🚙 DotLA's Experience in Waymo's Self-Driving Car

🚙 DotLA's Experience in Waymo's Self-Driving Car
Image Source: Waymo

🔦 Spotlight

Waymo: Independent self-driving cars, that don’t need no (hu)man! We took a ride in one of Waymo’s self-driving cars and want to let you know what it was like. 🤖🚦🚗

Waymo One, is an autonomous ride-hailing service owned by Alphabet, Google’s parent company. In 2017, the company was the first to put fully self-driving cars on the road without any safety drivers. Since then, the robotaxi continues to expand its operations through Phoenix, San Francisco, and now Los Angeles.

We have good news and bad news from our ride. The bad news is, there was nothing super exciting to report. The good news is, there was nothing super exciting to report. No getting carsick because the driver had dreams of scoring a role in the 72nd Fast and Furious movie. No life advice about how I should read a self-help book and only eat between 1-2pm. This fantastically mundane experience began with a tap on the phone like any other ride-hailing service. Using an app, the user can put in a pickup and drop off location and the fully electric and autonomous vehicle will arrive.

When it arrived, a sleek jaguar equipped with 29 cameras, and lidar and radar sensors pinged us, and we were able to easily unlock it by pressing a button on the app. Everything after that was probably what you would expect. The car began with a safety video and a reminder to fasten your seatbelt which was played on a screen for passengers in the back. Passengers also had the convenience to choose the temperature and the music. Check out our instagram reel to see it for yourself!

So what are the perks of Waymo’s self-driving cars?:

  1. Passenger safety. Passengers, particularly elderly and women passengers, no longer need to worry about getting taken advantage of by a rogue driver.
  2. Decrease in ride fairs. Theoretically, self-driving cars will lower ride prices over time, and that will eventually increase more demand.
  3. Less human error. Waymo is using insurance data to make the case that its self-driving cars are safer than human drivers. Based on insurer Swiss Re’s data from over 600,000 claims and over 125 billion miles, driverless vehicles crash less often and damage less property than human-driven vehicles.

Century City is up next on the Waymo tour. Make sure to take advantage during holiday shopping and skip out on the headache that is Westfield Century City’s garage. 🌴🚗👍

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

  • Heali, a five-year-old startup whose app helps users tailor their diet to address specific chronic conditions, raised a $3M Seed Round led by Astanor Ventures. - learn more
  • Divergent Technologies, a Torrance, Calif.-based software and hardware production system for industrial digital manufacturing, raised $230M Series D led by Hexagon AB. - learn more
  • Atlas, a 3D generative AI platform for game developers, emerged from stealth with a $4.5M Seed Round led by 6MV and a prior $1.5M Seed Round led by Collab+Currency. - learn more

LA Funds

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Have a fantastic Thanksgiving! Check back in two weeks to see what events are happening in December!

Thursday, December 7th

  • Amazon Ads Festive Fête: A Holiday Mixer - Amazon invites local marketing & agency leaders in the LA area to a festive gathering at TopGolf. Enjoy an afternoon of networking, food & drinks, and lively discussions to ring out the year. Secure your spot now as space is limited!

Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

📙 What We’re Reading

  • Read up on Upfront Partner, Nick Kim’s, top 50 most notable hard tech companies in LA . - read more
  • Tune in to a conversation between Scott Hartley, co-founder of Everywhere Ventures, and Minnie Ingersoll, Partner of TenOneTen Ventures, as they discuss how liberal arts degrees are never going away, and that fast-movers make the best startup CEOs! - listen here
LA’s Upgrade in Travel and NBA Viewing
Image Source: Los Angeles World Airports

🔦 Spotlight

Exciting developments are underway for Los Angeles as the city prepares for major upgrades in both travel and entertainment. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has approved an additional $400 million for the Automated People Mover (APM) at LAX, increasing its total budget to $3.34 billion. This boost ensures the elevated train’s completion by December 8, 2025, with service starting in January 2026. For Angelenos, this means a significant improvement in travel convenience. The APM will streamline connections between parking, rental car facilities, and the new Metro transit station, drastically cutting traffic congestion around the airport. Imagine a future without the dreaded 30-minute traffic delays at LAX! The APM will operate 24/7, reducing airport traffic by 42 million vehicle miles annually and carrying 30 million passengers each year, while also creating thousands of local jobs and supporting small businesses.

Meanwhile, the NBA is also making waves with its new broadcasting deals. The league has signed multi-year agreements with ESPN, NBC, and Amazon Prime Video, marking a notable shift in media partnerships. ESPN will maintain its long-standing role, NBC returns as a network broadcaster after years away, and Amazon Prime Video will provide NBA games through its streaming platform. Starting with the 2025-2026 season, these deals will enhance the league's reach and revenue, aligning with the NBA's goal to expand its audience and adapt to evolving viewing habits. Whether you're catching the action on TV or streaming online, these changes promise to elevate the fan experience and bring more basketball excitement to Los Angeles.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Pearl, a startup that makes AI-powered software that assists dentists in identifying cavities, gum disease, and other dental conditions, raised a $58M Series B funding led by Left Lane Capital with Smash Capital, and others also participating. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

  • Fulcrum Venture Group participated in a prior $3.5M Pre-Seed Round for Code Metal, a developer tools startup. - learn more
  • B Capital co-led a $12.5M Seed Round for Star Catcher, a startup that aims to develop a space-based grid that captures solar energy in space and distributes it to satellites and other space assets. - learn more
  • Mantis VC and Amplify participated in a $140M Series C for Chainguard, an open source security startup. - learn more
  • Prominent LA venture capitalist, Carter Reum and wife, Paris Hilton, participated in a $14M Seed/Series A for W, the men’s personal care brand from Jake Paul. - learn more

LA Exits


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🤫 The Secret to Staying Fit at Your Desk: 6 Essential Under-Desk Exercise Machines

Health experts are sounding the alarm: our sedentary jobs are slowly killing us, yet we can't abandon our desks if we want to keep the lights on. It feels like we're caught between a rock and a hard place. Enter under-desk exercise machines – the overlooked heroes (albeit kind of goofy looking) of the modern workspace. These devices let tech professionals stay active, enhance their health, and increase their productivity, all without stepping away from their screens. Here are 6 fantastic options that will enhance the way you work and workout simultaneously.

DeskCycle Under Desk Bike Pedal Exerciser

This bike has nearly ten thousand five-star reviews on amazon. It works with nearly any desk/chair setup. It is quiet, sturdy and allows up to 40 pounds of resistance. If you are looking for an under-desk bike this is a fantastic option.

Type: Under-Desk Bike

Price: $180 - $200


Sunny Health & Fitness Dual Function Under Desk Pedal Exerciser

This under-desk bike is extremely quiet due to the magnetic resistance making it an ideal option if you work in a shared space. It doesn’t slip, has eight levels of resistance, and the option to work legs and arms. It’s about half the price of the DeskCycle bike making it a solid mid-range option for those looking to increase their daily activity.

Type: Under-Desk Bike

Price: $100 - $110


Sunny Health & Fitness Sitting Under Desk Elliptical

This under-desk elliptical comes in multiple colors if you really want to underscore that you are a quirky individual, in case an under-desk elliptical isn’t enough. This model is a bit heavy (very sturdy), has eight different resistance levels, and has more than nine thousand 5-star reviews.

Type: Under-Desk Elliptical

Price: $120 - $230


DeskCycle Ellipse Leg Exerciser

This under-desk elliptical is another great option. It is a bit pricey but it’s quiet, well-made and has eight resistance levels. It also syncs with your apple watch or fitbit which is a very large perk for those office-wide “step” challenges. Get ready to win.

Type: Under-Desk Elliptical

Price: $220 - $230


Daeyegim Quiet LED Remote Treadmill

If you have a standing desk and are looking to walk and work this is a fantastic option. This walking-only treadmill allows you to walk between 0.5 to 5 mph (or jog unless you have the stride length of an NBA forward). It is very quiet, which is perfect if you want to use it near others or during a meeting. You can’t change the incline or fold it in half but it is great for simply getting in some extra steps during the work day.

Type: Under-Desk Treadmill

Price: $220 - $230


Sunny Health & Fitness Foldable Manual Treadmill

This under-desk treadmill isn’t the most premium model but it is affordable and has an impressive array of features. It is a manual treadmill meaning it doesn’t need to be plugged in; it is foldable and offers an incline up to 13%. I personally can’t imagine working and walking up a 13% incline but if that sounds like your cup of tea, then I truly respect the hustle.

Type: Under-Desk Treadmill

Price: $150 - $200




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🤠Musk Picks Texas and 🔥Tinder AI Picks Your Profile Pictures

🔦 Spotlight

Tinder is altering dating profile creation with its new AI-powered Photo Selector feature, designed to help users choose their most appealing dating profile pictures. This innovative tool employs facial recognition technology to curate a set of up to 10 photos from the user's device, streamlining the often time-consuming process of profile setup. To use the feature, users simply take a selfie within the Tinder app and grant access to their camera roll. The AI then analyzes the photos based on factors like lighting and composition, drawing from Tinder's research on what makes an effective profile picture.

The selection process occurs entirely on the user's device, ensuring privacy and data security. Tinder doesn't collect or store any biometric data or photos beyond those chosen for the profile, and the facial recognition data is deleted once the user exits the feature. This new tool addresses a common pain point for users, as Tinder's research shows that young singles typically spend about 25 to 33 minutes selecting a profile picture. By automating this process, Tinder aims to reduce profile creation time and allow users to focus more on making meaningful connections.

In wholly unrelated news, Elon Musk has announced plans to relocate the headquarters of X (formerly Twitter) and SpaceX from California to Texas. SpaceX will move from Hawthorne to Starbase, while X will shift from San Francisco to Austin. Musk cited concerns about aggressive drug users near X's current headquarters and a new California law regarding gender identity notification in schools as reasons for the move. This decision follows Musk's previous relocation of Tesla's headquarters to Texas in 2021.

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

LA Venture Funds

LA Exits

  • Penguin Random House agreed to acquire comic book publisher Boom! Studios from backers like Walt Disney Co. - learn more

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