From Elmo to Tony Soprano: HBO Max's Game Plan as Told By Two of Its Creators

Sam Blake

Sam primarily covers entertainment and media for dot.LA. Previously he was Marjorie Deane Fellow at The Economist, where he wrote for the business and finance sections of the print edition. He has also worked at the XPRIZE Foundation, U.S. Government Accountability Office, KCRW, and MLB Advanced Media (now Disney Streaming Services). He holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson, an MPP from UCLA Luskin and a BA in History from University of Michigan. Email him at samblake@dot.LA and find him on Twitter @hisamblake

From Elmo to Tony Soprano: HBO Max's Game Plan as Told By Two of Its Creators

HBO Max, the new streaming service from AT&T's WarnerMedia, launches Wednesday. Advertised as the place "where HBO meets so much more", HBO Max will debut with over 10,000 hours of content from a range of brands including HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network and Turner, with characters as diverse as Elmo and Tony Soprano. This marks a culminating milestone in AT&T's massive integration that began in 2016 when it agreed to acquire Time Warner for $85.4 billion.


Widely viewed as both a streaming offering for content-hungry viewers, and as a value-add for AT&T's customers, HBO Max will hope to effectively absorb the 30 million or so current HBO customers into its initial subscriber count. Despite the head start, and the track records of a century-old studio and TV's most prestigious channel, industry onlookers have highlighted several challenges facing the new service.

HBO Max launches with over 10,000 titles across a range of content brands

One is its price. At $15 per month, HBO Max will cost more than any of its competitors in the video streaming space. That takes on greater weight given the number of competitors, including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and NBCU's Peacock – all of which charge less than HBO Max. Then there is the fear of brand dilution. To grow the plateauing HBO subscriber base, HBO Max is staking out a competitive position built upon a broad mix of content ranging from upscale HBO series to more middlebrow fare like Big Bang Theory.

dot.LA caught up with two HBO Max leaders to learn about the key decisions leading to today and to explore the path ahead. Tony Goncalves oversees HBO Max's product, performance marketing, and data & analytics. Reporting to chairman Bob Greenblatt, Goncalves also runs Otter Media, a WarnerMedia subsidiary that houses several digital content companies. Goncalves spearheaded AT&T's acquisition of Time Warner and formerly led DirecTV's expansion into mobile content. Sarah Lyons, senior vice president of HBO Max's product experience, provided additional comment.

dot.LA: To stand out in this competitive space, it obviously helps to have good content, good data, and a good user experience. But what can you do if everyone else has those, too?

Goncalves: I think it's a misnomer that we're all competing to be the one platform that consumers go to. A variety of us are going to offer these platforms and consumers will have more than one. These new "super-networks" are emerging, in the form of an app that aggregates lots of content, and you stand out by what stories you're aggregating, and how you're curating and presenting them. The data tells us that consumers have 2-3 services today and are willing to pay for up to 4-6 — so our goal is to be one of those 4-6.

HBO Max users will be able to browse by "hub"

Lyons: We looked at research into consumer sentiment and saw that consumers value the experience just as much as they do the content. There's a common problem among customers with finding something to watch, because there's a sea of content out there. They're not quite confident that when they start a new show, it will be time well spent. We talked to them about that and learned on average it takes about nine minutes to find something to watch — and that 20% of them abandon it altogether because they get frustrated and give up. When we asked about recommendation engines, they started to kind of recoil; they had a visceral reaction. They'd say, 'How could a robot purport to know who I am or what I want?' They felt boxed in. So we kept all of that in mind as we were creating the product experience, and we felt like we had an opportunity to create a sweet spot with a service that blends the human touch in curation with underlying data for personalization.

Goncalves: We believe the opportunity is to present consumers a clean, clutterless experience and get away from that endless scroll by giving consumers the confidence that when they press on a tile, they'll be taken into a great story — which is not necessarily the case in the marketplace today. That's a real opportunity for differentiation.

In developing your launch slate of content, how did you decide how much original content you needed, how much catalog content you needed, and what kind of each?

Goncalves: If there were a formula, I'd be happy to walk you through that. But the reality is we had to

step back and define what we wanted to be when we grew up. We started with this incredibly valuable anchor of HBO. We were extremely fortunate that the service had garnered over 30 million paying subscribers over the years, but it had essentially peaked. So we started with the demographic we had — higher-income households, a bit more male — then morphed our programming to grow around that.

Lyons: The conundrum was how do you take those existing users and give them a new experience while keeping them comfortable, and at the same time target a new set of subscribers that are millennials, Gen Z, families, females, kids of all ages. How do you add them and keep the experience fresh and add all the content that goes along with it, yet keep it premium while not alienating subscribers? It was all a balance.

How do you approach the role of original versus licensed content?

Goncalves: You tend to see in the data that originals are the titles that drive people to subscribe, whereas the licensed content is what garners the engagement thereafter and keeps consumers on these platforms.

There's some concern that customers may be confused about the various HBO options – HBO, HBO Go, HBO Now, HBO Max — and, on top of that, people may be unclear about what they're entitled to based on their current HBO situation. AT&T is still negotiating with Comcast, as well as Amazon and Roku – which together control nearly 70% of the streaming device market – but as of today there are no agreements to bring HBO Max to those users. To what extent are you hopeful about resolving those negotiations?

Goncalves: I can't get into specifics of the negotiations themselves. But as we go forward, we want to bring everything together. We need to work with our distribution partners in order to do that, and I think you'll see that come to life, where we do come together and align on objectives. You'll see a lot of HBO Now apps turning into HBO Max apps overnight. As far as the folks that we're not aligned with, our hope and expectation is that we'll continue working with them and in the days and weeks to come, we'll come to an agreement. But the consumer has other options.

Tony Goncalves oversees HBO Max and is also CEO of Otter Media

In the sprint to launch, you had teams collaborating remotely across Los Angeles, Seattle, New York and Atlanta. How were they able to work together and meet the launch date target?

Goncalves: I wish you could see the big smile on my face right now. This could've turned out bad. We were uncomfortable two and a half months ago, until we saw these folks rally. We became proficient in Slack and in video calls. The tech teams in particular became proficient at coding at home, doing quality checks of the apps from home and doing quality control left and right — we had to put devices in people's homes and be really flexible. Then you look at the marketing team that had a marketing plan ready to go, anchored on things like March Madness, and all of a sudden those went away. But you saw a team showing up with a sense of purpose and working remotely and getting comfortable with needing to change the way they were operating and I think we're the better for it. I'm really, really proud of what we've done here and I think this pivot is something that I'm most proud of.

Speaking of pivoting, you've been involved in a lot of big, future-oriented business decisions. What have you learned about navigating a business transformation on a scale like this?

Goncalves: Business transformation at scale, in any business, is really, really tough. I think the only way that businesses succeed is if they have a clear definition of a goal – the beacon – and then a path to get there. It became really clear (for AT&T) that as a core connectivity company, being purely a pipe wasn't the path that the company needed to go. The question then became what value-add was needed to put on top of that. Video happens to be the most trafficked content over the network, so I think the clarity of the fact that the network and content needed to come together has really helped this company put a beacon out there as to what it ultimately needs to be. The hardest part is bringing the hundreds and thousands of employees along for the ride and getting them committed, and I think we've done that by articulating this marriage of content and connectivity.

You've been either in L.A. or traveling to L.A. for much of your career. How have you seen it evolve over the years as a business and tech hub?

Goncalves: If you just look at Playa Vista, and what it was and what it is, that alone gives you the answer, when you have a variety of more tech-oriented companies anchoring in and around Playa and Culver. I think it's fascinating, because the primary reason that that happens is talent acquisition. All these companies need talent, so these hubs tend to emerge out of the need for talent and that's what I've seen pop in L.A. A funny anecdote: I was doing a lot of traveling back and forth earlier in my career at DirecTV and I was looking to potentially buy a condo or house. I looked in Playa and I scratched my head as to why anybody would pay $500k for a place there. But today if you can find one apartment even for sale at anything under three-times that, you'd be lucky.

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Locket, Disney, Instagram and the Battle for Your Attention

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday, Los Angeles!

This week, LA’s biggest tech and media players made one thing clear: they want to own the relationship. Whether it’s a celebrity sending selfies straight to your home screen or a content giant rewriting the rules of sports broadcasting, the power shift toward more curated, direct experiences is unmistakable, and it’s being engineered right here.

Image Source : Locket

📸 Locket Doubles Down on Star Power

Venice-based Locket, the viral photo sharing app that made homescreen widgets cool, is now leaning into what LA does best: celebrity. Its new feature, Celebrity Lockets, allows artists to send exclusive photos directly to fans’ home screens. Early adopters include Suki Waterhouse and JVKE, with creators curating limited fan access to maintain intimacy and exclusivity. As Locket evolves from a casual social tool into a direct fan engagement platform, it’s becoming an increasingly relevant player in LA’s creator tech ecosystem.

🏈 Disney’s ESPN Plays Offense

Disney made a trio of bold moves this week that solidify ESPN’s future and its dominance in sports media. It’s buying out the NFL’s stake in ESPN, securing exclusive NFL Draft and behind the scenes content through 2033, and finally giving its standalone ESPN streaming service a launch date: August 21, 2025. That’s a power play straight out of Burbank. At the same time, Disney announced it will no longer report individual subscriber numbers for Disney Plus and Hulu, signaling a shift in how it wants investors and maybe consumers to measure success.

🗞️ The New York Post Bets on LA

In a sign of LA’s growing national influence not just in entertainment, but in news, the New York Post is launching a West Coast vertical called The California Post. With an editorial mission to cover the state’s cultural and political pulse, this move reflects a broader trend of major media brands planting roots in LA to chase both readers and relevance. For local media startups, content creators, and civic tech players, it’s yet another sign that the competition and the opportunity is growing.

Image Source: Meta

📱 Instagram Wants Your Inner Circle

Instagram rolled out a new set of features this week that prioritize connection with close friends. Users can now share what they’re doing, watching, or feeling with a smaller group, clearly borrowing from the intimacy playbooks of apps like BeReal, Snapchat, and yes, Locket. As social platforms shift from mass broadcast to curated circles, LA-based creators and consumer startups should take note: the next frontier might not be going viral, it might be going personal.

From star-powered lockets to streaming shakeups and platform reinventions, this week’s stories highlight how LA’s tech and media companies are rewriting the rules on connection and control.

Now onto this week’s venture deals 👇

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Venture Funds

    • Starburst co-invested in Madrid-based SpaceTech startup Orbital Paradigm’s €470,000 raise, part of an ongoing €2M funding round led by Akka. The company is developing reusable orbital re-entry capsules aimed at reducing costs and increasing sustainability for space missions. Starburst’s participation underscores its focus on backing innovative aerospace technologies with commercial and defense applications. - learn more
    • Rebel Fund participated in Orbital Operations’ $8.8M seed round, which came shortly after the company graduated from Y Combinator. The funding will support development of the company’s high-thrust orbital transfer vehicle, designed to maneuver satellites and other payloads in space more efficiently. - learn more
    • Fourth Revolution Capital participated in SuperGaming’s $15M Series B round, which valued the company at $100M, five times its previous valuation. The funds will help expand titles like Indus Battle Royale internationally and scale SuperGaming’s tools for developers in emerging markets. - learn more
    • Cedars-Sinai Health Ventures participated in Elion’s $9.3M seed round, joining NEA and others in backing the AI-powered healthcare research and intelligence platform. Elion helps over 60% of U.S. health systems evaluate emerging technologies through its structured vendor marketplace. The funds will support platform development, new product launches, market expansion, and team growth. - learn more
    • M13 led the $10M seed round for Kontext, an AI-powered contextual advertising startup emerging from stealth mode. Kontext’s platform enables real-time ads inside chatbot responses using large language models, and the funding will help expand its engineering team and develop image-based ad formats. - learn more
    • STORY3 Capital Partners made a significant minority investment in U.K.-based activewear brand Adanola, valuing the company at approximately $530 million. This strategic partnership brings STORY3’s deep experience in consumer brand scaling to support Adanola’s global expansion, particularly across the U.K. and U.S. markets. - learn more
    • Walkabout Ventures participated in OLarry’s $10M Series A round, which was led by TTV Capital and included Marin Sonoma Impact Ventures. The funding brings OLarry’s total capital raised to $14.5M and will be used to scale its AI-powered tax advisory platform for high-net-worth individuals and to acquire regional CPA firms as part of its growth strategy. - learn more
    • Glendon Capital Management participated in Grasshopper’s $46.6M funding round, which was led by Patriot Financial Partners, to support the bank’s merger with Auto Club Trust in April 2025. Their investment reflects confidence in Grasshopper’s ability to scale its digital banking platform and expand its suite of business and consumer financial products. Growth metrics as of June 30, 2025 showed a 53% increase in assets, an 81% surge in deposits, and a 49% rise in loans, all backed by this strategic capital infusion. - learn more
    • Mucker Capital participated in beatBread’s $124M capital raise, alongside Citi’s SPRINT team, Deciens Capital, and Advantage Capital. Their involvement supports beatBread’s strategy to expand sales, marketing, and technology operations, while enabling greater funding flexibility for independent artists, songwriters, and labels through its AI-powered platform. - learn more
    • B Capital co-led Positive Development’s $51.5M Series C funding round alongside aMoon and Flare Capital Partners, helping to fuel expansion of its developmental therapy model for autistic children. Their involvement underscores confidence in the company’s family-centered, play-based approach—which lowers costs by about 50% compared to traditional ABA therapy—and supports growth through new Medicaid partnerships and technology enhancements. - learn more
    • Clocktower Ventures participated in Creditop’s latest $3.7M funding round, which was led by Collide Capital and also included Alaya Capital, Amador Holdings, Newtopia, and Driven VC. Their involvement supports Creditop’s mission to enable credit access at the point of sale, without a credit card, and will help fintech deepen its footprint in Colombia while exploring expansion across Central America and Peru. - learn more
    • Thiel Capital participated in Pilgrim’s $4.3 million seed funding round, backing the biotech startup founded by 21-year-old Jake Adler after he demonstrated its hemostatic dressing, Kingsfoil, on himself. Their support underscores confidence in Pilgrim’s aggressive R&D and dual-use medical platform targeting both military and civilian emergency care. - learn more
    LA Exits
    • ElectroMagnetic Systems, Inc., a California-based specialist in AI and machine learning-powered target recognition software for space-based radar, has been acquired by Voyager. The deal strengthens Voyager’s AI-native surveillance and intelligence capabilities, enabling real-time monitoring across ground, air, and space domains to meet evolving defense and commercial demands. - learn more
    • Daring Foods is being acquired by Australia’s leading plant-based meat company, v2food, in a move that strengthens v2food’s push into the U.S. market. Daring will continue operating under its own brand and will serve as a platform to introduce v2food’s own products across the States. The deal, paired with a strategic partnership with Japanese food giant Ajinomoto, aims to accelerate innovation in clean-label protein and expand global reach. - learn more
    • Irwin Naturals is being acquired by FitLife Brands in an all-cash transaction valued at $42.5M, which includes approximately $16M in net working capital. The deal, expected to close around August 8, 2025, will nearly double FitLife’s scale, with projected combined annual revenue of over $120M and adjusted EBITDA between $20–25M. It will be funded with cash on hand, a new term loan, and a revolving credit facility, and is expected to generate synergies through complementary product lines, broader mass-market distribution, and improved operational efficiencies. - learn more
    • Solsniper, a Solana-focused trading and analytics platform known for high-speed memecoin execution, has been acquired by Phantom as part of its strategy to expand beyond wallets into full-service on-chain finance. The Solsniper team will join Phantom to enhance its advanced trading features, while the platform will continue operating independently. The move underscores Phantom’s ambition to offer seamless, integrated trading tools within the Solana ecosystem. - learn more
    • Cinelease is being acquired by Zello, a private investment platform dedicated to scaling businesses across the entertainment industry, in a strategic move to bolster production infrastructure and amplify its presence across North America. Under Zello’s ownership, Cinelease will continue operating as a standalone company led by its veteran team, enhancing its lighting, grip, and studio offerings for film, TV, and commercial productions. This acquisition sets the stage for disciplined growth and stronger relationships within the film and television production ecosystem. - learn more

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            Smart Shoes for Kids? Skechers Thinks So 👟

            🔦 Spotlight

            Happy Friday, LA!

            This week, Skechers may have just kicked off a new trend that’s bound to have parents and tech lovers talking. They've unveiled the "Find My Skechers" line, kids’ sneakers that come with a hidden compartment to securely hold an Apple AirTag. For $52 to $58, parents can now track their child’s shoes in real-time using the Find My app, giving a whole new meaning to "keeping an eye on things." While these tech-savvy kicks are already gaining attention, will they become the new norm in kids' footwear? And who’s next? Will Nike or Adidas be jumping on the AirTag bandwagon, or is Skechers setting the stage for a whole new wave of tech-integrated fashion?

            But it’s not all smooth sailing. This innovation raises some interesting questions about privacy and surveillance. Are we crossing a line when we start tracking our kids’ every move through their shoes? While Apple’s anti-stalking features are in place to prevent misuse, it will be intriguing to see how other brands and parents respond to this new blend of fashion and tech.

            What do you think? Could this become a must-have feature in the next generation of kids' gear, or is it a step too far? Let us know your thoughts!

            🤝 Venture Deals

            LA Companies

            • LakeFS, a provider of Git-like version control for data lakes, has secured $20M in a growth funding round led by Maor Investments. The funds will support the company's expansion efforts and product development aimed at enhancing data engineering and AI initiatives within enterprise and public sector environments. - learn more

            LA Venture Funds

              • Sound Ventures co-led the $16.1M Series A funding round for Knit, an AI-powered consumer research platform. The funds will be used to accelerate product development, enhance AI capabilities, and expand global research operations. This investment underscores the growing trend of combining AI with human expertise to deliver faster, cost-effective, and high-quality insights for enterprise research. - learn more
              • Anthos Capital co-led a $60M Series A funding round for Good Job Games, a mobile game developer known for creating casual and hyper-casual games. The investment, co-led by Menlo Ventures, will support the company's growth, enabling the expansion of its game portfolio and enhancing user engagement through innovative gameplay features. This funding marks a significant step in scaling Good Job Games’ operations and solidifying its position in the competitive mobile gaming market. - learn more
              • Pinegrove Capital Partners participated in Ramp's $500M Series E-2 funding round, which values the company at $22.5 billion. The funds will be used to accelerate Ramp's AI-driven financial tools, aiming to enhance automation and efficiency in corporate finance operations. - learn more
              • Riot Ventures participated in Oxide Computer Company's $100M Series B funding round, led by the U.S. Innovative Technology Fund (USIT). This investment will enable Oxide to scale its manufacturing capabilities, enhance customer support, and accelerate product delivery to meet the growing demand for on-premises cloud computing solutions. - learn more
              • Rebel Fund participated in a $3.2M seed funding round for Caseflood.ai, a San Francisco-based legal tech startup offering AI-powered client intake solutions for law firms. The funds will support the development of Caseflood's advanced voice agent, Luna, which autonomously handles client interactions, including consultations and retainer signings, aiming to enhance conversion rates and operational efficiency for law firms. - learn more
              • Smash Capital participated in Ambience Healthcare's $243M Series C funding round, co-led by Oak HC/FT and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The investment will support Ambience's expansion of its ambient AI platform, which automates clinical documentation, coding, and workflow tasks across over 200 specialties. The platform integrates directly with electronic health records, enhancing efficiency and compliance in healthcare settings. - learn more
              • ARTBIO, a clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company developing alpha radioligand therapies for cancer treatment, has secured $132M in a Series B funding round. The round was co-led by Sofinnova Investments and B Capital, with participation from Alexandria Venture Investments and other investors. The funds will support the advancement of ARTBIO's lead program, AB001, through Phase II clinical trials, and facilitate the expansion of its manufacturing and supply chain infrastructure. - learn more
              • Rebel Fund participated in OffDeal's $12M Series A funding round, led by Radical Ventures, to support the company's mission of building the world's first AI-native investment bank. OffDeal aims to democratize access to high-quality M&A advisory services for small and mid-sized businesses by automating analyst tasks with AI, enabling efficient sell-side transactions. The funds will help scale OffDeal's technology-driven, advisor-led approach to facilitate successful exits for entrepreneurs. - learn more
              • Sandbox Studios participated in a $3M seed funding round for Sarelly Sarelly, a Mexican cosmetics brand, with backing from U.S. investors like Wollef, Morgan Creek Capital Management, and Hyve Ventures. The funds will support Sarelly Sarelly's expansion into the U.S. market, including retail launches at Ulta Beauty and growth on digital platforms like TikTok Shop. - learn more

              LA Exits
              • NEOGOV, an El Segundo-based provider of HR and compliance software for U.S. public sector agencies, has been acquired by EQT and CPP Investments in a deal valued at over $3 billion. The acquisition will help NEOGOV expand its product offerings and grow its presence across North America. - learn more

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                    From Retro Cool to AI Convenience: LA’s New Tech Normal

                    🔦 Spotlight

                    Hello LA,

                    What do you get when you cross a 1950s diner, robot-powered retail, and apps trying to do the right thing? A very Hollywood week in LA tech.

                    Image Source: Tesla

                    Let’s start with the most literal: Tesla’s long-awaited retro-futuristic diner just opened on Sunset, complete with drive-in movie screens, EV charging bays, and a neon glow that practically begs to be Instagrammed. It’s a mashup of Elon-style nostalgia and innovation, where your burger might take longer to arrive than your Model 3 finishes charging. While the menu sticks to diner classics (yes, there's a milkshake bar), the real flex is how Tesla is rebranding waiting as an “experience.” In a city where parking is currency, Tesla has turned it into a destination.

                    Image Source: VenHub

                    Just down the street, VenHub’s smart convenience store quietly opened its doors, but this is no 7-Eleven. The Pasadena-based startup is betting on AI-powered, cashier-free retail hubs that can be dropped anywhere, anytime. Think vending machine meets Apple Store. Investors are buying in on the promise of 24/7 access to snacks, essentials, and even meds. No human required. In a city of hustle, VenHub wants to make “convenient” even more convenient. Check out their locations here.

                    Uber also rolled out new "Women Rider Preferences" in LA, letting women and nonbinary drivers opt to pick up women riders. It's a long-requested feature aimed at improving safety and comfort, especially for those driving at night. And while it’s opt-in for now, it’s a significant move toward rethinking trust and transparency in ride-hailing, starting with the people behind the wheel.

                    Image Source: Snap

                    And finally, Snap launched "Home Safe Alerts" to quietly keep you safer on the move. You can now send automatic updates to trusted friends when you're heading out or getting home. It’s a subtle yet powerful shift toward making tech feel more protective and less performative. Snap’s way of saying, "Text me when you get home," but without the follow-up guilt.

                    So whether you're grabbing a burger under the glow of a Tesla screen, scanning a QR code at a robot-run bodega, or just getting home a little safer, this week reminded us that LA doesn’t just build the future. It makes it weird, wonderful, and just a little more user-friendly.

                    Catch you next week ✌️

                    🤝 Venture Deals

                    LA Companies

                    • Nevoya has raised $9.3M in seed funding, led by Lowercarbon Capital, to transform the American trucking industry with its advanced freight platform. The company aims to modernize logistics by optimizing routes, improving efficiency, and better connecting shippers and carriers. The funding will help Nevoya expand its technology and scale operations to redefine how goods move across the country. - learn more

                    LA Venture Funds

                    • Pinegrove Capital Partners joined Armada’s $131M Series B round to support the San Francisco-based edge computing startup in its mission to bring secure, modular data centers to remote and infrastructure-poor environments. Armada builds rugged, containerized units like its flagship Galleon and newly unveiled Leviathan, designed to enable real-time AI and compute at the edge. The funding will accelerate the deployment of these solutions globally and scale development for critical defense, energy, and industrial use cases. - learn more
                    • Rebel Fund joined Lyra’s $6M seed round, supporting the San Francisco startup that’s redefining video conferencing with its AI-native platform. Lyra transforms traditional meetings into interactive workspaces with real-time collaboration and auto-generated summary notes. The capital will bolster infrastructure and support rapid growth as the company scales its go-to-market operations. - learn more
                    • Plassa Capital participated in Bloom’s $1.6M pre-seed round to support the startup’s mission of building an all-in-one hub for the crypto trading community. Based in Miami, Bloom offers a social platform that combines trading tools, real-time news, and community-driven insights for crypto traders. The funding will help the company grow its team, enhance its product, and expand its user base. - learn more
                    • Embark Ventures participated in TRIC Robotics’ seed funding round to support its development of autonomous robots that help farmers manage pests and plant diseases without chemicals. Based in Delaware, TRIC uses ultraviolet light and computer vision to treat crops like strawberries in a sustainable, labor-efficient way. The funding will help the company expand deployments, grow its team, and scale its technology to more farms across the U.S. - learn more
                    • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Dispatch Bio’s $11.2M seed funding round. Based in San Diego, Dispatch Bio is developing a novel immunotherapy platform that aims to deliver a universal treatment for solid tumors by reprogramming immune cells at the tumor site. The funds will support further development of its platform and expansion of preclinical studies. - learn more
                    • Mucker Capital led Vaudit’s $7.3M seed round, reinforcing its belief in the San Francisco Bay Area-based startup. Vaudit delivers an AI-powered media audit platform that automates real-time validation of ad spend, detecting discrepancies before payments are processed. The funding will enable Vaudit to enhance its platform, expand its team, and scale its global reach across web and mobile channels. - learn more
                    • Morpheus Ventures participated in xLight’s $40M Series B funding round to support its mission of transforming semiconductor manufacturing. The Palo Alto-based company develops advanced laser-based lithography technology designed to make chip production faster, more precise, and more cost-effective. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand the team, and scale operations to meet growing demand. - learn more
                    • Magnify Ventures participated in Alix’s $20M Series A funding round to help the company modernize the estate settlement process. Based in New York, Alix offers a digital platform that simplifies and streamlines estate administration for families and professionals. The funds will be used to enhance the platform, grow the team, and expand its reach to meet increasing demand. - learn more
                    • Untapped Ventures participated in Nexxa AI’s $4.4M seed round to support the company’s mission of bringing specialized AI solutions to heavy industries like manufacturing, logistics, and energy. Based in Sunnyvale, Nexxa’s platform enables domain-specific AI deployment tailored to industrial operations. The funding will help the company expand its engineering team, accelerate product development, and onboard new enterprise customers. - learn more

                    LA Exits
                    • Exverus Media, a Los Angeles-based media agency known for its data-driven approach to brand growth, has been acquired by global marketing firm Brainlabs. The acquisition strengthens Brainlabs’ U.S. presence and adds strategic media planning and measurement capabilities to its portfolio. Exverus will continue operating under its brand while gaining access to Brainlabs’ global resources and infrastructure. - learn more
                    • Generous Brands is set to acquire Health-Ade Kombucha, the Los Angeles-based beverage company known for its premium, gut-healthy drinks. The deal marks Generous Brands’ push into the fast-growing functional beverage market and adds a high-profile name to its portfolio. Health-Ade will continue operating with its existing team while benefiting from expanded resources and distribution capabilities. - learn more
                    • Launch Potato has acquired OnlyInYourState, a travel discovery platform known for spotlighting hidden gems across the U.S. The acquisition expands Launch Potato’s portfolio of digital brands and supports its goal of using AI to personalize trip planning experiences. OnlyInYourState will continue to operate while integrating with Launch Potato’s performance marketing and content strategy capabilities. -learn more
                    • Vilore Foods has acquired Tia Lupita Foods, a better-for-you Mexican food brand known for its hot sauces, chips, and tortillas made with simple, sustainable ingredients. The acquisition expands Vilore’s portfolio into the health-conscious and culturally authentic food space. Tia Lupita will continue to operate under its brand while gaining access to Vilore’s distribution network and resources. - learn more

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