Karma Automotive Comes Up with $100M in New Funding

Rachel Uranga

Rachel Uranga is dot.LA's Managing Editor, News. She is a former Mexico-based market correspondent at Reuters and has worked for several Southern California news outlets, including the Los Angeles Business Journal and the Los Angeles Daily News. She has covered everything from IPOs to immigration. Uranga is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and California State University Northridge. A Los Angeles native, she lives with her husband, son and their felines.

Karma Automotive Comes Up with $100M in New Funding
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Luxury electric carmaker Karma has found a lifeline with $100 million in new funding as the company and its parent look to cash in on the popularity of Tesla in order to raise $300 million, Bloomberg reported.

The Chinese-owned company formerly known as Fisker Automotive has struggled to break out in the capital-intensive world of carmaking. Owned by auto-supplier Wanxiang Group, which bought the company in 2014, Karma is selling stakes to private equity partners, according to the report. By raising cash from U.S. investors, Karma officials aim to reduce Chinese ownership below 50%, making it easier to win government fleet contracts.


A Karma spokesperson confirmed the deal but said the company would not release details because it has signed non-disclosure agreements with their investors.

But the president of Wanxiang's U.S. business Pin Ni told Bloomberg that "Karma has real production, real technology and real dealers."

"Look at Tesla's value and you see Workhorse with their stock going up ten times recently." He denied recent media reports the company was near bankruptcy.

Karma is best known for its $135,000 Karma Revero. Last February the company laid off 60 workers in a move to restructure its business. At the time, it said it was billing itself as a "high-tech mobility incubator" that can manufacture, design and engineer for larger car manufacturers that are sinking billions of dollars into capital for new green cars. Several new executives were also brought in. In April, the company went through another round of layoffs. According to state data, 60 people were let go.

This story was updated at 2:55 pm PST with a comment from a Karma spokesperson.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

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

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

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
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles

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.

Gitai Raises $30 Million to Expand Manufacturing Footprint in Los Angeles
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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