šŸˆSnapchatā€™s Super Bowl Push & Appleā€™s New App šŸ“²ā€”Hereā€™s Whatā€™s New

šŸˆSnapchatā€™s Super Bowl Push & Appleā€™s New App šŸ“²ā€”Hereā€™s Whatā€™s New

šŸ”¦ Spotlight

Hello, Los Angeles!

With Super Bowl LIX coming up this Sunday, the buzz isnā€™t just about the Chiefs vs. Eagles matchupā€”itā€™s also about how tech is shaping the experience. From Snapchatā€™s interactive game-day features to Appleā€™s latest product launch, thereā€™s plenty happening beyond the field.

Snapchatā€™s Super Bowl Features

If you're watching the game, chances are youā€™ll be on your phone just as much as your TV. This year, Snapchat is rolling out AR Lenses, live score updates, and Spotlight challenges to make game day more interactive. Want to try on your teamā€™s jersey? Thereā€™s a Lens for that. Need real-time updates? Snap has them covered. Attending the game in New Orleans? Live Location can help you track down friends in the crowd. As the second-screen experience becomes more ingrained in live sports, Snap is making sure itā€™s front and center.

Snapā€™s New Initiative: The Department of Angels

Super Bowl Sunday is about competition, but what happens when the challenge isnā€™t on the field? Yesterday, Snap announcedĀ The Department of Angels, a new initiative aimed at supporting communities recovering from disasters, offering independent funding and resources to help them rebuild on their own terms. Backed by $10 million from Snap Inc., Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and the California Community Foundation, the program shifts away from traditional corporate donations and toward grassroots, community-led recovery efforts. Could this be a model for how tech companies engage with real-world crises in the future?

Apple Wants to Change How You Send Invites

Apple is stepping into the event invite space with Apple Invites, a new app designed to make organizing gatherings simpler. Competing with platforms like Partiful and Evite, Appleā€™s version integrates directly into iMessage and Apple Calendar, making it an easy, built-in option for Apple users. With so many invite platforms out there, will Appleā€™s streamlined approach become the go-to for iPhone users, or will it simply be another tool in the mix?

Where to Watch Super Bowl LIX

The Chiefs and Eagles face off this Sunday at 3:30 PM PT on FOX. Hereā€™s a helpful link to directly access ways to watch. You can stream the game for free on Tubi, or catch it on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, NFL+, and fuboTV. And of course, weā€™ll be watching to see which brandsā€”including tech giantsā€”deliver the most memorable ads of the night.

Between Snapā€™s game-day integrations, its push to support community-led recovery, and Appleā€™s move into digital invites, this week is full of shifts in how we connect. Which of these will redefine the way we interact? Weā€™ll be watching.

šŸ¤ Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Musical AI, a company specializing in rights management for generative AI music, has raised a $1.5M seed funding round led by Build Ventures. The investment will support the development of Musical AI's attribution model, which analyzes tracks to determine the contribution of various data sources in AI-generated music. This enables rightsholders to monitor and manage the use of their works, while providing generative AI companies with access to quality licensed data and detailed usage reports. - learn more

LA Venture Funds
  • Fika Ventures participated in a $16M Series A funding round for Ivo, a San Francisco-based AI-powered contract review platform, bringing its total funding to $22.2M. The company plans to use the funds to scale its AI-driven contract review solutions and has launched the Ivo Search Agent to enhance contract search and analysis capabilities. - learn more
  • Freeflow Ventures participated in a $7M seed funding round for Miist Therapeutics, a Bay Area-based company specializing in physics-based inhaled medicines. Miist plans to use the funds to advance its two lead programs: MST-01 for smoking addiction and MST-02 for migraine treatment. Their proprietary inhaler delivers sterile aqueous drug particles to the peripheral lung, achieving rapid absorption and symptom relief. - learn more
  • Fiore Ventures participated in a $9.5M strategic funding round for Little Otter, a digital mental health care provider specializing in whole-family services. The company plans to use the funds to expand its services to reach millions of families covered by Medicaid and commercial insurance plans, leveraging an AI-powered platform to enhance patient triage and personalized care. - learn more
  • Arca participated in a $13.5M Series A funding round for Beamable, a company specializing in providing live game services for game developers. The funds will be used to expand Beamable's decentralized gaming infrastructure and enhance its platform offerings. - learn more
  • Village Global participated in an $8M seed funding round for Desteia, a company leveraging AI and graph theory to address supply chain disruptions. The funds will be used to enhance Desteia's technology and expand its market reach. - learn more
  • TI Capital and QBIT Capital co-led a $7.5M Series A funding round for Largo.ai, a company specializing in AI-driven solutions for the film industry. The funds will be used to enhance Largo.ai's AI-powered platform and expand its market presence. - learn more
  • Strong Ventures participated in a ā‚©3.5 billion (approximately $2.9M) funding round for Class101, a South Korea-based all-in-one creator content platform. The company plans to use the funds to enhance its 'Creator Home' service, recruit top creators in fields such as economics, side jobs, art, crafts, and careers, and expand corporate subscription services for employee education and welfare. - learn more
  • Village Global participated in a $4M Seed funding round for Perspective AI, a Palo Alto, California-based company specializing in AI-mediated customer conversations. The funds will be used to expand operations and development efforts. - learn more

      LA Exits

      • SpringboardVR, a provider of virtual reality (VR) venue management software and a leading content marketplace for location-based entertainment, has been acquired by SynthesisVR. Previously owned by Vertigo Games, SpringboardVR is known for its platform that enables VR arcade operators to manage content licensing and operations efficiently. With this acquisition, SynthesisVR aims to enhance its offerings for VR arcades and developers, supporting the growth and innovation of the VR industry. - learn more
      • Generation Genius, an educational streaming platform that provides K-8 science and math videos, activities, and lessons, has been acquired by Newsela to enhance its instructional content and strengthen real-world connections in science and math education. - learn more

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        El Segundo Startup Turns Tax Credits into Big Business

        šŸ”¦ Spotlight

        Hello LA,

        Step into the world of Incentify, the El Segundo-based innovator turning the headache of managing tax credits and incentives into a walk in the park. Founded in 2019, this trailblazing company is reshaping how businesses approach what was once a daunting bureaucratic challenge.

        Incentifyā€™s platform is revolutionizing the industry by helping businesses discover and effectively manage a share of the estimated $1.2 trillion in tax credits and incentives that often go unclaimed each year. This critical service not only simplifies the process but also ensures that companies can more easily access and leverage these financial opportunities to fuel their growth and sustainability initiatives.

        Recently, Incentify reached a new milestone by securing $9.5 million Series A funding led by Innovent Capital Group. This significant investment underscores the marketā€™s confidence in their innovative approach and supports their mission to expand their technological capabilities and market reach.

        As Incentify gears up for this expansion, their efforts are set to make tax incentives more accessible to a broader spectrum of businesses. This is especially vital in todayā€™s economy, where optimizing financial strategies is crucial for business resilience and growth.

        Incentify's success story from El Segundo is not just about financial gains but also about empowering companies with the tools to turn complex financial engagements into strategic advantages.

        Stay tuned for more from LAā€™s vibrant tech scene. Letā€™s continue to push the boundaries of whatā€™s possible.

        Enjoy your weekend, and keep innovating, LA!

        šŸ¤ Venture Deals

        LA Companies

        • TOGETHXR, a pioneering women's sports media and commerce brand co-founded by athletes Alex Morgan, Chloe Kim, Simone Manuel, and Sue Bird, has achieved profitability and significant growth, including tripling its year-over-year revenue and increasing its social media following by 17% year-to-date. The company has secured additional growth capital in a funding round led by Alex Morgan's Trybe Ventures. The funds will be used to expand TOGETHXR's presence in the women's sports marketplace. Additionally, media executive Nancy Dubuc has joined the company as Executive Chair, bringing her extensive experience to support TOGETHXR's mission of elevating women's sports and culture. - learn more
        • Airvet, a Los Angeles-based pet telehealth platform, has secured $11M in an oversubscribed Series B-2 funding round led by HighlandX. This investment follows a year of significant growth, including a 4x increase in year-over-year revenue and a tripling of its client base. Airvet partners with leading employers across various industries, such as PepsiCo, Adobe, and Lyft, to provide employees with 24/7 access to veterinary care via video or chat. The platform's services include online pharmacy, e-prescriptions, discounted pet insurance, wellness programs, and specialty care, with recent expansions into Spanish and French language support. The funds will be used to further enhance Airvet's platform and expand its reach, aiming to make veterinary care more accessible and affordable for pet families globally. - learn more
                LA Venture Funds
                • Interlagos co-led a $50M Series A funding round for Aetherflux, a San Carlos, California-based startup developing satellites to collect and transmit solar energy from space to Earth. The funds will be used to expand Aetherflux's engineering team and advance the technology for its planned low Earth orbit demonstration mission in 2026. - learn more
                • Bungalow Capital Management co-led a $2M seed funding round for Juno, a Denver-based startup specializing in corporate guest travel management. Juno offers an integrated platform that streamlines booking, logistics, payments, reimbursements, and support for non-employee travelers such as job candidates, contractors, and customers. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and expand partnerships, including a collaboration with ALTOUR as their first travel management company partner. - learn more
                • Veridical Ventures co-led a $3.75M seed funding round for Flagship, a Sydney, Australia-based retail technology company specializing in visual merchandising solutions. Flagship's platform creates digital twins of retail stores, enabling data-driven optimization of product placement and store layouts to enhance sales performance. The funds will be used to expand Flagship's presence in the U.S. market and further develop its product offerings. - learn more
                • Miroma Ventures participated in a Ā£6.5M Series A funding round for Limitless Travel, a Birmingham, UK-based company specializing in accessible holidays for individuals with disabilities. Founded in 2015 by Angus Drummond, who was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at 22, Limitless Travel offers curated group holidays with trained carers, ensuring accommodations and excursions meet specific accessibility needs. The investment will enable the company to enhance its technology, expand its range of destinations, and lay the groundwork for international growth, aiming to transform the lives of disabled individuals through travel. - learn more
                • B Capital participated in a $20M Series A funding round for Gable, a Seattle-based company specializing in data management solutions. Gable's platform focuses on "shifting left" in data management by enabling software and data developers to collaboratively build and manage high-quality data assets through API-based data contracts. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and expand Gable's team to meet the growing demand for data collaboration tools. - learn more
                • Rebel Fund participated in a $3.8M funding round for Sohar Health, a health technology company. Sohar Health is developing an AI-powered platform designed to streamline patient intake and triage, aiming to enhance access to healthcare services. The funds will be used to accelerate product development and expand the company's reach within the healthcare industry. - learn more

                    LA Exits

                    • Tixologi, a next-generation ticketing platform, has been acquired by Punchup Live, a New York-based comedy platform. This strategic move integrates Tixologi's advanced ticketing technology into Punchup Live's ecosystem, enabling seamless, direct-to-fan ticket sales for comedians and venues. The acquisition aims to enhance the ticket purchasing experience by providing features such as fast checkout, unified outreach tools, and advanced anti-scalping solutions, thereby empowering comedians to connect more effectively with their audiences. - learn more
                    • InVisit, a Calabasas, California-based provider of cloud-based visitor management solutions, has been acquired by Motorola Solutions. InVisit's platform streamlines visitor registration, access, and host notifications across sectors such as commercial offices, education, and healthcare, enhancing security through features like blocklist screening and real-time guest activity insights. This acquisition aims to integrate InVisit's capabilities into Motorola Solutions' Avigilon Alta security suite, offering enterprise customers a unified, cloud-native approach to managing security threats and improving operational efficiency. - learn more

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                                $207M Later, Napster is Back and Ready for the Metaverse

                                šŸ”¦ Spotlight

                                Happy Friday, Los Angeles!

                                This week, weā€™re rewinding the clock and fast-forwarding into the future at the same time. Napster, yes, that Napster, just got acquired for $207 million byInfinite Reality, a metaverse and immersive tech company thatā€™s aiming to bring the iconic music platform into the next generation.

                                For anyone who came of age in the early 2000s, Napster was either your musical awakening or the reason your dial-up connection crashed. Launched in 1999 by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker, it was the face of peer-to-peer file sharing and a lightning rod in the music industryā€™s first wave of digital disruption. After its legal battles and shutdown in 2001, Napster bounced between owners like Roxio and Best Buy, before eventually merging with Rhapsody and evolving into a legitimate streaming service.

                                Now, Infinite Reality is giving Napster a fresh remix. The company says it plans to turn Napster into a social-first music platform that emphasizes artist-fan interaction over passive listening. Weā€™re talking virtual 3D concert experiences, listening parties, fan communities, and merch dropsā€¦ essentially, a metaverse-native platform built for music superfans.

                                According to Infinite Reality CEO John Acunto, this aligns with the companyā€™s bigger vision: moving the internet away from ā€œa flat 2D clickable webā€ into ā€œa 3D conversational one.ā€ Theyā€™re betting that a brand like Napster, which already carries cultural weight, can thrive in a world where fans want deeper connections and creators want modern monetization tools.

                                Itā€™s a bold move, but maybe a smart one. Nostalgia is a powerful asset, and in an era where legacy brands keep getting digital reboots, Napster has a chance to go from early disruptor to comeback story.

                                Will todayā€™s listeners hit play? Weā€™ll see. But as far as tech comebacks go, weā€™re here for this remix.

                                šŸ¤ Venture Deals

                                LA Companies

                                • Topanga, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in AI-driven waste reduction solutions for commercial kitchens, has raised an $8M Series A funding round led by Blue Bear Capital, with participation from Struck Capital, Amasia, and Wonder Ventures. This investment brings Topanga's total funding to $12.2M. The company plans to use the proceeds to expand its food waste tracking platform into the senior living, health care, and hospitality sectors, accelerate the growth of its ReusePass system beyond universities into enterprise food service, and enhance integration with major food-service platforms like Grubhub and Jamix. - learn more
                                • Flight Science, an aviation tech startup focused on AI-powered flight optimization, raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding led by Outsiders Fund. The company helps airlines reduce fuel costs, emissions, and turbulence impact, and will use the funds to grow its team and expand product rollout by summer 2025. - learn more
                                      LA Venture Funds
                                        • Second Sight Ventures participated in a $14.2M Series A1 funding round for Lucky Energy, an Austin, Texas-based energy drink company. Lucky Energy offers a line of zero-sugar, zero-calorie beverages in six flavors, formulated with ingredients like maca and beta-alanine. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate distribution, introduce new products, support strategic partnerships, and recruit in key business areas. - learn more
                                        • M13 led a $5.5M funding round for Chord Commerce, with participation from Act One Ventures and others. The New York-based company provides an AI-powered customer data platform (CDP) that helps commerce brands unify customer data, generate real-time insights, and automate marketing decisions. The funding will be used to further develop the platform and support brands in scaling their data-driven marketing efforts. - learn more
                                        • Upfront Ventures led a $4M Seed funding round for Arlo Health, a New York City-based AI-powered health insurance underwriter focused on small and mid-sized businesses. Arlo offers level-funded health plans designed to improve preventive care and cost transparency through value-based care and AI-driven underwriting. The funds will be used to expand its broker network, grow its engineering and sales teams, and scale operations. - learn more
                                        • Bonfire Ventures co-led a $5M Seed funding round for VoiceOps, with participation from Village Global and others. Based in New York City, VoiceOps uses generative AI to analyze phone calls and surface insights that boost sales performance, ensure compliance, and optimize marketing. The funding will support product development, team expansion, and broader market adoption. - learn more
                                        • MANTIS Venture Capital participated in a $17.2M Seed funding round for EDGE Markets, a fintech company building banking tools tailored to the gaming industry. EDGEā€™s flagship product, EDGE Boost, offers a debit card and bank account specifically designed for betting, with features like spending limits, financial transparency, and cash-back rewards. The funds will be used to further develop the platform and expand its presence within the gaming market. - learn more

                                            LA Exits

                                            • SmartDepo, a leading provider of AI-powered deposition summaries for the legal industry, has been acquired by Rev, a prominent speech-to-text technology company. Founded in 2023 by civil rights attorney Isaac Manoff, SmartDepo delivers comprehensive deposition summaries featuring 100% accurate page-line citations, hyperlinked tables of contents, key admissions analyses, and deposition memos highlighting essential themes. This strategic acquisition combines Rev's highly accurate transcription services with SmartDepo's advanced summarization capabilities, aiming to enhance productivity for attorneys and court reporters by reducing manual review time and improving client outcomes. - learn more
                                            • Stem, a platform offering personalized distribution and digital strategy services for independent artists and labels, has been acquired by Concord, a leading independent music company. Stem will operate as a separate division within Concord Label Group, with CEO Milana Lewis and President Kristin Graziani continuing in their roles. This acquisition provides Stem with the capital and resources to invest in new technology, expand its suite of label services, and accelerate global growth, while maintaining its mission to empower independent artists with autonomy and support. - learn more

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                                                        $100M in Wheels and Wings: Startups Changing How We Move

                                                        šŸ”¦ Spotlight

                                                        Happy Friday, LA ā€”

                                                        LAā€™s mobility scene is shifting gears ā€” fast.

                                                        Weā€™ve got movement on the ground and in the skies this week.

                                                        Image Source: Upway

                                                        Letā€™s start on two wheels. Sequoia-backed startup Upway just launched its new 30,000 square-foot flagship facility in Redondo Beach, and itā€™s not your average bike shop. The UpCenter, as theyā€™re calling it, is the largest e-bike refurbishment center in California ā€” and itā€™s a big bet on LA becoming a leader in urban micromobility.

                                                        If you havenā€™t heard of Upway yet, you will soon. The company refurbishes e-bikes at scale, with $70 million in funding and operations in both the U.S. and Europe. Their mission? Make high-quality e-bikes more affordable and accessible, especially in cities where traffic is, wellā€¦ legendary.

                                                        With Californiaā€™s new e-bike rebate in effect and Angelenos increasingly looking for car-free ways to move around town, Upwayā€™s timing couldnā€™t be better. Whether youā€™re commuting, cruising the Strand, or just sick of spending half your life on the 405, a refurbished ride might be the smoothest move you make all year.

                                                        Now ā€” from bikes to drones.

                                                        Image Source: Neros

                                                        Neros, a young LA-based startup focused on American-made autonomous drones, just announced a $35 million Series A to ramp up manufacturing. In a market long dominated by overseas players, Neros is building drone tech domestically ā€” and itā€™s not just for hobbyists. Their AI-powered drones are designed to be rugged, adaptable, and mission-ready, with applications across defense, public safety, and infrastructure.

                                                        The round was led by Vy Capital, with participation from Interlagos Capital, D3, Sequoia, and Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, the CEO of Zipline. Nerosā€™ co-founder and CEO, Soren Monroe-Anderson, summed it up well: this is about ā€œfreedom through autonomy.ā€

                                                        Now, on to this weekā€™s LA venture deals, fund announcements, and acquisitionsā€¦

                                                        šŸ¤ Venture Deals

                                                        LA Companies

                                                        • BuildOps, a Los Angeles-based provider of a unified cloud-based platform for commercial contractors, has raised a $127M Series C funding round led by Meritech Capital Partners, with participation from B Capital, Fika Ventures and others. This investment elevates BuildOps to unicorn status with a valuation of $1 billion. The company plans to use the funds to enhance product capabilities, improve customer support, and scale operations to meet the growing demand from commercial contractors nationwide. - learn more
                                                        • Proteus Space, a Los Angeles-based company specializing in rapid custom satellite bus solutions, has raised an oversubscribed $6.1M Seed-2 funding round, led by Lavrock Ventures with participation from Crosscut Ventures and others. The funds will be used to accelerate the development and deployment of MERCURYā„¢, Proteusā€™ automated computational engineering system, which aims to revolutionize custom satellite bus design by significantly reducing development time and costs. - learn more
                                                        • Occuspace, a Westlake Village, California-based company specializing in occupancy intelligence technology, has secured a $6M Series A funding round led by Lewis & Clark Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate its growth across higher education, corporate, and government facilities, aiming to make space utilization data the source of truth for understanding and managing the built environment. - learn more
                                                        • Qolab, a company specializing in quantum computing hardware, has secured Series A funding from Applied Ventures, the venture capital arm of Applied Materials. The investment will be used to advance the development and scalable manufacturing of superconducting qubits, a critical component for large-scale quantum computing. As part of the collaboration, Qolab and Applied Materials have also co-authored a technical roadmap outlining strategies to scale quantum computing from hundreds to millions of qubits. - learn more
                                                            LA Venture Funds
                                                              • Wasserman participated in a $56M funding round for Carbon Arc, a New York City-based AI data utility company. Carbon Arc specializes in transforming raw data from various industries into structured, standardized intelligence suitable for AI models and business applications. The funds will be used to accelerate the growth of Carbon Arc's Insights Exchange platform, enhancing its data utility services for businesses and the AI community. - learn more
                                                              • Trousdale Ventures participated in a $24M funding round for Coreshell, a San Leandro, California-based battery technology company. Coreshell specializes in developing low-cost, high-performance silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries, aiming to enhance energy density and reduce costs. The funds will be used to scale production at their 4 MWh manufacturing facility and to plan a new 100 MWh facility, with the goal of delivering next-generation electric vehicle batteries to global automakers this year. - learn more
                                                              • Talino Venture Studios has participated in a $2.8M seed funding round for Higala, a Philippine-based instant payment system startup. Higala aims to enhance financial inclusion by connecting rural banks, thrift banks, commercial banks, and electronic money issuers through an open payments infrastructure, thereby lowering the cost of real-time payments and reducing entry barriers. The funds will be used to expand Higala's services, including the launch of platform banking in the second quarter, enabling smaller financial institutions to offer digital payment services. - learn more
                                                              • Alexandria Venture Investments participated in a $150M Series B funding round for Latigo Biotherapeutics, a Thousand Oaks, California-based clinical-stage biotechnology company developing non-opioid pain treatments. The funds will support the advancement of Latigo's selective Nav1.8 inhibitors, currently in clinical development, and the expansion of its broader therapeutic pipeline. - learn more
                                                              • Thiel Capital led a $3.25M funding round for Pilgrim, a biotech startup focused on enhancing human performance and defending against biological threats. The funds will be used to advance its Voyager platform, which is developing cutting-edge biotechnology with potential applications ranging from creating ā€˜supersoldiersā€™ to mitigating emerging biothreats. - learn more
                                                              • Alt-Capital and WndrCo participated in an $18M seed funding round for Town, a startup specializing in small business tax solutions. Town offers an AI-powered platform that automates tasks such as document processing and data collection, providing each client with a dedicated tax advisor. The funds will be used to scale Town's services across the U.S. and expand their team. - learn more

                                                                LA Exits

                                                                  • Dieta Health, a Los Angeles-based company known for its AI-powered stool imaging technology, has been acquired by Cylinder. Dietaā€™s clinically validated app, shown to outperform traditional patient-reported outcomes, will be integrated into Cylinderā€™s platform to improve digestive health diagnostics and enable earlier, more personalized treatment. As part of the deal, Dietaā€™s founder and key team members will join Cylinder to support ongoing development and clinical research. - learn more

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