show is buzzing with foldable devices, wearables and AI-powered appliances that are blurring the line between tool and companion. The innovations debuting there are setting the tone for what consumers and startups everywhere will soon be building with, competing against and dreaming beyond. For those following along, The Verge is running live coverage with updates on the biggest reveals.

And finally, OpenAI announced a new jobs platform, aimed at connecting workers with opportunities in an AI-driven economy. It is positioned as a way to broaden access and help talent navigate shifting industries. For engineers, creatives and founders alike, it is another signal that collaborating with AI is not a future skill, it is a present-day requirement.

🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Venture Funds

      • FirstLook Partners participated in Hello Patient’s $22.5M Series A round, which backs the Austin based conversational AI platform transforming patient intake and communications. Hello Patient’s technology, handling voice, text, and chat conversations, helps healthcare providers streamline appointments, reduce missed calls, and improve patient access. The fresh funding will accelerate enhancements to its AI driven platform and support expansion to healthcare organizations nationwide. - learn more
      • Hyperlink Ventures joined Mojo Vision’s $75M Series B Prime funding round to support the expansion of its high performance micro LED platform. Mojo Vision plans to leverage the investment to accelerate commercialization of its wafers in, wafers out micro LED technology, which merges advanced silicon architecture, GaN on silicon emitters, quantum dots, and micro lens arrays to power next generation AI devices and infrastructure. - learn more
      • Fika Ventures joined Dispatch’s $18M Series A round, helping to bring its total funding to $30M. Dispatch provides AI powered, automated data orchestration for wealth management firms, eliminating repetitive tasks, streamlining client onboarding, and ensuring real time, connected client data. The new capital will fuel the expansion of its agentic workflows and further development of its AI ready infrastructure for advisors. - learn more
      • TenOneTen Ventures participated in Elysian’s $6M seed round to support the company’s AI native third party administration platform for commercial insurance claims. Elysian’s technology automates the complex, document heavy middle of claim handling by surfacing coverage insights and drafting communications so adjusters can focus on making strategic decisions. The funding will help accelerate go to market efforts, enhance customer onboarding, and scale both delivery operations and the underlying AI platform. - learn more
      • M13 participated in Allocate’s $30.5M Series B round, backing the company’s platform that helps wealth advisors and family offices access and manage private market investments. The new funding will support expansion of its AI-powered infrastructure and workflow automation, as well as broaden its reach beyond venture capital into private equity and credit. - learn more
      • Walkabout Ventures took the lead in Advisor.com’s $9M seed round. Advisor.com operates an AI-powered platform that pairs investors, especially those with under $500,000 in investable assets, with vetted fiduciary financial advisors. The funds will be used to accelerate customer acquisition, enhance its advisor matching technology, and expand its network of top-tier advisors. - learn more
      • Ares Management participated in ID.me’s latest funding, where the company raised a total of $340M in a Series E round combined with a credit facility, pushing its valuation above $2 billion. ID.me, a digital identity wallet trusted by more than 152 million users, will use the capital to scale access to secure, reusable digital identities and bolster its defenses against increasingly AI-driven fraud. - learn more
      • Core Innovation Capital participated in Flex’s $15M Series A funding round. Flex is a payments infrastructure platform that enables health and wellness retailers to accept Health Savings Account (HSA) and Flexible Spending Account (FSA) funds at checkout. With this investment, Flex plans to scale its enterprise reach, enhance its core technology, and grow its team to help merchants tap into more than $150 billion in underutilized pre‑tax health spending. - learn more
      • F4 Fund joined Camera Intelligence’s $2M seed funding round. The company is developing an AI-powered camera system that embeds a large language model (LLM) directly into a Micro Four Thirds mirrorless camera, simplifying content creation through voice-activated controls and in-camera editing. The new capital will accelerate the build-out of this integrated AI-native camera and content editing solution, with an LLM feature set to launch on iOS in fall 2025. - learn more

      LA Exits

      • Air Lease Corporation has entered into a merger agreement to be acquired by a consortium including Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo-managed funds, and Brookfield in an all cash deal expected to close in the first half of 2026. Shareholders will receive $65 per share, valuing the company at about $7.4 billion or $28.2 billion including debt, and the company will be rebranded as Sumisho Air Lease with SMBC set to manage its fleet and order book. - learn more

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      LA Startup Powering Immigrant Workforce Secures $7.5M

      🔦 Spotlight

      Happy Friday, Los Angeles,

      It’s Labor Day weekend, which means most of us are thinking about a little time off. But one LA startup is laser focused on work, specifically on the millions of immigrant workers who keep the U.S. economy running.

      This week, Welcome Tech raised $7.5 million to expand its AI powered platform that connects immigrant communities with U.S. employers. If you’re not familiar, Welcome Tech has quietly become one of the most important bridges between immigrant workers and the American labor market. The company offers a suite of services, from job matching and financial tools to healthcare and education, built specifically for immigrant families navigating systems that weren’t designed with them in mind.

      The scale is staggering. Welcome Tech already supports more than 4.5 million registered members, and its enterprise partnerships have tripled in the last year. Revenue is up more than 200 percent year over year. With this new funding, the company plans to double down on AI, personalizing onboarding, automating job matching, and expanding multilingual support so workers can find opportunities faster and employers can access a motivated workforce with fewer barriers.

      Welcome Tech’s growth also underscores something very LA: this city runs on immigrant talent, and the systems that support them often lag behind. By building infrastructure tailored to this workforce, Welcome Tech isn’t just scaling a business, it’s tackling a gap that traditional employers and institutions have ignored for decades.

      As Labor Day weekend rolls in, it’s a reminder that the real labor story isn’t just about time off, it’s about how companies like Welcome Tech are reshaping access to opportunity in one of the country’s most essential workforces.

      And with that, let’s get into this week’s venture deals across LA.

      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Payment Labs, a Los Angeles based fintech specializing in seamless payment workflows for industries like sports, esports, and the creator economy, has closed an oversubscribed $3.25M seed funding round led by Aperture Venture Capital. The company’s API powered SaaS platform, already trusted by Microsoft, SEGA, X Games, and more, simplifies complex global pay ins and payouts across 150+ currencies and 180+ countries while integrating tax compliance, royalty distributions, and reporting. This new capital will accelerate expansion of tailored payment solutions and bolster operations to support high growth verticals. - learn more

        LA Venture Funds

        • Clocktower Technology Ventures, participated in Momento Seguros’ $10.25M Series A round. The Mexico City based digital auto insurer is leveraging the capital to expand its full-stack platform, offering flexible, mobile-first coverage tailored to underserved drivers. By modernizing payments, underwriting, and claims processing, Momento aims to disrupt a traditionally rigid insurance market with transparent, user-centric solutions. - learn more
        • Dangerous Ventures participated in Copper’s $28M funding round aimed at scaling the world’s first battery equipped induction range. The Berkeley based company builds plug and play induction stoves with built in batteries that run on standard 120 volt outlets, simplifying electrification of cooking while offering backup power during outages. Copper plans to use the new funds to expand production, develop new appliances, and leverage its grid friendly design, already under contract to deliver 10,000 units to public housing, to drive broader adoption of clean, efficient cooking solutions. - learn more
        • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Leal Therapeutics’ $30M Series A round, joining a syndicate that includes SV Health Investors’ Dementia Discovery Fund, OrbiMed, Newpath Partners, Chugai Venture Fund, Euclidean Capital, and PhiFund. Leal is advancing its neuro metabolic pipeline with lead programs LTX 001 moving into clinical trials for schizophrenia and LTX 002 progressing toward initial clinical data in ALS. This funding will also support the advancement of additional pipeline candidates and technologies aimed at delivering transformative treatments for CNS disorders. - learn more
        • Impatient Ventures and Riot Ventures participated in Blue Water Autonomy’s $50M Series A funding round to accelerate development of autonomous, long range ships designed for the U.S. Navy. The capital will be used to build and deploy the firm's first full sized autonomous ship by next year and support rapid scaling, as the team has already quadrupled since its seed round while completing engineering tests and securing materials from over 50 suppliers. This funding brings the company’s total raised to $64 million and underscores growing momentum around U.S. maritime innovation. - learn more
        • TenOneTen Ventures joined a $3.5M seed round in Loman AI, supporting the Austin based startup’s efforts to transform restaurant operations using voice AI. Loman’s AI phone agent handles call volume by taking orders, booking reservations, answering FAQs, and integrating smoothly with POS systems, helping restaurants boost revenue by up to 22% while cutting labor costs by as much as 17%. This new funding will accelerate product development and team expansion as demand for Loman’s platform grows nationwide. - learn more
        • CIV participated in AiGent’s $6M seed round, backing the AI driven startup’s mission to transform idle backup generators into a powerful decentralized grid resource. AiGent’s platform aggregates and orchestrates distributed generation assets including those at commercial, industrial, and mission critical facilities like AI data centers, turning them into rapidly dispatchable “distributed power plants.” This innovative approach not only enhances grid reliability and reduces costs but also opens up new revenue streams for asset owners without the time, cost, or disruption of building additional infrastructure. - learn more
        • Blue Bear Capital led a $12.4M SAFE funding round in Splight, supporting the San Francisco-based grid technology company’s mission to dramatically expand transmission capacity using machine-learning. The new capital will fuel deployment of Splight’s flagship Dynamic Congestion Management™ across U.S. and European grids—helping alleviate long interconnection delays and renewables curtailment by intelligently leveraging existing infrastructure. This round also secures Splight’s ability to scale both its commercial and technical teams amid surging demand from AI data centers and utilities. - learn more
        • Amboy Street Ventures participated in Nest Health’s $12.5M Series A round to support the expansion of its whole family, in home care model for Medicaid populations. Nest Health leverages AI powered clinical services, from medical to behavioral and social support, to deliver care at home while cutting churn and improving outcomes, including reduced ER visits and higher vaccination rates. The company will use the funding to scale its AI enabled care offerings into new regions and enhance partnerships with payors. - learn more
        • VamosVentures participated in Kira’s $6.7M seed funding round, supporting the AI driven fintech infrastructure platform as it emerges from stealth. The capital will enable Kira to expand across Latin America, especially South America, scale its technical team, and accelerate development of new embedded financial products powered by stablecoins, AI agents, and enterprise grade APIs. Kira aims to streamline financial services in markets with large underbanked populations and has already generated $3 million in revenue in its first year. - learn more

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                    Forget Rockets, This Long Beach Startup Spins Satellites Into Orbit

                    🔦 Spotlight

                    Hello Los Angeles!

                    It may be scorching this weekend, but the real heat is coming out of Long Beach, where SpinLaunch just raised $30 million to accelerate its Meridian Space satellite constellation. If you’ve heard of SpinLaunch before, it’s probably because of its wild approach: instead of burning tons of rocket fuel, the company literally spins payloads in a giant centrifuge before releasing them into the sky. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s one of the boldest bets on making access to orbit cheaper, faster, and more sustainable.

                    Image Source: SpinLaunch

                    The new funding will go toward advancing Meridian Space, a low Earth orbit broadband network that aims to deliver flexible, affordable global connectivity. With its first customer links expected in 2026, the project has the potential to do more than beam internet. It could reshape how enterprises, defense networks, and communities around the world connect. For Los Angeles, it’s a reminder that our region isn’t just about building the next social app or entertainment platform. We’re also home to the companies trying to redefine the very infrastructure of the digital age.

                    And while space tech often feels far away, SpinLaunch keeps its roots planted firmly here. Its headquarters and orbital accelerator facility sit right in Long Beach, reinforcing Southern California’s reputation as a launchpad for both aerospace and climate conscious innovation. After all, swapping fuel heavy rockets for a ground based launch system isn’t just cost effective, it’s far greener.

                    So while you’re cranking the A/C this weekend, remember SpinLaunch is busy cranking satellites into orbit, proving once again that in Los Angeles we don’t just chase the stars, we spin new ways to reach them.

                    🤝 Venture Deals

                    LA Companies

                      • Wellth, a Los Angeles–based digital health company focused on daily care motivation and behavior change strategies, has closed an oversubscribed $36M Series C round led by Mercato Partners. The funds will be used to expand access to its platform across Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, D SNP, and other high-need populations, while also accelerating product innovation including introducing generative AI capabilities to personalize engagement, backed by strong performance metrics like 90 percent care plan adherence, a 51 percent drop in inpatient admissions, and a 16 percent boost in medication adherence. - learn more

                        LA Venture Funds

                          • Presight Capital participated in General Fusion’s oversubscribed $22M financing round, helping the Canadian fusion energy company push forward with its LM26 demonstration program. The fresh capital will drive progress toward key scientific milestones in Magnetized Target Fusion technology such as high temperature plasma generation and renew momentum on the path to commercializing clean fusion energy. The round also brings new board members onboard to fortify leadership as General Fusion advances toward a zero carbon energy future. - learn more
                          • B Capital led a new Series C strategic growth investment in CompanyCam. The construction tech platform, known for its AI-powered job site documentation and workflow tools, will use the funding to expand globally, deepen AI integration, and enhance product features. WndrCo also participated in the round, backing CompanyCam’s push to transform contractor productivity. - learn more
                          • Clocktower Ventures participated in Relcu’s latest funding round. Relcu provides an AI powered “system of action” for financial services that helps institutions streamline workflows, improve customer engagement, and drive growth. The company will use the new capital to extend its CRM and AI Agent Co Pilot beyond mortgage into deposits, lending, and other areas by enhancing AI integration, expanding APIs, and embedding intelligent automation to boost conversion, retention, and cross sell. - learn more
                          • UP Partners participated in Loft Dynamics’ latest $24M Series B funding round. The Swiss based VR flight training company will use the investment to expand its revolutionary pilot training solutions, built on FAA and EASA qualified VR simulators, into commercial aviation, launching full motion Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 systems alongside cloud connected, AI enhanced tools and immersive at home training kits. - learn more
                          • Upfront Ventures led the $5.6M Series A funding for Agenda Hero. The San Francisco based AI platform helps users eliminate manual calendar work by transforming text, images, and PDFs into fully structured, shareable events and schedules. The new capital will accelerate AI features, expand calendar integrations, and scale adoption across individuals, teams, and organizations. - learn more
                          • Thiel Capital participated in Stark’s latest $62M funding round, which was led by Sequoia Capital and brings the German startup's valuation to around $500 million. Stark, founded in 2024, specializes in AI powered loitering munitions and command and control systems for battlefield drones, and plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its autonomous navigation, swarming capabilities, and expand production into new markets like the UK. Doepfner Capital also joined the round, backing Stark’s push to scale its defense technology. - learn more
                          • Crosscut Ventures and Vamos Ventures joined Aalo Atomics’ $100M Series B funding round, supporting the Austin‑based company’s mission to deploy modular nuclear reactors tailored for AI data centers. Aalo plans to build its first full-scale reactor, dubbed Aalo‑X, by next summer, co‑locating it with an experimental data center to showcase how factory‑produced nuclear plants can deliver clean, reliable power rapidly. This latest capital infusion accelerates Aalo’s deployment timeline and reinforces its strategy of mass manufacturing scalable nuclear infrastructure for the AI era. - learn more
                          • Overture VC co-led a $7M seed round in ChemFinity Technologies to boost its deployment of modular, sorbent-based systems that recover over 20 critical minerals from waste streams at low cost. The funds will help the company pilot and scale its high-performance technology, enabling domestic recovery of valuable metals like rare earth elements and platinum, while reducing reliance on imports and lowering environmental impact. - learn more
                          • Muse Capital led a high profile strategic investment in Ohai.ai, the AI powered household assistant founded by Care.com veteran Sheila Lirio Marcelo, joining a star studded lineup of backers including Olivia Munn, Mindy Kaling, and Abby Wambach. The new funding will accelerate Ohai.ai’s mission to relieve parental mental load, launching a back to school feature that lets families automatically sync school calendars by ZIP code or flyer, making household planning significantly smoother. - learn more
                          • Navitas Capital, alongside other investors, participated in EliseAI’s $250M Series E funding round. The New York-based AI company automating complex systems in healthcare and housing, will use the new capital to rapidly scale its team, enhance product innovation, and accelerate deployment of its AI-powered automation platform across front-desk operations, resident services, and beyond. The company has already doubled its workforce since its Series D, surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, and aims to expand its impact across multiple stressful sectors. - learn more
                          • Bedrock participated in TensorZero’s $7.3M seed round to advance its open source infrastructure for building industrial grade LLM applications. TensorZero offers an integrated stack covering LLM gateways, observability, optimization, evaluation, and experimentation, all designed to create a data driven “learning flywheel” that turns feedback into smarter, faster model performance and is rapidly gaining traction with developers and enterprises alike. - learn more
                          • Calibrate Ventures co-led a $6M seed round in Grid Aero, backing the aerospace startup’s debut of its Lifter Lite drone, an autonomous heavy lift aircraft designed to deliver thousands of pounds over long distances in challenging environments. The seed funding will drive testing and scaling efforts as Grid Aero readies for ground trials and positions the “pickup truck of the skies” as a low cost, modular logistics solution for military and future commercial use. - learn more
                          • Chapter One participated in Hyperbeat’s oversubscribed $5.2M seed round. Hyperbeat will use the new capital to expand its suite of on-chain tools such as staking tokens, high yield vaults, credit layers, and portfolio tracking aimed at simplifying and enhancing DeFi yield generation for traders, protocols, and institutions. The round underscores growing institutional confidence in Hyperliquid’s expanding ecosystem, which recently surpassed $2.1 billion in total value locked. - learn more
                              LA Exits
                              • SpectrumAi has been acquired by CentralReach, a leading provider of autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities care software, alongside fellow acquisition AI.Measures. The deals expand CentralReach’s Care360 platform with advanced tools including predictive analytics, real time decision support, and individualized assessment capabilities that help providers deliver outcomes based care. Leadership from both acquired companies will join CentralReach, further strengthening its ability to empower providers, payors, and families with intelligent, results driven therapy solutions. - learn more

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