los angeles tech scene

✨Diverse, Impact-Driven Founders Shine at Plug In South LA's Demo Day

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.

✨Diverse, Impact-Driven Founders Shine at Plug In South LA's Demo Day
Luma

🔦 Spotlight

Plug In South LA, a Los Angeles accelerator program, hosted their 2023 Founder Showcase at Blackbird House in Culver City on Thursday night. Founders made their pitches and then participated in a short Q&A session with Plug In South LA’s founder Derek Smith. 🎬🚀🌟

Half of Plug In’s first national cohort, consisting of ten companies, are based in Los Angeles with the rest dispersed across the country from Washington D.C. to San Francisco. Diversity is the name of the game for this group of companies. Not only is Plug In South LA designed for under-represented founders the companies themselves span the gambit when it comes to sector with healthcare, social networking, marketplace startups and more.

Plug In South LA was founded by LA-native Derek Smith in 2014 because he noticed a significant lack of representation and opportunities for Black and Latinx communities in the growing tech industry in Los Angeles, particularly in South Los Angeles neighborhoods like Crenshaw, Leimert Park, and Inglewood. He wanted to bridge this gap and create a platform to empower underrepresented talent by providing networking, exposure, and support within the tech sector. According to its website, Plug In South LA’s accelerator is “designed for Black and LatinX founders who are focused on solving big problems in Healthcare, Fintech, Digital Media, Climate Control and Sustainability Efforts in historically marginalized communities.”

Scroll down to see more information and the full list of companies! 💻🌴🌇

Want to invest in real estate but don’t have the time or money to buy and manage a whole property?

Investors are flocking to Arrived, a Jeff Bezos-backed real estate investing platform that even Zillow Co-founder Spencer Rascoff loves using. It's a beautiful app and web platform that already has over 353,000 people who have invested over $100M in real estate properties. We don't blame them - Arrived takes the guesswork out. You just:

  • Browse expert curated vacation rentals and long-term rentals (only <0.2% of properties pass their expert diligence process before being offered to you)
  • With just a few clicks, select the properties you like and invest anywhere from $100 to $50,000+ per property
  • Sit back while Arrived takes care of the management and operations for you. Simple.

Real estate has outperformed the S&P 500 over the past 20 years as an asset class - but it's not easy to get into. Arrived's seamless platform fixes this. So what's stopping you from becoming a real estate mogul?

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

  • Bold, a healthy aging platform, raised a $17M Series A led by Rethink Impact, with participation from Samsung Next and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) Bio + Health, Khosla Ventures, GingerBread Capital, and Primetime Partners. - learn more
  • Requirements management and digital thread platform, Prewitt Ridge, raised a $4.1M Seed Round led by Squadra Ventures, joined by Stage Venture Partners, Aurelia Foundry, Wonder Ventures, Haystack, Acequia, TechStars, GC&H and others. - learn more
  • Morty, a platform to help people find local ‘IRL’ experiences and cultivate real world interactions between friends, raised a $2.2M Seed Round from prominent Los Angeles-based firms including Wedbush Ventures and Wonder Ventures. Initially only featuring escape rooms, Morty recently expanded into haunted attractions with plans to feature immpersive theater, speakeasies, location based VR and more!
  • Mavida Health, a maternal mental health platform, raise a $1.5M Pre-Seed Round. - learn more
  • VideoAmp, a media measurement and optimization software company, raised a $150M Series G led by Vista Credit Partners. - learn more
  • Strada, an AI-enabled cloud platform with tools for production and postproduction, raised a $1.9M Pre-Seed Round from some major Hollywood players among others. - learn more
LA Funds

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Saturday, September 16th

  • Y3K Innovation Summit USC - A day filled with workshops, competitions, and opportunities to connect with industry leaders and fellow tech enthusiasts of all levels. The event is designed for anyone interested in exploring the future or entrepreneurship, social impact, and career development within the emerging tech industries including digital content creation, virtual and augmented reality, blockchain application, artificial intelligence, and e-gaming.

Wednesday, September 20th

  • Startup Cafe 🗽 - Meet and connect with like-minded entrepreneurs, investors, and industry professionals while enjoying a nice cup of coffee or going on a hike or both Wednesday morning in Venice.
  • The LA Business Show - Day 1 🗽 - Join hundreds of business experts and leaders for the first day of this business expo in Downtown Los Angeles built to equip, educate and encourage the small businesses and entrepreneurs with 300 exhibitors, 150 seminars and unmissable masterclasses.

Thursday, September 21st

  • The LA Business Show - Day 2 🗽 - Join hundreds of business experts and leaders for the second day of this business expo in Downtown Los Angeles built to equip, educate and encourage the small businesses and entrepreneurs with 300 exhibitors, 150 seminars and unmissable masterclasses.

Friday, September 22nd

  • LA Tech Wind-Down 🗽 - Join Startup Coil and The KINN Friday evening in Venice for an alternative to the mid-week happy hour for networking, chill vibes, and functional non-alcoholic libations.

Other events to add to the calendar

🗽 - Free

📙 What We’re Reading

  • Disney’s recent deal with Charter Communications signals the growing challenges of transitioning from traditional TV to streaming. - read more
  • SpaceX's satellite internet division, Starlink, falls short of Elon Musk's ambitious 2015 projection and faces challenges expanding its subscriber base, especially in urban areas. - read more
  • 5 things to know about a potential strike against video game companies. - read more

🚀 Plug In South LA’s 2023 Cohort

See below for all 10 companies featured at Plug In South LA’s 2023 Demo Day.

🩺 At Their Side, LLC

HQ: Long Beach, CA CEO: Emily Woodman-Nance

Sector: Healthcare

Description: At Their Side is a 24/7 healthcare status platform that enables healthcare providers to communicate with families, allowing staff to dedicate more time to providing care rather than being occupied with phones.

🪴 MyVoluntier

HQ: Atlanta, GA CEO: Aubrey Gibson

Sector: Social Networking Platform

Description: MyVoluntier is a virtual civic engagement hub, akin to a 'LinkedIn for civic engagement,' centralizing community initiatives, events, resources, fundraising, and volunteers to inspire social connection and drive collective impact.

🍽️ Nutrible

HQ: St. Louis, MO CEO: Kwamane Liddell

Sector: Healthcare

Description: Nutrible is a technology platform that provides virtual social service navigation and nutrition-centered chronic care management to vulnerable patients and communities.

💼 Peadbo

HQ: Washington, DC CEO: Keith Chaney

Sector: B2B Software

Description: Peadbo (short for Personal Advisory Board) is a cloud-based platform that allows users to build and manage teams dedicated to their personal or professional growth and create recurring newsletters for their broader network of supporters and advisors.

💐 Postal Petals®

HQ: Los Angeles, CA CEO: Talia Boone

Sector: B2C

Description: Postal Petals®, an immersive floral and wellness startup, uses fresh cut flowers and do-it-yourself flower arranging to promote creative expression as a form of mindfulness and self-care.

💸 Prosperety Technologies Inc.

HQ: San Francisco, CA CEO: Darren Black

Sector: FinTech

Description: Prosperety Technologies Inc. is a fintech SaaS platform that helps small businesses succeed financially with: the right customers at a reasonable cost, unlimited access to no-fee, no-credit-check, no-revenue, capital from consumers and the ability to easily build and get business credit. All in the same place, on the same platform.

🏀 Subler

HQ: Los Angeles, CA CEO: Carlos Rivera

Sector: Marketplace, Proptech

Description: Subler is a B2B/C SAAS marketplace that connects schools with communities, making it easy for event organizers to find and rent school spaces. Subler democratizes access to athletic and event spaces and simplifies the rental process by centralizing new leads, creating leases, and collecting rent — all in one place.

📳 SwayBrand

HQ: Los Angeles, CA CEO: Horace Flournoy

Sector: Marketplace

Description: SwayBrand is a marketplace that connects brands with creators for on-location user-generated content. They aim to be the new studio for creators and help brands reach new audiences through authentic, personalized content.

👟The Crease Beast

HQ: Los Angeles, CA CEO: Matt J.

Sector: Consumer Products

Description: The Crease Beast is an innovative shoe care brand that provides sneakerheads with effective products to preserve footwear aesthetics.

*The Crease Beast was not present at the Demo Day but is part of the 2023 cohort

🚗 Upward

HQ: New York, NY CEO: Osvaldo Rodriguez

Sector: FinTech

Description: Upward helps 5M ride share drivers and delivery workers save at least $2,500 in taxes by automating the process of finding the largest possible deductions, so they pay less when it is time to file.

los angeles tech scene
los angeles tech news

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

      Download the dot.LA App

      tech news los angeles tech news newsletter
      los angeles tech news

      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

      Download the dot.LA App

      tech news los angeles tech news newsletter
      los angeles tech news

      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

      Download the dot.LA App

      tech news los angeles tech news newsletter
      RELATEDEDITOR'S PICKS

      How Will LA Look in 2028? A Look at the City's Plan To Embrace Transformational Tech

      The LAPD Is Spending Millions On Spy Tech to Beef Up Security

      FCTRY LAb Raised $6M To Continue Expansion

      Two Months After Robots Were Introduced Into Nursing Homes, Residents Can't See Them Leaving: 'We'd Be Screwed'

      At UCLA, Professors See 'Exciting Opportunities' in AI Writing Tools

      Trending

      Valar Atomics Wants to Power AI, Literally

      Hermeus Moves In. Uber Lines Up. LA Wins.

      A $26M Push Into Power in LA

      This LA Startup Just Raised $49M for the Chaos Behind High-Stakes Lawsuits

      Netflix Doubles Down on LA

      © dot.LA All rights reserved

      TermsPrivacyCopyrightCookies

      Follow Us: