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LA Tech Week 2025: Thursday’s Event Lineup

Grace Lee
LA Tech Week 2025: Thursday’s Event Lineup

Here's the Thursday, October 16th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

ARTS DISTRICT

7:30 AM

  • The Crossover | Presented by Crosscourt + Silicon Valley Bank: *Invite Only*
    Crosscourt, Silicon Valley Bank

10:00 AM

  • The Experience Economy: Tech-Enabled Engagement + Consumer Connection: See Details Here
    FUZE Technology

BEVERLY HILLS

1:00 PM

  • Power of Partnership: Building Breakthrough Brands: See Details Here
    NINICO Communications

2:00 PM

  • AI in Animation Films & Verticals Workshop: See Details Here
    Stars Collective, Leyline Pro AI

3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

  • Inside Hutton: Curated by The Agency Art House: See Details Here
    The Agency Art House

6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

  • Elevate Fall Soirée | Caviar Tasting & Champagne: See Details Here
    Elevate Collective, LLC

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Manhattan Institute: Therapy or Indoctrination? The Battle Over Childhood Mental Health: See Details Here
    Manhattan Institute

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

6:30 PM

  • LightDAO in Action: Bridging Technology & Humanity: See Details Here
    Light Dao, EVOLVING POTENTIAL

BRENTWOOD

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

6:15 PM

BURBANK

5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

CENTURY CITY

9:00 AM - 8:00 PM

  • A4LI Longevity Investors Summit: See Details Here
    The Alliance for Longevity Initiatives, Zuber Lawler LLP

10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

  • From Startup to Exit: Navigating M&A with Confidence: See Details Here
    Fox Rothschild

1:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • The Future of Creator Finance: Instant Payments, Enterprise Scale
    Splitz App

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

6:30 PM

CULVER CITY

8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

9:00 AM

  • Resilience and Reinvention: Capital Strategies for a Shifting Landscape: See Details Here
    Cap Table Coalition, Sisters With Ventures, Emmeline Ventures

11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

  • Elevated Game: The Rise of the Athlete - Investor: See Details Here
    Elevated Sports Group, Improve Your Game

11:00 AM

11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

2:00 PM

  • Coeus Collective Pitch Competition
    Coeus Collective

6:00 PM

  • Prompt & Presence: The AI Marketing Salon: *Invite Only*
    Share Ventures

DTLA

5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

8:00 PM

EL SEGUNDO

4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • Software for Hardware Panel & Happy Hour: See Details Here
    Space Happy Hour, Perkins Coie

5:00 PM

  • Navigating DC: How LA Defense Tech Startups Can Shape the Future of National Security: See Details Here
    APCO

6:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

HAWTHORNE

6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

HOLLYWOOD

8:30 PM - 2:30 PM

  • Hollywood 3.0 - Phygital Convergence @TCL Chinese Theatre: See Details Here
    Hollywood Broadcast Studios @ TCL Chinese Theatres, Caltech Center for Technology & Management Educations world-renowned AI/ML and executive education programs

11:30 PM

  • Anti-Age Science: Precision, Unlimited: See Details Here
    Monach Athletic Club, The Reason Longevity, AI Intelligence

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM

1:30 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Family Offices Investors Summit-Dinner-Tour: See Details Here
    Family Offices Investors Summit, QE Media, Lux Angeles Studios, BlackRock

KOREATOWN

5:00 PM

  • ¡Salud!: *Invite Only*
    Zócalo Health

LONG BEACH

9:00 AM

9:00 AM

  • Cars, Coffee & Vertical Software - Long Beach: See Details Here
    V1, Vacant.com, Grid

5:00 PM

MALIBU

3:00 PM – 5:30 PM

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

  • Female Investors + Founders Mixer: See Details Here
    Reitler, Mercer Advisors, EisnerAmper

MAR VISTA

6:00 PM

6:15 PM

  • Smoov x Stars Align Founder Investor Matches: See Details Here
    Smoov, Stars Align

MARINA DEL REY

11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

  • Defense & Startup Innovation, DoD/ARL Collaboration: Unleashing American Drone Dominance: See Details Here
    Rhoman Aerospace, Army Research Laboratory, USC Information Sciences Institute

2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

2:30 PM – 4:30 PM

  • Inside the Minds Building the Robots: See Details Here
    USC Information Sciences Institute, Newmark

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

4:30 PM – 6:30 PM

  • Silicon Beach Mixer: See Details Here
    USC Information Sciences Institute, Newmark

6:00 PM

  • NBA Foundation: *Invite Only*
    NBA Foundation

6:30 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

PASADENA

6:00 PM

  • Pasadena Tech Happy Hour: See Details Here
    Innovate Pasadena, Google Developers Group, City of Pasadena

PLAYA DEL REY

5:00 PM

PLAYA VISTA

9:00 AM

  • Tech Detox! "Meet & Greet in the Wetlands Hike": *Invite Only*
    Loyola Marymount University

SANTA MONICA

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

  • AI for Acquisition: Real Talk Between Military and Tech: See Details Here
    Authorium

8:00 AM

  • The LA Grind and Polsinelli's Curated Coffee & Tech Mixer: See Details Here
    Polsinelli LLP, The LA Grind

8:00 AM

  • WebCongress LA: Future Ready: *Invite Only*
    WebCongress Inc.

9:30 AM

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM

  • VC & Founders Breakfast Mixer w/ Qapita, Remofirst: See Details Here
    Qapita, Remofirst

10:00 AM

10:00 AM

10:00 AM

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM

  • Female Founders & Funders: Official Treasure Hunt: See Details Here
    Sponstar, Jadeva, Arbitrum, Fabric VC, Moonwalker Capital

11:30 AM – 12:30 PM

12:00 PM – 2:00 PM

  • Building, Scaling & Funding HardTech - Lunch&Panel: See Details Here
    Conduit Venture Labs, Intent Software Development, Duro Labs, Second Order Effects

12:30 PM – 3:30 PM

2:00 PM

2:00 PM

2:30 PM

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Building Faster: AI for Architecture & Construction: See Details Here
    Blueprints AI

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

  • Citizens x Orrick x Deel - Pickleball: See Details Here
    Deel, Citizens Private Bank

3:00 PM

  • Branding In Public: See a Unicorn Rise And Leave With the Blueprint to Build Your Own: See Details Here
    Expert Dojo, Camino5

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Investing in the Future: A Conversation with Women Founders: See Details Here
    a16z speedrun, The 98

3:00 PM – 5:00 PM

  • Top Gun: Defense Tech x Beach Volleyball: See Details Here
    Stell Engineering, Fulcrum Venture Group

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Hard Tech - Happy Hour: See Details Here
    Conduit Venture Labs, intent software development, duro labs, Second Order Effects

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

4:00 PM – 7:00 PM

  • Indra AI: Consumer Data, Reimagined - Understand What Matters. Act on it. See it Work.: See Details Here
    Indra Intelligence

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

4:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Exclusive Beach Club Party for Top Founders & Operators – Tinder x Wonder Ventures: See Details Here
    Tinder, Wonder Ventures

4:00 PM

4:30 PM

  • Building the Creator Economy: from capital to code: See Details Here
    Wells Fargo TMT Investment Banking, Pioneer Square Labs, Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, DLA Piper

4:45 PM

5:00 PM

  • Preccelerator Demo Day
    Stubbs Alderton & Markiles Preccelerator

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • Fintech Founders & Investors: See Details Here
    Rivonia Road Capital, Everywhere Ventures

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

5:00 PM

5:00 PM – 7:45 PM

5:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • AI Founders and Funders Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
    Databricks

5:00 PM

5:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • Reed Smith LLP® presents The Investor Dating Game™ by TCVN™ hosted at OneDigital®: *Invite Only*
    TCVN

5:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • Unplug + Align: A Serene Sound Bath by the Sea: See Details Here
    What to Where, Velvet Tones

5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

5:00 PM – 9:00 PM

  • Soundromeda presents the Future of Music: See Details Here
    Soundromeda, Crypto Fridays, New Friendship Tech

5:30 PM

5:30 PM

5:30 PM

  • LA CISO Dinner: *Invite Only*
    a16z

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Kara Nortman Fireside Chat presented by Mofo, host Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs SoCal: See Details Here
    Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Socal

6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

  • How to Influence Brand Visibility in the AI Era: See Details Here
    SUSO Digital, Moxie Communications Group

6:00 PM

  • AI Workflow Automation Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
    Aparavi

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • Stripe x Favorited Present: From 0 to 1 - Insights on Scaling in LA and the Future of AI: See Details Here
    Stripe

6:00 PM

  • Building NextGen Healthcare 🏥: See Details Here
    HEALTHCARE *by design*, Axle Health

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

6:00 PM

6:00 PM

  • ParadoxUniverse.com: IMMERSIVE, LIVE EXPERIENCE: See Details Here
    ParadoxUniverse.com

6:15 PM

6:30 PM

6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

  • Tech Meets Culture: Connect & Innovate with MaC Ventures: See Details Here
    MaC Venture Capital, Perkins Coie

6:30 PM

  • TBPN x Ramp: Founder & Finance Table: *Invite Only*
    Ramp, TBPN

6:30 PM

  • Influence & inspiration : Lessons From The World's Most Competitive Stage: See Details Here
    Expert Dojo, Camino5

6:30 PM – 9:00 PM

6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

  • Burnout Reset: A Nervous System Recharge + Connection Experience: See Details Here
    Tania Hansraj Hypnotherapy and Healing

7:00 PM

  • The Winning Stack: Cloud, Chips, and AI Agents: *Invite Only*
    Lola Vision Systems, Nvidia, Sherpa Clouds

7:00 PM

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

7:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • Evoke Muse Round Table Series: *Invite Only*
    Evoke Muse

7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

  • LABEL IQ AI - THE NASDAQ FOR AI MUSIC - LIVE DEMO + AI ARTIST MEETUP: See Details Here
    LABEL IQ AI

8:00 PM

  • The Next Wave
    Wollen Labs

VENICE

9:00 AM

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

9:30 AM

  • Next Stop Europe – International Tech Breakfast: See Details Here
    NRW.Global Business, CMS

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

  • Business of Wellness, Building Brands for Longevity: See Details Here
    J.P. Morgan

4:00 PM – 6:30 PM

  • AI x Games: Playing with Inference Mixer: See Details Here
    Jam & Tea Studios, Clementine

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

5:00 PM

  • From Prompt to Protection: Creating & Securing AI Enhanced Works: See Details Here
    The Law Firm of Shivani Honwad LLC, Doniger Burroughs

6:00 PM

6:00 PM – 9:00 PM

6:00 PM

6:30 PM – 8:30 PM

6:30 PM

  • Expanding the Boundaries of Storytelling with GenAI: See Details Here
    Promise, Curious Refuge

VENICE BEACH

5:30 PM – 7:30 PM

6:00 PM

VIRTUAL (LA)

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

12:00 PM

  • Democratizing Startup IP: Free Patents for Founders: See Details Here
    Idea Cleark (powered by Paximal)

1:00 PM

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

WEST HOLLYWOOD

3:00 PM

  • Ecos Group: *Invite Only*
    Ecos Group

5:00 PM

  • US-APAC Capital Bridges: Funding AI & Biotech in 2025–26: *Invite Only*
    Reynold Lemkins Group

5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

6:00 PM – 8:30 PM

  • Queer Tech IRL Launch Party hosted by JP Morgan and Build Momentum: See Details Here
    Build Momentum

6:00 PM

  • Game Changers: Sports, Tech and Entertainment Dinner: *Invite Only*
    Morgan Stanley Wealth Management

6:00 PM

7:00 PM

  • $10K Elevator Pitch Competition: See Details Here
    Hands On Angel LLC, KOO Capital

8:00 PM

  • The Frontier: VIP Reception: *Invite Only*
    Cerebral Valley, UBS

9:00 PM

10:00 PM

WESTSIDE

12:00 PM – 4:00 PM

  • ScentHaus: A Sensory Salon Experience Powered by Gallery AI: See Details Here
    GalleryAI

WESTWOOD

4:30 PM – 8:00 PM

Face to Face with Investors: See Details Here
TCA Venture Group, Bruin Angels, UCLA Anderson School of Management


For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

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Montgomery Summit Is Back at the Fairmont Miramar

Grace Lee
Montgomery Summit Is Back at the Fairmont Miramar

🔦 Spotlight

Hey Los Angeles,

If you’re looking to stack your March with the right rooms and the right people, The Montgomery Summit, presented by March Capital, is coming back to Santa Monica (March 10–11, 2026) at the Fairmont Miramar. It’s been running since 2004, founded by March Capital co-founder Jamie Montgomery, and it consistently draws a tight mix of founders, investors, and execs who show up to have real conversations, not just do the conference lap.

This year’s program is shaping up to be a big one: 1,200+ attendees, 180+ speakers, and CEOs from 120+ carefully selected private tech companies. In other words, if you want early looks at breakout companies and the context you can’t get from a headline scroll, this is one of LA’s most high-signal two-day events.

What I like about Montgomery is the vibe. It’s less “conference chaos” and more “high-signal collisions,” with structured ways to connect, including 1:1 meeting scheduling through the Summit app for eligible attendees. The agenda doesn’t stop when the panels do, there’s a Getty Villa reception and a closing reception, so the Summit keeps moving well past the main stage hours.

It’s invitation-only, but you can request an invitation here.

Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.


🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies

      • Vast secured $500M in new financing, made up of $300M in Series A equity and $200M in debt, to accelerate production of its Haven commercial space stations and expand its facilities and team. The round was led by Balerion Space Ventures with participation from IQT, Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui & Co., MUFG, Nikon, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, Earthrise Ventures, and founder/first investor Jed McCaleb, as Vast pushes toward Haven-1 and its longer-term successor vision. - learn more
      • PartsPulse has raised $3M from UP.Partners and used the momentum to officially launch its unified AI platform at CONEXPO in Las Vegas. The startup says its “command center” combines inventory planning, pricing optimization, and sales intelligence into one system for OEMs, dealers, and fleet managers, and it was built with UP.Labs and co-developed with Wabash to help parts businesses spot revenue opportunities and stock the right parts at the right time. - learn more
      • Procode AI launched out of stealth with $4M in venture funding and acquired The Auctus Group, a major revenue cycle management (RCM) firm that bills for 300+ plastic surgery and dermatology providers. The company says the combination will bring AI into private-practice surgical billing, using its “Coding Copilot” to translate operative reports into billing codes faster and reduce denials, while Auctus continues operating under CEO John Gwin. - learn more
      • Smack has raised $32M across Seed and Series A to scale what it calls the first “frontier AI lab” built specifically for national security, after landing contracts with multiple branches of the U.S. military in 2025. The Series A was led by Geodesic Capital and Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Felicis, First In, Scribble Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Washington Harbour Partners, Palumni VC, Fulcrum Venture Group, Anomaly Fund, and Fortitude Ventures. - learn more

                      LA Venture Funds

                      • BOLD Capital Partners participated in KeyCare’s $27.4M financing round, backing the Epic-native virtual care company as it scales an AI-enabled model designed to extend health systems’ capacity with 24/7 virtual urgent, preventive, chronic, and virtual-first primary care. The round was led by HealthX Ventures and also included 8VC, LRVHealth, and Ikigai Venture Partners, plus strategic investors such as WellSpan Health, Allina Health, University of Chicago Ventures, Edge Ventures, and Exact Sciences, bringing KeyCare’s total funding to $55M+. - learn more
                      • Fifth Wall led RenoFi’s $22M Series B, backing the Philadelphia startup’s push to make renovation financing simpler through an AI-enabled platform that underwrites loans based on a home’s after-renovation value. The round also included meaningful participation from Progressive Insurance and additional support from investors such as HighSage Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Flintlock Capital, and Gaingels, plus continued backing from Canaan, First Round Capital, Curql, TruStage Ventures, and several credit union partners. - learn more
                      • B Capital co-led Bounce’s $5M internal round alongside existing backers Accel and Qualcomm Ventures, extending fresh capital without bringing in new investors. Bounce founder Vivekananda Hallekere told The Economic Times the round underscores continued support from its current investors as the electric mobility startup pushes forward in the EV space. - learn more

                                      LA Exits

                                      • Silent House Group has been acquired by concert staging and live-experiences giant TAIT, formalizing a long-running partnership between the two companies. The deal pairs Silent House’s LA-born creative and production chops, behind major tours and live experiences including Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National Tour, with TAIT’s engineering, staging, and global delivery capabilities to build touring, experiential, and broadcast productions at any scale. - learn more

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                                                                Revel’s Afterburner Round: $150M for Hard Tech Infrastructure

                                                                Grace Lee
                                                                Revel’s Afterburner Round: $150M for Hard Tech Infrastructure

                                                                🔦 Spotlight

                                                                Hello Los Angeles,

                                                                This week’s biggest hard tech funding headline belongs to Revel, which just raised a $150M Series B to modernize the software layer behind hardware test and control. The round was led by Index Ventures, with major participation from Redpoint Ventures and returning investors Thrive Capital, Felicis, and Abstract Ventures, plus angel participation including Figma CEO Dylan Field.

                                                                Image Source: Revel

                                                                Revel’s pitch is simple: rockets, advanced energy, robotics, and defense systems have evolved fast, but the tooling that tests and commands them is still stuck in the past. The company says its platform can cut test stand setup time from 14 days to about 8 hours, and that teams go from testing every other day to multiple tests per day. One customer, Impulse Space, reportedly runs 80+ instances of RevelTest, and Revel claims every pilot it has run has converted into a paying customer.

                                                                What makes this more than “just another big round” is where Revel is aiming next: expanding from test stands into industrial control across critical infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, power stations, refineries, water treatment, data centers, and biomedical manufacturing. Their platform includes live telemetry and safe command execution, and even a purpose built language, RevelCode, designed for deterministic, debuggable control in high consequence environments. In other words, if LA is becoming a capital of hard tech, Revel is trying to become the control room software those companies standardize on.Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.

                                                                🤝 Venture Deals

                                                                    LA Companies

                                                                    • Third Way Health raised an oversubscribed $15M Series A led by Health Velocity Capital to scale its AI-enabled hybrid human and automation front-office operations for medical practices. The company says it will use the funding to accelerate customer growth, expand operations, and deepen its AI and automation roadmap, building on its claim of supporting practices serving 5M+ patients annually. - learn more
                                                                    • Inhouse raised $5M in seed funding to grow its AI legal platform that helps small and midsize businesses generate contracts, get answers to complex legal questions, and bring in attorneys when needed. The round included backing from Run Ventures, Royal Street Ventures, Switch, and LegalZoom cofounder and former CEO Brian Liu, and the company says it will use the new capital to expand its AI agent capabilities and increase automation across contract lifecycle management, compliance, and proactive risk management. - learn more
                                                                    • Subject raised a $28M growth investment led by Vistara Growth, with participation from new backers NextEquity Partners, Green Street Impact Partners, and Outcomes Collective, plus existing investors including Kleiner Perkins and others. The company says it will use the funding to accelerate development of its AI-powered K–12 curriculum and online learning platform, expand accredited course offerings, and scale adoption with more districts and educators worldwide. - learn more
                                                                    • Mogul raised $5M in a round led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, with participation from Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, Fairway Capital Partners, and renewed support from Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures. The royalty management platform says it will use the funding to expand services for artists and their teams, building on traction like processing over $1.5B in royalties and launching its new Catalog Valuation Center to help creators understand the value of their catalogs. - learn more
                                                                    • Handl Health raised a $14.2M Series A led by Arthur Ventures, with follow-on investment from Syndra Capital Partners, an additional strategic investor, and increased participation from existing backers Mucker Capital, Riverfront Ventures, Digital Health Venture Partners, and Boutique Venture Partners. The company says it will use the new capital to expand its platform and deliver deeper analytics that help employers and benefits decision-makers design lower-cost health plans with more predictable pricing and better care outcomes. - learn more
                                                                    • Skorppio launched a self-serve, on-premise high-performance computer rental platform that lets AI teams, VFX studios, researchers, and schools rent enterprise-grade systems without buying hardware or locking into the cloud. The company says its fleet includes everything from performance laptops to DGX-class AI systems and GPU servers, supported through a PNY Pro partnership that makes NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs available, plus curated “KIT” bundles designed for specific workflows. - learn more

                                                                                  LA Venture Funds

                                                                                  • B Capital participated in Gushwork’s $9M seed round, backing the startup’s bet that “AI search” will become a major new channel for B2B lead generation. The round was co-led by Susquehanna International Group and Lightspeed, and Gushwork says it’s helping businesses show up in answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity using automated marketing agents that generate search optimized content and backlinks. - learn more
                                                                                  • UP.Partners participated in BeyondMath’s $18.5M seed round, backing the company as it scales its “generative physics” approach to faster engineering-grade simulation. The raise included a $10M seed extension led by Cambridge Innovation Capital, with additional participation from Insight Partners and InMotion Ventures. - learn more
                                                                                  • MANTIS Venture Capital participated in SolveAI’s $50M funding round, backing the company as it launches a platform that lets employees build enterprise applications using natural language instead of code. The raise included a $45M Series A led by GV plus a previously undisclosed $5M pre-seed led by Accel, with additional participation from Northzone, NeverLift, and angels including Mike LoSapio, Pushmeet Kohli, and Olivier Godement. - learn more
                                                                                  • Fabric VC participated in Kash’s $2M pre-seed round, backing the startup as it embeds prediction markets directly into social media starting with X. Kash says users can turn posts into live, tradable markets through its @kash_bot, letting people express conviction on real-world outcomes inside the feed rather than in separate apps. The round also included investors such as Big Brain Holdings, Spartan Group, Coinbase Ventures, Kosmos Ventures, Halo Capital, MoonRock Capital, and Polaris Fund. - learn more
                                                                                  • M13 led LuminosAI’s latest funding round as the company launched Lighthouse, a new feature it says can automatically test generative and agentic AI systems for concrete legal liability. LuminosAI says the new capital will help it accelerate growth and expand its team to support a growing customer base, with participation from investors including Bloomberg Beta, Hawktail, AME Cloud Ventures, Crosscourt, Octave, Great Oaks, Fundrise, and others. - learn more

                                                                                                LA Exits

                                                                                                • Niagen Bioscience has sold its ChromaDex Reference Standards business to LGC in an all-cash transaction that closed on Feb. 24, 2026, as the company sharpens its focus on its core longevity strategy. Niagen says the divestiture helps it fully exit non-core operations and concentrate resources on NAD+ science, intellectual property, and commercial growth around its Niagen solutions, while LGC adds the standards portfolio to deepen its reference materials offering for pharma and lab customers. - learn more
                                                                                                • Mutiny has been acquired by LA-based investment firm Shamrock Capital, which says the deal will help Mutiny accelerate growth and strengthen its position as a leading gaming-focused creative agency. Founded in 2021 and previously incubated within Trailer Park Group, Mutiny works with publishers and brands on research-driven, player-first creative, social, and community campaigns. Shamrock says Mutiny will continue scaling as a standalone business, with support that could include strategic acquisitions. - learn more
                                                                                                • Vestigo Aerospace has been acquired by Applied Aerospace & Defense, bringing Vestigo’s Spinnaker deorbit drag-sail product line into Applied’s portfolio. Applied says Spinnaker helps satellite and launch-vehicle operators meet tightening orbital debris rules by providing a lightweight, cost-effective way to deorbit objects in low Earth orbit, and Vestigo founder and CEO Dr. David Spencer will join Applied as VP of Deployable Systems. - learn more

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                                                                                                                        Snap’s New Growth Engine Isn’t Ads

                                                                                                                        Grace Lee
                                                                                                                        Snap’s New Growth Engine Isn’t Ads

                                                                                                                        🔦 Spotlight

                                                                                                                        Hey LA,

                                                                                                                        This week’s most interesting story isn’t a flashy new feature, it’s a quieter flex: Snapchat is getting people to pay for Snapchat, on purpose.

                                                                                                                        Snap just proved “free app” isn’t the only business model

                                                                                                                        Snap says its direct revenue business is now running at a $1B annualized pace, with 25M+ subscribers paying across a growing menu of products like Snapchat+, Lens+, Snapchat Premium, and Memories Storage Plans. That matters because it’s not just a nice add-on to ads, it’s a different kind of relationship with users. Ads monetize attention. Subscriptions monetize intent.

                                                                                                                        And intent is sticky. If someone pulls out a card for you, they don’t churn the way an algorithm does.

                                                                                                                        Creator Subscriptions are the real tell

                                                                                                                        Snap is also launching Creator Subscriptions, starting with an alpha on February 23 for select U.S. creators, then expanding to Snap Stars in Canada, the U.K., and France in the following weeks. The offer is straightforward: subscriber-only Stories and Snaps, priority replies, and an ad-free experience inside that creator’s Stories.

                                                                                                                        The strategic move is even simpler. Snap wants “paying for closeness” to happen inside Stories and Chat, not on some external membership page. If they get that right, creators stop treating Snapchat as just a top-of-funnel channel and start treating it like a place to actually monetize their audience. Snap, meanwhile, gets a revenue stream that doesn’t care what CPMs are doing this quarter.

                                                                                                                        Meanwhile, IRL: lululemon’s Studio Yet.

                                                                                                                        Lululemon’s Studio Yet. pop-up is running Feb. 18 through March 8 at 8175 Melrose Ave. It’s a ticketed, limited-capacity lineup of workouts and community programming, with proceeds (less fees) supporting BlacklistLA.

                                                                                                                        Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.

                                                                                                                        🤝 Venture Deals

                                                                                                                            LA Companies

                                                                                                                            • Radiant announced a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin via Lockheed Martin Ventures, further oversubscribing the company’s current financing round. Radiant is developing its 1 MW Kaleidos portable nuclear microreactor and says it’s targeting a first reactor startup this summer at Idaho National Laboratory, with initial customer deployments planned for 2028. - learn more
                                                                                                                            • Mesh Optical Technologies announced it has raised over $50M, led by Thrive Capital, to scale production of its Alpha C1 optical transceiver, which converts electrical signals to light at 1.6 Tbps for AI data centers. The startup says its edge is manufacturing: it builds the optical engine using fast, repeatable flip-chip die bonding to make high-volume, U.S.-based production of optical links possible, backed by a team with experience from SpaceX and Intel.- learn more

                                                                                                                                        LA Venture Funds

                                                                                                                                        • Alexandria Venture Investments participated as an existing investor in Ten63 Therapeutics’ latest strategic financing, which also included participation from Morpheus Ventures and added new backers such as Chugai Venture Fund and the Gates Foundation, bringing total funding to more than $45M. Ten63 says it will use the capital to scale BEYOND, its AI-driven “Large Quantum Chemistry Model” platform for designing small-molecule drugs against historically “undruggable” targets, including programs in oncology and an HPV-focused effort supported by the Gates Foundation.- learn more
                                                                                                                                        • B Capital participated in Code Metal’s $125M Series B, a round led by Salesforce Ventures that valued the company at $1.25B, alongside investors including Accel, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Smith Point Capital, and others.Code Metal says it will use the new capital to expand engineering, accelerate product development, grow government and commercial partnerships, and scale go-to-market for its “verifiable” AI code generation and translation platform used in mission-critical environments. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Bonfire Ventures co-led Odynn’s $9.5M seed round alongside 8VC, with participation from Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst. Odynn says it’s building personalized AI infrastructure for travel companies, aiming to replace one-size-fits-all booking portals with dynamic experiences that tailor search, recommendations, and conversion flows to each traveler. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • MTech Capital led Qumis’s $4.3M oversubscribed seed round, which also brought in American Family Ventures as a new strategic investor and pushed total funding to $6.75M. The company says it’s building an attorney-trained AI platform for commercial insurance “coverage intelligence,” and will use the funding to expand go-to-market and deepen product capabilities as adoption grows among large brokers and carriers (including NFP). - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • WndrCo participated in Mansa’s seed funding round, which the company says totaled $12M and was led by MaC Venture Capital. Mansa is now launching a vertical “micro-drama” format inside its app, debuting with the 27-episode original series The Heiress, The Baller & The Secret Society and positioning the feature as a mobile-first way to release serialized stories globally. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Alpha Edison co-led Ownwell’s $50M Series B, with Wonder Ventures participating alongside investors including Mercato Partners, Intuit Ventures, Left Lane Capital, First Round Capital, Long Journey Ventures, and PROOF Fund. The round includes $30M in equity and $20M in debt financing from Western Alliance Bank, and Ownwell says it will use the capital to expand nationally and simplify the property-tax appeal process through a new “National Appeals Packet” product. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Three Six Zero participated as an existing investor in Hook’s $10M Series A, which was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Waverley Capital, bringing Hook’s total funding to $16M. Hook is an artist-first social platform that lets fans legally remix licensed songs using simple AI-powered tools and share them across social platforms, and it says the new capital will fund user growth plus product expansion like an Android app, richer creation formats, and deeper ecosystem integrations. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Overture Ventures participated as an existing investor in Zero Homes’ $16.8M Series A, which was led by Prelude Ventures alongside SJF Ventures and the Exelon Foundation. Zero Homes says it’s using the funding to expand into new markets, broaden its home-upgrade offerings, and grow its contractor network, powered by a smartphone-based “digital twin” approach that produces upgrade designs and pricing remotely. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Rebel Fund participated in Sphinx’s $7.1M seed round, which was led by Cherry Ventures alongside Y Combinator, Deel Ventures, and Singularity Capital. Sphinx is building browser-native compliance agents that work inside banks’ and fintechs’ existing tools to automate AML, KYC, and KYB work, with the new funding earmarked to scale that “agentic compliance workforce.” - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • Matter Venture Partners led ChipAgents’ oversubscribed $50M Series A1, bringing total capital raised to $74M, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek, and Ericsson. ChipAgents says it will use the new funding to scale its agentic AI platform for chip design and verification, expand engineering and research, and accelerate global deployment of multi-agent “chip teams,” alongside a new HQ buildout in Santa Clara. - learn more
                                                                                                                                        • MemorialCare Innovation Fund participated in SpendRule’s $2M round, which was led by Abundant Venture Partners with additional backing from Zeal Capital Partners. SpendRule is emerging from stealth with an AI-driven platform that helps hospitals validate invoices against complex contract terms before payments go out, aiming to reduce overspending and “contract leakage” across purchased services. The company says early customers include health systems like MemorialCare, Kettering Health, and MUSC Health. - learn more

                                                                                                                                                    LA Exits

                                                                                                                                                    • Fred Segal is being acquired by Aritzia, which is buying the brand’s rights/IP (terms not disclosed) and planning a revival under its ownership. Melrose Avenue is central to the deal too, since Aritzia is also taking a lease on Fred Segal’s iconic ivy-covered site at 8100 Melrose as part of the comeback plan. - learn more
                                                                                                                                                    • The Expert is being acquired by Havenly in an all-equity deal (terms not disclosed), bringing The Expert’s high-end virtual designer consultations and trade-oriented marketplace into Havenly’s broader home and commerce ecosystem. Lee Anne Blake will join Havenly as chief commercial officer, and while The Expert will remain a standalone website, Havenly plans to plug in its tech to strengthen The Expert’s purchasing and procurement tools for designers. - learn more

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