'Raises': Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo Seeking New $450M Fund

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

'Raises': Jeffrey Katzenberg’s WndrCo Seeking New $450M Fund
Courtesy of Upfront Summit 2022

This week in “Raises”: A tech company that creates exclusive travel experiences featuring the likes of Justin Bieber and Duran Duran landed a big Series C round. Meanwhile, Jeffrey Katzenberg’s venture capital firm is raising $450 million for its second fund.


Venture Capital

Pollen, a startup that curates travel experiences featuring entertainers like Justin Bieber and Duran Duran, raised $150 million in Series C funding led by Sienna Capital.

Carlsmed, a medical tech company specializing in spinal surgery, raised a $30 million Series B funding round led by B Capital Group.

Climate tech startup Enervee raised a $30 million Series B funding round led by Kerogen Capital and JPMorgan.

Energy drink startup A SHOC Energy raised a $29 million Series B funding round led by prominent athletes including Aaron Judge, Michael Strahan, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau, among others.

Playable Worlds, an online game developer, raised $25 million in Series B funding led by Kakao Games Corp.

Advertising platform tvScientific raised a $20 million Series A funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners.

Music tech startup Stem raised $20 million in new funding led by QED Investors. Block, the Jack Dorsey-led fintech company formerly known as Square, also participated.

Trust, a digital adtech startup founded by Snap alums, raised $5 million in funding from Sapphire Sport and former Venmo executive Michael Vaughan.

Web3 banking startup MetaLend raised $5 million in seed funding led by Pantera Capital.

Vyng, an Android app that lets users earn Bitcoin when making phone calls, raised $5 million in funding from March Capital Partners, Newbound Venture Capital, Alpha Edison and Omidyar Network.

NFT startup Afterparty raised a $4 million funding round from investors including Paris Hilton, Jason Calacanis, Blockchange, Acrew Capital and TenOneTen Ventures.

Soundful, an AI-powered music creation platform, raised $3.8 million in seed funding from individual investors affiliated with Microsoft, Disney and Universal Music Group, among other companies.

Creator economy startup Superjoi raised a $2.5 million pre-seed funding round from investors including Ascension Ventures, QED Investors, Systema VC, Tomahawk and Modern Venture Partners.

Music NFT platform SoundMint raised a $1.7 million seed round led by Animoca Brands.

Digital content monetization startup Ink raised a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round from investors including Mark Cuban and Sound Ventures.

Direct-to-consumer golf club company Robin Golf raised a $1.5 million seed round led by Pentland Brands.

Funds

WndrCo, the venture capital firm founded by former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg, is looking to raise $450 million for its second fund, according to an SEC filing.

Cultivate Next, a new venture fund launched by fast food chain Chipotle, raised $50 million to fund early-stage food tech startups.

Raises is dot.LA’s weekly feature highlighting venture capital funding news across Southern California’s tech and startup ecosystem. Please send fundraising news to Decerry Donato (decerrydonato@dot.la).

LA Tech Week 2026: Sunday’s Event Lineup

🔦 Spotlight

LA Tech Week 2026 closes Sunday with one final day of events across Los Angeles. We have organized the remaining lineup by neighborhood so you can finish the week with a few last conversations before everyone returns to their regularly scheduled inboxes.

ARTS DISTRICT

12:00 PM

CARSON

12:00 PM

CULVER CITY

9:00 AM

  • Women in Cleantech & Sustainability Hike and Network: See Details Here
    Women in Cleantech & Sustainability

6:00 PM

  • Founders pitch competition: See Details Here
    Biomorphix solutions, Nightingale regenerative

HOLLYWOOD

10:00 AM

4:00 PM

  • AI International: Film, Music Video & Micro-Drama: See Details Here
    AI International Film Festivals

MID CITY

1:00 PM

OTHER

12:00 PM

  • ORGANIC LIFE LABS™ PRESENTS THE ALIGNMENT LAB: The Science of human performance: See Details Here
    The Blue Room Collective

SANTA MONICA

8:00 AM

1:00 PM

6:00 PM

SOUTH LA

2:00 PM

  • Future Builders : Family STEM Day: See Details Here
    Black L.A. Tech Week (Community Collective)

VENICE

10:00 AM

12:00 PM

  • How to Raise Funds to Fund Any Business Using Digital Products.: See Details Here
    DN Events

VIRTUAL

5:00 PM

WEST HOLLYWOOD

3:00 PM

Each session provides unique opportunities to gain insights, network, and explore various fields of tech innovation. For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Download the dot.LA App

LA Tech Week 2026: Saturday’s Event Lineup

🔦 Spotlight

LA Tech Week 2026 heads into the weekend Saturday with more opportunities to learn, meet fellow builders and explore what is being created across the region. Browse the day’s events by neighborhood below and find the gatherings worth leaving the house for.

ARTS DISTRICT

5:30 PM

BEL AIR

5:00 PM

CULVER CITY

10:00 AM

1:00 PM

4:00 PM

DOWNTOWN

11:00 AM

2:00 PM

  • South Asians in Space, Physical AI: See Details Here
    american south asian network

5:00 PM

7:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

8:00 PM

INGLEWOOD

10:00 PM

LONG BEACH

10:00 AM

12:00 PM

LOS FELIZ

8:30 AM

  • Griffith Observatory Hike with Longevity Cities & Don't Die LA: See Details Here
    Longevity Cities

MALIBU

5:00 PM

MARINA DEL RAY

9:30 AM

  • The Brazen Capital Walk: Connecting Women, Capital & Opportunity: See Details Here
    BrazenEra

6:00 PM

  • Build an AI workflow editor, natively in Angular: See Details Here
    Workflow Builder

SANTA MONICA

7:00 AM

  • Founders Running Club Run in Santa Monica: See Details Here
    Founders Running Club, MongoDb

9:00 AM

  • MOLTEN - Spatial hackathon (ElevenLabs, AssemblyAI, Rokoko, Datafeel...): See Details Here
    Field Lab

2:00 PM

3:30 PM

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

SOUTH LA

7:00 PM

THE VALLEY

7:30 PM

UCLA

11:00 AM

USC

9:00 AM

10:00 AM

10:30 AM

VENICE

8:00 AM

  • Open Air Health Tech: See Details Here
    Open Air Health Tech, Bowshock, Govitamins App

10:00 AM

10:30 AM

11:00 AM

12:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Bots, Bytes & Bubbles Benefit: See Details Here
    Distinguished Minds Institute dba thinqueBytes®

VIRTUAL

9:00 AM

  • Ask a VP of Sales: Live GTM Office Hours for Early-Stage B2B Founders: See Details Here
    Kat Rucker Consulting Group

11:00 AM

WEST HOLLYWOOD

11:00 AM

  • The 10x Engineer Showed Up. The 10x Organization Didn't.: See Details Here
    Workflow Builder, Tentaro

3:00 PM

WESTSIDE

11:00 AM

2:00 PM

  • Graphic Design & Digital Printing Meetup: See Details Here
    Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More of West LA

7:00 PM

WESTWOOD

12:00 PM

Each session provides unique opportunities to gain insights, network, and explore various fields of tech innovation. For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Download the dot.LA App

LA Tech Week 2026: Friday’s Event Lineup

🔦 Spotlight

The workweek may be winding down, but LA Tech Week 2026 is not finished yet. Friday’s events are organized by neighborhood below, making it easier to choose where to spend the day before the week shifts into its weekend programming.

ARTS DISTRICT

9:00 AM

7:00 PM

BEL AIR

10:30 AM

  • Bel Air Mansion Creative Brunch: Investors, & Artists: See Details Here
    Amino Capital

BEVERLY HILLS

8:00 AM

  • Founders & Builders: Morning Walk/Run + Coffee Meetup: See Details Here
    FitMatchLA
  • Music-Tech : Move with the Global Ikon & Lululemon: See Details Here
    The Global Ikon

8:00 PM

BRENTWOOD

8:30 AM

CULVER CITY

8:30 AM

  • Where, not How: a Roundtable on Scaling AI Adoption: See Details Here
    Mellonhead, Gamma

11:30 AM

4:00 PM

DOWNTOWN

12:30 PM

  • Rocket Launch: A USC Builders Night by TroyLabs: See Details Here
    TroyLabs - USC's premier startup accelerator

1:00 PM

2:00 PM

  • Inner Alignment: Experience Self-trust in Navigating Complexity: See Details Here
    Meridian Collective

2:30 PM

  • From Story to Revenue: How AI Is Reshaping Microdrama: See Details Here
    Storyverse, Soulscape

3:00 PM

  • Reinventing AI Infrastructure: See Details Here
    Karmel Capital, The University of Michigan Ross School of Business

5:00 PM

  • Built Different: Outliers, Underdogs and the Next Breakout: See Details Here
    Forty.5 Capital Ventures

5:30 PM

6:00 PM

  • The Music AI Can't Hear: What's Actually Missing from the Future of Sound: See Details Here
    Motif

6:30 PM

  • HR & PEOPLE LEADERS ROOFTOP HAPPY HOUR . Leadership Signals: See Details Here
    Speech & Mind

EL SEGUNDO

7:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

10:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD HILLS

12:00 PM

  • Early stage co-founder matching: Virtual Speed Networking: See Details Here
    Kept

INGLEWOOD

7:00 PM

MARINA DEL RAY

3:00 PM

  • South Asians Shaping Digital Media: See Details Here
    american south asian network

7:00 PM

  • Tech Industry Speed Networking Marina Del Rey: See Details Here
    Los Angeles Fun Events
  • The New Wave: The Future of Hollywood In the Age of AI: See Details Here
    american south asian network

MID CITY

8:00 AM

OTHER

8:30 AM

  • Wedbush Ventures x Women in Product Breakfast: See Details Here
    Wedbush Ventures

10:00 AM

12:00 PM

2:30 PM

5:00 PM

  • Get Wired with Senra Systems!: See Details Here
    Senra Systems, Lowercarbon, Stifel

6:00 PM

6:30 PM

7:00 PM

PASADENA

12:00 PM

4:00 PM

  • Pasadena Ascends: VIP Closing Reception, Hosted by Wedbush: See Details Here
    Innovate Pasadena

PLAYA VISTA

10:00 AM

  • AI LAX Summit - Culture meets AI: See Details Here
    Governlayer.AI, AILAXSUMMIT.com, Google

6:00 PM

SANTA MONICA

8:15 AM

8:30 AM

  • Silicon Beach Volleyball Social: See Details Here
    Holland & Knight, JP Morgan, Mucker Capital

10:00 AM

  • Gen AI Observability for Engineering Leaders: See Details Here
    Amazon Web Services

11:00 AM

1:00 PM

  • Future of Photography : Discussing the future of image capture and IP protection. Cigar Lounge: See Details Here
    VICEVERSA EDITIONS
  • Self-Host Frontier AI: Running Open-Weight Models on AWS: See Details Here
    Amazon Web Services

3:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • Gold House x Speedrun Investors Social: See Details Here
    Gold House Ventures, a16z Speedrun

5:30 PM

  • The Autonomous Playbook: Scaling Revenue faster with AI.: See Details Here
    GrupaAI

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

8:00 PM

SUNSET

7:00 PM

UCLA

6:00 PM

  • The Builder's Lounge - Jazz Bar Demo Night with VEST x Cognition: See Details Here
    VEST at UCLA

USC

Fri, Oct 16 · 5:00pm — Sun, Oct 18 · 5:00pm

Fri, Oct 16 · 5:00pm — Sat, Oct 17 · 5:00pm

VENICE

7:30 AM

9:00 AM

  • Content in Tech: Coffee & Creators: See Details Here
    Narrative Content Studio, YT Jobs

11:00 AM

12:00 PM

  • What REALLY Happens After You Raise (But No One Talks About) - Funded Founder Lunch @: See Details Here
    Grow Through Story

2:00 PM

4:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • Sell before you build: See Details Here
    USC Entrepreneurship and Venture Management Association

6:00 PM

  • A16Z | ElevenLabs - Official Afterparty: See Details Here
    ElevenLabs, a16z Speedrun

7:00 PM

VIRTUAL

9:00 AM

  • Ask a VP of Sales: Live GTM Office Hours for Early-Stage B2B Founders: See Details Here
    Kat Rucker Consulting Group

11:00 AM

  • Vibe Marketing in the Age of AI Agents: Live Workshop: See Details Here
    Juliet AI, Inc.

1:00 PM

2:00 PM

WEST HOLLYWOOD

11:00 AM

7:00 PM

  • NO HUMAN, NO CREATIVITY? Who Creates Culture Now?: See Details Here
    xVibe AI, HFE Events

WESTWOOD

9:00 AM

  • UCLA Tech + Society Conference: See Details Here
    Easton Technology Management Center

Each session provides unique opportunities to gain insights, network, and explore various fields of tech innovation. For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Download the dot.LA App

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