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XLooking to Build a Granny Flat in Your Backyard? Meet the Firms and Designs Pre-Approved in LA
Favot is an award-winning journalist and adjunct instructor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She previously was an investigative and data reporter at national education news site The 74 and local news site LA School Report. She's also worked at the Los Angeles Daily News. She was a Livingston Award finalist in 2011 and holds a Master's degree in journalism from Boston University and BA from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.
Adding a backyard home in Los Angeles is now nearly as easy as buying a barbecue.
Homeowners who for years have wanted to build a granny flat in their backyard, but dreaded the red tape, can now choose from 20 pre-designed homes that the city has already approved for use.
The shift, made official last week, will speed up a weeks-long process and bring more badly needed units to an overpriced market. It also has the potential to elevate the 14 startups and firms building the next generation of homes.
The designs for the stand-alone residences range from a 200-square-foot studio to a 1,200-square foot, two-story, two-bedroom unit. And many of the homes are filled with design flourishes, reflecting the diverse architecture of the city, from a house in the silhouette of a flower to one with a spiral outdoor staircase leading to the roof.
It's no surprise. The program was spearheaded by Christopher Hawthorne, a former architecture critic at the Los Angeles Times and now the city's chief design officer.
The firms are primarily local and startup architecture and design firms, while others are well-known with a history of building granny flats, also know as accessory dwelling units, or ADUs.
The standard plans avoid the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety's typical four-to six-week review process and can allow approvals to be completed in as quickly as one day.
Some aspects of the plans can be modified to fit a homeowner's preferences. Eight other designs are pending approval.
Mayor Eric Garcetti believes by adding more such units, the city can diversify its housing supply and tackle the housing crisis. Recent state legislation made it easier to build the small homes on the lot of single-family residences. Since then, ADUs have made up nearly a quarter of Los Angeles' newly permitted housing units.
Because construction costs are relatively low for the granny flats – the pre-approved homes start at $144,000 and can go beyond $300,000 – the housing is generally more affordable. The median home price in L.A. County in January was $690,000.
Here's a quick look at the designs approved so far:
Abodu

Abodu
Abodu, based in Redwood City in the Bay Area, exclusively designs backyard homes. In 2019, it worked with the city of San Jose on a program similar to the one Los Angeles is undertaking.
In October, it closed a seed funding round of $3.5 million led by Initialized Capital.
It has been approved for a one-story 340-square-foot studio, a one-story one-bedroom at 500 square feet, and a one-story, 610-square-foot two-bedroom.
The pricing for the studio is $189,900, while the one-bedroom costs $199,900 and the two-bedroom is $259,900.
Amunátegui Valdés Architects
Led by Cristobal Amunátegui and Alejandro Valdés, the firm was founded in 2011 and has offices in Los Angeles and Santiago, Chile. Amunátegui is an assistant professor at the Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA.
The firm designs work in various scales and mediums, including buildings, furniture and exhibitions.
Its one-story, two-bedroom with a covered roof deck 934-square-foot unit is pending approval from the city.
Connect Homes
Connect Homes has a 100,000-square foot factory in San Bernardino and an architecture studio in Downtown L.A.
It specializes in glass and steel homes and has completed 80 homes in California. Its designs have an aesthetic of mid-century modern California residential architecture.
It has two one-bedroom models pre-approved by the city, one is 460 square feet, which costs $144,500 with a total average project cost of $205,000. The other is 640 square feet, which costs $195,200 with a total project cost of $280,000.
Design, Bitches
The Los Angeles-based architectural firm founded in 2010 describes itself as having a "bold and irreverent vision." Its projects include urban infill ground-up offices to single-family homes, adaptive re-use of derelict commercial buildings and renovations of historic landmarks.
Its pre-approved design, named "Midnight Room," is a guest house/ studio. Its bedroom can be left open for a loft feel or enclosed as a separate room. The design is a one-story, one-bedroom at 454 square feet.
Escher GuneWardena Architecture
Founded in Los Angeles in 1996, Escher GuneWardena Architecture has received international recognition and has collaborated with contemporary artists, worked on historical preservation projects and more.
The company has been approved for two different one-story, one- or two-bedroom units, one at 532 square feet with an estimated cost of $200,000 and another at 784 square feet with an estimated cost of $300,000. The firm noted the costs depend on site conditions and do not include soft costs. Those could add 10% to 12% to the total construction costs.
First Office
First Office is an architecture firm based in Downtown Los Angeles. Its approved ADUs will be built using prefabricated structural insulated panels, which allow for expedited construction schedules and high environmental ratings.
The interior finishes include concrete floors, stainless steel counters and an occasional element of conduit.
There are five options:
- A one-story studio, 309 to 589 square feet
- A one-story one-bedroom, 534 to 794 square feet
- And a one-story two-bedroom, 1,200 square feet
Fung + Blatt Architects

Fung + Blatt Architects is a Los Angeles-based firm founded in 1990.
The city has approved its 795-square-foot, one-story, one-bedroom unit with a roof deck. It estimates the construction cost to be $240,000 to $300,000, excluding landscape, site work and the solar array. Homeowners can also expect other additional costs.
Taalman Architecture/ IT House Inc.
The design team behind "IT House" is Los Angeles-based studio Taalman Architecture. Over the past 15 years, IT House has built more than 20 homes throughout California and the U.S.
The IT House ADU standard plans include the tower, bar, box, cube, pod and court.
The city has approved four options, including:
- A two-story including mechanical room, 660 square feet
- A two-story including mechanical room, 430 square feet
- A one-story studio, 200 square feet
- A one-story including mechanical room, 700 square feet
The firm also has another two projects pending approval: a 360-square-foot one-story studio and a one-story, three-bedroom at 1,149 square feet.
LA Más
LA Más is a nonprofit based in Northeast Los Angeles that designs and builds initiatives promoting neighborhood resilience and elevating the agency of working-class communities of color. Homeowners who are considering their design must commit to renting to Section 8 tenants.
The city has approved two of LA Más' designs: a one-story, one-bedroom, 528 square feet unit and a one-story, two-bedroom, 768 square feet unit. The firm has another design for a one-story studio pending approval. That design would be the first 3D-printed ADU design in the city's program.
Jennifer Bonner/MALL

Massachusetts-based Jennifer Bonner/MALL designed a "Lean-to ADU" project, reinterpreting the stucco box and exaggerated false front, both Los Angeles architectural mainstays.
The design has been approved for a 525-square-foot one-story, one-bedroom unit with a 125-square-foot roof deck.
sekou cooke STUDIO

New York-based sekou cooke STUDIO is the sole Black-owned architectural firm on the project.
"The twisted forms of this ADU recalls the spin and scratch of a DJ's records" from the early 90s, the firm said.
Its design, still pending approval, is for a 1,200-square-foot, two bedroom and two bathroom can be adapted to a smaller one-bedroom unit or to include an additional half bath.
SO-IL

New York-based SO-IL was founded in 2008. It has completed projects in Leon, Seoul, Lisbon and Brooklyn.
Its one-story, one-bedroom 693-square-foot unit is pending approval. It is estimated the construction cost will be between $200,000 and $250,000.
WELCOME PROJECTS

Los Angeles-based Welcome Projects has worked on projects ranging from buildings, houses and interiors to handbags, games and toys.
Its ADU is nicknamed The Breadbox "for its curved topped walls and slight resemblance to that vintage counter accessory."
It has been approved for a one-story, one-bedroom 560-square-foot unit.
wHY Architecture
Founded in 2004, wHY is based in Los Angeles and New York City. It has taken on a landmark affordable housing and historic renovation initiative in Watts.
Its one-story, one- or two-bedroom 480 to 800-square-foot unit is pending approval.
Firms that want to participate in the program can learn more here . Angelenos interested in building a standard ADU plan can learn more the approved projects here.
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Favot is an award-winning journalist and adjunct instructor at USC's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She previously was an investigative and data reporter at national education news site The 74 and local news site LA School Report. She's also worked at the Los Angeles Daily News. She was a Livingston Award finalist in 2011 and holds a Master's degree in journalism from Boston University and BA from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada.
🔦 Spotlight
Hello, LA.
Somewhere between the streaming service you still use and the free trial you forgot to cancel, recurring payments have become a surprisingly complicated part of modern financial life.
Los Angeles-based ScribeUp believes your bank should help manage them.
The fintech company raised a $13M Series A led by Curql, with participation from Mucker Capital and Service Ventures. The financing includes $10M in equity and a $3M venture debt facility, bringing ScribeUp new capital to expand its team, accelerate sales and further develop its AI-powered bill-management technology.
The product is designed to live directly within the apps of banks, credit unions, fintechs and neobanks. Instead of simply showing customers that a recurring charge occurred, ScribeUp gives them tools to do something about it.
That could mean canceling a forgotten subscription, changing a payment method, accessing an advance or exploring refinancing options for an outside loan, all without leaving the financial institution’s app.
It sounds like a useful feature. It is also part of a much larger contest over who gets to manage the consumer’s financial life.
For years, banks have held customers’ money while third-party apps have increasingly helped them understand and manage it. Budgeting platforms organize spending. Subscription services identify recurring charges. Fintech apps recommend ways to save, borrow or invest.
Now AI assistants are beginning to combine those functions into a single interface capable of not only analyzing financial information, but acting on it.
That creates a risk for traditional financial institutions. If consumers begin turning to an outside app whenever they need to cancel a service, manage a bill or make a financial decision, their bank could become little more than the infrastructure beneath someone else’s customer experience.
ScribeUp offers banks a way to compete without building that technology themselves.
Its platform combines recurring-payment information with the financial context a bank already has, including balances, cash flow and payment timing. That allows a financial institution to do more than flag an upcoming charge. It can potentially recommend and execute an action based on the customer’s broader financial position.
ScribeUp says its technology is already used by more than 60 banks, credit unions, fintechs and neobanks. It can be added through an API, software development kit or embedded interface, allowing institutions to introduce bill-management features without creating the underlying infrastructure from scratch.
The new funding will support more advanced AI capabilities that can take action across different billers. That distinction matters. The first generation of personal finance software helped people see where their money was going. The next generation wants permission to do something about it.
For banks, the opportunity is straightforward: become more useful before another app takes their place.
For consumers, the appeal may be even simpler. Most people do not want another financial dashboard. They want the unwanted charge to stop.
The next battle in banking may not be over who holds your money.
It may be over who gets to press cancel.
More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- International Dance League raised a $15M Series A led by Elysian Park Ventures, with participation from Sony, KB Partners, APEX, Yamaha Music Innovations Fund and October Ventures. Following a debut season that sold out all six events and generated 2B views, IDL will use the funding to expand its tour, strengthen team and dancer operations, improve broadcast production and develop new fan experiences for 2027. - learn more
- Santa Fe Springs-based DrizzleX raised a $6.8M Series A-2 led by Israel Investment Fund Group, with several of the water-management platform’s own customers also investing. The company will use the funding to expand sales, streamline hardware manufacturing, build partnerships and develop new products that help property owners detect leaks, reduce water use and lower operating costs. - learn more
- POV Beauty raised an undisclosed Series A led by Silas Capital, with participation from RÉDO Capital and existing investor Imaginary Ventures. The skin-prep brand will use the funding to build on its nationwide Sephora launch, expand its team and TikTok Shop presence, and develop more skincare-makeup hybrid products. - learn more
- Chapter One participated in Warp Sciences’ $215M Series A, which was led by Lightspeed and included a large group of venture firms and angel investors. The company is building AI-powered, increasingly automated laboratories that will manufacture and test molecules for drug developers, aiming to accelerate preclinical research while expanding scientific infrastructure in the U.S. - learn more
- Capital Group participated in Legora’s $550M Series E, which was led by Atreides Management and valued the legal AI company at $8.8B. Legora will use the funding to expand across the U.S. and international markets while developing new capabilities for its agentic operating system, which is used by more than 140,000 legal professionals. - learn more
- Group 11 participated in CapitalOS’ $21.9M Series A, which was led by LGVP and included WEX Venture Capital, Great North Ventures and Night Capital. CapitalOS will use the funding to scale its infrastructure, which enables B2B software platforms to quickly offer financial products while outsourcing functions such as compliance, risk management and underwriting. - learn more
- Starshot Capital participated in IMIO’s $12M funding round, which was led by Sofinnova Partners and included Chipotle’s Cultivate Next, Grow Together Salinas, Earth Foundry and Serra Ventures. The agricultural biotechnology company will use the capital to build a Chicago headquarters, laboratory and manufacturing facility for its freeze-dried microbial products, which are designed to improve soil health and crop yields. - learn more
- SUM Ventures participated in Vectorial’s $3M seed round, which was co-led by Smilegate and SenseAI Ventures and included several investors connected to UC Berkeley and Stanford. The startup will use the funding to scale its AI-powered consumer research platform, which lets companies test products, marketing campaigns and AI agents against simulated audiences before launching them publicly. - learn more
- Wave Function Ventures participated in Stellios Technologies’ oversubscribed $5M pre-seed round alongside Sofreh Capital, Cubit Capital, Mana Ventures, Atoms & Bits and other investors. The Austin-based company will use the funding to deliver its first high-power microwave systems, establish domestic research and manufacturing facilities, grow its team and advance technologies spanning directed energy, compact fusion and next-generation propulsion. - learn more
- Upfront Ventures participated in Daytona’s $60M Series B, marking the Santa Monica firm’s third investment round with the company. Led by FirstMark Growth, the financing valued Daytona at $1B and will help the startup expand sales and engineering for its cloud infrastructure, which provides secure virtual computers where AI agents can execute tasks. - learn more
- Core Innovation Capital participated in Delegance Brokerage’s $3.1M pre-seed round, which was led by Grit Capital Partners and included Gilgamesh Ventures and Outside VC. The AI-powered commercial insurance brokerage will use the funding to hire licensed brokers and engineers and expand partnerships as it promotes a flat 5% fee model in place of traditional commissions. - learn more
- Core Innovation Capital participated in Prism Data’s $20M Series A, which was led by Story Ventures and included FINTOP Capital, Obvious Ventures, 1st & Main Growth Partners and Mana Ventures. Prism will use the funding to expand its cash-flow underwriting technology, AI infrastructure and data science team while growing across the U.S. and Canada and preparing for international expansion. - learn more
LA Exits
- Sanctuary has been acquired by WSG Brands, adding the contemporary women’s label to a portfolio that includes Von Dutch, Nasty Gal and Allbirds. The purchase price was not officially disclosed, though earlier documents placed it at $67M; WSG plans to expand Sanctuary internationally and into new categories, while founders Ken and Debra Polanco will remain involved. - learn more
- SecureNet Solutions was acquired by CompassMSP, expanding the managed IT and cybersecurity provider’s presence on the West Coast. The deal gives SecureNet’s real estate, healthcare and professional services clients access to CompassMSP’s national cybersecurity, compliance and advisory resources while retaining their existing service team; financial terms were not disclosed. - learn more
🔦 Spotlight
Happy Friday, Los Angeles.
Next week, hundreds of tech events will take over the city, bringing founders, investors, engineers and creators together from October 12 through 18.
Calling LA Tech Week a conference does not quite capture the experience.
Presented by Andreessen Horowitz, Tech Week is a decentralized collection of panels, workshops, demonstrations and gatherings hosted independently by startups, venture firms and technology companies. There is no convention center or central stage. The programming stretches from Santa Monica and Venice to Culver City, Downtown, El Segundo and beyond.
In other words, the city is the venue.
AI remains the dominant theme for 2026, appearing across enterprise software, healthcare, finance, media and the creator economy. The schedule also reflects industries where Los Angeles has built a particular advantage, including aerospace, defense, robotics, advanced manufacturing, entertainment and consumer technology.
That range is what makes LA Tech Week distinct. It brings together the software companies shaping what comes next with the industries that already define Southern California.
The challenge is deciding where to show up.
Our advice: apply early and organize your schedule by neighborhood. Crossing from Santa Monica to Downtown may look manageable on a calendar created by someone who has never driven in Los Angeles.
To help you spend more time meeting people and less time crossing the city, we have organized each day’s events by location:
You can also browse the complete official LA Tech Week calendar.
Plan carefully, but do not fill every minute. The best conversation of the week may be the one that was never on your calendar.
More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- El Segundo-based Gallatin AI raised a $50M Series A from new and existing investors including 8VC and Silent Ventures, bringing its total funding to $70M. The defense technology startup will expand its engineering team and advance Navigator, an AI platform that helps U.S. military units coordinate vehicle readiness, supplies, medical logistics and other mission-support operations. - learn more
- Pasadena-based quantum computing startup Oratomic raised a $475M Series B at a $5.4B valuation, just three months after its Series A. ARCH Venture Partners, Spark Capital, Khosla Ventures, Index Ventures, General Catalyst and Bezos Expeditions co-led the round, bringing Oratomic’s total funding to $775M as it works toward a commercially viable, fault-tolerant quantum computer by 2030. - learn more
- Torrance-based Fortastra raised a $30M Series A led by First In, with participation from Upfront Ventures, Space Capital, Rsquared, Side Door Ventures, ATX Ventures and existing investors. The company will use the capital to develop its next-generation maneuverable spacecraft, expand its engineering and operations teams and scale production of systems designed to protect critical assets in orbit. - learn more
- Parallel Systems raised a $100M Series C led by AVP, with participation from Hillspire, Agility Global, Cobalt Capital, Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures and Collaborative Fund. Founded by former SpaceX engineers, the company will use the funding to scale production and commercial deployment of its autonomous, battery-electric Panther rail vehicles, which are designed to make short-haul freight more competitive with trucking. - learn more
- Gaming studio Gardens Interactive secured more than $35M in a Series B led by Lightspeed, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Index Ventures, Accel, Innovation Endeavors, Zenith Capital and other investors. The company will use the funding to launch and operate its debut social role-playing “strandbox” game, an evolving multiplayer world shaped by players’ actions and interactions. - learn more
- Outer Spaces raised an $8M pre-seed round led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Unlock Venture Partners, Mucker Capital and Genius Ventures. The startup is developing outdoor furnishings with integrated solar panels and batteries, turning backyards into sources of clean energy and backup power. - learn more
- Furientis raised a $25M seed round led by Benchmark at a reported $125M valuation, following a $5M pre-seed announced in May. The defense startup will use the capital to scale production of lower-cost missile interceptors designed to be assembled quickly with readily available components, with a long-term goal of producing 1,000 systems annually at each factory. - learn more
- Hiyo raised a $20.8M Series B led by Constellation Brands, with returning investor Live Nation also participating. The nonalcoholic beverage company will use the funding to expand its adaptogen- and nootropic-infused social tonics across more than 13,000 retail locations while growing its presence at hospitality venues and live events. - learn more
- Navitas Capital participated in Vesta’s $30M Series B, which was led by Conversion Capital and included backing from several major mortgage lenders and financial institutions. The company will use the funding to scale its AI agents across mortgage origination, automating tasks such as application reviews, underwriting decisions and closing-document checks. - learn more
- MTech Capital led Nettle’s oversubscribed $4.8M seed round, with participation from Project A Ventures, Sure Valley Ventures, Portfolio Ventures and Ventures Together. The insurtech startup will use the funding to expand across the U.S. and Europe while growing its AI platform, which helps commercial insurers identify property risks, accelerate inspections and generate reports. - learn more
- Bonfire Ventures doubled down on Santé by participating in the company’s $15M Series A, which was led by FINTOP and included other returning investors. The New York startup will use the funding to expand its AI-powered operating system for independent wine and liquor stores, which combines point-of-sale, e-commerce, payments, inventory and marketing tools in one platform. - learn more
LA Exits
- Winnow Solutions was acquired by Marina del Rey-based Spring Labs, with financial terms undisclosed. Winnow’s attorney-built library of more than 100,000 state and federal regulatory requirements will become a core part of SpringGRC, helping financial institutions connect changing laws directly to their compliance policies, controls and workflows. - learn more


