Senra Raises $25M to Rewire LA's Aerospace Supply Chain

Senra Raises $25M to Rewire LA's Aerospace Supply Chain

🔦 Spotlight

Hello Los Angeles,

In the shadow of LA’s booming space and defense scene, a new kind of hardware startup is scaling up. And it's not building flying cars or flashy robots. It’s building the infrastructure that builds everything else.

This week, Senra Systems announced a $25 million Series A led by Dylan Field and CIV, with participation from General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Pax Ventures. Their Redondo Beach-based facility is using custom automation, software, and new design tools to quadruple production speed. The goal is to solve a notoriously manual, bottleneck-prone part of the supply chain: wire harness manufacturing.

The company also launched Amp, a CAD software platform that bridges the gap between harness design and physical production. It's a process that has historically been slow, fragmented, and hard to scale. In other words, Senra isn’t just building machines. They’re rewiring the very systems that power aerospace, defense, and industrial tech.

It’s not sci-fi. It’s supply chain innovation. And it’s very LA.

Catch the latest LA venture deals, acquisitions, and fund updates below.

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • 2wai, co-founded by actor Calum Worthy and producer Russell Geyser, has emerged from stealth with the launch of its avatar-based social app, allowing users to create lifelike “HoloAvatars” in under three minutes for real-time, multi-language conversations. The platform gives individuals, especially creators and entertainers, control over their digital likeness by restricting avatar responses to pre-approved information, helping counter deepfake threats. The launch follows a $5 million pre-seed raise and sets the stage for broader use by celebrities, brands, and educational partners. - learn more
  • Superfiliate secured a $2M strategic growth round led by HappyStack to fuel its rapid expansion in the creator commerce space. The platform, which automates influencer and affiliate marketing for CPG and DTC brands via deep Meta and TikTok integrations, has achieved an impressive 400% year-over-year growth. The investment will support scaling its automation engine, deepening social commerce partnerships, and onboarding more e-commerce brands. - learn more
  • Gemist, a Los Angeles–based jewelry-tech startup, secured $6M in seed funding from Entrada Ventures, Artemis Fund, and Collide Capital, bringing its total funding to $9M. The platform offers real-time 3D visualizations, dynamic pricing, and integrated e-commerce for custom fine jewelry, and is used weekly by over 14,000 customers to design personalized pieces. The new capital will enhance its visualization tools, pricing engine, and commerce features as Gemist expands its footprint. - learn more
  • Chronicle Studios has raised an oversubscribed $11.6M seed round co-led by Patron and Point72 Ventures to fuel the development of original, audience-driven franchises. Founded by former DreamWorks and Warner Bros. exec Chris deFaria and tech entrepreneur Aaron Sisto, the LA-based studio plans to invest in independent creators and build AI-powered tools, like automated YouTube thumbnails and social analytics, to help storytellers grow and monetize their IP. - learn more
  • Stackup, a developer platform for crypto applications, has raised a $4.2M in seed funding round led by 1kx. Stackup helps crypto businesses build better user experiences and manage on-chain user data, and the funding will be used to grow its engineering team and expand support for more blockchain networks. - learn more
  • Doên, a fashion brand known for its vintage-inspired, California aesthetic, has closed a growth equity round led by Silas Capital. The funding will help the company expand its retail footprint, grow its team, and scale operations. Doên plans to continue building its community-driven brand while deepening its commitment to sustainability and women's empowerment. - learn more
  • Root has raised a $9M seed funding round led by Konvoy and Headline, to develop its platform for managing online communities. The app, currently in closed beta, enables users to build custom tools like raid planners and task trackers right into their social experience. The fresh capital will fuel team expansion and product development ahead of a broader rollout. - learn more
  • AndrenaM, a defense-tech startup founded by a former SpaceX engineer, raised $10M in just 36 hours. The company is building an AI-powered maritime sensing network using sonar-equipped buoys to provide real-time underwater surveillance. The funding, led by First Round Capital, will support team expansion, custom hardware development, and scaled deployments off the California coast. - learn more

          LA Venture Funds

          • Westlake Village BioPartners joined Neuron23’s $96.5M Series D financing round. The capital will fund the global Phase 2 NEULARK trial of NEU‑41, a brain-penetrant LRRK2 inhibitor for early-stage Parkinson’s disease, as well as support commercial and R&D scale-up. Neuron23 also announced that the first patient has been dosed in the NEULARK study, with initial results expected in 2027. - learn more
          • Fika Ventures participated in Spinwheel’s recent $30 M Series A round led by F‑Prime Capital. The funds will be used to accelerate their AI-powered platform that streamlines debt and credit management, reducing friction in account authentication, automating payments, and integrating liability data, all to deliver instant, developer-friendly credit APIs. This investment supports rapid growth across fintech and banking partners aiming to improve consumer credit outcomes. - learn more
          • Chaac Ventures participated in a $7M seed funding round for Meridian, a New York and Miami‑based startup using its AI-powered deal management platform to help private equity firms streamline sourcing, automate workflows, and improve diligence efficiency. The funding will accelerate product enhancements, expand the global go‑to‑market strategy, and deepen its traction with large institutional investors. - learn more
          • WME joined a debut funding round for haircare disruptor isima, which raised over $12M to accelerate its launch. Shakira-backed and science-driven, isima will use the capital to scale operations, expand product development, and roll out via isima.com and placements at Ulta Beauty (U.S. in July; Mexico in August), debuting across nearly 30 global markets. - learn more
          • M13 participated in Maven AGI’s Series B round, which raised $50M to expand its Business AGI platform for enterprise use. The funding brings Maven’s total capital raised to $78M. The company will use the investment to accelerate product development and go-to-market efforts as it scales its AI platform that unifies customer journeys across support, sales, and operations. - learn more
          • Alexandria Venture Investments joined GeneCentric Therapeutics’ $8M Series C round. The funding will support the commercial launch of GenomicsNext™, a groundbreaking liquid biopsy platform that combines extensive gene expression profiling with high‑fidelity DNA variant detection from ctDNA. This capital is expected to carry GeneCentric through 2026 and to help it scale predictive biomarker development for oncology applications. - learn more
          • MTech Capital and B Capital participated in COVR Global’s $2.5M seed round, led by MTech Capital. The funding will help COVR develop its AI-powered Decision Engine—a modular platform that enables insurers to make instant, data-driven claims decisions, such as coverage validation, liability assessment, and settlement automation. The investment will fuel product development and team growth as COVR scales across the UK, Spain, Japan, and Australia - learn more
          • Bedrock and Khosla Ventures co-led Mach Industries’ $100M Series B round. The defense-tech startup will use the capital to ramp up production at its Forge Huntington factory, grow its Mach Propulsion engine division, and further develop and deploy its advanced unmanned systems—Viper, Glide, and Stratos. This funding brings Mach’s total raised to about $185M as it scales vertically integrated defense manufacturing. - learn more
          • Fifth Wall participated in Juniper Square’s Series D funding round, which secured $130M at a $1.1 billion valuation. The investment will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of JunieAI, an AI-powered, agentic platform tailored specifically for private markets general partners to streamline investor relations, reporting, and fund administration. - learn more
          • Mucker Capital led CarePilot’s $2.5M seed round, with participation from KCRise Fund. The Overland Park-based startup will use the funding to further develop its AI-powered tools including its new “ProblemAssist” diagnostic and coding tool and expand its team as it scales solutions for healthcare providers. - learn more
          • Prototype Capital participated in Sunrise Robotics’ seed round, which raised $8.5M to emerge from stealth and advance its factory automation technology. The Ljubljana-based startup develops dual‑arm robotic cells trained in simulated environments, enabling rapid, cost-effective deployment and continuous learning across a fleet. The funds will be used to scale AI and simulation capabilities, expand team and manufacturing across Europe, and deepen customer deployments in sectors like electronics, supercars, and battery production. - learn more
                LA Exits
                • Comco, the pioneer behind the MicroBlaster® micro-precision sandblasting system, has been acquired by Medical Manufacturing Technologies (MMT), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management. This strategic move integrates Comco’s advanced abrasive technology into MMT’s suite, expanding its capabilities in precision microblasting for medical, aerospace, microelectronics, and industrial applications. MMT CEO Robbie Atkinson emphasized that the acquisition strengthens their end-to-end manufacturing offerings, while Comco President Colin Weightman joins MMT to drive continued innovation and customer growth. - learn more
                • 3BlackDot, the creator-first gaming and digital media studio known for popular YouTube franchises like Gaming While Black and Alpha Betas, has been acquired by Offscript Worldwide, the parent company of Revolt. With an audience of over 128 million subscribers, the acquisition marks Offscript’s entry into the $347 billion gaming industry and strengthens its creator-led IP development and distribution capabilities. 3BlackDot will now leverage Offscript’s infrastructure to scale its cultural impact while maintaining its creator-first approach. - learn more
                • Dr. Squatch, the fast-growing natural men’s grooming brand known for its social-first marketing and strong DTC presence, is being acquired by Unilever from Summit Partners. The move gives Unilever access to a brand with viral campaigns, influencer collaborations, and revenues reportedly around $400M, enhancing its premium personal care offerings. The deal is expected to close later this year pending regulatory approvals. - learn more
                • CloudSoda has been acquired by Diskover Data, combining CloudSoda’s intuitive data orchestration and automation with Diskover’s enterprise-scale indexing, metadata enrichment, and AI-ready infrastructure. This comes alongside Diskover’s $7.5M seed round, led by Snowflake Ventures and NetApp, positioning the company to accelerate unified, intelligent management of unstructured data. - learn more
                • Inspire Clean Energy has been acquired by Rhythm Energy, significantly expanding Inspire’s reach beyond its original markets. The merger creates one of the largest independent green energy retailers in the U.S., combining Inspire’s subscription-based, 100% renewable electricity plans with Rhythm’s technology-driven platform. This union positions the combined company to serve millions more customers nationwide, offering enhanced digital tools, demand-response programs, and time-of-use pricing to promote clean energy adoption. - learn more

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                        This LA Startup Wants Dealers to Fight Over Your Car

                        🔦 Spotlight

                        Happy Friday Los Angeles,

                        Selling a car is one of those modern processes that somehow still feels like it was designed to test your patience.

                        You can list it yourself and deal with strangers from the internet. You can take the first online offer and wonder if you left money on the table. Or you can walk into a dealership and prepare for the emotional sport of negotiation.

                        Los Angeles-based Bidbus is trying to make that process feel a little less broken.

                        The company raised a $15M Series A led by Ibex Investors, with participation from Mucker Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, Data Point Capital, Walter Ventures and Yossi Levi, better known as the Car Dealership Guy.

                        Bidbus lets consumers submit their cars and have verified dealerships compete to buy them. Instead of a seller shopping the same car around manually, the platform turns the process into a competitive auction where dealers bid against each other for inventory.

                        That model is especially interesting right now because used cars remain one of the strangest corners of consumer commerce. The market is huge, the transaction is high-stakes and the average seller still has very little visibility into whether they are getting a fair price.

                        Bidbus says its marketplace can generate offers that are $2,000 to $3,000 higher than Carvana in some cases. That is the kind of delta that can make people pay attention, especially in a category where convenience often comes at the cost of leverage.

                        The company is currently focused on California and Texas and plans to use the new funding to expand into more markets. The bigger question is whether it can make dealer competition feel as simple and trustworthy as the instant-offer platforms consumers already know.

                        For sellers, the pitch is easy to understand: make the dealers fight for your car, not the other way around.More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.

                        🤝 Venture Deals

                          LA Companies

                          • EdVisorly raised a $13.3M Series A led by Breachway Capital, with participation from U.S. News & World Report, Lumina Foundation, Strada Education Foundation, Motley Fool Ventures, Juvo Ventures and Zeal Capital Partners. The company builds AI-powered software that helps colleges and universities automate admissions, transcript processing, transfer credit evaluation and enrollment workflows, with the new funding going toward product innovation, engineering infrastructure and expanding its student-facing tools. - learn more
                          • Savi Security launched its iOS and Android app to help families detect and avoid AI-powered scams and fraud, while also announcing $7M in seed funding led by Acrew Capital. The app uses behavioral AI to screen calls, texts, voicemails and suspicious messages before users engage, with features including text protection, voicemail screening, live call monitoring and a free scam-checking tool called Scamwise. The round also included participation from Magnify Ventures, TTCER and Resolute Ventures. - learn more

                          LA Venture Funds
                          • UP.Partners co-led Skapion’s $36M seed round alongside Khosla Ventures, with participation from Fusion VC, Stratos Ventures, TBD VC and q Fund. Skapion is developing a counter-drone swarm defense system designed to address large-scale UAV attacks involving dozens or hundreds of drones operating at once. The company was founded in late 2025, has R&D operations in Ramat Gan and a headquarters in Washington, D.C., and plans to use the funding to expand engineering, system development, integration, testing and work with defense and government customers. - learn more
                          • Trousdale Ventures participated in Venus Aerospace’s $91M Series B, which was led by Mercury Fund with backing from investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures. Houston-based Venus Aerospace is scaling its rotating detonation rocket engine technology after completing a U.S. flight test in 2025, with potential applications across hypersonic aircraft, defense systems, orbital vehicles and space propulsion. The funding will help move the company’s engine technology from prototype toward production. - learn more
                          • B Capital led Kaon AI’s Series B, backing the company’s push to build an AI-native content engine for brands and creators. Kaon AI is developing tools that combine deep computer science with mainstream culture, helping teams generate, personalize and distribute content for the generative AI era. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its platform, grow its team and support broader adoption across enterprise and creative customers. - learn more
                          • Ulysses Capital participated in Pearl Health’s $110M capital raise, which included a $50M equity round led by Andreessen Horowitz and a $60M debt facility led by Trinity Capital. Pearl Health builds AI-powered technology for Medicare-focused providers, helping care teams manage risk, predict patient needs and automate workflows across value-based care. The company supports more than 10,000 providers across over 40 states and plans to use the new capital to expand its AI platform, Medicare Advantage offerings and provider partnerships. - learn more
                          • WndrCo co-led Wonderdog’s $5M pre-seed round alongside Maveron, with participation from Cultivate Next, Mars Petcare’s early-stage investment program. Hermosa Beach-based Wonderdog is building an AI-powered preventive health platform for dogs, using microbiome, blood and genetic testing to help identify health risks earlier and recommend personalized diet, supplement and care plans. The company plans to use the funding to scale its diagnostics platform, expand its AI tools and grow into new markets. - learn more
                          • GordonMD Global Investments co-led Cyllene Therapeutics’ €33M Series C alongside M Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Andera Partners, Bpifrance’s InnoBio 3 Fund and Lamond Ventures. Paris-based Cyllene, formerly known as EG 427, is developing precision genetic medicines using its non-replicating HSV-1 HERMES platform, with the funding going toward continued clinical development of EG110A for neuro-urology indications and broader pipeline expansion. The company plans to initiate a Phase 2b/3 study for EG110A in 2027. - learn more
                          • Bonfire Ventures led Katalyze AI’s $10.5M seed round, with participation from Inovia Capital, Ripple Ventures, Alumni Ventures and angel investors including Gokul Rajaram and Farzad Soleimani. San Francisco-based Katalyze is building an agentic operating system for pharmaceutical companies, helping scientists, engineers and analysts deploy AI agents across scientific, engineering and manufacturing workflows. The company says its platform is already used by five of the 20 largest global pharma companies. - learn more
                          • Strong Ventures participated in Studio Kiko’s undisclosed Pre-A round for NearDoc, alongside Smilegate Investment and Korea Investment Accelerator. NearDoc is an AI medical charting service that listens to doctor-patient conversations in real time and automatically generates completed SOAP notes for EMR systems, helping reduce physicians’ documentation burden. The company says NearDoc was adopted by more than 300 clinics and hospitals within two months of launch and plans to use the funding to recruit talent, advance the product into a clinical decision support system and expand into non-English-speaking Asian markets. - learn more
                          • Foxhog Ventures invested $1.34M in FundingBazar.com, a fintech platform building a digital marketplace to help startups, SMEs and businesses access capital. Currently in beta, FundingBazar.com plans to connect companies with investors through both equity funding and revenue-based financing, while adding tools for investor discovery, digital documentation, due diligence and founder-investor communication. - learn more
                          • March Capital participated in Together AI’s $800M Series C, alongside investors including Aramco Ventures, NVIDIA, Vista Equity, General Catalyst, Emergence Capital, SE Ventures, Pegatron, Salesforce Ventures, DTCP Growth, Lux Capital, Geodesic and others. Together AI provides infrastructure for open-source and custom AI, spanning inference, training, fine-tuning, GPU clusters and accelerated compute for companies building production AI applications. The company also secured commitments for more than 500 MW of compute capacity to support future growth. - learn more
                          • Wavemaker360 Health co-led Materna Medical’s $5M B3 financing alongside InnovaHealth Partners and Band of Angels, with continued support from existing investors. Mountain View-based Materna is developing women’s pelvic health products, including Milli, an FDA-cleared vaginal dilator, and Ellora, an investigational obstetrical system designed to reduce pelvic floor muscle injury during vaginal delivery. The funding will support Materna’s EASE pivotal trial readout, Ellora launch preparations, market access work and commercial manufacturing capabilities. - learn more
                          • CIV participated in 1001’s $30M Series A, which was led by Lux Capital with participation from Sanabil Investments, 9Yards, Hanabi and existing backers including General Catalyst. Dubai- and London-based 1001 is building sovereign AI operating systems for critical infrastructure sectors such as aviation, ports, logistics, energy and industrial operations, helping operators automate decisions while keeping AI systems locally owned and governed. The company plans to use the funding to expand engineering and go-to-market teams across key GCC markets. - learn more
                          • Fifth Wall participated in Higharc’s $95M Series C, which was led by Insight Partners with additional backing from Wellington Management and existing investors including Spark Capital, Lux Capital, SE Ventures, Simpson Strong-Tie, PSP Partners, RXR Arden Digital Ventures, Suffolk Technologies, Vertex Ventures, NC Tweener Fund and MetaProp. Higharc builds AI software for homebuilding, generating homes as 3D spatial data so builders and suppliers can better manage design, estimating, sales and construction workflows. The new funding brings Higharc’s total raised to more than $170M and will support AI product development and expansion into building materials supply chain workflows through a new partnership with US LBM. - learn more
                          • StoryHouse Ventures is an existing investor in PvX Partners, which secured a new $5M equity investment from MIT to expand its user acquisition financing platform for consumer apps and mobile games. Singapore-based PvX uses its machine learning system, PvX Lambda, to evaluate marketing and performance data before underwriting user acquisition campaigns, giving app companies an alternative to traditional venture capital or lending. The company has now surpassed $750M in committed user acquisition financing. - learn more
                          • WndrCo participated in 8090 Labs’ $135M Series A, which was led by Salesforce Ventures with additional backing from Craft Ventures, The Production Board and Launch. Founded by Chamath Palihapitiya, 8090 Labs is building Software Factory, an AI coding agent designed for enterprise engineering teams that need production-quality software, audit trails and controls rather than quick prototypes. Palihapitiya is also stepping in as CEO. - learn more
                          • Multiball Capital participated in Nebex’s $30M seed round, which was led by GV, as the company builds market infrastructure for the global space economy. Nebex connects sovereign space programs with the founders and companies building space technologies, while also announcing a banking relationship with J.P. Morgan to support revenue, cash flow and transaction infrastructure for space-sector deals. The company was founded by former Axiom Space executives and entrepreneurs Tejpaul Bhatia and Anand Subramanian. - learn more

                          LA Exits

                          • Versed, the clean skincare and makeup brand founded by Katherine Power, was acquired by Belle Brands, a platform company formed by consumer-focused private investment firm Windsong Global. Versed will join JVN Hair, Pipette and KVD Beauty under Belle Brands, with CEO Andy Chiu supporting the transition. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. - learn more

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                            Not Every Robot Wants Your Job

                            🔦 Spotlight

                            Happy Friday Los Angeles,

                            When people talk about the robotics boom, the conversation usually turns to warehouses, defense, humanoids or automation.

                            But one Los Angeles company is building a very different kind of robot.

                            Tombot, a local companion robotics startup, closed a $7 million Series A3 round with participation from Caduceus Capital Partners, Wavemaker 360, the Lutheran Foundation for Long Term Living and Florida Community Health Network to scale production of Jennie, its robotic companion dog. The product is designed for older adults, people with dementia, children with autism and others who may benefit from the emotional comfort of a pet but cannot safely or practically care for a real animal.

                            It is a quieter kind of robotics story, but a revealing one.

                            The most common vision of the robotics future is built around productivity: robots that move boxes, patrol borders, assemble parts or perform repetitive tasks. Tombot is aiming at something more personal. Its bet is that robots will not only help people work faster, but also help them feel less alone.

                            That makes the company part of a broader shift in robotics, where the question is not just “What can a machine do?” but “What role can it play in someone’s daily life?”

                            The need is real. Aging populations, caregiver shortages and rising demand for dementia care are putting pressure on families and health systems. At the same time, many people who would benefit from animal companionship cannot manage feeding, walking, grooming, vet bills or the safety risks that come with a live pet.

                            Image Source: Tombot

                            Tombot’s answer is a robotic dog that behaves like a companion, not a gadget. Jennie is designed to respond to touch, voice and interaction, giving users some of the emotional benefits of pet ownership without the responsibilities of caring for a living animal.

                            Southern California’s robotics scene is often viewed through the lens of defense, drones, aerospace and manufacturing. Those categories are important. But LA also has deep advantages in design, storytelling, entertainment, consumer products and human-centered technology. A companion robot sits at the intersection of all of those things.

                            It has to work technically. But it also has to feel right. The movement, expression, texture and emotional cues matter. This is where robotics starts to look less like pure engineering and more like product design, character development and trust-building.

                            The broader robotics market is still difficult. Hardware is expensive. Manufacturing is hard. Consumer expectations are high. And companion robots have historically been a tricky category, with plenty of hype and uneven adoption.

                            But Tombot’s traction suggests there may be real demand for robots that solve emotional and caregiving problems, not just operational ones. The company says it has built a large waitlist as it moves toward commercialization, giving it a chance to test whether companion robotics can move from novelty to necessity.

                            The bigger takeaway is that LA’s robotics future may not fit into one box.

                            Some companies will build for the battlefield. Some will build for factories. Some will build for space. And some, like Tombot, will build for the living room, the care facility and the family trying to support someone they love.

                            The robotics boom is often framed as a story about replacing human labor.

                            This one is about supporting human care.

                            More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.

                            🤝 Venture Deals

                              LA Companies

                              • Cosm received a $100M strategic investment from Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Sony taking a minority stake as the lead investor in Cosm’s Series C financing round. Cosm operates immersive “Shared Reality” venues that use dome-shaped LED screens for live sports, concerts and entertainment experiences, and the funding will support venue expansion and new technology initiatives across sports and entertainment. Sony Pictures CEO Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm’s board as part of the deal. - learn more
                              • Pasadena-based Sophia Space finalized a $7M SAFE financing round, bringing its total funding to $22M. The round included participation from EverGreen, The NVIDIA Alumni Investment Network, SparkLabs Group and other strategic investors, with the new capital going toward product development, engineering and commercial hiring, partnerships and deployment across government, commercial and international markets. Sophia Space is building AI-powered infrastructure and intelligent systems for the space economy, including autonomous computing capabilities for orbital and terrestrial environments. - learn more

                              LA Venture Funds
                              • Sound Ventures participated in Warp’s $60M Series B, which was led by Battery Ventures with additional backing from Peak XV and Y Combinator. Warp is building an AI-native employee management platform for payroll, benefits, compliance, onboarding, offboarding and workforce operations, with the new funding bringing its total raised to $85M. The company says the capital will support deeper AI agents, expanded tax and compliance infrastructure, a broader product suite and more customer support. - learn more
                              • Mucker Capital participated in Zave’s ₹4.7 crore bridge round, which was led by Inflection Point Ventures. Zave is building an AI-native shopping assistant that helps consumers discover products, compare prices and make purchase decisions across Amazon, Flipkart and more than 5,000 brand websites. The company plans to use the funding to strengthen its AI product, improve platform reliability and scalability, and support continued user growth. - learn more
                              • B Capital co-led Seltz’s $12.5M seed round alongside Speedinvest, with participation from Future Present, Italian Founders Fund, Arc Investors, United Ventures, Vento Ventures, Mango Capital, 2100 Ventures and Future Back Ventures. Seltz is building web search infrastructure for AI agents, designed for the way agents query the internet: running long, parallel searches, pulling full documents and accessing live web context. The company plans to use the funding to scale its index to tens of billions of documents and build out engineering, sales and marketing. - learn more
                              • Clocktower Technology Ventures participated in Caplight’s $16M Series A, which was led by BlackRock and Fin Capital, with strategic participation from UBS Investment Bank. San Francisco-based Caplight is building data, trading and workflow infrastructure for private markets, including secondary market pricing, institutional trading, company and investor intelligence, and AI-powered venture deal sourcing. The company says the new funding will help expand its role in rebuilding the rails for venture capital as private markets become larger, more liquid and more complex. - learn more
                              • MaC Venture Capital participated in Coval’s $28M Series A, which was led by Norwest with backing from Base10 Partners, Twilio Ventures, Y Combinator and others. San Francisco-based Coval builds simulation, evaluation and monitoring infrastructure for voice and chat AI agents, helping enterprises test and improve autonomous agents before and after deployment. The company works with more than 60 organizations, including Zoom and Deepgram. - learn more
                              • B Capital participated in Cadence’s $100M Series C, which was led by Spark Capital with additional backing from Thrive Capital, General Catalyst, Coatue, Corewell Health Ventures, Memorial Hermann and Duke Health. Cadence is a clinical AI company automating chronic care for older adults through supervised AI agents that monitor patient vitals, surface risks and coordinate care between visits. The company now works with more than 20 health systems, treats over 100,000 active patients and will use the funding to expand across new health systems, advance its AI agents and grow value-based care models. - learn more
                              • WndrCo participated in Partly’s $50M Series B, which was led by DST Global Partners. Partly is building AI-powered infrastructure for the auto repair industry, helping repairers, insurers and parts suppliers identify and source the right vehicle parts as cars become more complex. The new funding will support Partly’s push to bring frontier AI into repair workflows and reduce friction across the global replacement parts market. - learn more
                              • Döpfner Capital participated in Stark Defence’s €500M funding round, which was backed by major investors including Sequoia Capital and Founders Fund and valued the German drone company at roughly €3.2B to €3.5B. Stark develops unmanned defense systems, including loitering munitions, and plans to use the funding to expand R&D and manufacturing capacity across Europe. The raise comes as European defense tech continues attracting significant investor interest amid rising military spending and demand for autonomous systems. - learn more
                              • Smash Capital led Redo’s $81M Series B, with participation from existing investors Pelion Venture Partners and Cervin Ventures, valuing the commerce technology company at a reported $1.25B. Draper, Utah-based Redo started in returns and exchanges but has expanded into a broader post-purchase and AI-powered commerce platform covering order tracking, package protection, fulfillment, customer service, marketing and shopper engagement. The funding will support product development, AI initiatives and international expansion. - learn more
                              • Wavemaker 360 Health participated in ChemT Biotechnology’s $4M seed round, which was led by Wavemaker Ventures with participation from co-investment partner SEEDS. Singapore-based ChemT has raised $5M total in 18 months and is building AI infrastructure for biomanufacturing, including its CelMo virtual cell platform, which helps manufacturers model and guide cell behavior to improve biologics production, scalability and cost. The funding will support expansion of ChemT’s AI and experimental infrastructure, advancement of its molecular products toward GMP standards and broader commercial partnerships. - learn more

                              LA Exits

                              • The New Bar, a Venice-born non-alcoholic beverage discovery platform, was acquired by The Zero Proof. The deal combines The New Bar’s hospitality, live events and cultural partnerships with The Zero Proof’s national e-commerce, owned brand portfolio and retail distribution platform. The New Bar’s leadership will join The Zero Proof, with founder Brianda Gonzalez becoming Vice President of Strategy and Partnerships. - learn more

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                                Snap May Have Finally Found AR’s Moment

                                🔦 Spotlight

                                Hello Los Angeles,

                                Snap has spent years trying to make augmented reality feel less like a demo and more like a daily habit. This week, it introduced its latest attempt.

                                At Augmented World Expo, Santa Monica-based Snap unveiled SPECS, its new standalone augmented reality glasses. The device is designed to bring AI assistance, work tools, entertainment and shared experiences into the physical world without requiring a phone, puck or tether.

                                The pitch is not simply “screens on your face.” Snap is trying to position SPECS as a different kind of computer: one that can understand what you are looking at, respond to your surroundings and make AI useful in the moment. That could mean directions placed where you need them, a virtual workspace that travels with you or AI assistance that sees the same context you do.

                                The developer piece may be just as important as the hardware. Snap says developers have already built hundreds of Lenses for SPECS, and the company is rolling out new tools inside Lens Studio, including agentic development support through Claude Code, Codex and Cursor, a new Native Development Kit and a spatial benchmark for AR experiences.

                                That matters because AR has always had a chicken-and-egg problem: impressive demos, but not enough everyday reasons to wear the device. Snap is trying to solve that by building not only the glasses, but the software, developer tools, operating system, computer vision stack and creative ecosystem around them.

                                Specs

                                SPECS are available for pre-order at $2,195, with a $200 refundable deposit, and are expected to ship this fall in the U.S., U.K. and France.

                                For Snap, the bigger question is whether augmented reality can finally move from developer demos and futuristic keynote moments into something people actually want to use. SPECS are its latest answer, but the real test will be whether developers can build experiences useful enough to make the glasses feel less like a gadget and more like a habit.

                                More from this week’s LA startup and venture scene below.

                                🤝 Venture Deals

                                  LA Companies

                                  • Critical Energy raised $19M in seed funding co-led by Upfront Ventures and Susa Ventures, and also secured $3M in venture debt from Silicon Valley Bank, bringing its total early capital to $22M. Founded by SpaceX alum Spencer Jackson, the company is adapting rocket-engine-style turbomachinery for modular geothermal power plants and plans to use the funding to build its first 2.5 MW project. - learn more

                                  LA Venture Funds
                                  • Group 11 co-led Dream’s $260M funding round alongside Bicycle Capital, with participation from Antler, Bain Capital Ventures, Tru Arrow Partners and other investors. Dream builds sovereign AI and cyber defense technology for governments and critical infrastructure operators, with the new funding valuing the company at $3B and bringing total funding to $412M. The company plans to use the capital to expand its national cyber defense and AI platforms across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. - learn more
                                  • Undeterred Ventures participated in Portal Biotechnologies’ oversubscribed $9M financing round, which was led by NFX with backing from existing investors including IA Ventures, Pear VC, IKJ Capital and TechU Ventures. Watertown-based Portal is building cell engineering infrastructure for drug discovery, AI data generation and cell therapy manufacturing, using its mechanoporation platform to deliver RNA, gene editors and other molecules into hard-to-transfect cells. The company also expanded its DARPA work through an Embedded Entrepreneur Initiative contract tied to point-of-care cell therapy manufacturing and says its platform has been adopted by more than 100 customer sites. - learn more
                                  • Clocktower Ventures participated in Trace Finance’s $32M Series A, which was led by CoinFund with backing from Coinbase Ventures, Haun Ventures, Jump Crypto, Valor Capital, Paxos, HOF Capital and others. Trace Finance is building regulated banking and stablecoin infrastructure for cross-border payments across Brazil, the U.S. and emerging markets, combining local payment rails, FX, compliance operations and stablecoin settlement. The company has processed more than $10B in institutional cross-border volume and will use the funding to expand product capabilities and grow across LatAm, APAC and other priority markets. - learn more
                                  • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Vedana Therapeutics’ $46M Series A, which was co-led by Westlake BioPartners and Canaan Partners, with additional participation from Dawn Biopharma. Seattle-based Vedana is developing next-generation preventive migraine therapies, including antibody-based treatments targeting PACAP and CGRP pathways, with the funding going toward advancing its internally discovered portfolio of subcutaneously delivered antibodies. - learn more
                                  • Fulcrum Capital participated in HighGround’s $6.5M seed round, which was led by Next Frontier Capital with additional backing from Tandem Ventures and Context Ventures. HighGround is building an intelligence platform for defense and aerospace capital markets, helping investors, operators and advisors analyze government spending, procurement signals, deal risks and market demand. The funding will support expanded data coverage and deeper analytical models for defense-focused investment and business development workflows. - learn more
                                  • Bonfire Ventures participated in Vali Health’s $6M funding round, alongside Supernode, Comma Capital and healthcare industry veteran Jacquelyn Kung. San Francisco-based Vali Health is building responsible AI infrastructure for healthcare, helping providers and health systems evaluate, monitor and safely deploy AI tools across clinical and administrative workflows. - learn more
                                  • Clocktower Ventures participated in Karta’s $15M Series A, which was led by Galaxy Ventures, with additional backing from Canary and Illuminate Financial. Miami-based Karta is building a WhatsApp-first premium U.S. credit card for non-U.S. clients, helping global travelers with U.S. bank or brokerage accounts access dollar-denominated spending power without needing a traditional U.S. credit history. The company also secured a $125M credit facility from Community Investment Management, bringing its total new financing to $140M. - learn more
                                  • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Triveni Bio’s $65M Series C, which was co-led by Ascenta Capital and Janus Henderson Investors, with significant participation from Deep Track Capital. Watertown-based Triveni is developing antibody treatments for immunological and inflammatory disorders, with the funding going toward expanding clinical development of TRIV-573, its bispecific antibody targeting atopic dermatitis, including a larger Phase 2 proof-of-concept study expected to begin later this year. - learn more
                                  • WndrCo participated in XDOF’s $70M funding round, alongside investors including Thrive Capital, Spark Capital, a16z and Lux Capital. XDOF is building robotics data infrastructure for AI labs, handling the unglamorous but critical work of collecting, labeling and organizing real-world robot training data. The company says it already works with about 20 customers, including several frontier AI labs. - learn more
                                  • Fika Ventures participated in SubBase’s $7M Series A, which was led by FINTOP and brings the company’s total funding to more than $15M. Ft. Lauderdale-based SubBase is a construction materials procurement platform that helps specialty trade contractors and self-performing general contractors manage pricing requests, orders, supplier communication, delivery tracking and invoice reconciliation in one system. The company plans to use the funding to expand product and engineering, deepen supplier integrations and build more AI-driven workflow and intelligence features. - learn more
                                  • Upfront Ventures participated in Bland’s $50M Series C, which was led by Dell Technologies Capital with additional participation from HubSpot Ventures, Archerman Capital and Tribeca Venture Partners. San Francisco-based Bland builds voice AI agents for complex phone, SMS and chat conversations, with a focus on longer, high-stakes workflows in regulated industries like healthcare and financial services. The round brings Bland’s total funding to more than $100M. - learn more
                                  • Impatient Ventures participated in Traysar’s $25M seed round, which was led by Silent Ventures and included backing from Lux Capital, Ora Global, NeverLift VC, Mana, New Vista, Entree Capital and angel investors. Traysar emerged from stealth at the 2026 Reindustrialize Summit as a subterranean defense tech company building autonomous “subterra” platforms designed to detect, penetrate and secure underground environments. The company says its technology is aimed at addressing underground military facilities and other hard-to-reach subsurface domains. - learn more
                                  • MaC Venture Capital participated in Swsh’s $4M seed round, which was led by Game Changers Ventures with additional backing from Stellation Capital, SignalFire and angel investors including Scooter Braun and Guy Oseary. Swsh is building an AI-powered fan engagement platform for live events, helping artists, teams and brands organize fan-captured photos and videos while turning that content into audience insights and first-party engagement data. - learn more
                                  • B Capital led SolarSquare Energy’s $53M Series C, backing the Mumbai-based residential rooftop solar company as investor interest grows in India’s home solar market. The round valued SolarSquare at roughly $450M–$500M and included participation from existing investors including Lightspeed, Lowercarbon Capital, Rainmatter by Zerodha and Good Capital. SolarSquare plans to use the funding to expand into new cities, strengthen its technology platform and scale operations. - learn more

                                  LA Exits

                                  • Mavida Health, a digital mental health company focused on women and families, was acquired by WPS Health Solutions. The deal expands WPS’ digital health capabilities with Mavida’s virtual therapy, medication management and specialized mental health support across fertility, pregnancy, postpartum, loss, parenting and menopause. Financial terms were not disclosed. - learn more
                                  • Vica, an AI video startup focused on helping small businesses create cinematic-quality marketing content, was acquired by Addi. The acquisition brings Vica’s AI video capabilities into Addi’s growth platform for Main Street businesses, which combines financial intelligence with marketing tools to help small businesses attract and retain customers. - learn more
                                  • GateMaker, a female-founded influencer marketing agency, was added to Residence, the Los Angeles-based global network of independent creative companies. The deal brings GateMaker’s creator economy expertise across paid, earned and owned influencer relationships into Residence’s broader creative network, which also includes companies like BUCK, OK COOL, Giant Ant, Part & Sum and Wild. - learn more
                                  • Gavel, an AI-native legal tech company used by legal professionals to draft, review and automate legal work in Microsoft Word and on the web, was acquired by Relativity. The deal will bring Gavel’s drafting, redlining and document automation tools into Relativity’s legal data intelligence platform, allowing work product created in RelativityOne and Relativity aiR to be edited in Microsoft Word while syncing back to the underlying matter data. Financial terms were not disclosed. - learn more

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