Snap’s New Growth Engine Isn’t Ads

🔦 Spotlight

Hey LA,

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

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

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

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

Creator Subscriptions are the real tell

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

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

Meanwhile, IRL: lululemon’s Studio Yet.

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

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

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

Radiant announced a strategic investment from Lockheed Martin via Lockheed Martin Ventures, further oversubscribing the company’s current financing round. Radiant is developing its 1 MW Kaleidos portable nuclear microreactor and says it’s targeting a first reactor startup this summer at Idaho National Laboratory, with initial customer deployments planned for 2028. - learn more

Mesh Optical Technologies announced it has raised over $50M, led by Thrive Capital, to scale production of its Alpha C1 optical transceiver, which converts electrical signals to light at 1.6 Tbps for AI data centers. The startup says its edge is manufacturing: it builds the optical engine using fast, repeatable flip-chip die bonding to make high-volume, U.S.-based production of optical links possible, backed by a team with experience from SpaceX and Intel.- learn more

LA Venture Funds

Alexandria Venture Investments participated as an existing investor in Ten63 Therapeutics’ latest strategic financing, which also included participation from Morpheus Ventures and added new backers such as Chugai Venture Fund and the Gates Foundation, bringing total funding to more than $45M. Ten63 says it will use the capital to scale BEYOND, its AI-driven “Large Quantum Chemistry Model” platform for designing small-molecule drugs against historically “undruggable” targets, including programs in oncology and an HPV-focused effort supported by the Gates Foundation.- learn more

B Capital participated in Code Metal’s $125M Series B, a round led by Salesforce Ventures that valued the company at $1.25B, alongside investors including Accel, J2 Ventures, Shield Capital, Smith Point Capital, and others.Code Metal says it will use the new capital to expand engineering, accelerate product development, grow government and commercial partnerships, and scale go-to-market for its “verifiable” AI code generation and translation platform used in mission-critical environments. - learn more

Bonfire Ventures co-led Odynn’s $9.5M seed round alongside 8VC, with participation from Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst. Odynn says it’s building personalized AI infrastructure for travel companies, aiming to replace one-size-fits-all booking portals with dynamic experiences that tailor search, recommendations, and conversion flows to each traveler. - learn more

MTech Capital led Qumis’s $4.3M oversubscribed seed round, which also brought in American Family Ventures as a new strategic investor and pushed total funding to $6.75M. The company says it’s building an attorney-trained AI platform for commercial insurance “coverage intelligence,” and will use the funding to expand go-to-market and deepen product capabilities as adoption grows among large brokers and carriers (including NFP). - learn more

WndrCo participated in Mansa’s seed funding round, which the company says totaled $12M and was led by MaC Venture Capital. Mansa is now launching a vertical “micro-drama” format inside its app, debuting with the 27-episode original series The Heiress, The Baller & The Secret Society and positioning the feature as a mobile-first way to release serialized stories globally. - learn more

Alpha Edison co-led Ownwell’s $50M Series B, with Wonder Ventures participating alongside investors including Mercato Partners, Intuit Ventures, Left Lane Capital, First Round Capital, Long Journey Ventures, and PROOF Fund. The round includes $30M in equity and $20M in debt financing from Western Alliance Bank, and Ownwell says it will use the capital to expand nationally and simplify the property-tax appeal process through a new “National Appeals Packet” product. - learn more

Three Six Zero participated as an existing investor in Hook’s $10M Series A, which was led by Khosla Ventures with participation from Point72 Ventures, Imaginary Ventures, and Waverley Capital, bringing Hook’s total funding to $16M. Hook is an artist-first social platform that lets fans legally remix licensed songs using simple AI-powered tools and share them across social platforms, and it says the new capital will fund user growth plus product expansion like an Android app, richer creation formats, and deeper ecosystem integrations. - learn more

Overture Ventures participated as an existing investor in Zero Homes’ $16.8M Series A, which was led by Prelude Ventures alongside SJF Ventures and the Exelon Foundation. Zero Homes says it’s using the funding to expand into new markets, broaden its home-upgrade offerings, and grow its contractor network, powered by a smartphone-based “digital twin” approach that produces upgrade designs and pricing remotely. - learn more

Rebel Fund participated in Sphinx’s $7.1M seed round, which was led by Cherry Ventures alongside Y Combinator, Deel Ventures, and Singularity Capital. Sphinx is building browser-native compliance agents that work inside banks’ and fintechs’ existing tools to automate AML, KYC, and KYB work, with the new funding earmarked to scale that “agentic compliance workforce.” - learn more

Matter Venture Partners led ChipAgents’ oversubscribed $50M Series A1, bringing total capital raised to $74M, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Micron, MediaTek, and Ericsson. ChipAgents says it will use the new funding to scale its agentic AI platform for chip design and verification, expand engineering and research, and accelerate global deployment of multi-agent “chip teams,” alongside a new HQ buildout in Santa Clara. - learn more

MemorialCare Innovation Fund participated in SpendRule’s $2M round, which was led by Abundant Venture Partners with additional backing from Zeal Capital Partners. SpendRule is emerging from stealth with an AI-driven platform that helps hospitals validate invoices against complex contract terms before payments go out, aiming to reduce overspending and “contract leakage” across purchased services. The company says early customers include health systems like MemorialCare, Kettering Health, and MUSC Health. - learn more

LA Exits

Fred Segal is being acquired by Aritzia, which is buying the brand’s rights/IP (terms not disclosed) and planning a revival under its ownership. Melrose Avenue is central to the deal too, since Aritzia is also taking a lease on Fred Segal’s iconic ivy-covered site at 8100 Melrose as part of the comeback plan. - learn more

The Expert is being acquired by Havenly in an all-equity deal (terms not disclosed), bringing The Expert’s high-end virtual designer consultations and trade-oriented marketplace into Havenly’s broader home and commerce ecosystem. Lee Anne Blake will join Havenly as chief commercial officer, and while The Expert will remain a standalone website, Havenly plans to plug in its tech to strengthen The Expert’s purchasing and procurement tools for designers. - learn more

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The LA Startup Taking on One of Parenting’s Most Frustrating Problems

Grace Lee

🔦 Spotlight

Hello Los Angeles,

Every parent knows the feeling of becoming an overnight expert in something they never wanted to learn.

For families navigating developmental delays, behavioral health needs, autism, speech therapy, occupational therapy or pediatric mental health support, that learning curve can become a full-time job. Finding the right specialist is hard enough. Getting those specialists, pediatricians, insurers and families to actually coordinate with each other? That’s often where the system breaks.

That’s the problem Los Angeles-based Village is trying to solve.

The specialty pediatrics startup raised $9.5 million in seed funding this week, led by Upfront Ventures, with participation from Bling Capital, GTMFund and Perceptive Ventures.

Its AI-powered platform is designed to bring families, providers, pediatricians and payers into one coordinated care system for children with developmental, behavioral and mental health needs.

The company was born out of co-founder Brandon Terry’s personal experience navigating care for his daughter after she was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition. Like many parents, his family faced long waitlists, high out-of-pocket costs and a fragmented web of specialists who were not necessarily working from the same playbook.

The pitch is not simply “find a provider faster.” Village wants to coordinate the entire team around a child, including occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, behavioral therapists and pediatricians. Its AI agent, Vera, is designed to help with the administrative drag that often slows pediatric practices down: scheduling, documentation, billing and care coordination.

The company’s raise also points to a less flashy, but deeply consequential corner of health tech: making complex care easier to navigate. In specialty pediatrics, the pain point is not always the quality of care itself. It is the space between appointments, referrals, insurance approvals and provider communication where families are often left to connect the dots themselves.

So far, Village says it has built a network of more than 400 independent pediatric specialty providers in Southern California and has contracts with major commercial insurers including Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Cigna and UnitedHealthcare. The new funding will help the company expand across Southern California, into other parts of California and eventually into new states.

In other words, the next wave of healthcare infrastructure may not look like one giant hospital system. It may look more like a connected network built around the people who have been holding the system together all along: families.

And yes, in this case, it really does take a Village.

Venture deals follow below.👇

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

MOSH, the brain health nutrition brand co-founded by Maria Shriver and Patrick Schwarzenegger, raised a $13M Series A led by Main Street Advisors to expand nationally across grocery retailers and accelerate product innovation. The Los Angeles-based company plans to use the funding to grow its retail footprint, including an upcoming Target launch, while expanding its lineup of brain-focused nutrition products with new high-protein bars designed to support both cognitive and physical performance. - learn more

Spring Labs raised $5M to expand its AI-native compliance platform for banks and fintechs, with the funding led by BankTech Ventures and Haymaker Ventures. The Marina del Rey-based company is building AI agents that automate complaint handling, dispute resolution, and other compliance workflows, helping regulated financial institutions scale operations more efficiently while maintaining oversight and auditability. - learn more

FlowPrompt.ai secured a strategic seed investment from ART Fund SP, part of ChainBLX SPC, as the company expands its AI orchestration platform designed to help developers build and manage complex AI workflows through a visual interface. Alongside the investment, the companies also launched a global AI hackathon and builder program that will give selected founders access to funding opportunities, platform tools, and a live investor pitch event in Los Angeles later this summer. - learn more

Chance Studios raised $3.2M to build a unified platform for trading card game collectors, aiming to bring inventory management, marketplace activity, and community features into a single ecosystem. The round was co-led by Makers Fund and Hashed, with participation from Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, GAM3GIRL VC, and others, as the company looks to modernize how collectors buy, track, and interact around physical and digital TCG assets. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

Rebel Fund participated in Moritz’s $9M seed round, backing the AI-native law firm as it looks to automate large portions of routine corporate legal work. The company combines software with experienced attorneys to speed up contract drafting and review, and says it has already handled more than $2 billion worth of contracts across over 100 companies since launching earlier this year. - learn more

Rebel Fund participated in Corvera’s $4.2M seed round, backing the AI-native supply chain platform as it automates back-office operations for consumer packaged goods brands. The Y Combinator-backed startup is building AI agents that can handle workflows like order processing, invoicing, and demand planning across fragmented enterprise systems, helping brands scale operations without significantly increasing headcount. - learn more

Chaac Ventures participated in Astrocade’s $5.6M funding round, backing the gaming startup as it builds a social gaming platform centered around community-created interactive experiences. The company is focused on blending gaming, streaming, and creator tools into a more collaborative entertainment platform, and plans to use the funding to expand development and grow its creator ecosystem. - learn more

Fusion VC participated in MSICS Pharma’s $3.6M funding round, backing the biotech company as it advances psilocybin-based treatments for PTSD, depression, and OCD. The company is developing medical-grade psychedelic compounds and plans to use the funding to expand production, accelerate clinical trials, and prepare for broader commercialization as interest in psychedelic therapies continues to grow. - learn more

JAM Fund participated in Fun’s $72M Series A, backing the payments infrastructure startup as it scales its platform for moving money across fintech and digital asset applications. The round was co-led by Multicoin Capital and SignalFire, and the company plans to use the funding to expand internationally, pursue acquisitions, and deepen its infrastructure stack as demand grows for faster global payment systems. - learn more

LA Exits

Tapin2 was acquired by Greater Sum Ventures, joining MyVenue as part of GSV’s expanded point-of-sale technology platform for stadiums, arenas and live entertainment venues. Tapin2 provides self-service, suite catering and mobile ordering technology for high-volume sports and entertainment venues, while MyVenue offers cloud-native POS software across concessions, premium seating, retail, in-seat ordering and other venue operations. Together, the companies say their technology is used in more than 70% of MLB and NFL stadiums. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. - learn more

Motiv Space Systems signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Rocket Lab, bringing its space robotics, motion control systems and precision spacecraft mechanisms into Rocket Lab’s growing space systems business. Motiv’s technology has supported major missions including NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover and lunar rover programs, and the company will be rebranded as Rocket Lab Robotics after the deal closes, which is expected in the second quarter of 2026. - learn more

Robyn was acquired by Los Angeles-based Tot Squad, bringing its AI-powered doula tool into Tot Squad’s broader support platform for expecting and new moms. Robyn’s AI was trained on more than 70,000 de-identified messages between parents and doulas, and the acquisition will help Tot Squad offer free, around-the-clock pregnancy and early motherhood guidance alongside access to human experts like doulas, lactation consultants and sleep coaches. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. - learn more

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Match Goes Niche With $100M Move

Grace Lee

🔦 Spotlight

Hello Los Angeles,

It’s May, and LA is about to have one of its more important weeks.

The Milken Institute Global Conference 2026 returns to Beverly Hills next week, bringing together thousands of investors, operators, policymakers, and executives. It’s one of the few places where public markets, private capital, and tech actually overlap in the same rooms, and where you can usually get an early read on what capital is leaning into before it fully shows up in the data.

This year, one theme is already starting to surface. Platforms are getting more specific, not more broad.

This week’s news is a good example.

Match Group is investing $100 million into Sniffies, a fast-growing, location-based platform built for gay, bi, trans, and queer men. It’s a notable move for a company best known for mainstream dating apps like Tinder and Hinge, and it signals a deeper push into more niche, community-driven platforms.

Sniffies operates very differently from traditional dating apps. It’s more real-time, more map-based, and more focused on immediacy than long-term matching. In other words, it’s built around behavior, not profiles.

And that’s what makes the investment interesting.

For years, the dominant strategy in consumer platforms was scale, build one product that works for everyone. But what we’re seeing now is the opposite. The platforms that are gaining traction tend to be the ones that understand a specific audience deeply and build for how that group actually behaves.

Match leaning into that shift isn’t just about expanding its portfolio. It’s a recognition that growth is coming from focus.

And in a city like Los Angeles, that’s usually where things start.

Below are this week’s venture deals and fund announcements across LA 👇

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

Illuminant Surgical raised an $8.4M seed round to accelerate the rollout of its real-time anatomical projection platform, which aims to give surgeons enhanced visibility during procedures. The company’s “Skylight” system is designed to project internal imaging directly onto the patient, improving precision and reducing risk, and the funding will support product development and early commercialization efforts. - learn more

Jupid raised $840K in early funding to support its AI-native accounting platform, which is designed to automate bookkeeping, tax filing, and compliance for small businesses directly within banking platforms. The company is building what it describes as an embedded “AI accountant” that integrates with financial institutions to streamline operations for entrepreneurs, and plans to use the funding to expand partnerships and accelerate product development as demand grows for automated financial tools. - learn more

Lumicup raised a $4.38M Series A to expand its product line and scale manufacturing as it looks to meet growing demand for its consumer health and wellness products. The company plans to use the funding to increase production capacity, invest in new product development, and strengthen its distribution as it continues to grow its footprint in the market. - learn more

Counterpart raised a $50M Series C to expand its AI-driven “agentic insurance” platform, which helps small businesses manage growing legal and employment risks tied to AI adoption. The round was led by Valor Equity Partners with participation from existing investor Vy Capital, bringing the company’s total funding to $106M, and the capital will be used to launch new insurance products, expand risk management capabilities, and scale its underwriting platform. - learn more

Nervonik raised a $52.5M Series B to advance its next-generation peripheral nerve stimulation technology, which aims to deliver more precise, personalized treatment for chronic pain. The round was led by Amzak Health with participation from Elevage Medical Technologies, U.S. Venture Partners, Lumira Ventures, Foothill Ventures, and Shangbay Capital, and the company plans to use the funding to accelerate clinical programs and move toward commercialization. - learn more

LighthouseAI raised an $8M Series A to expand its AI-powered platform that helps pharmaceutical companies manage state licensing and regulatory compliance. The round was led by Boxcars Ventures with participation from TGVP and existing investors, and the company plans to use the funding to enhance product development, improve service delivery, and support continued growth as it scales across the pharma supply chain. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

MANTIS Venture Capital participated in Rogo’s $75M Series C, backing the AI platform as it builds autonomous financial agents designed to streamline complex workflows for banks and investment firms. The round was led by Sequoia Capital and included a mix of major financial institutions and venture firms, signaling strong demand for AI tools that can augment decision-making across high-stakes finance. - learn more

M13 participated in Chord’s $7M funding round, backing the AI commerce platform as it builds a “context layer” designed to unify fragmented data, tools, and workflows for retail brands. The round was led by Equal Ventures with participation from Chingona Ventures and CEAS Investments, and the company aims to help operators move beyond dashboards toward systems that can make real-time decisions and automate actions across the business. - learn more

Fika Ventures participated in Lumian’s funding round, backing the startup as it launches an AI-native Amazon agency designed to automate and optimize how brands operate on the marketplace. The company is focused on replacing traditional agency workflows with AI-driven systems that can manage everything from advertising to operations in real time, reflecting a broader shift toward automation in e-commerce. - learn more

Riot Ventures co-led True Anomaly’s $650M Series D, backing the defense space startup as it scales spacecraft, software, and autonomous systems designed for national security missions in orbit. The round values the company at around $2.2 billion and brings total funding to over $1 billion since its 2022 founding, and the company plans to use the capital to accelerate mission deployments, expand manufacturing, and grow its workforce as demand increases for space-based defense capabilities. - learn more

Clocktower Technology Ventures participated in Clarasight’s $11.5M Series A, backing the AI-powered travel and expense platform as it works to unify fragmented enterprise data into a single system. The round was led by AlleyCorp with participation from several travel and fintech-focused investors, and the company plans to use the funding to expand product development and scale go-to-market efforts as demand grows for AI-driven efficiency in corporate travel. - learn more

Halogen Ventures and Mucker Capital participated in SkyfireAI’s $11M seed round, backing the startup as it builds an AI-native platform for coordinating autonomous, multi-drone operations. The company’s software is designed for public safety and defense use cases, helping teams deploy and manage fleets of drones with greater speed and efficiency without increasing staffing, and it plans to use the funding to accelerate product development, expand its team, and scale deployments with government and mission-critical customers as demand grows for autonomous drone systems. - learn more

Matter Venture Partners led OpenLight’s $50M Series A-1, with participation from Acclimate Ventures, Catapult Ventures, and existing investors, backing the photonics company as it scales its next-generation chip platform for AI infrastructure. The funding brings total capital raised to $84M and will be used to accelerate global deployment of its silicon photonics technology across data centers, telecom, and other high-bandwidth applications. - learn more

Alexandria Venture Investments participated in Fathom Therapeutics’ $47M Series A, backing the biotech startup as it applies quantum chemistry and AI to design next-generation small molecule drugs. The oversubscribed round was led by Sutter Hill Ventures with participation from Chemistry and other investors, and the company plans to advance its platform, which simulates protein behavior inside living cells to accelerate drug discovery. - learn more

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Netflix Doubles Down on LA

Grace Lee

🔦 Spotlight

Hey Los Angeles.

Goodbye Coachella, hello Stagecoach. The desert doesn’t stay quiet for long, and neither does LA’s entertainment machine.

This week, that momentum showed up in a more permanent way.

Netflix is expanding its footprint in Los Angeles with a major move to take over and invest in Radford Studio Center, a historic production lot in Studio City. The company is planning a long-term transformation of the site, with upgrades to soundstages, production offices, and infrastructure designed to support the next generation of film and television production.

It’s a notable shift in a moment when production has been under pressure in California, with studios increasingly looking outside the state for cost advantages. Netflix going deeper in LA, and specifically into a legacy studio lot, signals a different kind of commitment. Not just to content, but to where that content actually gets made.

And it comes at a time when the streaming wars have matured. Growth is harder, budgets are tighter, and the focus has shifted from scale at all costs to efficiency and control. Owning or operating more of the production environment gives Netflix tighter control over timelines, costs, and output.

For Los Angeles, it’s a reminder of what still anchors the city. Even as AI, defense tech, and infrastructure startups continue to rise, entertainment remains one of the few industries where LA isn’t just competitive, it’s foundational.

Different headlines each week, but a consistent theme underneath them. Whether it’s power, autonomy, or content, the companies that matter are investing in the layers they don’t want to outsource.

And in this case, that layer is Hollywood itself.

Below are this week’s venture deals, fund announcements, and acquisitions across LA 👇

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Venture Funds

UP Partners and Calm Ventures participated in Reliable Robotics’ $160M funding round, backing the autonomous aviation company as it advances pilotless flight technology for cargo and passenger aircraft. The round included a mix of new and existing investors, and the company plans to use the capital to accelerate certification efforts and expand deployment of its autonomous systems across commercial aviation. - learn more

Blue Heron Ventures participated in Tava Health’s $40M Series C, backing the company as it expands its tech-enabled mental health platform into a more integrated, full-stack system for providers, employers, and health plans. The round was led by Centana Growth Partners with participation from existing investors, and the company plans to use the funding to roll out new AI-powered tools and broaden access to care while reducing administrative friction across the system. - learn more

Vamos Ventures participated in Zócalo Health’s $15M Series A, backing the company as it scales its tech-enabled, community-based primary care model focused on high-need and underserved populations. The round was led by .406 Ventures with participation from existing and new investors, and the company plans to use the funding to expand its clinics and deepen partnerships with Medicaid programs as demand for accessible care grows. - learn more

LA Exits

Studio71 has been acquired by Fixated as part of a broader deal in which German media company ProSiebenSat.1 sold its North American creator business, giving Fixated a large-scale network of creators and podcast operations and significantly expanding its footprint as it continues an aggressive roll-up strategy in the creator economy. The move signals continued consolidation in the space, with Fixated building a more vertically integrated platform across talent management, content production, and distribution. - learn more

Bonsai Health has been acquired by ModMed, bringing its AI-powered patient engagement platform into a broader healthcare software ecosystem. The deal is aimed at integrating Bonsai’s “agentic AI” capabilities into ModMed’s platform to automate patient outreach, fill care gaps, and improve scheduling across a network of nearly 50,000 providers. - learn more

🔦 Spotlight

🤝 Venture Deals

🔦 Spotlight

🤝 Venture Deals

🔦 Spotlight

🤝 Venture Deals

🔦 Spotlight

🤝 Venture Deals

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