Peter Pham Is Not Afraid to Die. How One of LA's Preeminent VCs Became Obsessed with COVID

Ben Bergman

Ben Bergman is the newsroom's senior finance reporter. Previously he was a senior business reporter and host at KPCC, a senior producer at Gimlet Media, a producer at NPR's Morning Edition, and produced two investigative documentaries for KCET. He has been a frequent on-air contributor to business coverage on NPR and Marketplace and has written for The New York Times and Columbia Journalism Review. Ben was a 2017-2018 Knight-Bagehot Fellow in Economic and Business Journalism at Columbia Business School. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, playing poker, and cheering on The Seattle Seahawks.

Peter Pham Is Not Afraid to Die. How One of LA's Preeminent VCs Became Obsessed with COVID

As Thanksgiving approached, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti implored residents to stay home and halt all nonessential travel as COVID-19 cases skyrocketed.

But on Thanksgiving Day, Peter Pham, one of L.A.'s most prominent early-stage investors and the co-founder of Science Inc, a Santa Monica startup studio and early-stage venture fund that manages over $100 million and recently launched a $310.5 million SPAC, posted a selfie of himself atop Las Vegas' High Roller ferris wheel.

He was clutching a can of Liquid Death, the bad boy-themed canned water brand that has improbably become Science's buzziest startup. Pham guzzles six cans a day, because he says he does not trust municipal tap water.

"I'm not afraid of dying," Pham told me recently. "There's risk for everything and COVID is a risk that I feel very confident in my ability to deal with. I could be wrong and that's OK. I am OK if I fucked up and I die from it."


Pham has been transfixed by COVID since March, often tweeting dozens of times a day and sometimes much more – about his aversion to lockdowns and school closures, blockbuster treatments the government is allegedly ignoring, and the rocky vaccine rollout. He has also made it his mission to help distribute millions of PPE to medical workers.

"I like to go deep on things, like OCD-type deep," he said. "I like to learn and I like to fix things. I can get obsessed."

Pham stands out from most, but certainly not all VCs – who strive to remain as bland and non-controversial as possible, according to Tom Nicholas, a Harvard Business School professor who wrote the book, VC: An American History.

"Being neutral makes sense in an industry where investments are frequently syndicated," said Nicholas. "There's a lot of downside to being a contrarian and very little upside."

Pham says he does not care about being liked or offending others.

"It's opt-in, dude," he said. "If you don't like it, don't fucking follow me."

Pham says his tweets are a perfect reflection of his personality, which he admits can be scattered. But it is more than worth it, he says, because he is intensely loyal and "goes to the mat" for friends, colleagues, and founders that Science is backing.

"You know what you're going to get with me," he said. "You're going to get an erratic person who's passionate beyond belief."

Pham has scored the sort of exits that give him the license to speak his mind in the elite venture world, none bigger than the Dollar Shave Club, the direct-to-consumer razors and grooming startup that put Science on the map when it was bought by Unliever for $1 billion in 2016.

Peter PhamPeter Pham is one of L.A.'s most prominent early-stage investors and the co-founder of Santa Monica venture fund Science Inc.

"Peter is definitely wired differently than most VCs I've met," said Michael Dubin, founder of Dollar Shave Club, "I think of Peter as an expert networker and fundraiser. He's highly social. He loves people. He's the first one on the dance floor, as he says on his Twitter bio."

Dubin says Pham is not the sort of investor to labor over the details of a company. Instead, Pham stands out for two qualities – he is a gifted "hype man," which is very useful when you're trying to build any company but especially consumer brands. And most of all, he possesses probably the most valuable skill in tech: The ability to quickly raise vast sums of capital.

"He is incredible at raising money," Dubin said. "When you're a VC looking to invest in companies and Peter Pham calls you, you definitely pick up the phone and listen to what he says. It doesn't mean you believe him, but you definitely pick up the call."

To Dubin, it makes sense that Pham has been consumed with trying to find light at the end of the COVID tunnel.

"The way Peter's brain is wired, it doesn't surprise me he is on the leading edge of trying to find helpful interpretations," Dubin said, before pausing to add: "It doesn't make him right. He's not Dr. Fauci."

'The Biggest Scandal in the History of COVID'

Pham talks frequently about his "research" and the hours he devotes to pouring over scientific papers even though his scientific training is limited to majoring in biology and pre-medicine during his undergraduate years at the University of California, Irvine. He planned to be a doctor but changed his mind junior year when he decided it required too much structure.

"I was premed, so I actually understand science," he said.

Pham has been especially vocal about the antiparasitic drug Ivermectin, which he went so far as to give to his housekeeper's ailing 80-year-old friend, which he shared on Twitter.

"It's a cheap drug that clearly is helping," Pham said. "That's been my crusade for the last couple of months."

A recent paper in the Journal Lancet found "limited evidence" that Ivermectin was effective in treating COVID patients. The FDA has warned people not to take the drug because it has not been tested outside of the lab.

Pham has no such patience, posting frequently that the drug needs to be widely distributed immediately.

"That will go down as the biggest scandal in the history of COVID," he declared.

Last month, amidst the chaotic vaccine rollout in L.A. County, Pham shared that he devoted a day to visiting five vaccination sites and more than 30 hours researching and talking to friends in health care.

Asked how he has so much time to devote to COVID, Pham said that he stays up until 3:30 a.m. every morning and only sleeps four hours a night.

"My partners are amazing and they know that I like to help people," Pham said. "Making money is not my goal in life, but I'm not neglecting my startups and my company."

Michael Jones, the former MySpace CEO who recruited Pham to work at Science Inc. in 2011, says he has no concerns about Pham's work habits.

"Peter has his own unique style of working, Jones said. "He complements our firm in a really unique and special way that I think benefits a lot from our investors."

'Sit This One Out;' Other Prominent Investors Push Back

In early March, Pham hosted his exclusive annual gathering of top VCs at Gjelina, a tony restaurant in Venice. The guests of honor were the suddenly very wealthy founders of Honey, an L.A. startup that sold to Paypal for $4 billion at the end of 2019. Pham hoped that the conversation would stay focused on the dinner's purpose – raising money – rather than the mysterious virus that by then was consuming people's attention.

In the early days of the crisis, Pham repeatedly played down the seriousness of COVID, arguing that it only affected the old and sick, something Balaji S. Srinivasan, an angel investor and entrepreneur and former general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, pushed back against.

Pham now freely admits he underestimated the threat of COVID and he is certainly not the only one to do so, but he says the important thing is to learn from new information when it becomes available.

"I didn't think it would be that bad in March and obviously I was wrong," Pham said. "I'm not dogmatic in anything."

To Pham's credit, in March he also started raising money in the tech community to buy and distribute badly needed PPE as a founding member of C19 Coalition, which has delivered more than one billion units of masks, face shields, and other equipment.

But those early overly rosy assessments have not deterred Pham from continuing to downplay the risk from COVID, advocate for herd immunity, and accuse the media of hyping up the threat.

In August, he tweeted that the worst of the pandemic was over, when U.S. case numbers were a third what they were this month. In November, he said hospitals "will continue to be fine," a month before ICU capacity in Southern California plummeted to zero percent.

Chris Sacca, a venture investor best known for being a judge on Shark Tank who is a limited partner in Science, shot back around the time ICU was hitting 0% capacity, telling Pham to "sit this one out."

Pham says he can't recall what he was tweeting about. He deleted the original tweets that Sacca and Srinivasan were referencing.

"I should autodelete my tweets, to be honest, but I use it for search because my memory is so bad," Pham said. "I have ADHD with the memory capacity of the bottom 16th percentile of the population."

Pham does not appear to be exaggerating. Two weeks after we spoke for over an hour on two Zoom video calls, Pham had no memory of us ever talking.

"My memory is horrible," he said.

Pham says his lack of memory is one of the reasons he is perpetually upbeat.

"I'm always optimistic because I forgot what happened yesterday," he tweeted last month.

He says his lack of memory is also why he is so blunt and unfiltered.

"People are trying to create this persona online, which is weird and a lot of work and I think you have to have a good memory, and I don't have that," Pham said. "I don't care. I just say it."

The one thing Pham never talks about is family, which he says he avoids doing for privacy reasons, especially as he has gotten more involved with the sometimes shadowy world of cryptocurrency. He also won't reveal his age or the city where he grew up for "security reasons."

Pham may not fear COVID, but he lives in constant fear of being hacked.

The Embodiment of the American Dream

Pham often says he has lived the embodiment of the American dream and it is not hard to see why.

His father served as a fleet commander for the South Vietnamese Navy during the Vietnam War and in 1975, weeks after the fall of Saigon, the U.S. Navy evacuated Pham's parents and four older siblings to California.

Pham was born in a refugee camp about a month later.

The family grew up poor in a cramped one-bedroom apartment, the reason he says he has been dismayed many public schools have closed their doors during the pandemic. His parents both became social workers while the siblings took on odd jobs to put food on the table.

Pham was a straight-A student in high school and applied to only one college, the University of California, Irvine, which he picked because it was close to home.

He put himself through college, waiting tables at Red Lobster, selling computers at Circuit City and helping people install Windows operating software on their computers.

Pham found he was much more interested in tech than being a doctor and after adding a business management minor to his biology major, he bounced around 13 enterprise software and hardware startups for the first nine years of his career in business development.

Biz dev, as it is known, is largely sales and marketing. Above all, it requires hustle and building and maintaining big networks of individuals who can help your company – things Pham discovered he could do with ease.

His first major success came in 2005 when his friend Alex Welch recruited him to do biz dev at Photobucket, an early digital photo sharing platform that is now mostly forgotten. Pham was hired as the fifth employee and three years later News Corp. acquired the company for $300 million.

Pham went on to start BillShrink, a website to help consumers save on cell phone bills, credit cards, and gas. It was eventually bought by Mastercard.

After those exits, Pham had the credibility to raise major sums of capital from top Sand Hill Road firms — and that is exactly what he did in 2010 when he teamed with serial entrepreneur Bill Nguyen to start Color – named for their love of the Apple logo — the photo-sharing app.

"He's probably the best sales person I've ever met in my life, which is saying a lot because people think I'm a pretty good salesperson," Pham said. "He can convince you of anything."

Pham and Nguyen quickly amassed $41 million from Sequoia Capital, Bain Capital and Silicon Valley Bank before they ever launched a product. That was far more than Instagram, which was founded the same year with just half a million in seed funding, or about what Color spent just on acquiring the domain names color.com and colour.com.

Color also rented a cavernous office with a hand-built skateboard ramp in Palo Alto with room for 160 employees even though they had fewer than 40.

The New York Times featured the company as a prime example of another bubble in start-up investing. (It also warned about Airbnb in the same article, which had a much better fate.)

Unlike Instagram, which was built around users seeing photos of accounts they chose to follow, Color users viewed photos by location. But it turned out that was not what users wanted at all and the 2011 launch was a dud. Nyugen fired Pham three months later. Pham said he quit.

Apple bought Color in 2012 for $7 million amidst bizarre allegations of an abusive work environment, which was not only far less than the $167 million valuation Color had raised at in 2010 but also a long ways away from the $200 million Google had offered to buy the company in early 2011, according to Techcrunch.

Reflecting on his Color tenure now, which is omitted from his official bio, Pham says he barely knew Nyugen before they started the company – a mistake he would never make again – and describes their partnership as a "shotgun marriage."

"It wasn't a marriage that lasted," he said. "We were different people."

Pham defends the premise of Color as ahead of its time, pointing out that Snap launched a map feature two years ago that emulated what Color was trying to do.

"We were just early, and of course execution of this thing," Pham said. "Shit happens. Startups fail. It just didn't work."

But it did not take Pham long to get another job offer. Three months after his departure, Pham bumped into his old friend Jones at the Lobby Conference, an invitation-only consumer and enterprise tech gathering held annually in Maui.

They had been kicking around the idea for years of creating a Santa Monica version of Bill Gross' longtime startup studio, Idealab, which is in Pasadena.

"I wanted to do Idealab, but on the west side of town, because I like the beach," Pham said.

Up to that point, Pham and Jones had been consumed with other startups, but now they were both jobless and Pham wanted to move back to L.A., where he grew up and his family lived.

"Most people thought it was insane to leave the gold rush in the valley at that time," Pham said. "But what we wanted to do is be closer to building the business, not just writing the check."

Jones says he had no reservations about teaming with Pham, despite him only being a few months removed from being fired from Color.

"I wasn't at Color and I don't really know any of the background of Color," Jones said. "What I knew is that I knew Peter for a very long time."

Jones also recruited his longtime attorney Greg Gilman and former Myspace colleague Tom Dare to round out the founding team. Science Inc. launched with $10 million in venture backing from investors including Google CEO Eric Schmidt and another $30 million from the Hearst Corporation.

The now defunct Gawker tech gossip spinoff, Valleywag, marvelled at how quickly Pham was able to escape the Color fiasco.

"Why the hell are people still giving this guy money?" reporter Sam Biddle asked. "In just a couple short years, Pham has failed upwards, meteorically, from industry laughingstock to managing hundreds of millions of dollars."

But Pham soon proved the doubters wrong.

In its first year, Science had the sort of breakout success that it has never been able to top in the decade since.

Science incubated a small startup that sold razors and grooming supplies direct to consumers with quirky marketing campaigns with a $100,000 check. The next year, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led a $1 million seed round. In 2016, Unilever acquired Dollar Shave Club for $1 billion and yielded its founder, Dubin, a reported $200 million payday.

"Peter was instrumental in helping us fundraise," Dubin said. "He knows the art and science of raising money. He's extremely connected. We just would not have raised the money we did if it had not been for him."

Science has also scored big wins with DogVacay, which merged with its larger competitor Rover in 2018, and FameBit, an influencer marketing platform that was acquired by Google in 2016 before being shut down last year.

These days the firm's buzziest startup is decidedly low tech. Liquid Death, featuring the slogan "Murder Your Thirst," packages Austrian mountain water in aluminum cans. Pham says he was drawn to Liquid Death after a friend showed him the brand's edgy Facebook page.

Science incubated the brand in 2019 and led the $2.26 million seed round at a pre-money valuation of $5 million. In September, Liquid Death raised another $23 million Series B funding at a pre-money valuation at $82 million.

Science Inc.-backed Liquid Death packages Austrian mountain water in aluminum cans with bad boy-themed marketing.

Mike Cessario, the creative director turned founder and CEO of Liquid Death says the first time he met Pham at Science's offices he struck him as "a really smart guy who talks a million miles a minute."

"Peter has stepped up with us to make sure we can get the best deals we can get where we are not being taken advantage of by other investors," Cessario said.

Pham is rarely seen without a tall can of Liquid Death by his side. He says he consumes six a day because is worried about drinking the tap water where he lives.

"I don't trust the water in Manhattan Beach," Pham said. "It's got PFAS in it – plastics forever. If you don't know what that is, Google it. It's going to blow your mind."

Unlike with Nyugen, in Jones Pham says he has found someone who he will be friends with for life. Pham says he has finally found the role that perfectly suits his unique personality. At Science, he is in-charge of business development. Crucially, he has no direct reports.

"I don't like managing people," Pham said. "I was CEO once. It's not my thing."

Last month, Science Inc. announced that it was launching a $270 million SPAC to focus on direct-to-consumer, mobile and entertainment companies.

'It's All Over in 60 Days'

These days Pham has been traveling to Miami, which comes with the dual advantages of being a place unencumbered by the lockdowns he hates and also home to a rapidly growing startup scene that he says reminds him of L.A. 10 years ago. Ever the networker and promoter, Pham hosted a sunset cruise there this month for tech founders and investors where they sipped on Liquid Death.

Pham continues to advocate for Ivermectin and has also been pushing the yet-to-be-approved Novavax Vaccine. He enrolled in the vaccine's phase III trial and says it is his "favorite" vaccine because it is easier to store and can be used on immunocompromised patients.

Far from a distraction, Pham says his passion about COVID and helping secure PPE has brought the unintended effect of further expanding his professional network.

"It opened up a whole new network of entrepreneurs and spaces and industries that we're now looking into investing in," Pham said. "It all comes full circle. It turns out if you do good things in life, you get rewarded."

While so many Americans are relentlessly dreary after nearly a year of the pandemic, Pham is more sanguine than ever.

"I still am optimistic it's all over in 60 days," he tweeted this month.

"We will all be having easter dinner with family," he added last week.

Lead image by Eduardo Ramón Trejo.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with Science's closing amount for its SPAC and a clarification from Pham on Color.

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PledgeLA’s Next Chapter Starts Now with Noramay Cadena

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday, Los Angeles! As we wrap up another busy week in LA’s tech scene, there’s big news on the leadership front. PledgeLA has a new chair, and it’s someone who knows what it takes to break barriers and build lasting impact. Noramay Cadena, a San Fernando High grad turned triple-degree MIT engineer, has spent her career defying expectations. She started in aerospace engineering, leading operations before pivoting to venture capital, where she’s invested in 90+ companies across industries. She co-founded Latinas in STEM in 2013 and later launched MiLA Capital, a seed-stage VC firm investing in hardware and manufacturing innovations. As Managing Partner of Supply Change Capital, she has focused on technology transforming the food system, raising a $40M fund and deploying over $20M into 23 companies, including eight in California. Stepping into her new role as chair of PledgeLA, she’s setting her sights on an even bigger challenge: making LA’s tech and VC ecosystem more inclusive, accessible, and globally competitive.

Noramay Cadena (left, with her son) incoming chair of PledgeLA, receives a Catalyst Award for Emerging Manager in December. (With Qiana Patterson, PledgeLA Chair 2020-22 and Managing Partner of NAYAH)

She follows in the footsteps of Anna Barber of M13, whose leadership transformed PledgeLA into a driving force for change, launching the VC Fellowship to elevate diverse investors and spearheading the GP + LP Connections Series, which facilitated over 80 investor meetings last year. She also played a key role in the Venture Capital Data Report with UCLA Luskin and introduced the PledgeLA Catalyst Awards, honoring leaders driving capital access and innovation.

Now as Chair Emerita, Barber will continue supporting PledgeLA as it enters its next phase under Cadena’s leadership.

Cadena recognizes the strength of the foundation she’s inheriting. “Anna has been instrumental in making PledgeLA a force for inclusion in LA tech and venture. I’m honored to build on that work as we take the next big leap forward,” she said. “We’re at a critical moment for LA tech. We’ve built momentum, but now is the time to turn that into real, lasting change. I’m focused on forging new partnerships, increasing capital access, and ensuring that LA’s innovation economy works for everyone—not just the few.”

Her first priorities? Expanding PledgeLA’s VC Fellowship to create more pathways into venture, strengthening connections between emerging fund managers and investors, and doubling down on community-driven initiatives. Earlier this year, PledgeLA members, including Wonder Ventures, raised $1.1M for wildfire relief efforts—a testament to the power of LA’s tech community when it mobilizes.

With Cadena at the helm, PledgeLA isn’t just continuing its mission—it’s accelerating it. Thanks to Barber’s legacy and Cadena’s vision, the future of LA tech is poised for even greater impact. For more details on the transition and what’s ahead, read the official announcement here.

And speaking of momentum, if you’re heading out this weekend, be sure to check for road closures—the LA Marathon is set to take over the streets this Sunday! Whether you’re running, cheering, or just navigating around town, it’s another reminder that LA is always on the move.

Image Source: The McCourt Foundation


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Scrunch AI, a Los Angeles-based platform that helps businesses optimize their presence in AI-driven search results, has raised a $4M Seed funding round led by Mayfield. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate product development and expand its market reach, aiming to ensure brands remain visible and competitive as AI search becomes more prevalent. - learn more
  • Wolf Games, a Los Angeles-based generative gaming startup, has secured $4M in seed funding. The investment round includes prominent figures such as television producer Dick Wolf, music industry pioneer Jimmy Iovine, and Paul Wachter, Founder and CEO of Main Street Advisors. Wolf Games specializes in creating generative cinematic games that adapt to individual player choices, offering immersive and personalized storytelling experiences. The company plans to use the funds to develop its inaugural game, "Public Eye," set to launch in Summer 2025. "Public Eye" is a crime procedural game where players assist in solving murder investigations, guided by an AI-powered assistant that tailors the experience to each user's play style. - learn more
  • Fixated, a digital entertainment platform, has secured $12.8M in funding, led by Eldridge Industries. Fixated specializes in transforming creator representation and monetization, providing infrastructure, strategy, and expertise to help digital creators scale their content and diversify revenue streams. The investment will be used to expand Fixated's influence across talent management, content creation, gaming, and digital entertainment, aiming to empower creators and set higher industry standards. - learn more
  • Liminal, a user-generated content (UGC) gaming startup, has secured $5.8M in seed funding. The investment round included BITKRAFT Ventures, Riot Games, and OTK Media Group, with participation from angel investors including Marc Merrill, co-founder of Riot Games. Liminal is developing a platform that enables players to create immersive role-playing game (RPG) adventures without coding knowledge, aiming to make storytelling through gaming more accessible and engaging. The funds will be used to advance the development of this platform, with plans to launch publicly playable content in the coming year. - learn more
  • Pragma, a Los Angeles-based backend game engine developer, has secured $12.75M in strategic funding, bringing its total raised to over $50M. The investment round included participation from Square Enix, Upfront Ventures, Greylock Partners, and Insight Partners. Pragma specializes in providing scalable backend solutions for live-service games, powering features like matchmaking, analytics, and monetization. The new funds will be used to enhance their suite of live-service tools, support strategic acquisitions, and strengthen partnerships within the gaming industry. - learn more
  • Tetrous, a Sherman Oaks-based biotech company focused on bone-to-tendon healing, raised $6.5M in an oversubscribed Series A round. The funds will be used to expand market reach, generate clinical data, and broaden surgical applications of its technology. - learn more
  • Uthana, a generative AI company specializing in 3D character animation, has raised a $4.3M funding round led by IA Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to expand operations and development efforts, aiming to revolutionize the animation and game development industry by enabling real-time, lifelike animations that adapt dynamically to gameplay, thereby enhancing immersion and realism. - learn more
  • LiquidTrust, a Los Angeles-based fintech company, has raised a $4M Seed funding round led by Anthemis Female Innovators Lab Fund, Resolute Ventures, and Motivate Ventures. The company specializes in secure payment solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and has introduced Micro Escrow Pay, an instant escrow payment solution designed to embed trust directly into payment flows. The funds will be used to expand operations and development efforts, aiming to protect SMBs from fraud and nonpayment risks. - learn more
    LA Venture Funds
      • B Capital participated in a $4.5M funding round for Bizongo, a Mumbai-based B2B e-commerce platform focused on raw material procurement and distribution, bringing the company's valuation to $980M. The funds will be used to scale operations threefold by December, expand product categories, and position Bizongo for profitability by the last quarter of FY26. - learn more
      • UP.Partners led a $4M Seed funding round for SaySo, a New York City-based retail technology company that provides an interactive shopping platform designed to turn excess inventory into profit-driven opportunities. SaySo plans to use the funds to expand its partnerships and bring its interactive clearance platform to a broader retail audience. - learn more
      • March Capital participated in a $200M Seed funding round for Lila Sciences, a company developing an AI platform combined with autonomous laboratories to accelerate scientific discovery across life, chemical, and materials sciences. The funds will be used to further develop Lila's AI platform, build the first AI-driven science factories, and scale operations to enhance scientific research capabilities. - learn more
      • Animal Capital led a $1.6M pre-seed funding round for Platter, a New York-based ecommerce technology startup. Platter specializes in helping Shopify brands create high-converting storefronts that maximize profit. The funds will be used to further consolidate disparate tools into a unified product suite, empowering Shopify brands to build more profitable storefronts. - learn more

      LA Exits

        • Tastemade, a media company known for its food, travel, and home design content, has been acquired by food delivery startup Wonder for $90M. The acquisition aims to integrate Tastemade’s content with Wonder’s services, including takeout, delivery, and meal kits, to create a comprehensive "mealtime super app." The deal is also expected to enhance Wonder’s advertising business and offer seamless access to meals featured on Tastemade’s platforms. - learn more
        • Jumpcut Media, a provider of AI-driven intellectual property management and audience analysis tools, has been acquired by Cinelytic, an AI-powered content intelligence platform. Jumpcut's platforms, such as ScriptSense and SocialSense, offer real-time insights into content development and market alignment, enhancing decision-making across the content lifecycle. This acquisition aims to integrate Jumpcut's capabilities into Cinelytic's services, optimizing decision-making in the entertainment industry. - learn more
        • FatTail, a Calabasas, California-based advertising technology company specializing in direct advertising solutions, has been acquired by Chartbeat, a media operations software platform backed by Cuadrilla Capital. This acquisition aims to integrate FatTail's advertising revenue management capabilities with Chartbeat's content analytics services, providing media companies with a unified platform to enhance both audience engagement and revenue generation. - learn more
        • Deep 6 AI, an AI-driven precision research platform specializing in accelerating patient recruitment for clinical trials, has been acquired by Tempus, a leader in AI-powered precision medicine. Deep 6 AI's platform analyzes both structured and unstructured electronic medical record (EMR) data to match patients with clinical trials, serving over 750 provider sites and encompassing more than 30 million patients. This acquisition aims to enhance Tempus' capabilities in clinical trial matching and real-world evidence generation, furthering its mission to advance precision medicine and patient care. - learn more

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              🛡️Meet the Defense Unicorn That Just Raised $250M to Stop Drone Swarms

              🔦 Spotlight

              Hello, Happy Friday!

              For this week's spotlight story, we're turning our attention to a monumental leap in defense technology achieved by Epirus, a dynamic startup based in Torrance that specializes in groundbreaking anti-drone systems. Recently, Epirus successfully secured a whopping $250 million in Series D funding, raising its total capital to over $550 million and solidifying its status as a unicorn in the defense tech sector.

              Image Source: Epirus

              At the heart of Epirus’s arsenal is Leonidas, a solid-state, directed energy system named after the fierce Spartan king. As formidable as its namesake suggests, Leonidas stands out by neutralizing unmanned systems and other electronic threats with unmatched precision—a vital capability in today’s digital battlefield where drones are increasingly common. Offering a high-tech shield against potential threats, Leonidas has established Epirus as a key player in modern warfare technology, underscored by significant contracts such as a notable $66 million deal with the U.S. Army in 2023.

              Founded in 2018 by a visionary team including Joe Lonsdale, Bo Marr, Max Mednik, Nathan Mintz, Grant Verstandig, and John Tenet, Epirus combines expertise across technology, strategy, and security to push the boundaries of defense innovation. The collective experience and strategic foresight of its founders have propelled the company's rapid growth and technological advancements.

              Looking to the future, Epirus plans to utilize this influx of capital to broaden its reach into international and commercial markets, enhance its team, fortify its supply chain, and establish a new training center in Oklahoma to further military preparedness.

              This latest round of funding was led by 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners LP, accompanied by a diverse group of new and returning investors, including strategic defense partner General Dynamics Land Systems and seasoned investors like StepStone Group and T. Rowe Price Investment Management, Inc. New stakeholders such as Oppenheimer's Private Market Opportunities Vista VI Fund, NightDragon, Manhattan Venture Partners, Centaurus Capital LP, and Center15 Capital also joined, reflecting robust market confidence in Epirus’s innovative approach and future potential.

              Keep an eye on Epirus as it navigates this exciting phase of growth and innovation. With its advanced technologies and strategic expansions, Epirus is not just responding to the challenges of today’s digital battlefield but is also setting the pace for tomorrow’s defense landscape.

              🤝 Venture Deals

              LA Companies

              • Zeitview, a Los Angeles-based leader in AI-powered infrastructure inspections, has raised a $60M funding round led by Climate Investment, with participation from Upfront Ventures and others. The funds will be used to accelerate the development of its Visual AI technology and enhance its Insights software platform, supporting infrastructure sectors such as solar, wind, utilities, properties, and telecom throughout the asset lifecycle. - learn more
              • Nervonik, a medical device company specializing in peripheral nerve stimulation for chronic pain relief, has raised a $13M Series A funding round led by U.S. Venture Partners (USVP). The funds will be used to advance the development of its next-generation nerve stimulation technology, aiming to provide effective, non-opioid pain management solutions. - learn more
              • Mote, a company specializing in carbon-negative energy production, has secured $7M in the initial close of its Series A funding round. The investment was co-led by Nella Next and Preston-Werner Ventures. Mote converts agricultural and forestry waste into clean hydrogen through its Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) technology, which also sequesters carbon dioxide. The funds will be used to advance its first commercial-scale facility, expand engineering capabilities, and accelerate strategic partnerships in the hydrogen and energy sectors. - learn more
              • FastLane Labs, a developer of Maximal Extractable Value (MEV) infrastructure, has raised a $6M funding round led by Figment Capital and DBA. The funds will be used to develop a comprehensive liquid staking token on the Monad blockchain, aiming to build a sustainable MEV ecosystem that benefits users, decentralized applications (dApps), and stakers. - learn more
              • Supergut, a company specializing in gut health products like powders, bars, and shakes containing resistant starches and prebiotic fibers, has secured a significant growth equity investment led by Full Frame Growth Partners, with participation from Alpha Edison, Rocana Venture Partners, Strand Equity Partners, and others. The funds will support new product innovation, retail expansion, and new hires. Additionally, Supergut has appointed Tracey Warner Halama, former CEO of Vital Proteins, as its new CEO to lead this next phase of growth. The company has experienced a 172% sales increase in 2024, driven by its 'GLP-1 booster' product. - learn more
              • FairPlay, a Fairness-as-a-Service company, has raised a $10M funding round from Infinity Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, and Nyca Partners. FairPlay specializes in developing tools that help organizations identify and correct biases in their AI-driven decision-making processes, aiming to promote fairness and compliance in sectors like financial services and insurance. The company plans to use the funds to expand its operations and enhance its product offerings, furthering its mission to build fairness infrastructure for the internet and ensure safer AI adoption. - learn more
              • ACID Labs, a leader in instant social gaming on messaging platforms, has raised $8M in funding led by a16z GAMES Speedrun and NFX, with participation from Fusion. The funds will be used to accelerate its mission of building viral instant games where people already connect, focusing on creating seamless, social-first gaming experiences. - learn more
              • MelodAI, a company specializing in AI-generated content (AIGC) and multimodal AI agent services, has secured a new round of funding led by LF Labs. The funds will be used to advance product development and expand market presence in the Web3 and AI entertainment sectors, enhancing MelodAI's competitiveness in the global AIGC and AI agent service industries. - learn more
                LA Venture Funds
                  • Fika Ventures led a $4.7M Seed funding round for Outmarket AI, a San Francisco-based intelligence platform designed to transform commercial insurance through AI-powered insights and automation. The funds will be used to accelerate platform innovation, expand the team, and establish strategic partnerships with leading brokers and carriers. - learn more
                  • FirstLook Partners participated in a $25M equity funding round for Flex, a Miami-based fintech company that provides an all-in-one finance platform for business owners. Flex offers services such as business banking, expense management, credit cards, and accounts payable automation. The company plans to use the funds to enhance its AI-driven accounts payable automation and expand its personal finance management services for business owners. - learn more
                  • B Capital led a $96M equity investment in Odeko, a New York-based all-in-one operations and technology partner for local coffee shops, cafes, and other food and beverage businesses. Including a $30M credit facility from Banc of California, the total funding amounts to $126M. Odeko plans to use the funds to fuel growth through new services and cost savings for customers, acquire businesses to extend its market reach and product offerings, and build out its leadership team. - learn more
                  • Presight Capital participated in a $2.2M Seed funding round for Needle, an AI-powered search and agent development platform based in San Francisco and Berlin. Needle enables organizations to access and manage data across various internal systems, integrating with tools like Confluence, Slack, Gmail, and Dropbox. The funds will be used to expand the engineering team, enhance core technology, and accelerate go-to-market initiatives. - learn more
                  • Village Global participated in a $2.8M Pre-seed funding round for Orpheus Ocean, a New Bedford, Massachusetts-based company specializing in deep-sea robotics. Orpheus Ocean develops autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) designed to enhance deep ocean and seafloor data collection. The funds will be used to conduct the first commercial demonstrations of their AUV technology, expand their technical team, and grow their fleet to support increased deployments in the coming year. - learn more

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                        The AI Arms Race Heats Up — Who’s Really Winning?

                        🔦 Spotlight

                        Hello, LA!

                        In the ever-evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, tech giants are racing to outdo each other, unveiling innovations that promise to redefine our interaction with technology. This week, the spotlight shines on three major developments: Amazon's introduction of Alexa+, OpenAI's release of GPT-4.5, and Meta's announcement of a standalone AI app.

                        Amazon's Alexa+: Your New AI Companion

                        Image Source: Amazon

                        Amazon has unveiled Alexa+, a next-generation AI assistant powered by generative AI.According to Amazon, Alexa+ is designed to be more conversational, smarter, and highly personalized. It can manage tasks ranging from controlling smart home devices to making reservations and providing personalized recommendations. With the ability to understand colloquial expressions and complex queries, Alexa+ aims to make interactions feel less like commands to a machine and more like conversations with a trusted friend.

                        Alexa+ will be free for Amazon Prime members and available for $19.99 per month for non-members, adding a new premium tier to Amazon’s ecosystem. For more details,Amazon's official release covers the top features.

                        OpenAI's GPT-4.5: A Leap Towards Emotional Intelligence

                        Image Source: OpenAI

                        Meanwhile, OpenAI has launched GPT-4.5, its largest and most advanced AI language model to date.In OpenAI’s announcement, the company highlights how this upgrade enhances pattern recognition, connection drawing, and creative insight generation. Early testing indicates that interactions with GPT-4.5 feel more natural and intuitive, thanks to its broader knowledge base and refined personality.

                        This model is particularly adept at writing, programming, and practical problem-solving. However, OpenAI has clarified that GPT-4.5 is not a "frontier model", meaning it may not outperform highly specialized AI in certain areas. Still, it marks a significant step forward in AI’s capabilities.

                        Meta's Standalone AI App: Expanding the AI Ecosystem

                        Not to be left behind, Meta is set to launch a standalone AI app in the second quarter of 2025.As reported by CNBC, this move aligns with Mark Zuckerberg’s vision to position Meta as a leader in AI by the end of the year. The app aims to complement existing platforms like Facebook and Instagram, offering users a dedicated space to interact with Meta’s AI technologies.

                        This initiative is part of Meta’s broader strategy to enhance user engagement and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. With rivals like Amazon and OpenAI pushing forward, Meta is making its move to claim a seat at the AI table.

                        The Bigger Picture

                        These developments underscore a significant trend: AI is becoming increasingly integrated into our daily lives, with major tech companies striving to create more intuitive, personalized, and human-like interactions. As AI continues to evolve, users can anticipate more seamless and natural engagements with technology, blurring the lines between human and machine interactions.

                        In this high-stakes race, the real winners will be those who deliver AI that doesn’t just talk back—but truly understands.


                        🤝 Venture Deals

                        LA Companies

                        • Mitico, a Pasadena-based carbon capture technology company, has raised a $4.3M Seed funding round led by Exergon with participation from Freeflow Ventures, Alliance for Southern California Innovation, and others. The funds will be used to accelerate pilot testing and scale its technology, which captures over 95% of CO₂ emissions from industrial sources like gas-fired power plants and waste-to-energy facilities. - learn more
                          LA Venture Funds
                          • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Eikon Therapeutics' $351M Series D funding round to support the company's advancements in live-cell imaging and protein movement analysis for drug discovery. Based in Hayward, California, Eikon is leveraging its proprietary technology to develop new treatments, with a focus on melanoma and other cancers. The funds will be used to accelerate drug discovery programs and expand clinical research efforts. - learn more
                          • MTech Capital participated in a €14.4M Series B funding round for Napo, a London-based InsurTech startup specializing in comprehensive pet insurance solutions. The funds will be used to enhance Napo's AI and automation capabilities, aiming to provide more efficient and customer-focused services to pet owners. - learn more
                          • Mantis VC participated in a $15M Series A funding round for Edera, a Seattle-based company specializing in workload isolation technology. Edera's solutions enhance cloud and AI infrastructure security by providing strong workload isolation, enabling developers to build rapidly without compromising security. The funds will be used to expand Edera's product offerings, including support for AI infrastructure, and to accelerate the adoption of their technology in securing cloud-native environments. - learn more
                          • B Capital participated in a $13.4M Seed funding round for Goose, a Chicago-based technology company developing a next-generation operating system for pet care providers. Goose's platform integrates services such as boarding, day care, grooming, training, and retail, aiming to streamline operations and enhance customer interactions for pet care businesses. The newly raised funds will be used to accelerate product development, expand partnerships, and meet the growing demand for their enterprise-ready platform. - learn more
                          • 75 & Sunny Ventures participated in a $6.7M Seed funding round for HouseWhisper, a Seattle-based company developing an AI-powered assistant designed to enhance real estate agents' productivity by automating administrative tasks. The funds will be used to advance product development, expand the team, and enhance AI capabilities, aiming to transform agent workflows and improve client engagement. - learn more
                          • Dangerous Ventures participated in an $18.5M Series A funding round for Cambium, a Baltimore-based supply chain technology company specializing in sustainable wood products. Cambium leverages AI to transform salvaged wood into Carbon Smart™ Wood and mass timber products, aiming to modernize the $788 billion wood products industry. The funds will be used to deploy AI technology, strengthen their wood supply network, expand into mass timber offerings, and scale operations to meet the growing demand for sustainable building materials. - learn more
                          • Nomad Ventures led a $1.7M Pre-seed funding round for WilsonAI, a London-based company developing the world's first AI-powered paralegal designed to integrate directly into in-house legal teams. Founded in August 2024 by Gus Neate and Alex Wang, WilsonAI aims to automate repetitive legal tasks, such as handling routine requests and reviewing contracts, thereby streamlining workflows. The funds will be used to enhance WilsonAI's AI capabilities, expand integrations with existing legal tech systems, and accelerate customer onboarding across various industries. - learn more
                          • Bill Silva Ventures participated in an €800,000 funding round for Solid IO, a Helsinki-based medtech company specializing in patient-specific organ-on-chip technology. Solid IO's platform replicates individual tumor microenvironments to provide real-time, accurate data on cancer responses to immunotherapies and combination treatments. The funds will be used to advance their tumor-on-chip platform, aiming to enhance personalized cancer treatment and improve patient outcomes. - learn more

                                LA Exits

                                • Loki Solutions, a company specializing in advanced cyber operations and intelligence analysis, has been acquired by VTG to expand its capabilities within the intelligence community. The acquisition strengthens VTG’s offerings in national security and cyber defense, integrating Loki Solutions’ expertise to support critical missions. - learn more
                                • Dave's Hot Chicken, a Pasadena, California-based chain renowned for its Nashville-style hot chicken, has been acquired by private equity firm Roark Capital in a deal valued at approximately $1 billion. Founded in 2017, Dave's Hot Chicken has rapidly expanded to over 250 locations worldwide, generating around $1 billion in annual sales. The company is majority-owned by its founders—Dave Kopushyan, Arman Oganesyan, Tommy Rubenyan, and Gary Rubenyan—and counts rapper Drake among its investors. Roark Capital, based in Atlanta, manages $38 billion in assets and owns a portfolio of major restaurant brands, including Arby's, Culver's, and Subway. - learn more
                                • Mob Scene, a premier Hollywood marketing agency specializing in film studios, television networks, and streaming services, has been acquired by Connekkt Media, one of Asia's largest media and entertainment-technology companies. This strategic acquisition aims to combine Mob Scene's creative marketing expertise with Connekkt Media's technological capabilities, enhancing their global reach and service offerings. Under the new agreement, Mob Scene's co-founder and CEO, Tom Grane, will continue to lead the company. - learn more
                                • Curious Refuge, a platform dedicated to supporting generative AI storytellers, has been acquired by Promise, a pioneering film and media company. This acquisition aims to empower and discover AI-driven storytellers worldwide, fostering a vibrant creative community that connects artists, filmmakers, and technologists. By integrating Curious Refuge's resources and community with Promise's innovative approach, the collaboration seeks to revolutionize the landscape of AI-generated storytelling. - learn more

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