la venture

PledgeLA's Venture Data Report Shows Progress but not Perfection for LA VCs

Christian Hetrick

Christian Hetrick is dot.LA's Entertainment Tech Reporter. He was formerly a business reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and reported on New Jersey politics for the Observer and the Press of Atlantic City.

PledgeLA's Venture Data Report Shows Progress but not Perfection for LA VCs
Image source: Getty Images

🔦 Spotlight

The 2023 PledgeLA Venture Data Report serves up a tech-infused reality check with a small side of optimism, like when you failed an exam but took consolation in the fact that you didn’t fail quite as hard as everyone else in the class. 🤓📊📈

PledgeLA is a coalition of tech companies and venture capital firms working to increase diversity, equity, and community engagement by holding the region accountable with quantifiable progress tracking. Their report followed the investments of 75 LA-based venture funds in 2022, including regional powerhouses like Upfront Ventures, M13, and Fifth Wall.

Some key takeaways: in the report, 50% of all companies receiving funding from a PledgeLA-tracked venture fund were led by an all-white founding team, while companies with all Black or Latinx founders received only 9% of funding rounds, and all-female founding teams received a paltry 11% of funding rounds. Not super representative of the diversity in Los Angeles.

That said, in comparison to the national averages, LA wasn’t so bad. We saw a higher representation of all-female, Black, and Latinx founding teams relative to the US at large. Nationwide, teams led by Black and Latinx founders accounted for <3% of venture deal count according to data from Crunchbase and Techcrunch. And across the US, all-female founding teams accounted for 6.8% of venture rounds in 2022 according to Pitchbook.

So where do we land?

On the negative side, there is still a long way to go to achieving representative venture funding in the LA ecosystem, but we can see that Los Angeles' VC firms have harnessed their unique energy to begin to address these disparities. Firms with diversity-focused theses and those helmed by underrepresented minority leaders are playing the role of superheroes, making investments in Latinx, female, and Black founders at a pace that rivals a speedy express delivery. This offers a promising vision for the future, echoing a sentiment that the city's innovation ecosystem is actively redefining the rules of the game on a national scale.

To better grades ahead. 💯

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🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups
  • Caelux, a solar coatings startup, raised a $12M Series A led by Temasek and joined by Reliance New Energy and Khosla Ventures - learn more
  • Sapphire Technologies, a maker of turboexpanders, raised a $10M Series B led by Energy Capital Ventures and joined by Marathon Petroleum, Chevron Technology Ventures and Equinor Ventures - learn more
  • D'Amelio Brands, a company founded by TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D'Amelio and their parents, raised a $5M funding round from Fifth Growth Fund - learn more
  • ShipCalm, a startup that provides small e-commerce businesses with logistics and fulfillment support, raised a $2M funding round led by Montage Capital - learn more
  • Robomart, a maker of electric self-driving stores, raised a $2M Seed Round led by W Ventures, Wasabi Ventures, SOSV, HAX and Hustle Fund - learn more
LA Funds

⚒️ Open Roles

Operations Associate @ NEXT Careers

LA-based NEXT Careers is hiring an Operations Associate. This role involves both operations and community-facing support for Fellows in the NEXT program, who are mid-career and exec-level startup job-seekers. Hybrid 3 days per week in Culver City or Playa Vista. You'll get to meet and help support hundreds of the most talented people on the market right now. Reach out if you’re interested, and we’ll connect you to the team, or apply directly here.

Are you a tech firm, startup, or VC with open roles? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Friday, August 18th

  • Founders Live LA🗽 - This in-person event is your opportunity to network with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts!

Monday, August 21st

Tuesday, August 22nd

Wednesday, August 23rd

Thursday, August 24th

Other events to add to the calendar

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🌍 Around The Internet

We are exiting the growth-focused subsidized streaming service chapter and entering the profitable streaming service phase with prices increasing on average by nearly 25% over the next year (yikes!) to offset losses and achieve profitability. 💸🎥 📺

This trend includes companies like Disney, Netflix and others as they test customer loyalty and the tolerance for higher costs. To counter churn, ad-supported options and bundling are being offered, with the industry navigating a delicate balance between retaining subscribers and increasing revenues.

Read More

Source: WSJ


📙 What We’re Reading

Our friends at CuratedLA just did a profile on dot.LA CEO Wil Chockley! Learn about Wil’s passion for dinosaurs, his take on LA tech and more here.

The the CuratedLA platform contains a daily feed of news, eats, events, happenings, discussions, and LA need-to-knows without showcasing political opinions or morbid headlines; to have fun with wit and positivity while creating an LA vibe.

CuratedLA is sent every morning, M - F, at 6:00am. It is completely free to subscribe, submit content, and to catch the discussion of local waves on the CuratedLA Surfboard.

We’re also reading…

  • Pacaso’s Spencer Rascoff on the Revitalized Experience Economy and More Pandemic Shifts - read more
  • Video game voice actors have a keen interest in the (potential) AI protection outcomes resulting from the SAG-AFTRA strike - read more
  • NASA’s Psyche mission is schedule to take off in early October - read more
  • Future Fisker owners will be able to utilize Tesla’s 12,000 supercharger stations starting in 2025 - read more

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Netflix Doubles Down on LA

Grace Lee
Netflix Doubles Down on LA

🔦 Spotlight

Hey Los Angeles.

Goodbye Coachella, hello Stagecoach. The desert doesn’t stay quiet for long, and neither does LA’s entertainment machine.

This week, that momentum showed up in a more permanent way.

Netflix is expanding its footprint in Los Angeles with a major move to take over and invest in Radford Studio Center, a historic production lot in Studio City. The company is planning a long-term transformation of the site, with upgrades to soundstages, production offices, and infrastructure designed to support the next generation of film and television production.

It’s a notable shift in a moment when production has been under pressure in California, with studios increasingly looking outside the state for cost advantages. Netflix going deeper in LA, and specifically into a legacy studio lot, signals a different kind of commitment. Not just to content, but to where that content actually gets made.

And it comes at a time when the streaming wars have matured. Growth is harder, budgets are tighter, and the focus has shifted from scale at all costs to efficiency and control. Owning or operating more of the production environment gives Netflix tighter control over timelines, costs, and output.

For Los Angeles, it’s a reminder of what still anchors the city. Even as AI, defense tech, and infrastructure startups continue to rise, entertainment remains one of the few industries where LA isn’t just competitive, it’s foundational.

Different headlines each week, but a consistent theme underneath them. Whether it’s power, autonomy, or content, the companies that matter are investing in the layers they don’t want to outsource.

And in this case, that layer is Hollywood itself.

Below are this week’s venture deals, fund announcements, and acquisitions across LA 👇


🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Venture Funds

    • UP Partners and Calm Ventures participated in Reliable Robotics’ $160M funding round, backing the autonomous aviation company as it advances pilotless flight technology for cargo and passenger aircraft. The round included a mix of new and existing investors, and the company plans to use the capital to accelerate certification efforts and expand deployment of its autonomous systems across commercial aviation. - learn more
    • Blue Heron Ventures participated in Tava Health’s $40M Series C, backing the company as it expands its tech-enabled mental health platform into a more integrated, full-stack system for providers, employers, and health plans. The round was led by Centana Growth Partners with participation from existing investors, and the company plans to use the funding to roll out new AI-powered tools and broaden access to care while reducing administrative friction across the system. - learn more
    • Vamos Ventures participated in Zócalo Health’s $15M Series A, backing the company as it scales its tech-enabled, community-based primary care model focused on high-need and underserved populations. The round was led by .406 Ventures with participation from existing and new investors, and the company plans to use the funding to expand its clinics and deepen partnerships with Medicaid programs as demand for accessible care grows. - learn more

    LA Exits
    • Studio71 has been acquired by Fixated as part of a broader deal in which German media company ProSiebenSat.1 sold its North American creator business, giving Fixated a large-scale network of creators and podcast operations and significantly expanding its footprint as it continues an aggressive roll-up strategy in the creator economy. The move signals continued consolidation in the space, with Fixated building a more vertically integrated platform across talent management, content production, and distribution. - learn more
    • Bonsai Health has been acquired by ModMed, bringing its AI-powered patient engagement platform into a broader healthcare software ecosystem. The deal is aimed at integrating Bonsai’s “agentic AI” capabilities into ModMed’s platform to automate patient outreach, fill care gaps, and improve scheduling across a network of nearly 50,000 providers. - learn more

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      A $26M Push Into Power in LA

      Grace Lee
      A $26M Push Into Power in LA

      🔦 Spotlight

      Hello, Los Angeles.

      Coachella Weekend 2 is here, which usually means LA is either heading back to the desert or happily staying put this time around. Back in the city, the focus this week is less about music infrastructure and more about something far more critical, power.

      That’s where this week’s news comes in.

      Critical Loop, a Los Angeles-based energy startup, raised a $26 million Series A to tackle one of the least talked about bottlenecks in tech right now, grid interconnection. In simple terms, it’s the process of getting power to where it’s needed, and increasingly, that process is too slow to keep up.

      Critical Loop is building modular microgrid systems that can be deployed in days instead of years, giving industrial operators, data centers, and other energy-heavy users faster access to power without waiting on traditional grid upgrades. The round was led by Conifer Infrastructure Partners and Hanover, with participation from Better Ventures, Climate Capital, Adapt Nation Capital, and Cyrus Ventures.

      The timing here matters. Between AI infrastructure demands, electrification, and a broader push toward domestic energy resilience, power is quickly becoming a gating factor for growth. You can build the data center, the factory, or the next big thing, but none of it works if you can’t turn it on.

      That’s what makes companies like Critical Loop worth watching. They’re not building the flashiest part of the stack, but they’re solving for the piece everything else depends on.

      And in a city that knows a thing or two about scaling ambition quickly, that might be the most important layer of all.

      Below are this week’s fund announcements across LA 👇


      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Venture Funds

      • Anthos Capital participated in Wealth.com’s $65M Series B, backing the AI-powered estate and tax planning platform as it scales across financial institutions. The oversubscribed round included new investors like Titanium Ventures and Pruven Capital alongside existing backers, and the company plans to use the funding to expand product development, pursue acquisitions, and grow its enterprise footprint as demand rises for AI-driven wealth management solutions. - learn more
      • Anamika Ventures participated in Sage Haven’s $3M pre-seed round, backing the AI-powered messaging and calling app designed to create a safer communication environment for kids. The round was led by Anamika Ventures alongside Fabric Ventures and a group of early-stage investors, as the company launches a platform focused on preventing cyberbullying through real-time AI moderation and parent oversight tools. - learn more
      • MANTIS Venture Capital participated in Factory’s $150M Series C, backing the AI startup as it builds autonomous software engineering systems for enterprise teams. The round was led by Khosla Ventures and included firms like Sequoia Capital, Blackstone, Insight Partners, and NEA, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Factory plans to use the funding to invest further in product development and global expansion as demand grows for AI-driven tools that can automate large portions of the software development process. - learn more
      • Rebel Fund participated in Uplane’s $4.5M seed round, backing the AI startup as it looks to replace traditional marketing agencies with a platform that automates ad creation, testing, and budget optimization. The round was led by Play Ventures with participation from Y Combinator, 20VC, and Multimodal Ventures, and the company says its technology can improve return on ad spend by automating performance marketing workflows. - learn more
      • Alexandria Venture Investments and Presight Capital participated in Alloy Therapeutics’ $40M Series E, backing the biotech infrastructure company as it scales its AI-powered platform for drug discovery and development. The round included a mix of new investors like 8VC and JIC Venture Growth Investments alongside returning backers, valuing the company at $1 billion and underscoring continued interest in platforms that combine AI, data, and lab services across the biopharma lifecycle. - learn more
      • Finality Capital Partners participated in HYFIX’s $15M seed round, backing the semiconductor startup as it builds American-made chips designed to power drones and autonomous robots. The round was led by Craft Ventures with participation from Catapult Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and Sky Dayton, and the company is developing an integrated system-on-a-chip to replace fragmented hardware stacks and reduce reliance on foreign components. - learn more
      • Rainfall Ventures participated in Stendr’s $5.4M pre-seed round, backing the Norwegian defense tech startup as it builds an AI-native platform for drone detection and counter-drone operations. The round was co-led by Rainfall alongside ACME Capital and Skyfall, with additional participation from Antler, StartupLab, and other early-stage investors, and the company plans to use the funding to accelerate development of its multi-sensor technology and expand engineering capabilities. - learn more
      • Slauson & Co. participated in Slate Auto’s $650M funding round, backing the EV startup as it works to bring a lower-cost electric pickup truck to market. The round was led by TWG Global and comes as the Bezos-backed company prepares to begin production, targeting a more affordable segment of the EV market with a customizable truck expected to launch later this year. - learn more
      • Navitas Capital co-led Primepoint’s $10M seed round, backing the AI startup as it builds a platform that reads and connects complex construction drawings to streamline project workflows. The round also included investors like Penny Jar Capital, NextView Ventures, GS Futures, and Aglaé Ventures, and the company plans to use the funding to expand its platform and grow adoption among large commercial contractors. - learn more
      • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Neomorph’s $100M Series B, backing the biotech company as it advances its molecular glue degrader platform targeting previously undruggable diseases. The round was led by Deerfield Management with participation from Regeneron Ventures, Longwood Fund, and Binney Street Capital, and the company plans to use the funding to support ongoing clinical trials and expand its broader drug development pipeline. - learn more

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      Hermeus Moves In. Uber Lines Up. LA Wins.

      Grace Lee
      Hermeus Moves In. Uber Lines Up. LA Wins.

      🔦 Spotlight

      Hello, Los Angeles.

      This week’s transportation news says a lot about where LA is headed and who wants to build here.

      Start with Hermeus, which hit a $1 billion valuation after raising $350 million as it works on high-speed aircraft for defense applications. More notably for Los Angeles, the company is moving its headquarters to El Segundo, adding to the region’s growing aerospace and defense cluster. The round was led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from returning backers including Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, RTX Ventures, Bling Capital, and In-Q-Tel, along with new investors including Cox Enterprises, Socium Ventures, Destiny Tech100, Georgia Tech Foundation, 137 Ventures, and GSBackers.

      Then there’s Uber, which made two separate autonomous vehicle announcements that both put Los Angeles in the rollout map.

      The first is a partnership with Zoox, Amazon’s autonomous vehicle company. Uber said the service is expected to launch in Las Vegas in summer 2026 and then come to Los Angeles by mid-2027, giving riders the option to match with a Zoox robotaxi through the Uber app.

      The second is a new deal with MOIA America, which plans to deploy autonomous ID. Buzz vehicles on the Uber platform in Los Angeles by the end of 2026.

      Taken together, the message is pretty straightforward: LA is not just watching the future of transportation take shape, it is increasingly being used as the place to test it, scale it, and sell it. Hermeus is bringing its headquarters here as defense aviation regains momentum. Uber is lining up autonomous partners with Los Angeles as a target market. Different companies, different timelines, same conclusion: a meaningful share of the next transportation cycle is being built with LA in mind.

      Below are this week’s venture deals, fund announcements, and acquisitions across LA.


      🤝 Venture Deals

      LA Companies
      • PeakMetrics raised a $6M Series A to scale its AI-powered narrative intelligence platform, which helps organizations track how information spreads online and identify risks from misinformation and coordinated campaigns. The round was led by Moneta Ventures with participation from Techstars, Parameter Ventures, VITALIZE Venture Capital, and Gurtin Ventures, and the company plans to use the funding to enhance its real-time detection capabilities and expand adoption across enterprise and government customers. - learn more
      • Hybron raised a $25M seed round to scale its advanced carbon fiber composite manufacturing technology, which aims to produce high-performance components faster and at lower cost than traditional methods. The round was led by Marque Ventures with participation from a mix of venture firms and strategic investors, and the company plans to use the funding to expand manufacturing capacity, grow its team, and support increasing demand from aerospace and defense programs. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds

      • Emmeline Ventures participated in Osteoboost’s $8M funding round, backing the company as it expands access to its FDA-cleared wearable designed to treat low bone density in postmenopausal women. The round was led by Ambit Health Ventures with participation from Disrupt Health Impact Fund and others, and the company plans to use the capital to scale manufacturing, expand clinical research, and grow commercial adoption. - learn more
      • Bonfire Ventures led Juno’s $12M seed round, backing the AI-powered tax preparation platform as it aims to automate up to 90% of the manual work in tax filing for accounting firms. The round included participation from Impression Ventures and Xfund, and the company says its software can significantly reduce preparation time while keeping CPAs in the loop for review and advisory work. - learn more
      • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Sidewinder Therapeutics’ $137M Series B, which will help fund the company’s push to bring its precision bispecific ADC cancer programs into the clinic. The round was co-led by Frazier Life Sciences and Novartis Venture Fund, and Sidewinder said it expects to advance its lead program into clinical development in 2027. - learn more
      • Slauson & Co. participated in Flora Fertility’s $5M seed round, backing the company as it builds what it describes as an individually owned fertility insurance platform that is not tied to an employer. The round was led by ManchesterStory, and Flora plans to use the funding to scale a model aimed at making fertility coverage more portable and accessible for consumers. - learn more
      • Mucker Capital participated in Fastrflow’s $375K early funding round, backing the startup as it builds a screen-aware AI copilot designed to assist students and professionals directly within their workflows. The company is focused on creating an assistant that can understand what’s on a user’s screen in real time to provide contextual help, positioning itself as a more integrated alternative to traditional standalone AI tools. - learn more

      LA Exits

      • Modern Animal has been acquired by Chewy, giving the pet e-commerce giant a much bigger physical veterinary footprint as it expands deeper into healthcare. The deal brings Chewy an additional 29 clinics, 24/7 virtual care, and a membership-based model, and is expected to grow Chewy Vet Care from 18 to 47 locations nationwide while adding more than $125 million in annualized run-rate revenue. - learn more
      • Honk has been acquired by Frontenac, with the Los Angeles roadside assistance software company simultaneously completing an add-on acquisition of CurbsideSOS as part of the deal. The combination is meant to scale Honk’s platform for roadside assistance, towing, and accident management, with former Grubhub executives including Adam DeWitt, Matt Maloney, and Eric Ferguson joining the company to lead its next phase of growth. - learn more

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