weekly recap

LA Startups To Watch 

Duffl: The UCLA-born quick delivery service joins other emerging brands in what market researchers have dubbed the instant needs sector of quick commerce.

GTLA: Could fashion ever be equitable and less wasteful? The Los Angeles startup has set its ambitions on raising the bar for one of the top fashion manufacturing capitals in the U.S.

Queue: The newly launched iOS app is a response to the rush of new streaming series and movies that can often feel like a firehose. Its goal is to save users time and avoid FOMO.

#TechLA's Movers & Shakers This Week 

The pandemic hasn’t sapped demand for high-end rentals. And it’s helping proptech companies like AvantStay raise more money.

FlickPlay has turned Santa Monica into a metaverse playground, making it the first U.S. city of its kind to enter the emerging digital space.

LA Tech and Venture Capital News 

TeleSign, a digital identity verification and fraud prevention company used by companies like TikTok and GoFundMe, plans to go public through a merger with a blank-check firm at an enterprise value of $1.3 billion.

Immix Biopharma Inc., a Santa Monica-based biotechnology company, got slammed in its trading debut this week, losing 27% of its value in its first day of trading on Nasdaq.

The fragmented systems for paying rent, utilities and for health care services that are scattered across online portals in the U.S. has made it fertile ground for a service like Papaya to deploy and flourish.

As more people emerge from their COVID cocoon to travel during the spring and summer, Sensible Weather is looking to grow. It announced this week it raised $4 million.

Rocket Lab paid $80 million to acquire SolAero, a New Mexico-based company that makes solar cells and panels to power devices in outer space.

The biggest piece of advice entrepreneur Spencer Rascoff is giving to startups is: “Raise more capital. Raise it now if you can. And raise as much as possible.”

Listen Up 

Need a podcast recommendation this weekend? Here are some new pods we have for you:

As climate change forces industries to radically shift its approach, FullCycle Climate Partners’ Kyle Adkins joins LA Venture this week to discuss eagerly investing in the tech that can address the crisis. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

On this episode of "Office Hours" we talk with Allison Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi, a soda alternative that promotes gut health. Her company picked up distribution from Whole Foods and made a splash on ABC's “Shark Tank."

EXTRA EXTRA 

The COVID vaccine has opened the door for a slew of uses for mRNA. And scientists are just getting started.

OpenX, a Pasadena-based ad tech company, agreed to pay $2 million to settle allegations that it amassed troves of data on children as it flaunted regulations intended to protect data privacy.

Activision Blizzard released a trove of data on gender representation in its workplace this week that showed that women account for 26% of Activision, Blizzard and King’s executive leadership.

LA Startups To Watch 👀

👉 First Resonance. The L.A.-based startup, which is led by a former SpaceX engineer, has been impressing investors with its revenue growth. This week it raised an additional $14 million to build out its flagship platform, ION.

👉 NZXT. The startup, based in City of Industry, this week raised $103.5 million to keep up with gamer demand of PC components.

#TechLA's Movers & Shakers This Week 📢

➡️ Connect Airlines hopes to start flying passengers around in a hydrogen-powered plane as soon as 2025, thanks to a deal announced this week with Hawthorne-based Universal Hydrogen.

➡️ dotLA has a new map of L.A.'s startup scene.

LA Tech and Venture Capital News 🗞

🗞 If you’re curious about who’s forking over cash to startups in Southern California, this recently updated investor list is a solid place to start.

🗞 The surge for wine might be waning post-pandemic as Winc, a wine subscription service, dipped in sales in its third quarter.

🗞 Blink Mobility is boosting up its fleet of electric vehicles from 60 vehicles to 300 to expand the BlueLA car-sharing program in Los Angeles despite complaints from users.

🗞 While other companies have piloted drone programs that deliver to pickup sites, El Pollo Loco wants to do it differently: deliver food to your backyard.

🎙 Listen Up 💬

Need a podcast recommendation this weekend? Here are some new pods we have for you:

🎙 At the age of 16, Sophia Rascoff is one of the youngest entrepreneurs to launch a social media app focused on food. Listen to her take on social media's evolution and what young users are looking for in a new app on the PCH Driven podcast.

🎙 From a real estate company to investing in startups. Plug and Play CEO and founder Saeed Amidi comes on to this week’s LA Venture to talk about the evolution of the company. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

🚨 ​EXTRA EXTRA 🚨

🗞 Internet users struggled using some of their favorite sites on Tuesday as Amazon Web Services experienced issues.

Am I doing this right? 🤔

Throw me feedback, compliments or questions on this newsletter at luis@dot.la or on Twitter at @rungomez.