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XMeet the Space Startups That Make Up SCALE Aerospace Ventures' Inaugural Cohort

A jet designer that aims to make supersonic flight available to the masses, a durable 3-D printer maker and a company trying to improve post-disaster and space communication are among SCALE Aerospace Ventures' 2021 accelerator cohort.
Eight aerospace companies that are working on next-frontier technologies were tapped for the 13-week virtual program that kicks off on Monday, May 10. A joint partnership of UCLA and Starburst Aerospace, the accelerator is designed to help pre-seed and seed stage aerospace startups find their market fit, develop products, and secure funding through mentorship and workshops.
"We often see many of the new ideas that truly propel the aerospace and defense industries forward come from young startups," said Francois Chopard, founder and CEO of Starburst Aerospace."We believe in this new cohort and are looking forward to the cutting-edge innovation that will develop from this collaboration."
Starburst runs multiple aerospace accelerators all over the world in cities like Paris and Tel Aviv.
It is no surprise that Starburst is investing in Los Angeles, known to many as the aerospace capital of the world, consisting of more than 25 aerospace companies including SpaceX. Earlier this year, the U.S. Space Force announced it would establish its acquisitions and technology division in the Los Angeles area this summer.
This program was granted $1.4 million by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to develop SCALE Aerospace Ventures.
Here are the startups slated to join the accelerator this summer:
Atomus logo
Atomus
With a team originating from University of Southern California, Atomus works to protect companies from cyberattacks when they share technical data packages for manufacturing. The startup's technology is already being used by the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force and the Defense Innovation Unit.
Exosonic logo
Exosonic
Loud sonic booms from supersonic aircraft prevent passenger planes from traveling at supersonic speed. Exosonic has developed a low-boom supersonic jet capable of carrying 70 passengers, transforming commercial aviation while remaining conscious of its carbon footprint.
Craitor logo
Craitor
The company's 3D printing system is designed to withstand extreme temperatures and water, unlike competitors. Craitor's capabilities made it attractive to the U.S. Marine Corp, which is working with the company on the development through units at Camp Pendleton, Twenty Nine Palms. It is also working with the Navy through the San Diego Naval Base.
Rebel Space Technologies Logo
Rebel Space Technologies
Headquartered in Long Beach, the startup provides secure radio communication in difficult environments such as space or post-disaster. Rebel Space Technologies leverages AI software and advanced signal analysis.
Rhoman Aerospace Logo
Rhoman Aerospace
Los Angeles-based Rhoman Aerospace is developing flight control software for drones. The software aims to increase traditional flight time and provide safety measures that will help open doors for commercial scale drone operations.
Black Arrow Logo
Black Arrow
Black Arrow: This startup focuses on creating more options for companies utilizing data labeling and calibration so they no longer have to rely solely on manual labeling by in-house or international labeling teams.
Axion Ray
Axion Ray
This startup is currently in stealth mode, but according to AngelList, it develops "AI to accelerate engineering of next-gen & electric automotive/aerospace vehicles."
Metaspectral
This startup applies photo compression technology to spectral images, which captures light across the electromagnetic spectrum. Metaspectral's technology compresses these large images down to as little as 30% of their original size, which makes the evaluation of the images and data more efficient.
Editor's note: This story has been updated. An earlier version incorrectly stated Techstars is affiliated with Starburst.
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Users With Disabilities Can Rent an E-Scooter in Long Beach for Free
Bird is launching its disability-accessible e-scooter and wheelchair program in Long Beach.
Starting this week, users with disabilities can pull up the app, choose one of four electric vehicles adapted to their needs and get it delivered to their hotel or home—all for free. The service is fully subsidized for the day.
The announcement was part of the electric vehicle-focused 2022 Electrify Expo taking place at the Long Beach Convention Center Friday.
“Bird wants to give back,” said Brian Buccella, VP of public policy at the Santa Monica-based startup.
Buccella spoke with Long Beach Community Outreach Specialist Tony Cruz about the partnership between the city and Bird.
Cruz is a former U.S. Olympian and pro cyclist. In 2009, he became the city’s “bike ambassador,” championing new cycling infrastructure and active transportation. Now, he works with everything from e-scooters to micro-transit.
“And now the running joke at City Hall is ‘Anything with wheels on it, just give it to Tony. He’ll figure it out.’”
Cruz described the city’s adoption of e-scooters as a “baptism by fire.” According to him, one of the biggest issues the city has faced is e-scooters blocking accessibility features like curb ramps.
“Our staff does an annual presentation to our commission for disabilities. And this has been the number one pain point for them: ‘We have sight impaired [people], [we] have disabled [people]. How are you going to fix this for us?’,” he said.
Bird is rolling out the adaptive vehicle program in partnership with Scootaround, a mobility scooter and wheelchair rental company based in San Diego. The program started as a pilot in the Bronx. Currently San Diego and San Francisco also offer the program in California. Long Beach will be the first municipality in L.A. County to take part.
Bird is launching its disability-accessible e-scooter and wheelchair program in Long Beach.Image courtesy of Bird
Long Beach launched its micromobility pilot in the Fall of 2018. Almost two years into its permanent shared permit program, the city has four operators: Bird, Lime, Veo and Razor. Unlike the city of L.A., Long Beach has a closed market for companies operating within its borders. The vehicle cap is currently 600 for e-bikes and 1,000 for e-scooters. Operators pay a permit fee of $25,000 per year and $100 per vehicle.
In an effort to clean up city sidewalks, Cruz said Long Beach is also rolling out a “forced parking” program, requiring riders to park at pinned locations in e-scooter and e-bike apps.
Long Beach’s approach follows a national trend of micromobility companies and municipalities partnering to implement new technology and protocol to address cities’ pain points. Last month, Bird and Lime trumpeted their new parking technology that uses Google Street View to verify and enforce correct parking.
With location data accurate “within 10 centimeters,” according to Buccella, companies should be able to do more, including curbing sidewalk riding and maintaining geofencing around restricted areas. (Critics have contended in the past that the amount of data collected by cities and companies, crucial to these programs, could pose a threat to riders’ privacy.)
As Long Beach continues to expand its mobility offerings, Cruz said he wants companies to succeed while also addressing concerns about safety and accessibility.
“Their success is the city's success as well. We're not here to over-regulate, we're here to work together.”
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Disney Raids Apple To Bolster Its Metaverse Strategy
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.
Disney has poached a top gaming executive from Apple to oversee the media giant’s foray into the metaverse.
The Burbank-based company has hired Mark Bozon to be its vice president of Next Generation Storytelling creative experiences, Variety first reported on Friday. In that role, Bozon will play a key part in crafting Disney’s strategy for the metaverse—the loosely-defined term for immersive, virtual reality-aided online experiences.
Mark Bozon, VP of Next Generation Storytelling creative experiences.
Courtesy of The Walt Disney Company
Bozon arrives as Disney has looked to beef up its metaverse team in recent months. In February, the company promoted Mike White to senior vice president of Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group—a cross-divisional initiative encompassing its wider metaverse ambitions. It has also looked to boost its operations around NFTs, the digital assets verified by blockchain technology that could play a big role in the metaverse.
Bozon spent 12 years at Apple, most recently serving as games creative director at the tech giant’s Apple Arcade video game service, according to his LinkedIn profile. He will report to White at Disney, where he will be responsible for leading the Next Generation Storytelling group’s creative vision and building a team focused on “interconnected consumer experiences across immersive new storytelling canvases,” a Disney spokesperson told dot.LA.
That echoes what Disney CEO Bob Chapek told CNBC in February, when he described the metaverse as “a third dimension of the canvas that we let our creative people paint.” Chapek noted that the company could parlay the digital realm across its wide array of assets, from film and media to theme parks and resorts. Thus far, Disney’s moves include bringing augmented reality to its theme parks and selling digital artwork using its vast trove of intellectual property.
“If the metaverse is the blending of the physical and the digital in one environment, who can do it better than Disney?” Chapek said.
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.
You Can Watch TikTok’s New Live Comedy Series For $5
Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.
TikTok is entering the world of streaming with a new subscription comedy series.
Creator Jericho Mencke, who has nearly 2 million followers on TikTok, will host the series exclusively on the Culver City-based video-sharing app’s live platform, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Finding Jericho” will consist of eight 30-minute episodes featuring comedic interviews with celebrities and other creators. Content creator collaboration platform Pearpop is producing the series, which will stream on both Mencke and Pearpop’s TikTok accounts.
The series will feature comedy sketches and interviews with TikTok creators like Griffin Johnson, Sloane Veronico and Wasil Daoud in the style of “Nathan For You” and “The Eric Andre Show,” TechCrunch reported. The first episode premiered on Thursday evening, with the remaining episodes airing live on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 p.m. PT. While the first two episodes are free, users will have to pay $4.99 to access the rest of the series.
First launched in 2020, Los Angeles-based Pearpop boasts celebrity investors including Snoop Dogg and Kevin Hart. The platform was intended to help influencers monetize their content by collaborating with other creators through videos, comments and audio clips.
“Finding Jericho” comes as TikTok has increasingly embraced subscription models to monetize its platform. Last month, the company began beta-testing LIVE Subscriptions, which allows users to directly subscribe to content from their favorite creators.
Other social media companies have also experimented with long-form content, though results have been mixed. In February, Meta shuttered IGTV—Instagram’s stab at original shows—to focus on Reels, its short-form TikTok competitor. YouTube Originals, which was available through that platform’s subscription service YouTube Red, was phased out in January. Snapchat, meanwhile, continues to invest in its original content—having pilfered TikTok stars like Addison Rae and the D’Amelio sisters for its shows.- Instagram Is Combatting Reposted TikTok Clips With a New ... ›
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Kristin Snyder is an editorial intern for dot.la. She previously interned with Tiger Oak Media and led the arts section for UCLA's Daily Bruin.