LA Seed Deals So Far This Year: More Startups See Millions More Dollars

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

LA Seed Deals So Far This Year: More Startups See Millions More Dollars

With venture capital pouring record amounts of money into Los Angeles tech, small startups are seeing a boon. Seed deals hit new highs in the first half of this year, topping $330 million across 116 startups, according to data from Amplify's latest LA Seed Report.

This translates to record-setting growth for Southern California's startup scene where companies from delivery software to CBD supplements scored millions of dollars to jump start growth.


For Los Angeles, the pandemic continues to boost both ecommerce and consumer products.

This trend includes a wide variety of services, covering "everything from SaaS companies building tools to streamline ecommerce at scale, to new digitally native brands, and innovative remote marketplace models," Amplify Senior Associate Connor Sundberg wrote in the report.

Still, Los Angeles early-stage companies may be lagging slightly behind the broader fundraising trend.Compared to the first half of 2020, seed deal volume in the city spiked 35% in 2021.

In the same period, worldwide seed funding jumped 40% year over year, per a global venture report released recently by Crunchbase. Despite the ongoing pandemic, "$6 billion was invested in more than 3,500 seed-stage startups in the first half of" 2021, the same report estimates.

LA-based companies secured $139.3 million across 53 seed rounds in the first quarter, and those figures rose the following quarter to $191 million and 63 respectively.

During this time, the average size of seed deals in the city increased by about 20%, up from an average of $2.4 million last year to nearly $2.9 million. According to Amplify, LA saw more $2.5 million to $5 million seed rounds than ever before in 2021.

Ecommerce and consumer-focused raises this year included Cartwheel, which raised $1 million to help restaurants take on delivery apps, and Ready, Set, Food!, which secured a $3.5 million seed round to help parents safely introduce their babies to common allergens.

By sector, SaaS startups continue to absorb the most seed dollars in LA. They raised $121.2 million across 44 companies in the first half of the year.

Recent SaaS raises included Preveta, which raised $2 million to "change the game for early cancer detection," and Wonder Dynamics, which brought in half a million dollars more to develop an AI-powered visual effects tool for low-budget filmmakers.

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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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Meet SVT Fleet Solutions: Revolutionizing Fleet Management for a Zero Emission Future

David Shultz

David Shultz reports on clean technology and electric vehicles, among other industries, for dot.LA. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Outside, Nautilus and many other publications.

Meet SVT Fleet Solutions: Revolutionizing Fleet Management for a Zero Emission Future
Evan Xie

Less than a month ago, the California Air Resources Board announced new regulations that aim to phase out fossil fuels in medium and heavy duty trucks by 2045. Known as Advanced Clean Fleets, the rule caused major concerns across the transportation industry and has sent many fleet owners and operators scrambling for solutions that will help their business comply with the ambitious timelines.

A new Los Angeles-based company, SVT Fleet Solutions, is hoping to capitalize on the coming wave of change by providing a one-stop-shop for fleet management that will enable owners to build and execute a plan to transition off of diesel and into zero emission technologies like batteries and hydrogen. “There really has not been any new fleet management companies in this space in over 10 years,” says Don Kelley, president of SVT. “I'm just thrilled that somehow– in some form or fashion–transportation is sexy again.”

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Why Cirque du Soleil Tapped LA Game Maker Gamefam for its First Virtual World

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.

Why Cirque du Soleil Tapped LA Game Maker Gamefam for its First Virtual World
Photo: Gamefam/Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group

After almost 40 years since its founding, Canadian entertainment powerhouse Cirque du Soleil is embracing the metaverse.

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