From Retro Cool to AI Convenience: LA’s New Tech Normal

From Retro Cool to AI Convenience: LA’s New Tech Normal

🔦 Spotlight

Hello LA,

What do you get when you cross a 1950s diner, robot-powered retail, and apps trying to do the right thing? A very Hollywood week in LA tech.

Image Source: Tesla

Let’s start with the most literal: Tesla’s long-awaited retro-futuristic diner just opened on Sunset, complete with drive-in movie screens, EV charging bays, and a neon glow that practically begs to be Instagrammed. It’s a mashup of Elon-style nostalgia and innovation, where your burger might take longer to arrive than your Model 3 finishes charging. While the menu sticks to diner classics (yes, there's a milkshake bar), the real flex is how Tesla is rebranding waiting as an “experience.” In a city where parking is currency, Tesla has turned it into a destination.

Image Source: VenHub

Just down the street, VenHub’s smart convenience store quietly opened its doors, but this is no 7-Eleven. The Pasadena-based startup is betting on AI-powered, cashier-free retail hubs that can be dropped anywhere, anytime. Think vending machine meets Apple Store. Investors are buying in on the promise of 24/7 access to snacks, essentials, and even meds. No human required. In a city of hustle, VenHub wants to make “convenient” even more convenient. Check out their locations here.

Uber also rolled out new "Women Rider Preferences" in LA, letting women and nonbinary drivers opt to pick up women riders. It's a long-requested feature aimed at improving safety and comfort, especially for those driving at night. And while it’s opt-in for now, it’s a significant move toward rethinking trust and transparency in ride-hailing, starting with the people behind the wheel.

Image Source: Snap

And finally, Snap launched "Home Safe Alerts" to quietly keep you safer on the move. You can now send automatic updates to trusted friends when you're heading out or getting home. It’s a subtle yet powerful shift toward making tech feel more protective and less performative. Snap’s way of saying, "Text me when you get home," but without the follow-up guilt.

So whether you're grabbing a burger under the glow of a Tesla screen, scanning a QR code at a robot-run bodega, or just getting home a little safer, this week reminded us that LA doesn’t just build the future. It makes it weird, wonderful, and just a little more user-friendly.

Catch you next week ✌️

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Nevoya has raised $9.3M in seed funding, led by Lowercarbon Capital, to transform the American trucking industry with its advanced freight platform. The company aims to modernize logistics by optimizing routes, improving efficiency, and better connecting shippers and carriers. The funding will help Nevoya expand its technology and scale operations to redefine how goods move across the country. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

  • Pinegrove Capital Partners joined Armada’s $131M Series B round to support the San Francisco-based edge computing startup in its mission to bring secure, modular data centers to remote and infrastructure-poor environments. Armada builds rugged, containerized units like its flagship Galleon and newly unveiled Leviathan, designed to enable real-time AI and compute at the edge. The funding will accelerate the deployment of these solutions globally and scale development for critical defense, energy, and industrial use cases. - learn more
  • Rebel Fund joined Lyra’s $6M seed round, supporting the San Francisco startup that’s redefining video conferencing with its AI-native platform. Lyra transforms traditional meetings into interactive workspaces with real-time collaboration and auto-generated summary notes. The capital will bolster infrastructure and support rapid growth as the company scales its go-to-market operations. - learn more
  • Plassa Capital participated in Bloom’s $1.6M pre-seed round to support the startup’s mission of building an all-in-one hub for the crypto trading community. Based in Miami, Bloom offers a social platform that combines trading tools, real-time news, and community-driven insights for crypto traders. The funding will help the company grow its team, enhance its product, and expand its user base. - learn more
  • Embark Ventures participated in TRIC Robotics’ seed funding round to support its development of autonomous robots that help farmers manage pests and plant diseases without chemicals. Based in Delaware, TRIC uses ultraviolet light and computer vision to treat crops like strawberries in a sustainable, labor-efficient way. The funding will help the company expand deployments, grow its team, and scale its technology to more farms across the U.S. - learn more
  • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Dispatch Bio’s $11.2M seed funding round. Based in San Diego, Dispatch Bio is developing a novel immunotherapy platform that aims to deliver a universal treatment for solid tumors by reprogramming immune cells at the tumor site. The funds will support further development of its platform and expansion of preclinical studies. - learn more
  • Mucker Capital led Vaudit’s $7.3M seed round, reinforcing its belief in the San Francisco Bay Area-based startup. Vaudit delivers an AI-powered media audit platform that automates real-time validation of ad spend, detecting discrepancies before payments are processed. The funding will enable Vaudit to enhance its platform, expand its team, and scale its global reach across web and mobile channels. - learn more
  • Morpheus Ventures participated in xLight’s $40M Series B funding round to support its mission of transforming semiconductor manufacturing. The Palo Alto-based company develops advanced laser-based lithography technology designed to make chip production faster, more precise, and more cost-effective. The new funding will be used to accelerate product development, expand the team, and scale operations to meet growing demand. - learn more
  • Magnify Ventures participated in Alix’s $20M Series A funding round to help the company modernize the estate settlement process. Based in New York, Alix offers a digital platform that simplifies and streamlines estate administration for families and professionals. The funds will be used to enhance the platform, grow the team, and expand its reach to meet increasing demand. - learn more
  • Untapped Ventures participated in Nexxa AI’s $4.4M seed round to support the company’s mission of bringing specialized AI solutions to heavy industries like manufacturing, logistics, and energy. Based in Sunnyvale, Nexxa’s platform enables domain-specific AI deployment tailored to industrial operations. The funding will help the company expand its engineering team, accelerate product development, and onboard new enterprise customers. - learn more

LA Exits
  • Exverus Media, a Los Angeles-based media agency known for its data-driven approach to brand growth, has been acquired by global marketing firm Brainlabs. The acquisition strengthens Brainlabs’ U.S. presence and adds strategic media planning and measurement capabilities to its portfolio. Exverus will continue operating under its brand while gaining access to Brainlabs’ global resources and infrastructure. - learn more
  • Generous Brands is set to acquire Health-Ade Kombucha, the Los Angeles-based beverage company known for its premium, gut-healthy drinks. The deal marks Generous Brands’ push into the fast-growing functional beverage market and adds a high-profile name to its portfolio. Health-Ade will continue operating with its existing team while benefiting from expanded resources and distribution capabilities. - learn more
  • Launch Potato has acquired OnlyInYourState, a travel discovery platform known for spotlighting hidden gems across the U.S. The acquisition expands Launch Potato’s portfolio of digital brands and supports its goal of using AI to personalize trip planning experiences. OnlyInYourState will continue to operate while integrating with Launch Potato’s performance marketing and content strategy capabilities. -learn more
  • Vilore Foods has acquired Tia Lupita Foods, a better-for-you Mexican food brand known for its hot sauces, chips, and tortillas made with simple, sustainable ingredients. The acquisition expands Vilore’s portfolio into the health-conscious and culturally authentic food space. Tia Lupita will continue to operate under its brand while gaining access to Vilore’s distribution network and resources. - learn more

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      Montgomery Summit Is Back at the Fairmont Miramar

      🔦 Spotlight

      Hey Los Angeles,

      If you’re looking to stack your March with the right rooms and the right people, The Montgomery Summit, presented by March Capital, is coming back to Santa Monica (March 10–11, 2026) at the Fairmont Miramar. It’s been running since 2004, founded by March Capital co-founder Jamie Montgomery, and it consistently draws a tight mix of founders, investors, and execs who show up to have real conversations, not just do the conference lap.

      This year’s program is shaping up to be a big one: 1,200+ attendees, 180+ speakers, and CEOs from 120+ carefully selected private tech companies. In other words, if you want early looks at breakout companies and the context you can’t get from a headline scroll, this is one of LA’s most high-signal two-day events.

      What I like about Montgomery is the vibe. It’s less “conference chaos” and more “high-signal collisions,” with structured ways to connect, including 1:1 meeting scheduling through the Summit app for eligible attendees. The agenda doesn’t stop when the panels do, there’s a Getty Villa reception and a closing reception, so the Summit keeps moving well past the main stage hours.

      It’s invitation-only, but you can request an invitation here.

      Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.


      🤝 Venture Deals

          LA Companies

          • Vast secured $500M in new financing, made up of $300M in Series A equity and $200M in debt, to accelerate production of its Haven commercial space stations and expand its facilities and team. The round was led by Balerion Space Ventures with participation from IQT, Qatar Investment Authority, Mitsui & Co., MUFG, Nikon, Stellar Ventures, Space Capital, Earthrise Ventures, and founder/first investor Jed McCaleb, as Vast pushes toward Haven-1 and its longer-term successor vision. - learn more
          • PartsPulse has raised $3M from UP.Partners and used the momentum to officially launch its unified AI platform at CONEXPO in Las Vegas. The startup says its “command center” combines inventory planning, pricing optimization, and sales intelligence into one system for OEMs, dealers, and fleet managers, and it was built with UP.Labs and co-developed with Wabash to help parts businesses spot revenue opportunities and stock the right parts at the right time. - learn more
          • Procode AI launched out of stealth with $4M in venture funding and acquired The Auctus Group, a major revenue cycle management (RCM) firm that bills for 300+ plastic surgery and dermatology providers. The company says the combination will bring AI into private-practice surgical billing, using its “Coding Copilot” to translate operative reports into billing codes faster and reduce denials, while Auctus continues operating under CEO John Gwin. - learn more
          • Smack has raised $32M across Seed and Series A to scale what it calls the first “frontier AI lab” built specifically for national security, after landing contracts with multiple branches of the U.S. military in 2025. The Series A was led by Geodesic Capital and Costanoa Ventures, with participation from Point72 Ventures, Felicis, First In, Scribble Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Washington Harbour Partners, Palumni VC, Fulcrum Venture Group, Anomaly Fund, and Fortitude Ventures. - learn more

                          LA Venture Funds

                          • BOLD Capital Partners participated in KeyCare’s $27.4M financing round, backing the Epic-native virtual care company as it scales an AI-enabled model designed to extend health systems’ capacity with 24/7 virtual urgent, preventive, chronic, and virtual-first primary care. The round was led by HealthX Ventures and also included 8VC, LRVHealth, and Ikigai Venture Partners, plus strategic investors such as WellSpan Health, Allina Health, University of Chicago Ventures, Edge Ventures, and Exact Sciences, bringing KeyCare’s total funding to $55M+. - learn more
                          • Fifth Wall led RenoFi’s $22M Series B, backing the Philadelphia startup’s push to make renovation financing simpler through an AI-enabled platform that underwrites loans based on a home’s after-renovation value. The round also included meaningful participation from Progressive Insurance and additional support from investors such as HighSage Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Flintlock Capital, and Gaingels, plus continued backing from Canaan, First Round Capital, Curql, TruStage Ventures, and several credit union partners. - learn more
                          • B Capital co-led Bounce’s $5M internal round alongside existing backers Accel and Qualcomm Ventures, extending fresh capital without bringing in new investors. Bounce founder Vivekananda Hallekere told The Economic Times the round underscores continued support from its current investors as the electric mobility startup pushes forward in the EV space. - learn more

                                          LA Exits

                                          • Silent House Group has been acquired by concert staging and live-experiences giant TAIT, formalizing a long-running partnership between the two companies. The deal pairs Silent House’s LA-born creative and production chops, behind major tours and live experiences including Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour and Kendrick Lamar’s Grand National Tour, with TAIT’s engineering, staging, and global delivery capabilities to build touring, experiential, and broadcast productions at any scale. - learn more

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                                                                    Revel’s Afterburner Round: $150M for Hard Tech Infrastructure

                                                                    🔦 Spotlight

                                                                    Hello Los Angeles,

                                                                    This week’s biggest hard tech funding headline belongs to Revel, which just raised a $150M Series B to modernize the software layer behind hardware test and control. The round was led by Index Ventures, with major participation from Redpoint Ventures and returning investors Thrive Capital, Felicis, and Abstract Ventures, plus angel participation including Figma CEO Dylan Field.

                                                                    Image Source: Revel

                                                                    Revel’s pitch is simple: rockets, advanced energy, robotics, and defense systems have evolved fast, but the tooling that tests and commands them is still stuck in the past. The company says its platform can cut test stand setup time from 14 days to about 8 hours, and that teams go from testing every other day to multiple tests per day. One customer, Impulse Space, reportedly runs 80+ instances of RevelTest, and Revel claims every pilot it has run has converted into a paying customer.

                                                                    What makes this more than “just another big round” is where Revel is aiming next: expanding from test stands into industrial control across critical infrastructure, including nuclear facilities, power stations, refineries, water treatment, data centers, and biomedical manufacturing. Their platform includes live telemetry and safe command execution, and even a purpose built language, RevelCode, designed for deterministic, debuggable control in high consequence environments. In other words, if LA is becoming a capital of hard tech, Revel is trying to become the control room software those companies standardize on.Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.

                                                                    🤝 Venture Deals

                                                                        LA Companies

                                                                        • Third Way Health raised an oversubscribed $15M Series A led by Health Velocity Capital to scale its AI-enabled hybrid human and automation front-office operations for medical practices. The company says it will use the funding to accelerate customer growth, expand operations, and deepen its AI and automation roadmap, building on its claim of supporting practices serving 5M+ patients annually. - learn more
                                                                        • Inhouse raised $5M in seed funding to grow its AI legal platform that helps small and midsize businesses generate contracts, get answers to complex legal questions, and bring in attorneys when needed. The round included backing from Run Ventures, Royal Street Ventures, Switch, and LegalZoom cofounder and former CEO Brian Liu, and the company says it will use the new capital to expand its AI agent capabilities and increase automation across contract lifecycle management, compliance, and proactive risk management. - learn more
                                                                        • Subject raised a $28M growth investment led by Vistara Growth, with participation from new backers NextEquity Partners, Green Street Impact Partners, and Outcomes Collective, plus existing investors including Kleiner Perkins and others. The company says it will use the funding to accelerate development of its AI-powered K–12 curriculum and online learning platform, expand accredited course offerings, and scale adoption with more districts and educators worldwide. - learn more
                                                                        • Mogul raised $5M in a round led by the Yamaha Music Innovations Fund, with participation from Urban Innovation Fund, Mindset Ventures, Fairway Capital Partners, and renewed support from Amplify LA and Wonder Ventures. The royalty management platform says it will use the funding to expand services for artists and their teams, building on traction like processing over $1.5B in royalties and launching its new Catalog Valuation Center to help creators understand the value of their catalogs. - learn more
                                                                        • Handl Health raised a $14.2M Series A led by Arthur Ventures, with follow-on investment from Syndra Capital Partners, an additional strategic investor, and increased participation from existing backers Mucker Capital, Riverfront Ventures, Digital Health Venture Partners, and Boutique Venture Partners. The company says it will use the new capital to expand its platform and deliver deeper analytics that help employers and benefits decision-makers design lower-cost health plans with more predictable pricing and better care outcomes. - learn more
                                                                        • Skorppio launched a self-serve, on-premise high-performance computer rental platform that lets AI teams, VFX studios, researchers, and schools rent enterprise-grade systems without buying hardware or locking into the cloud. The company says its fleet includes everything from performance laptops to DGX-class AI systems and GPU servers, supported through a PNY Pro partnership that makes NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs available, plus curated “KIT” bundles designed for specific workflows. - learn more

                                                                                      LA Venture Funds

                                                                                      • B Capital participated in Gushwork’s $9M seed round, backing the startup’s bet that “AI search” will become a major new channel for B2B lead generation. The round was co-led by Susquehanna International Group and Lightspeed, and Gushwork says it’s helping businesses show up in answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity using automated marketing agents that generate search optimized content and backlinks. - learn more
                                                                                      • UP.Partners participated in BeyondMath’s $18.5M seed round, backing the company as it scales its “generative physics” approach to faster engineering-grade simulation. The raise included a $10M seed extension led by Cambridge Innovation Capital, with additional participation from Insight Partners and InMotion Ventures. - learn more
                                                                                      • MANTIS Venture Capital participated in SolveAI’s $50M funding round, backing the company as it launches a platform that lets employees build enterprise applications using natural language instead of code. The raise included a $45M Series A led by GV plus a previously undisclosed $5M pre-seed led by Accel, with additional participation from Northzone, NeverLift, and angels including Mike LoSapio, Pushmeet Kohli, and Olivier Godement. - learn more
                                                                                      • Fabric VC participated in Kash’s $2M pre-seed round, backing the startup as it embeds prediction markets directly into social media starting with X. Kash says users can turn posts into live, tradable markets through its @kash_bot, letting people express conviction on real-world outcomes inside the feed rather than in separate apps. The round also included investors such as Big Brain Holdings, Spartan Group, Coinbase Ventures, Kosmos Ventures, Halo Capital, MoonRock Capital, and Polaris Fund. - learn more
                                                                                      • M13 led LuminosAI’s latest funding round as the company launched Lighthouse, a new feature it says can automatically test generative and agentic AI systems for concrete legal liability. LuminosAI says the new capital will help it accelerate growth and expand its team to support a growing customer base, with participation from investors including Bloomberg Beta, Hawktail, AME Cloud Ventures, Crosscourt, Octave, Great Oaks, Fundrise, and others. - learn more

                                                                                                    LA Exits

                                                                                                    • Niagen Bioscience has sold its ChromaDex Reference Standards business to LGC in an all-cash transaction that closed on Feb. 24, 2026, as the company sharpens its focus on its core longevity strategy. Niagen says the divestiture helps it fully exit non-core operations and concentrate resources on NAD+ science, intellectual property, and commercial growth around its Niagen solutions, while LGC adds the standards portfolio to deepen its reference materials offering for pharma and lab customers. - learn more
                                                                                                    • Mutiny has been acquired by LA-based investment firm Shamrock Capital, which says the deal will help Mutiny accelerate growth and strengthen its position as a leading gaming-focused creative agency. Founded in 2021 and previously incubated within Trailer Park Group, Mutiny works with publishers and brands on research-driven, player-first creative, social, and community campaigns. Shamrock says Mutiny will continue scaling as a standalone business, with support that could include strategic acquisitions. - learn more
                                                                                                    • Vestigo Aerospace has been acquired by Applied Aerospace & Defense, bringing Vestigo’s Spinnaker deorbit drag-sail product line into Applied’s portfolio. Applied says Spinnaker helps satellite and launch-vehicle operators meet tightening orbital debris rules by providing a lightweight, cost-effective way to deorbit objects in low Earth orbit, and Vestigo founder and CEO Dr. David Spencer will join Applied as VP of Deployable Systems. - learn more

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                                                                                                                            Snap’s New Growth Engine Isn’t Ads

                                                                                                                            🔦 Spotlight

                                                                                                                            Hey LA,

                                                                                                                            This week’s most interesting story isn’t a flashy new feature, it’s a quieter flex: Snapchat is getting people to pay for Snapchat, on purpose.

                                                                                                                            Snap just proved “free app” isn’t the only business model

                                                                                                                            Snap says its direct revenue business is now running at a $1B annualized pace, with 25M+ subscribers paying across a growing menu of products like Snapchat+, Lens+, Snapchat Premium, and Memories Storage Plans. That matters because it’s not just a nice add-on to ads, it’s a different kind of relationship with users. Ads monetize attention. Subscriptions monetize intent.

                                                                                                                            And intent is sticky. If someone pulls out a card for you, they don’t churn the way an algorithm does.

                                                                                                                            Creator Subscriptions are the real tell

                                                                                                                            Snap is also launching Creator Subscriptions, starting with an alpha on February 23 for select U.S. creators, then expanding to Snap Stars in Canada, the U.K., and France in the following weeks. The offer is straightforward: subscriber-only Stories and Snaps, priority replies, and an ad-free experience inside that creator’s Stories.

                                                                                                                            The strategic move is even simpler. Snap wants “paying for closeness” to happen inside Stories and Chat, not on some external membership page. If they get that right, creators stop treating Snapchat as just a top-of-funnel channel and start treating it like a place to actually monetize their audience. Snap, meanwhile, gets a revenue stream that doesn’t care what CPMs are doing this quarter.

                                                                                                                            Meanwhile, IRL: lululemon’s Studio Yet.

                                                                                                                            Lululemon’s Studio Yet. pop-up is running Feb. 18 through March 8 at 8175 Melrose Ave. It’s a ticketed, limited-capacity lineup of workouts and community programming, with proceeds (less fees) supporting BlacklistLA.

                                                                                                                            Keep scrolling for the latest LA venture rounds, fund news and acquisitions.

                                                                                                                            🤝 Venture Deals

                                                                                                                                LA Companies

                                                                                                                                • Radiant announced a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin via Lockheed Martin Ventures, further oversubscribing the company’s current financing round. Radiant is developing its 1 MW Kaleidos portable nuclear microreactor and says it’s targeting a first reactor startup this summer at Idaho National Laboratory, with initial customer deployments planned for 2028. - learn more
                                                                                                                                • Mesh Optical Technologies announced it has raised over $50M, led by Thrive Capital, to scale production of its Alpha C1 optical transceiver, which converts electrical signals to light at 1.6 Tbps for AI data centers. The startup says its edge is manufacturing: it builds the optical engine using fast, repeatable flip-chip die bonding to make high-volume, U.S.-based production of optical links possible, backed by a team with experience from SpaceX and Intel.- learn more

                                                                                                                                            LA Venture Funds

                                                                                                                                            • Alexandria Venture Investments participated as an existing investor in Ten63 Therapeutics’ latest strategic financing, which also included participation from Morpheus Ventures and added new backers such as Chugai Venture Fund and the Gates Foundation, bringing total funding to more than $45M. Ten63 says it will use the capital to scale BEYOND, its AI-driven “Large Quantum Chemistry Model” platform for designing small-molecule drugs against historically “undruggable” targets, including programs in oncology and an HPV-focused effort supported by the Gates Foundation.- learn more
                                                                                                                                            • B Capital participated in Code Metal’s $125M Series B, a round led by Salesforce Ventures that valued the company at $1.25B, alongside investors including Accel, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Smith Point Capital, and others.Code Metal says it will use the new capital to expand engineering, accelerate product development, grow government and commercial partnerships, and scale go-to-market for its “verifiable” AI code generation and translation platform used in mission-critical environments. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Bonfire Ventures co-led Odynn’s $9.5M seed round alongside 8VC, with participation from Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst. Odynn says it’s building personalized AI infrastructure for travel companies, aiming to replace one-size-fits-all booking portals with dynamic experiences that tailor search, recommendations, and conversion flows to each traveler. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • MTech Capital led Qumis’s $4.3M oversubscribed seed round, which also brought in American Family Ventures as a new strategic investor and pushed total funding to $6.75M. The company says it’s building an attorney-trained AI platform for commercial insurance “coverage intelligence,” and will use the funding to expand go-to-market and deepen product capabilities as adoption grows among large brokers and carriers (including NFP). - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • WndrCo participated in Mansa’s seed funding round, which the company says totaled $12M and was led by MaC Venture Capital. Mansa is now launching a vertical “micro-drama” format inside its app, debuting with the 27-episode original series The Heiress, The Baller & The Secret Society and positioning the feature as a mobile-first way to release serialized stories globally. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Alpha Edison co-led Ownwell’s $50M Series B, with Wonder Ventures participating alongside investors including Mercato Partners, Intuit Ventures, Left Lane Capital, First Round Capital, Long Journey Ventures, and PROOF Fund. The round includes $30M in equity and $20M in debt financing from Western Alliance Bank, and Ownwell says it will use the capital to expand nationally and simplify the property-tax appeal process through a new “National Appeals Packet” product. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Three Six Zero participated as an existing investor in Hook’s $10M Series A, which was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Waverley Capital, bringing Hook’s total funding to $16M. Hook is an artist-first social platform that lets fans legally remix licensed songs using simple AI-powered tools and share them across social platforms, and it says the new capital will fund user growth plus product expansion like an Android app, richer creation formats, and deeper ecosystem integrations. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Overture Ventures participated as an existing investor in Zero Homes’ $16.8M Series A, which was led by Prelude Ventures alongside SJF Ventures and the Exelon Foundation. Zero Homes says it’s using the funding to expand into new markets, broaden its home-upgrade offerings, and grow its contractor network, powered by a smartphone-based “digital twin” approach that produces upgrade designs and pricing remotely. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Rebel Fund participated in Sphinx’s $7.1M seed round, which was led by Cherry Ventures alongside Y Combinator, Deel Ventures, and Singularity Capital. Sphinx is building browser-native compliance agents that work inside banks’ and fintechs’ existing tools to automate AML, KYC, and KYB work, with the new funding earmarked to scale that “agentic compliance workforce.” - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • Matter Venture Partners led ChipAgents’ oversubscribed $50M Series A1, bringing total capital raised to $74M, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek, and Ericsson. ChipAgents says it will use the new funding to scale its agentic AI platform for chip design and verification, expand engineering and research, and accelerate global deployment of multi-agent “chip teams,” alongside a new HQ buildout in Santa Clara. - learn more
                                                                                                                                            • MemorialCare Innovation Fund participated in SpendRule’s $2M round, which was led by Abundant Venture Partners with additional backing from Zeal Capital Partners. SpendRule is emerging from stealth with an AI-driven platform that helps hospitals validate invoices against complex contract terms before payments go out, aiming to reduce overspending and “contract leakage” across purchased services. The company says early customers include health systems like MemorialCare, Kettering Health, and MUSC Health. - learn more

                                                                                                                                                        LA Exits

                                                                                                                                                        • Fred Segal is being acquired by Aritzia, which is buying the brand’s rights/IP (terms not disclosed) and planning a revival under its ownership. Melrose Avenue is central to the deal too, since Aritzia is also taking a lease on Fred Segal’s iconic ivy-covered site at 8100 Melrose as part of the comeback plan. - learn more
                                                                                                                                                        • The Expert is being acquired by Havenly in an all-equity deal (terms not disclosed), bringing The Expert’s high-end virtual designer consultations and trade-oriented marketplace into Havenly’s broader home and commerce ecosystem. Lee Anne Blake will join Havenly as chief commercial officer, and while The Expert will remain a standalone website, Havenly plans to plug in its tech to strengthen The Expert’s purchasing and procurement tools for designers. - learn more

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