Illustration by Ian Hurley
What Are LA’s Hottest Startups of 2022? See Who VCs Picked in dot.LA’s Annual Survey
In Los Angeles—like the startup environment at large—venture funding and valuations skyrocketed in 2021, even as the coronavirus pandemic continued to surge and supply chain issues rattled the economy. The result was a startup ecosystem that continued to build on its momentum, with no shortage of companies raising private capital at billion-dollar-plus unicorn valuations.
In order to gauge the local startup scene and who’s leading the proverbial pack, we asked more than 30 leading L.A.-based investors for their take on the hottest firms in the region. They responded with more than two dozen venture-backed companies; three startups, in particular, rose above the rest as repeat nominees, while we've organized the rest by their amount of capital raised as of January, according to data from PitchBook. (We also asked VCs not to pick any of their own portfolio companies, and vetted the list to ensure they stuck to that rule.)
Without further ado, here are the 26 L.A. startups that VCs have their eyes on in 2022.
1. Whatnot ($225.4 million raised)
Whatnot was the name most often on the minds of L.A. venture investors—understandably, given its prolific fundraising year. Whatnot raised some $220 million across three separate funding rounds in 2021, on the way to a $1.5 billion valuation.
The Marina del Rey-based livestream shopping platform was founded by former GOAT product manager Logan Head and ex-Googler Grant LaFontaine. The startup made its name by providing a live auction platform for buying and selling collectables like rare Pokémon cards, and has since expanded into sports memorabilia, sneakers and apparel.
2. Boulevard ($40.3 million raised)
Boulevard’s backers include Santa Monica-based early-stage VC firm Bonfire Ventures, which focuses on B2B software startups. The Downtown-based company fits nicely within that thesis; Boulevard builds booking and payment software for salons and spas. The firm has worked with prominent brands such as Toni & Guy and HeyDay.
3. GOAT ($492.7 million)
GOAT launched in 2015 as a marketplace to help sneakerheads authenticate used Air Jordans and other collectible shoes. It has since grown at a prolific rate, expanding into apparel and accessories and exceeding $2 billion in merchandise sales in 2020. The startup sealed a $195 million funding round last summer that more than doubled its valuation, to $3.7 billion.
The Best of the Rest
VideoAmp ($578.6 raised)
Nielsen competitor VideoAmp gathers data on who's watching what across streaming services, traditional TV and social apps like YouTube. The company positions itself as an alternative to so-called "legacy" systems like Nielsen, which it says are "fragmented, riddled with complexity and inaccurate." In addition to venture funding, its total funding figure includes more than $165 million in debt financing.
Mythical Games ($269.4 million raised)
Seizing on the NFT craze, Mythical Games is building a platform that powers the growing realm of “play-to-earn games.” Backed by NBA legend Michael Jordan and Andreessen Horowitz, the Sherman Oaks-based startup’s partners include game publishers Abstraction, Creative Mobile and CCG Lab.
FloQast ($202 million raised)
FloQast founder Michael Whitmire says he got a “no” from more than 100 investors in the process of raising a seed round. Today, the accounting software company is considered a unicorn.
Nacelle ($70.8 million raised)
Nacelle produces docuseries, books, comedy albums and podcasts. The media company’s efforts include the Netflix travel series “Down To Earth with Zac Efron.”
Wave ($66 million raised)
A platform for virtual concerts, Wave has hosted performances by artists including Justin Bieber, Tinashe and The Weeknd. The company says it has raised $66 million to date from the likes of Warner Music and Tencent.
Papaya ($65.2 million raised)
Sherman Oaks-based Papaya looks to make it easier to pay “any” bill—from hospital bills to parking tickets—via its mobile app.
LeaseLock ($63.2 million raised)
Based in Marina del Rey, LeaseLock says it’s on a mission to eliminate security deposits for apartment renters.
Emotive ($58.1 million raised)
Emotive sells text message-focused marketing tools to ecommerce firms like underwear brand Parade and men's grooming company Beardbrand.
Dray Alliance ($55 million raised)
Based in Long Beach, Dray says its mission is to “modernize the logistics and trucking industry.” Its partners include Danish shipping company Maersk and toy maker Mattel.
Coco ($43 million raised)
Coco makes small pink robots on wheels (you may have seen them around town) that deliver food via a remote pilot. Its investors include Y Combinator and Silicon Valley Bank.
HiveWatch ($25 million raised)
HiveWatch develops physical security software. Its investors include former Twitter executive Dick Costollo and NBA star Steph Curry’s Penny Jar Capital.
Popshop ($24.5 million raised)
Whatnot competitor Popshop is betting that live-shopping is the future of ecommerce. The West Hollywood-based firm focuses on collectables such as trading cards and anime merchandise.
First Resonance ($19.4 million raised)
Founded by former SpaceX engineer Karan Talati, First Resonance runs a software platform for makers of electric cars and aerospace technology. Its clients include Santa Cruz-based air taxi company Joby Aviation and Alameda-based rocket company Astra.
Open Raven ($19 million raised)
Founded by Crowdstrike and Microsoft alums, Open Raven aims to protect user data. The cybersecurity firm’s investors include Kleiner Perkins and Upfront Ventures.
Fourthwall ($17 million raised)
When an actor faces the camera and speaks directly to the audience, it’s known as “breaking the fourth wall.” Named after the trope, Venice-based Fourthwall offers a website builder that’s designed for content creators.
The Non Fungible Token Company ($15 million raised)
The Non Fungible Token Company creates NFTs for musicians under the name Unblocked. Its investors include Jay Z’s Marcy Venture Partners and Shawn Mendez.
Safe Health Systems ($15 million raised)
Backed by Mayo Clinic Ventures, Safe Health develops telehealth software and offers tools for enterprises to launch their own health care apps.
Intro ($11.6 million raised)
Intro’s app lets you book video calls with experts—from celebrity stylists, to astrologists, to investors.
DASH Systems ($8.5 million raised)
With the tagline “Land the package, not the plane,” DASH Systems is a Hawthorne-based shipping company that builds hardware and software for automated airdrops.
Ettitude ($3.5 million raised)
With a focus on sustainability, Ettitude is a direct-to-consumer brand that sells bedding, bathroom textiles and sleepwear.
Afterparty ($3 million raised)
Along similar lines as Unblocked, Afterparty creates NFTs for artists and content creators such as Clay Perry and Tropix.
Heart to Heart ($0.75 million raised)
Heart to Heart is an audio-focused dating app that “lets you listen to the story behind the pictures in a profile.” Precursor Ventures led the pre-seed funding round.
Frigg (undisclosed)
Frigg makes hair and beauty products that contain cannabinoids such as CBD. The Valley Village-based company raised an undisclosed seed round in August.
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But one Los Angeles company is building a very different kind of robot.
Tombot, a local companion robotics startup, closed a $7 million Series A3 round with participation from Caduceus Capital Partners, Wavemaker 360, the Lutheran Foundation for Long Term Living and Florida Community Health Network to scale production of Jennie, its robotic companion dog. The product is designed for older adults, people with dementia, children with autism and others who may benefit from the emotional comfort of a pet but cannot safely or practically care for a real animal.
It is a quieter kind of robotics story, but a revealing one.
The most common vision of the robotics future is built around productivity: robots that move boxes, patrol borders, assemble parts or perform repetitive tasks. Tombot is aiming at something more personal. Its bet is that robots will not only help people work faster, but also help them feel less alone.
That makes the company part of a broader shift in robotics, where the question is not just “What can a machine do?” but “What role can it play in someone’s daily life?”
The need is real. Aging populations, caregiver shortages and rising demand for dementia care are putting pressure on families and health systems. At the same time, many people who would benefit from animal companionship cannot manage feeding, walking, grooming, vet bills or the safety risks that come with a live pet.
Image Source: Tombot
Tombot’s answer is a robotic dog that behaves like a companion, not a gadget. Jennie is designed to respond to touch, voice and interaction, giving users some of the emotional benefits of pet ownership without the responsibilities of caring for a living animal.
Southern California’s robotics scene is often viewed through the lens of defense, drones, aerospace and manufacturing. Those categories are important. But LA also has deep advantages in design, storytelling, entertainment, consumer products and human-centered technology. A companion robot sits at the intersection of all of those things.
It has to work technically. But it also has to feel right. The movement, expression, texture and emotional cues matter. This is where robotics starts to look less like pure engineering and more like product design, character development and trust-building.
The broader robotics market is still difficult. Hardware is expensive. Manufacturing is hard. Consumer expectations are high. And companion robots have historically been a tricky category, with plenty of hype and uneven adoption.
But Tombot’s traction suggests there may be real demand for robots that solve emotional and caregiving problems, not just operational ones. The company says it has built a large waitlist as it moves toward commercialization, giving it a chance to test whether companion robotics can move from novelty to necessity.
The bigger takeaway is that LA’s robotics future may not fit into one box.
Some companies will build for the battlefield. Some will build for factories. Some will build for space. And some, like Tombot, will build for the living room, the care facility and the family trying to support someone they love.
The robotics boom is often framed as a story about replacing human labor.
This one is about supporting human care.
More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- Cosm received a $100M strategic investment from Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Sony taking a minority stake as the lead investor in Cosm’s Series C financing round. Cosm operates immersive “Shared Reality” venues that use dome-shaped LED screens for live sports, concerts and entertainment experiences, and the funding will support venue expansion and new technology initiatives across sports and entertainment. Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm’s board as part of the deal. - learn more
- Pasadena-based Sophia Space finalized a $7M SAFE financing round, bringing its total funding to $22M. The round included participation from EverGreen, The NVIDIA Alumni Investment Network, SparkLabs Group and other strategic investors, with the new capital going toward product development, engineering and commercial hiring, partnerships and deployment across government, commercial and international markets. Sophia Space is building AI-powered infrastructure and intelligent systems for the space economy, including autonomous computing capabilities for orbital and terrestrial environments. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
- Sound Ventures participated in Warp’s $60M Series B, which was led by Battery Ventures with additional backing from Peak XV and Y Combinator. Warp is building an AI-native employee management platform for payroll, benefits, compliance, onboarding, offboarding and workforce operations, with the new funding bringing its total raised to $85M. The company says the capital will support deeper AI agents, expanded tax and compliance infrastructure, a broader product suite and more customer support. - learn more
- Mucker Capital participated in Zave’s ₹4.7 crore bridge round, which was led by Inflection Point Ventures. Zave is building an AI-native shopping assistant that helps consumers discover products, compare prices and make purchase decisions across Amazon, Flipkart and more than 5,000 brand websites. The company plans to use the funding to strengthen its AI product, improve platform reliability and scalability, and support continued user growth. - learn more
- B Capital co-led Seltz’s $12.5M seed round alongside Speedinvest, with participation from Future Present, Italian Founders Fund, Arc Investors, United Ventures, Vento Ventures, Mango Capital, 2100 Ventures and Future Back Ventures. Seltz is building web search infrastructure for AI agents, designed for the way agents query the internet: running long, parallel searches, pulling full documents and accessing live web context. The company plans to use the funding to scale its index to tens of billions of documents and build out engineering, sales and marketing. - learn more
- Clocktower Technology Ventures participated in Caplight’s $16M Series A, which was led by BlackRock and Fin Capital, with strategic participation from UBS Investment Bank. San Francisco-based Caplight is building data, trading and workflow infrastructure for private markets, including secondary market pricing, institutional trading, company and investor intelligence, and AI-powered venture deal sourcing. The company says the new funding will help expand its role in rebuilding the rails for venture capital as private markets become larger, more liquid and more complex. - learn more
- MaC Venture Capital participated in Coval’s $28M Series A, which was led by Norwest with backing from Base10 Partners, Twilio Ventures, Y Combinator and others. San Francisco-based Coval builds simulation, evaluation and monitoring infrastructure for voice and chat AI agents, helping enterprises test and improve autonomous agents before and after deployment. The company works with more than 60 organizations, including Zoom and Deepgram. - learn more
- B Capital participated in Cadence’s $100M Series C, which was led by Spark Capital with additional backing from Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Coatue, Corewell Health Ventures, Memorial Hermann and Duke Health. Cadence is a clinical AI company automating chronic care for older adults through supervised AI agents that monitor patient vitals, surface risks and coordinate care between visits. The company now works with more than 20 health systems, treats over 100,000 active patients and will use the funding to expand across new health systems, advance its AI agents and grow value-based care models. - learn more
- WndrCo participated in Partly’s $50M Series B, which was led by DST Global Partners. Partly is building AI-powered infrastructure for the auto repair industry, helping repairers, insurers and parts suppliers identify and source the right vehicle parts as cars become more complex. The new funding will support Partly’s push to bring frontier AI into repair workflows and reduce friction across the global replacement parts market. - learn more
- Döpfner Capital participated in Stark Defence’s €500M funding round, which was backed by major investors including Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund and valued the German drone company at roughly €3.2B to €3.5B. Stark develops unmanned defense systems, including loitering munitions, and plans to use the funding to expand R&D and manufacturing capacity across Europe. The raise comes as European defense tech continues attracting significant investor interest amid rising military spending and demand for autonomous systems. - learn more
- Smash Capital led Redo’s $81M Series B, with participation from existing investors Pelion Venture Partners and Cervin Ventures, valuing the commerce technology company at a reported $1.25B. Draper, Utah-based Redo started in returns and exchanges but has expanded into a broader post-purchase and AI-powered commerce platform covering order tracking, package protection, fulfillment, customer service, marketing and shopper engagement. The funding will support product development, AI initiatives and international expansion. - learn more
- Wavemaker 360 Health participated in ChemT Biotechnology’s $4M seed round, which was led by Wavemaker Ventures with participation from co-investment partner SEEDS. Singapore-based ChemT has raised $5M total in 18 months and is building AI infrastructure for biomanufacturing, including its CelMo virtual cell platform, which helps manufacturers model and guide cell behavior to improve biologics production, scalability and cost. The funding will support expansion of ChemT’s AI and experimental infrastructure, advancement of its molecular products toward GMP standards and broader commercial partnerships. - learn more
LA Exits
- The New Bar, a Venice-born non-alcoholic beverage discovery platform, was acquired by The Zero Proof. The deal combines The New Bar’s hospitality, live events and cultural partnerships with The Zero Proof’s national e-commerce, owned brand portfolio and retail distribution platform. The New Bar’s leadership will join The Zero Proof, with founder Brianda Gonzalez becoming Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships. - learn more
