LA Tech Updates: XPrize Offers Up $1.8M for Rapid Covid-19 Detection with CT Scans

Leslie Ignacio

Leslie Ignacio is dot.LA's editorial intern. She is a recent California State University, Northridge graduate and previously worked for El Nuevo Sol, Telemundo and NBC and was named a Chips Quinn Scholar in 2019. As a bilingual journalist, she focuses on covering diversity in news. She's a Los Angeles native who enjoys trips to Disneyland in her free time.

LA Tech Updates: XPrize Offers Up $1.8M for Rapid Covid-19 Detection with CT Scans

Here are the latest updates on news affecting Los Angeles' startup and tech communities. Sign up for our newsletter and follow dot.LA on Twitter for more.

Today:

  • XPRIZE offers $1.5 grand prize to find better way to detect Covid-19 using CT scans

          XPRIZE offers $1.5 million for rapid Covid-19 detection via CT Scan

          media.defense.gov

          XPRIZE is offering a $1.5 million prize for the researchers that can provide the best protocol to rapidly detect COVID-19 with a CT scan, even in asymptomatic patients.

          The contest is part of the Culver-City based foundation's Pandemic Alliance created to hold competitions to fight coronavirus including one that called for fast and cheap Covid testing.

          CT scans - which provide a more detailed image inside the body than X-rays - are used to detect and monitor disease. The group hopes that it will provide a faster way to find early and even asymptomatic cases of the virus.

          "We can accelerate critical response efforts and identify breakthrough solutions using CT scans for earlier detection," said Amir Banifatemi, chief innovation and growth officer at XPRIZE in a statement. "Facing the COVID-19 crisis is proving to be one of the world's most critical challenges, as we currently rely on slow and invasive testing methods."

          The prize is offered in partnership with the New England Complex Systems Institute (NECSI).

          The teams wanting to participate will have until November 1st to sign up and have until November 15th as part of phase two to make any improvements after feedback. They will be tested on their COVID-19 detection, diagnosis, prediction and management of the treatment and will be selected based on which team has the greatest impact.

          "We need aggressive and bold actions to reduce transmission of COVID-19 to get ahead of the outbreak so that it is stopped. It will take the global community to accelerate how we meet these challenges," said Yaneer Bar-Yam, president and founder of the New England Complex Systems Institute in the announcing the contest.

          The judging phase and winners of the grand prize will be announced in January of 2021 with an additional $300,000 in bonus prizes. The total purse is $1.8 million.

          Although radiology protocols often take years to develop the collaborative hopes this competition will help radiologists have rapid results.

          LA Tech Week 2025: Tuesday’s Event Lineup

          Here's the Tuesday, October 14th lineup for LA Tech Week 2025, organized by location so you can easily explore events that fit your goals and schedule. Dive in and see what’s happening near you!

          ARTS DISTRICT

          9:00 AM

          • Fast Track to 2028: Design Clean Mobility with AI: See Details Here
            GACC West, German Consulate General Los Angeles, SAP Labs Inc.

          BEVERLY HILLS

          7:00 AM

          2:00 PM

          • AI+Fashion & Tech Experience “Invite Only
            British American Business Council Los Angeles, Bank of Hope

          2:00 PM - 5:00 PM

          • LA & London: Global Experience Leaders: See Details Here
            London & Partners, Virgin Atlantic, United Talent Agency

          3:00 PM

          • From Exec to Founder: What Does It Take?: See Details Here
            LeadrPro, Inc., Mucker Capital

          4:00 PM

          • Future of Robotics, Semiconductors & Precision Engineering: See Details Here
            HQuotient

          5:45 PM

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          • Rooted Tech>Extractive Tech: Women: See Details Here
            Community 3.0X, LightDAO, Earth Rights Institute, Mission Matters

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          6:30 PM

          • An Intimate Evening with Arre - Finance Leaders
            Arre

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          • Tech Meets Hollywood Dinner: See Details Here
            Everybody Ventures, Electric, TriNet

          BRENTWOOD

          8:30 AM

          2:00 PM

          • Stay Scrappy & Scale: GTM in the Age of AI: See Details Here
            LeadrPro, Inc., Mucker Capital

          3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          • Stanford + Friends Tennis Live Ball at the Riviera: See Details Here
            Stanford Angels & Entrepreneurs of Socal

          BURBANK

          11:30 AM - 1:30 PM

          • Montréal X L.A.: The Future of Creative Tech: See Details Here
            Montréal International, Invest Quebec (TBC), BDO (TBC), Barnstorm VFX (TBC - venue)

          5:00 PM

          • Burbank Tech Talk: Looking Ahead in Media x LA Tech Week Edition: See Details Here
            City of Burbank Tech Talks

          8:00 PM

          • The Little Prince Immersive Experience
            Wevr

          CENTURY CITY

          9:30 AM

          12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

          CULVER CITY

          8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

          3:00 PM - 5:30 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          4:30 PM - 7:00 PM

          1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

          • Securing America’s AI Leadership: Startup Innovation as National Security: See Details Here
            AWS, Seed AI

          5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • Litquidity x Harbinger: Motor Mixer: See Details Here
            Litquidity Ventures, Harbinger Motors

          DTLA

          10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

          • Per Scholas Los Angeles x Pineapple Women: See Details Here
            Per Scholas Los Angeles, Pineapple Women

          10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

          3:30 PM

          • Founders, Investors, and the AI Shift: See Details Here
            Harmonious, Clearmatrix, Offit Kurman

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          ECHO PARK

          5:30 PM - 10:00 PM

          EL SEGUNDO

          12:00 PM

          • Securing your First AI Investment: a Walkthrough: See Details Here
            Flux AI, Unita Club

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          • Sports Entertainment LAVA Dutch Dating: See Details Here
            LAVA, LA’s Venture Association

          5:30 PM

          5:30 PM - 8:00 PM

          HOLLYWOOD

          12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

          2:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          • Future Tech Salon Day: Women in Tech Panels & Mixer Event: See Details Here
            Culture // in // Stacks, Motion Creative

          INGLEWOOD

          3:00 PM

          LONGBEACH

          1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

          • Founders + Tech Professionals Speed Networking Mixer: See Details Here
            Startup Oasis

          4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          Marina del Rey

          8:00 AM

          8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

          • The New Growth Playbook: Lessons from the World’s Most Vital Companies: See Details Here
            Workday, Globalization Partners, Boston Consulting Group

          10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

          2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

          • Inside the Minds Building the Machines: See Details Here
            USC Information Sciences Institute, Newmark

          5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          5:30 PM

          • Behind the Scenes of the Biggest Crypto Heist Ever: See Details Here
            TRM Labs, Initialized Capital

          6:30 PM - 10:00 PM

          • NBA Foundation & BlackTech Meetup Present: VC and Founder Reception @ Sawubona: See Details Here
            Sawubona

          7:00 PM

          MID CITY

          9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

          10:00 AM

          • Maple & Palm: Canada x LA Black Tech Connect “Invite Only”
            Black Operator Ventures, Consulate General of Canada in Los Angeles

          3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          4:30 PM

          PASADENA

          11:00 AM

          • The Future of Family Building: Tech, Fertility & Equality: See Details Here
            Hera Family Planning

          5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

          • Designing the Climate Future for Pasadena: See Details Here
            Innovate Pasadena, City of Pasadena

          PLAYA VISTA

          10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

          11:00 AM

          • Longevity Tech: Executive Edge Mode: See Details Here
            The Reason Longevity AI, Monarch Athletic Club

          11:00 AM

          • A Piece of the Internet to Realize Your Vision: See Details Here
            Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

          12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          5:30 PM

          • a16z American Dynamism x LA Tech Week 2025 “Invite Only”
            Andreessen Horowitz, Apex

          SANTA MONICA

          7:30 AM - 9:00 AM

          8:00 AM - 10:00 AM

          8:30 AM - 10:30 AM

          • Cafecito LA Tech Week: See Details Here
            LaFamilia Foundation, Act One Ventures, Origin Ventures, 2045 Ventures, Chingona Ventures

          8:30 AM

          • The Future of Work - Founders & Fractionals Breakfast: See Details Here
            Founders, Funders, & Fractionals (F3), Superbloom Strategies, Next Wave Marketing

          8:30 AM - 10:30 AM

          9:00 AM

          • FIGuring It Out: The Future of RCM “Invite Only”
            Candid Health Events Team

          9:00 AM - 11:00 AM

          • AI and Advertising: Don't get in trouble: See Details Here
            Social Media Club of LA

          9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

          • GPs + LPs Breakfast: See Details Here
            Mercury, Reveille VC, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation

          10:00 AM - 1:00 PM

          10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

          • Growth in the AI Era: Practical Strategies for AEO: See Details Here
            M13, Graphite

          10:00 AM

          • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup: See Details Here
            iStore by St. Moritz

          10:00 AM

          • Reimagining E-Commerce: How AI is Transforming Brand Growth: See Details Here
            Genus AI

          10:00 AM - 5:00 PM

          • Musa Labs Hackathon LA Sponsored by Azure: See Details Here
            Musa Capital, Microsoft Azure

          10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

          • Get in the Game - LA Chamber Procurement Series: See Details Here
            Get in the Game - Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation

          10:30 AM - 2:30 PM

          • GOLDEN GOES GLOBAL: K-pop & Beauty Hunters vs. Global Tech: See Details Here
            Nuleep, LAVA

          10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

          • Early Stage Investor Brunch: See Details Here
            TenOneTen, Companyon VC, Signal Peak Ventures

          10:30 AM - 4:00 PM

          • VIP Creative Tech Driving Experience: See Details Here
            J.P. Morgan, CAA, Cooley LLP

          11:00 AM

          • From Vision to Value: The Guide for Executives to Building an AI Roadmap: See Details Here
            Streamlogic LTD

          11:00 AM

          11:00 AM

          • Game Developer Lunch & Learn: Scaling, Discovery, and the Future of Play: See Details Here
            Xsolla

          11:00 AM - 5:00 PM

          • IMPACT & INNOVATION | FUTURE OF VENTURE: See Details Here
            Syndicate AI, Hustle Fund, Hollo AI

          12:00 PM - 3:00 PM

          12:30 PM - 3:30 PM

          1:00 PM

          2:00 PM

          • How I barely survived live ent. and how tech saved me. Book launch: See Details Here
            Good Publishing

          2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

          2:30 PM

          • Flip the Funnel: Marketing for Female Producers
            Marketing with Mari

          2:30 PM

          3:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          • From Chaos to Capital: Navigating Fundraising in the Age of AI: See Details Here
            PwC, Cooley LLP, Marsh, Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)

          3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

          • From Seed to Scale: Growing Your Customer Base hosted by Snapchat: See Details Here
            Snapchat, Snap

          3:30 PM - 6:30 PM

          3:30 PM - 5:30 PM

          4:00 PM

          4:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          • Founders & Funders: VC and Founder Happy Hour: See Details Here
            Punch Financial, Safra National Bank, Connectd

          4:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          • Crypto Unplugged: A Fireside Chat with a16z + Fenwick: See Details Here
            Fenwick, a16z

          5:00 PM - 10:00 PM

          5:00 PM

          • AI Tech meetup and Networking: “Invite Only”
            Soundromeda

          5:00 PM

          • Your Pitch Sucks- How to Make it Better: See Details Here
            Live Different Comedy, Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

          5:00 PM

          • M13 x a16z speedrun B2B Seed Investors Mixer: See Details Here
            M13, a16z Speedrun

          5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

          5:00 PM - 6:30 PM

          5:30 PM

          5:30 PM

          5:30 PM

          • Demo day LA
            Yeyzer Inc.

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM -8:00 PM

          • From Hustle to Systems: A female founder panel: See Details Here
            Marketing with Mari

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

          • The Founders’ Forum: Unfiltered Conversation: See Details Here
            Blake Executive Advisory, Datasent, Women in AI Club

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          • Silicon LA, Brex+ Sourcery+Cerebral Valley Edition: See Details Here
            Brex, Sourcery, Cerebral Valley

          6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

          6:00 PM

          • AI in Healthcare 2.0 Happy Hour: See Details Here
            Fusion Fund, BOLD Capital Partners

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • Bruin Innovation Happy Hour: See Details Here
            UCLA Anderson - Entrepreneur Association, NEXT Membranes

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          • Just Us x Mercury - Beyond the Horizon: Frontier Tech & the Future of Capital: “Invite Only”
            Just US, Mercury, Velvet, Status Labs

          6:00 PM

          • Founder Dinner with Bullpen, Bonfire, Citizens Private Bank, and Carta: “Invite Only”
            Bullpen Capital, Bonfire Ventures, Citizens Private Bank, Carta

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          6:30 PM - 9:00 PM

          • The LA Grind: Beachfront Dinner w/ Polsinelli, Relay Human Cloud, AE Studio, Talk Shop: See Details Here
            The LA Grind, Relay Human Cloud, Polsinelli

          6:30 PM

          6:30 PM

          • Beyond The Panel: A Founder-Investor Evening: See Details Here
            Pendulum Founder Series

          7:00 PM

          • AI-matched private dinners with TechTable: See Details Here
            TechTable by Cyber Pop-up

          7:00 PM - 11:00 PM

          • FASHIONVERSE @: See Details Here
            HIVE Global Media, Digital Fashion Week, Web 3 LAVA, Pixel Canvas

          7:00 PM

          • Quest 2.0 Launch Party: “Invite Only”
            AllFly

          7:00 PM

          7:30 PM

          • TechFix: Cocktails & Creator Chats: “Invite Only”
            Fanfix

          7:30 PM

          • Dating Tech Comedy Oct. 14- Flirt Live: See Details Here
            Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

          8:00 PM - 10:00 PM

          SOUTH LA

          8:00 AM - 11:00 AM

          5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

          • Code Green: A.I.'s Blueprint for a Sustainable LA: See Details Here
            AiMazing Business Solutions, Ventry Group

          TORRANCE

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • Tech Meets Tide: How Arc is Electrifying the Maritime Industry: See Details Here
            Arc

          UCLA

          1:30 PM

          • Berkeley BASICS & Defense Tech at the Edge: See Details Here
            Berkeley BASICS Incubator, Qluu

          VENICE

          8:30 AM

          8:30 AM - 11:00 AM

          • 2025 4th Annual Celebrity Investor Kickoff Breakfast: See Details Here
            LAVA (LA Venture Association)

          9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

          9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

          9:00 AM

          • Breakfast Burritos and Hardware Chat with Trustbridge Design and Manufacturing: See Details Here
            Trustbridge Design and Manufacturing

          9:30 AM - 11:00 AM

          • Caffeine and Critical Industries: See Details Here
            Riot Ventures, Space VC, Stifel Bank

          10:30 AM

          11:00 AM - 2:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          4:30 PM

          5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • Autonomy, and the Future of Delivery Mixer: See Details Here
            Curbivore, Coco Robotics

          5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          5:30 PM

          • VioletX x USC CybOrg Mixer
            VioletX

          6:00 PM

          • tech & resilience: rebuilding after the fires: See Details Here
            Moss Venice, Tenax AI

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          • Taco Tech Tuesday at Vatom House Venice: See Details Here
            The Well Network, Vatom

          VENICE BEACH

          8:30 AM - 10:30 AM

          • AI Vertical SaaS Breakfast + Panel with olive, Bonfire, Fika, Headline, Tiptop: See Details Here
            olive, Bonfire Ventures, Fika Ventures, Headline

          4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

          • Sunset Cocktails & Gelato | Stifel and Sequoia One: See Details Here
            Stifel Venture Banking, SequioaOne

          5:30 PM

          • Swiss Watch AI: The $7B Opportunity - Venice Sunset Dinner: See Details Here
            ViviScout

          7:30 PM - 9:00 PM

          VIRTUAL (LA)

          8:30 AM

          9:00 AM

          WEST ADAMS

          6:00 PM

          • Engineering The Future: GenAI for Innovators: See Details Here
            NSBE Los Angeles, OceanAI, The Gathering Spot

          WEST HOLLYWOOD

          9:00 AM

          • From Gut Feelings to Data Points: How Tech is Eating the Nutrition Industry: See Details Here
            Supply Change Capital, FTW Ventures

          12:00 PM - 1:30 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

          • Creators in an AI World presented by Cake Equity, Voice Capital, & Wilson Sonsini: See Details Here
            Cake Equity, Voice Capital, Wilson Sonsini

          4:00 PM

          • AI Agent, meet Talent Agent: The Future of Live Events: See Details Here
            Gigwell, The Ticket Fairy

          6:00 PM - 10:00 PM

          • ⚡️AI x LA Talent Management Dinner⚡: See Details Here
            Marlo, a16z Speedrun, Penny Jar Capital, M13

          WESTLAKE VILLAGE

          5:00 PM

          • The Emerging Biotech Cluster in the Conejo Valley: See Details Here
            Hub101, TCA Venture Group, BioScience Alliance

          For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

          Enjoy LA Tech Week 2025!

          Download the dot.LA App


          LA Tech Week 2025: Monday’s Event Lineup

          LA Tech Week 2025 begins Monday, October 13, with a citywide program built to inform and connect. Start with morning coffee meetups, drop into afternoon workshops, then close with evening gatherings that keep ideas flowing. The schedule below is organized by neighborhood to help you navigate Monday efficiently and make the most of Day 1.

          BEVERY HILLS

          8:30 AM

          11:00 AM

          6:00 PM

          6:30 PM

          • Tech for Good: Building Human-Centered Innovation: See Details Here
            Evolving Potential, CoachLabs.ai, Light Dao

          BRENTWOOD

          9:00 AM

          • How Tech Executives Can End Homelessness: See Details Here
            Better Angels United, Inc.

          BURBANK

          1:00 PM

          CENTURY CITY

          6:00 PM

          CULVER CITY

          8:00 AM - 6:00 PM

          3:00 PM - 7:30 PM

          EL SEGUNDO

          10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

          5:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          HAWTHORNE

          6:00 PM

          • Startup seed and pre-seed funding through grants: See Details Here
            Ekvacio Venture Services

          MALIBU

          4:30 PM – 6:45 PM

          MARINA DEL REY

          10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

          2:30 PM – 4:30 PM

          6:00 PM

          • Women in Climate Tech Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
            Sawubona

          MID CITY

          10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

          5:00 PM – 6:00 PM

          • Return to Vision: A Female Founder's Reset for Clarity, Leadership & Growth: See Details Here
            Immersive Impact, Marketing with Mari

          PASADENA

          5:30 PM

          • Beautéverse: Where beauty +fashion Tech meet: See Details Here
            Beaute in Tech, The Foundry at Atelier, Candelitas

          PLAYA VISTA

          5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

          • Perform at your Peak: See Details Here
            Product Advisory Collective (PAC), Swift Insights

          5:00 PM

          • The AI-Powered Storyteller: Making MarComms a Growth Driver for Tech Companies: See Details Here
            Arteria.io, Ketchum

          SANTA MONICA

          6:00 AM

          7:30 AM

          7:30 AM - 3:30 PM

          • Pitch Masters: See Details Here
            iNov8 Capital, Core Family Office, StartupStarter

          7:30 AM

          • LA Tech Week Surfing and Tech Networking Meetup: See Details Here
            Cake Equity, Stifel Bank, DLA Piper, TenOneTen, Progression

          8:15 AM – 10:30 AM

          • HIIT the Ground Running: Founder + Investor Bootcamp @ Barry’s: See Details Here
            Fenwick

          8:00 AM

          • 7500 sq ft venue & speakeasy available: *Invite Only*
            Sportsfest

          8:00 AM

          9:00 AM

          10:00 AM

          • Ganas Ventures Coffee
            Ganas Ventures

          10:00 AM - 9:00 PM

          • STARTUP WORLD CUP REGIONAL PITCH 25: See Details Here
            Syndicate AI, Startup World Cup, Alumni Ventures, Hustle Fund

          10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

          • 🇧🇷 Brazil Tech for Earth - Innovation & Sustainability: See Details Here
            Brazil California Chamber of Commerce

          11:00 AM

          • 2nd Annual LADYDAYDAO #buildinpublic event LA TECH WEEK: *Invite Only*
            TYME INC., SilverDoor / AZOS

          12:00 PM

          • Investors at the Cutting Edge Luncheon: See Details Here
            Actuate Ventures, Mercury

          12:15 PM

          12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

          2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

          2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

          4:00 PM

          4:00 PM

          4:00 PM - 6:30 PM

          • Mission 008: WhizGirls Academy x Two Bit Circus present : The Great LA Tech Week Mystery 2025: See Details Here
            PlayWerks Inc presents WhizGirls Academy, Two Bit Circus, Startup Starter

          4:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • The Wealth Salons Presents: OGs & LPs.: See Details Here
            The Wealth Salons, DVRGNT Ventures, Musa Capital

          4:00 PM

          • Ask a Psychic Medium: Tapping Into your Intuition in Tech: See Details Here
            What to Where

          5:00 PM

          • The Wealth Salons Presents: OGs & LPs - LA: *Invite Only*
            The Wealth Salons, DVRGNT Ventures, Musa Capital

          5:00 PM - 7:30 PM

          5:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          • The Future of Developer Experience: See Details Here
            Deskree, Arthur AI, Grafana Labs, Runware

          5:00 PM

          • Unlock Apple's Corporate Advantage for your Startup!: See Details Here
            iStore by St. Moritz

          5:00 PM

          • Founders' Happy Hour at Esters: See Details Here
            Objective, AllianceBernstein, Law Office of Langston A. Tolbert

          5:30 PM

          • OBLIVIOUS: DEATH OF A JOB....The Movie Premiere: See Details Here
            AI Music Video Show, Death of a Job

          5:30 PM

          • Techstars Startup Weekend: Consumer x AI by DigitalOcean: See Details Here
            Catalyst Bay, Empat, Techstars

          5:30 PM – 8:00 PM

          • AI Builders & Innovators in Healthcare: See Details Here
            Product Advisory Collective (PAC), Coalition for Health AI (CHAI)

          5:30 PM - 8:30 PM

          • Mission Matters: AI’s impact on Entertainment Investing: See Details Here
            Mission Matters

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

          6:00 PM

          • Speed Networking for Tech Professionals: See Details Here
            Feathr, Los Angeles Fun Events

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 8:30 PM

          • Cinema 2.0: Technology, Storytelling, and the Future of Film: See Details Here
            Strelitzia Entertainment Syndicate

          6:00 PM

          6:00 PM - 9:00 PM

          6:30 PM

          • Black LA Tech Week Mixer: See Details Here
            Tech Circles: The Gathering Spot, Tec Leimert, NSBE| LA, Black Professional Network

          6:30 PM

          7:00 PM

          • Decoded: The Tech Behind Music
            HITMKR

          7:30 PM

          • Comedy- Tech Pitch Roast Show- Oct. 13: See Details Here
            Tech Pitch Roast Comedy LLC

          7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

          8:00 PM

          • AfterHours.LA - The Official Unofficial LA Tech Week Nightcap: See Details Here
            Salesbricks, StreetStop, Trinet

          VENICE

          9:00 AM – 11:00 AM

          9:00 AM – 5:00 PM

          10:00 AM

          10:00 AM

          11:00 AM

          5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

          • The Human House: Connect By Design: See Details Here
            Human To Human, House of Coda

          5:30 PM - 7:00 PM

          6:00 PM

          • Product & Design Happy Hour: *Invite Only*
            Product Managers Association of Los Angeles

          6:15 PM - 9:00 PM

          6:30 PM

          VIRTUAL LA

          8:00 AM

          8:00 AM

          8:00 AM

          9:00 AM - 9:30 AM

          WEST HOLLYWOOD

          8:30 AM

          • AI that Amplifies Human Connection: See Details Here
            Wildwood Ventures, Entrepreneur VC, Mostest

          5:30 AM – 8:00 PM

          • Hollywood’s New Golden Age: Thriving in an Age of Disruption: See Details Here
            Workday, Boston Consulting Group, Globalization Partners

          6:15 PM

          • ElevenLabs - Cocktails & Convos: *Invite Only*
            ElevenLabs

          7:00 PM

          • Apply to Pitch Influencers -Influence Meets Venture Dinner: See Details Here
            Bulletpitch, Justworks, UBS

          WESTSIDE

          2:00 PM – 4:00 PM

          Each session is a chance to learn, connect, and explore the ideas shaping LA’s tech ecosystem. For full details, RSVP information, and any venue specifics, visit the official Tech Week calendar. Enjoy the kickoff to LA Tech Week 2025!

          Download the dot.LA App

          California Passes Landmark AI Law as Russell Westbrook Backs Eazewell

          🔦 Spotlight

          Good Morning Los Angeles,

          What do a new California law and Russell Westbrook’s latest startup have in common? AI at its most powerful and most personal.

          California has officially passed the nation’s first AI safety law (SB 53). Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the measure requires companies developing large scale AI models to disclose risk assessments and safety testing. On the surface, it sounds procedural. But in practice, it is a potential reset on how quickly AI companies ship new products. For years, the narrative has been “innovation first, oversight later.” With this law, California is betting that transparency can move in tandem with progress. Whether it becomes a model for federal policy or a cautionary tale depends on how the industry responds.

          Meanwhile, Eazewell, a newly launched startup co-founded by NBA All Star Russell Westbrook, is tackling one of the most difficult spaces in tech: end of life planning. The company offers an AI platform designed to guide families through complex care transitions. It is not the kind of space most founders rush into. It is emotional, often uncomfortable, and full of fragmented systems. But precisely because of that, the potential impact is significant. By blending AI with healthcare navigation, Eazewell is aiming to make one of life’s hardest processes less overwhelming. Westbrook’s involvement draws attention, but the real story is a startup willing to bring technology into conversations many people would rather avoid.

          Taken together, these stories capture the stretch of AI right now. On one end, lawmakers are moving to contain its risks. On the other, founders are pushing it into the most intimate corners of our lives. It is not often that state legislation and end of life care land in the same conversation, but that is the reality of AI in 2025.

          🤝 Venture Deals

              LA Companies

              • Midi Health raised $50M in a Series C round led by Advance Venture Partners. The women’s health startup, which focuses on perimenopause, menopause, and midlife care, claims a $150 million revenue run rate and is now building its own AI powered search engine tailored for women’s health. The funding will support scaling operations, expanding the longevity and care services it offers, and investing in AI and infrastructure to advance its platform. - learn more
              • PINC Technologies, a Caltech spinout, announced a $6.8M Seed+ round led by Quantonation, with backing from investors including Wilson Hill Ventures, Freeflow Ventures, Hamamatsu Ventures, Qubits Ventures, Santec, and the Caltech Seed Fund. The company develops integrated nonlinear photonic devices and circuits aimed at making scalable nonlinear photonics practical for real-world applications. The funding will be used to accelerate commercialization, scale the team, and bring the technology built in Caltech’s Nonlinear Photonics Lab into broader markets. - learn more
              • Swan announced a Series C financing to support the launch of Swan International, expanding its concierge Bitcoin wealth services globally under U.S.-regulated custody. The company also added a Head of Private Wealth to its team to lead this expansion into new markets. This move aims to position Swan as a high-touch, cross-border wealth platform anchored in crypto. - learn more
              • Vatom announced a strategic investment led by the Hilton Family Office, supporting its mission to power next-generation digital finance engagement. The funding will help Vatom deepen its infrastructure for tokenized assets, NFTs, and blockchain experiences across Web3 ecosystems. This injection positions the company to expand its reach and build tools that make digital finance more immersive and user-centric. - learn more

              LA Venture Funds

              • Powerhouse Capital led a growth funding round for Five Iron Golf UAE’s franchisees, backed by a network of investors and professional athletes. The capital is targeted to fuel expansion, new venues, and enhanced operations across the UAE market. This investment reflects confidence in pairing tech-driven sports entertainment with scalable hospitality models. - learn more
              • MTech Capital remains a backer as CyberCube announces a fresh infusion of more than $180M led by Spectrum Equity. The cyber risk analytics firm is using the capital to accelerate product innovation, expand globally, and deepen its presence across insurance, reinsurance, and broking markets. The investment will help CyberCube scale solutions that quantify cyber risk at portfolio levels and power smarter underwriting decisions. - learn more
              • Helena participated in Phaidra’s $50M Series B round, joining lead investor Collaborative Fund and backers like Index Ventures and NVIDIA. Phaidra builds AI systems to optimize energy, cooling, and operational efficiency in data centers, striving to help infrastructure run smarter. The new funding will be used to scale its platform, deepen customer deployments, and expand its reach in facility control and AI automation. - learn more
              • Lasagna joined DeepWork Capital, Florida Opportunity Fund, and Lookout Ventures in backing Circuitry.ai’s seed financing round. Circuitry.ai offers a Decision Intelligence platform that powers “Autonomous Service Journeys” for manufacturers, layering AI advisors, agents, and analytics to optimize service operations. The funding will help scale engineering and go-to-market teams, deepen integrations with service platforms, and expand the solution across industries like automotive, industrial systems, and medical devices. - learn more
              • B Capital led a $64M seed round in Axiom Math, the startup founded by a Stanford dropout aiming to build an AI system that not only solves the hardest math problems, but also invents new ones. Axiom has pulled talent from top places like Meta to push toward next-gen mathematical reasoning. The funds will support scaling research, expanding the team, and accelerating their vision of AI that thinks deeper in pure and applied math. - learn more
              • Alexandria Venture Investments and Wedbush Healthcare Partners joined the $205M capital raise for Crystalys Therapeutics, which emerged from stealth mode to fund late-stage trials of its gout treatment. The San Diego based biotech is pushing forward dotinurad, a once-daily oral drug being tested across U.S. and European trials for patients who don’t respond to first-line therapies. With this backing, Crystalys aims to fast-track clinical development and bring a needed second-line gout treatment to market. - learn more
              • GordonMD Global Investments joined new and existing backers in Star Therapeutics’ oversubscribed $125M Series D financing round. The biotech, co-led by Sanofi Ventures and Viking Global, is deploying the capital to push forward its lead program VGA039, a monoclonal antibody targeting bleeding disorders. The funds will help accelerate its clinical trials and advance its pipeline toward commercialization. - learn more
              • Hawke Ventures joined a funding round in Tie, which raised $10M in Series A to support its AI identity platform for e-commerce brands. Tie helps retailers reclaim hidden website visitors by identifying and enriching anonymous traffic to build better marketing audiences. The capital will go toward scaling the team, deepening integrations with commerce and marketing stacks, and expanding reach among D2C brands. - learn more
              • Foxhog Ventures led a ₹44.37 crore (~$5.3M USD) seed investment in Assessli, a Kolkata deep-tech startup developing what it calls “Large Behavioural Models” (LBMs) that combine genomics, psychology, and digital life data into highly personalized AI twins. The funding will support Assessli’s expansion into the U.S. and U.K., accelerate product commercialization, and increase its technical hiring to scale out its platform. - learn more
              • Bonfire Ventures participated in Alvys’ $40M Series B round, alongside RTP Global, Alpha Square Group, Titanium Ventures, Picus Capital, and others. Alvys offers an AI powered transportation management system (TMS) that streamlines freight operations including dispatch, load management, billing and analytics by automating workflows and integrating across platforms. The funding will help the company build out enterprise features, scale engineering, deepen integrations, and accelerate growth in the logistics and freight sector. - learn more
              • M13 participated in an $11M Series A round for Anything, an AI platform that turns natural-language prompts into production-ready mobile and web applications. Rather than just generating prototypes, Anything’s backend includes infrastructure like authentication, payments, and storage under the hood. With this funding, the company will scale development, expand its user base (now over 700,000), and deepen its platform capabilities to support full app deployment. - learn more
              • Halogen Ventures closed a $30M Fund III and has committed to invest in early stage startups in Alabama, becoming the first out of state VC to partner with Innovate Alabama’s InvestAL program. They have already begun deploying capital into the state, backing startups like Moxi, Auditocity and Croux, and are actively running pitch events to build a local pipeline. - learn more

              LA Exits

              • Griffin Club has been acquired by Bay Club, deepening Bay Club’s footprint in Los Angeles. Griffin Club is a legacy athletic, aquatic, and social club in West LA, known for features like tennis and pickleball courts, pools, wellness classes, and high-end amenities. Bay Club intends to bring Griffin into its LA campus and integrate it into its broader network of fitness and lifestyle clubs. - learn more
              • Beverly Hills Rejuvenation Center has been acquired by Motivant, with Sarah Gabriel installed as its new CEO. The deal brings the med spa franchise into Motivant’s portfolio, aligning it with a growth-focused investment platform. Gabriel’s appointment signals a strategic push to leverage new leadership and scale operations under Motivant’s guidance. - learn more

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