Why These Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Are Making LA Their Home

Aisha Counts
Aisha Counts is a business reporter covering the technology industry. She has written extensively about tech giants, emerging technologies, startups and venture capital. Before becoming a journalist she spent several years as a management consultant at Ernst & Young.
Why These Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Are Making LA Their Home
Joey Mota

Fleeing war and chasing new opportunities, more than a dozen Ukrainian entrepreneurs have landed in Los Angeles, finding an unexpected community in the city of dreams. These entrepreneurs have started companies that are collectively worth more than $300 million, in industries ranging from electric vehicle charging stations to audience monetization platforms to social networks.

Dot.LA spent an evening with this group of Ukrainian citizens, learning what it was like to build startups in Ukraine, to cope with the unimaginable fear of fleeing war, and to garner the resilience to rebuild.


Andrew Skrypnyk, CEO of learning platform Promova, decided to enter tech after being awed by 3D graphics on a computer. He went on to spend time in a variety of software development roles, learning more than 20 programming languages in the process. Artem Kudymovskyy, co-founder and CCO of software development firm ITRex Group, similarly became inspired when he saw his first personal computer and met a former programmer who taught him to code.

Others took more winding paths. Vlad Klimchuk studied biomedical engineering and then became one of Ukraineโ€™s highest-grossing filmmaker before switching into tech and co-founding image-based social network TLPRT. Dana Sydorenko spent time as a military paramedic and created Ukraineโ€™s best army supply company before co-founding GameTree with John Uke.

Despite taking different paths, what these founders share is a passion and ingenuity for solving their own problems and developing creative solutions.

For instance, when Oleksiy Malytskyy first moved to Los Angeles, had a difficult time finding an apartment which led him to co-found co-living startup Sota. When Alexey Menshikov, a former sound designer, became frustrated that the gaming company he worked for wouldnโ€™t accept his ideas, he decided to start Beatshapers, his own company in immersive gaming.

Alexey Menshikov -Beatshapers, Oleksandr Gamaniuk -tarta.aiJoey Mota

The sense of resilience and adaptability these entrepreneurs share is exactly what investors look for in startup founders.

โ€œStartup life is really hard. And it's a grind to go from a zero to a one and to have something that's just a concept, or an idea and bootstrap that and build it and get to a place where you're actually making money,โ€ said Brandon Gerson, a former entrepreneur turned venture partner at Expert Dojo and angel investor in Primeclass.

Starting a tech company isnโ€™t easy being with, but in Ukraine itโ€™s especially hard. Ukraineโ€™s challenging history includes the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, numerous financial crises, and of course the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine amongst other events.

Each of these events caused the economy to sink, businesses to collapse and access to capital to dry up. Over the years Ukraineโ€™s annual GDP has swung wildly as result, from highs of 10%+ annual GDP growth to lows of -20% growth. Ukrainian founders not only face the normal challenges of managing a startup, but have the added pressures of navigating rapidly shifting economic conditions.

The limited number of venture capital firms in the country also means access to capital is hard to come by, and thus harder to scale.

This wasnโ€™t always the case: Ukraine was broadly known for having a thriving tech scene before the war. Between 2015 and 2016 for instance, investors pumped more than $200 million into startups and Ukraineโ€™s IT outsourcing sector was worth billions.

Pavlo Shlapak - Phygit, Alexey Menshikov -Beatshapers, Vlad Klimchuk-TLPRT Pavlo Shlapak - Phygit, Alexey Menshikov -Beatshapers, Vlad Klimchuk TLPRT Joey Mota

But as Sydorenko, the paramedic turned GameTree co-founder, put it, โ€œat some point Ukraine has limits.โ€ Not only is it difficult to raise money in Ukraine, but โ€œyou will never be able to build a publicly traded company over there because this market does not exist,โ€ she said.

Although Sydorenko and her team were able to build a social network in Ukraine that now has over 500,000 users, fundraising was difficult. It wasnโ€™t until moving to Los Angeles that they were able to raise a significant amount of money: $650,000 in their most recent round.

By virtue of being from Ukraine then, these entrepreneurs naturally have resilience and adaptability in spades. โ€œSomeone who comes from Ukraine and having gone through what those folks have gone through, I don't even mean just in the war, just in history, they're prepared in a way that most of the folks are not,โ€ said Brian MacMahon, whose accelerator Expert Dojo has invested in more than 200 startups across Africa, Latin America, and India among other regions.

Now the Russia-Ukraine war has threatened to dismantle the countryโ€™s tech industry as infrastructure is destroyed, internet access and electricity are cut off, and tech companies and their workers flee.

Even still, Ukrainian tech workers are carrying on in astounding fashion.

One Ukranian man, who was locked in his dimly lit basement for weeks, carried on programming and coding even while bombs were going off overhead, said Kudymovskyy, as an illustration of Ukrainian resolve.

By some estimates nearly 90 to 95% of all startups fail, but in the experience of Pavlo Shlapak, founder of Phygit, which creates digital experiences for physical products, the survival rate for Ukrainian startups is significantly higher. โ€œAnd that's because we can adapt, we have a positive mind, great sense of humor, and it's a super valuable source actually in crisis situations,โ€ he said.

For Ukrainian founders then, relocating and building a startup in sunny Los Angeles, is almost easy by comparison. Access to capital is plentiful, networking opportunities abound and the Los Angeles tech community is thriving.

Despite being separated by more than six thousand miles across the Atlantic Ocean, several Ukrainians saw parallels between Odessa, Ukraine and Los Angeles for example.

โ€œOdessa is the most diverse city in Ukraine,โ€ said Primeclass founder Ivan Kovpak, who noted the connection between his hometown and Los Angeles. Kovpak, Skrypnyk and Kudymovskyy agreed that both cities possess comparable climates, proximity to water and similar levels of openness and diversity.

Ivan Kovpak, Primeclass founderJoey Mota

โ€œIn California, everybody kind of likes Silicon Valley, but there's something very special about this place,โ€ said Kudymovskyy, a former consultant who moved to Los Angeles in 2012 before starting his own firm ITRex Group. Kudymovskyy also said that diversity and access to different ideas can actually make startups more successful.

The culture of creativity and storytelling was one of the main appeals of relocating to Los Angeles, according to several founders. More than one joked that Ukrainians are not the best salesmen or marketing gurus. But living in the filmmaking and content creation capital of the world, they now had the perfect combination of storytelling and tech.

The combination of a U.S. founder with sales experience and โ€œa founder from Ukraine who will develop a product is the killer combination,โ€ said Malytskyy, co-founder of Sota.

Other founders agreed. โ€œI think the combination of Ukraine and LA is our key of success,โ€ said Sydorenko. โ€œIf you take almost any company, you have developers in Ukraine, you test your product in Ukraine, and you have people who create networking and promote your product in LA, any sort of company will be successful,โ€ she said.

Although it may seem more obvious to build a startup in Silicon Valley rather than Los Angeles, several founders thought otherwise.

โ€œIt makes perfect sense that if you want to build a startup, you think that San Francisco is the spot,โ€ Sydorenko added. โ€œBut actually it's the worst place to build because the cost per developer is extremely high [and] you need to compete with the biggest companies in the market,โ€ she said.

Omar Zhandarbekuly, Yevgen Arutyunyan - AEV charging, Oleksyy Malytskyy - Go SotaJoey Mota

Plus as more Silicon Valley investors open offices in the city and startups relocate their headquarters, Los Angeles is quickly becoming a new tech capital in its own right, said Menshikov.

In many ways Los Angeles was the perfect landing spot for this group of entrepreneurs. But as the Russia-Ukraine war rages on, many of the founders canโ€™t help but feel the tug of home.

They each grappled with the dual responsibility and tension of building successful startups in the U.S., while still supporting their country and taking care of friends, family and employees back home.

Founders often find themselves helping colleagues find shelter and safe places to work back in Ukraine or working to relocate family members. At times this can mean ceasing startup operations to assist with the war.

โ€œEvery Ukrainian is in one way or the other contributing to the war,โ€ whether they are on the front lines or not, said Malytskyy, who organized a resistance group inside of Russia at the start of the war.

For the founders, this often means using money as a form of resistance.

โ€œWe also fight on the economical front,โ€ said Skrypnyk. In his mind they are financial soldiers, helping to wage war by beefing up the Ukrainian economy, sending monetary support to the military and propping up families and businesses.

Although these founders have physically left Ukraine, they brought with them their countryโ€™s sense of resilience, humor, purpose and passion. For now, Los Angeles is home, but the spirit of Ukraine lives on.

From Sunset Boulevard to Outer Space: LAโ€™s Latest

๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

Good Morning Beliebers and Los Angeles!

While Justin Bieberโ€™s new album dropped last night, hereโ€™s what else is making headlines in Los Angeles this week.

Luma has opened its Dream Lab on Sunset Boulevard, boldly positioning itself at the forefront of AI-powered creativity. Known for transforming ordinary photos into cinematic 3D scenes, Luma is combining cutting-edge research with practical tools to build a playground for artists, engineers, and anyone ready to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. In their words: โ€œFrom Hollywood blockbusters to the next generation of immersive media, this is where the magic happens.โ€

Meanwhile, well beyond our skyline, SpaceX reportedly hit an eye-popping $400 billion valuation in a recent share sale, making it one of the most valuable private companies ever. The milestone reflects both investorsโ€™ fervor for the commercial space race and LAโ€™s unrivaled role as the launchpad of aerospace innovation.

LA continues to prove it can deliver on the ground, in the cloud, and far beyond the stars. See you next week.

๐Ÿค Venture Deals

LA Companies

    ย 
  • Varda Space Industries, the El Segundoโ€“based company manufacturing pharmaceuticals in microgravity, has raised $187M in a Seriesโ€ฏC round led by Natural Capital and Shrug Capital, bringing its total funding to approximately $329M. The funds will support an increased launch cadence of robotic drug-production capsules, expansion of its El Segundo lab for biologic drug crystallization, and broader efforts to scale commercial microgravity-driven drug formulation and hypersonic reentry testing. - learn more

LA Venture Funds

  • Rebel Fund participated in Vellumโ€™s $20M Series A round, which was led by Leaders Fund. The company helps businesses build and optimize LLM-powered applications. Vellum plans to grow its team and speed up product development with the new funding. - learn more
  • Bold Capital participated in a $31M Seriesโ€ฏB funding round for Aqtual, a Hayward, California based precision medicine startup developing a cutting edge cell free DNA (cfDNA) multiomics platform. The capital will help commercialize Aqtualโ€™s flagship rheumatoid arthritis diagnostic, currently being tested in a 1,300 patient trial, and support expansion into other chronic and autoimmune diseases. - learn more
  • Strong Ventures invested in VERAMORE, a skincare brand focused on addressing early signs of aging in women. Since launching in March 2022, VERAMORE has grown over 300% annually, expanded to more than 16 products, and entered markets including Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Taiwan, Europe, and Korea. The funding will support its D2C growth, product-driven marketing, and planned global expansion starting with Japan in 2025 and the U.S. and Europe in 2026. - learn more
  • Mucker Capital joined a $3.7M seed funding round for Velvet Capital aimed at launching its DeFAI operating system and $VELVET governance token. Velvetโ€™s vertically integrated DeFi toolkit combines AI-powered trading, portfolio management, APIs, and a native token to streamline on-chain investment for funds, DAOs, and individual traders. The funding will accelerate platform development, the rollout of its tokenomics, and broader adoption of its intent-based DeFi suite. - learn more
  • Btech Consortium Fund participated in a $8.5M Seriesโ€ฏA funding round for Castellum.AI, a Newโ€ฏYork based financial crime compliance platform that uses inโ€‘house risk data, AI, and screening tools to help financial institutions manage AML/KYC compliance. The funds will be used to expand their team, enhance integrations with financial institutions, and accelerate adoption of their AIโ€‘powered compliance solutions. - learn more
  • Bold Capital Partners joined the oversubscribed $45M Seriesโ€ฏA round for Centivax, a South San Francisco biotech company dedicated to developing a universal flu vaccine using a proprietary mRNA-based immune-engineering platform. Led by Future Ventures, the funding will help Centivax advance its lead candidate into Phase I clinical trials and expand its broader universal immunity pipeline targeting pathogens like RSV, HIV, and malaria. - learn more
  • Alpha Edison participated in Honor Educationโ€™s $38M Seriesโ€ฏA funding round for the San Franciscoโ€“based learning platform. Honor uses AIโ€‘enhanced, mobile-first courses and credentialed programs to improve engagement and leadership development. The funding will be used to scale AI capabilities, personalize learning experiences, and expand the companyโ€™s operations and customerโ€‘success teams to meet rising demand. - learn more
  • Wasserman Ventures participated in a $7M seed round for Fantasy Life, the fantasy sports platform founded by Matthewโ€ฏBerry. The funding will support the launch of Fantasy Lifeโ€™s revamped platform, featuring new โ€œGuillotine Leagues,โ€ a modernized app experience, and enhanced content and tools to scale its audience and technology offerings. - learn more

LA Exits
  • El Segundo based Kaye Capital Management, a fee only RIA with approximately $700M in assets under management and $300M in assets under advisement, was acquired by Modern Wealth Management, marking its 17th acquisition and pushing its total AUM over $8.5B. The deal strengthens Modern Wealthโ€™s presence in California and adds Kayeโ€™s institutional retirement plan expertise to its suite of financial and retirement solutions for clients. - learn more
  • NIRx Medical Technologies was acquired by Gilde Healthcareโ€™s private equity fund and combined with Artinis Medical Systems to form a world-leading neuroimaging group. Both companies will retain their brands and locations while collaborating on R&D, product development, and global expansion of their functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) tools to advance research in mental health, neurodegenerative diseases, and stroke rehabilitation. - learn more
  • Emotive, a conversational SMS marketing platform, has been acquired by Privy to create a unified solution for e-commerce brands that combines email, SMS, pop-ups, and real-time customer conversations. The integrated platform will help over 10,000 merchants simplify their marketing, personalize customer interactions, and strengthen relationships with dedicated strategists and transparent pricing. - learn more

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Tinder, Starlink, and Appleโ€™s New Studio: This Week in LA

๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

Happy Independence Day, Los Angeles! ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ

While you're celebrating freedom, here are some electrifying updates lighting up LAโ€™s tech, satellite, and music scenes:

๐Ÿ”ฅ Tinder mandates Face Recognition in California

ย ย Image Source: Tinder

Tinder is now requiring all new users in California to complete a biometric face check, a briefย video selfie processed via FaceTec, to verify profiles are genuine. The video is deleted post-verification, though an encrypted face map remains while the account is active. This West Hollywood based move could redefine trust, safety, and privacy in mainstream consumer apps.

๐ŸŒ Starlink clears hurdle to launch in India

Elon Muskโ€™s SpaceX backed Starlink has cleared most regulatory and licensing hurdles with Indiaโ€™s Department of Telecommunications, marking a key step toward launching satellite broadband in one of the worldโ€™s fastest growing markets. Final approvals from the national space regulator are pending, and services, expected to deliver high speed connectivity to underserved regions, could launch in the coming months. This is a major milestone for Starlinkโ€™s global expansion.

๐ŸŽง Apple Music opens Culver City creative hub

ย ย Image Source: Apple

Apple Music is celebrating its anniversary by launching a brand new 15,000 square foot, three story studio in Culver City. The facility, featuring a 4,000 square foot soundstage, spatial audio suites, podcast booths, and more, is designed by Eric Owen Moss and slated to open mid August. It solidifies LAโ€™s reputation as a creative powerhouse and reaffirms Appleโ€™s commitment to investing in and nurturing our city's cultural ecosystem.

From dating apps to deep space to sound stages, LA isnโ€™t just watching the future unfold, weโ€™re building it.

Hereโ€™s to independence, imagination, and everything this city dares to launch next. Happy Fourth, Los Angeles.

๐Ÿค Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Castelion has raised a $350M Series B round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners alongside Altimeter Capital to scale its hypersonic missile production capabilities. The El Segundo-based defense startup plans to use the funds to expand manufacturing, accelerate testing through its SpaceX-inspired rapid development model, and position itself as a cost-effective supplier of hypersonic weapons to the U.S. military and its allies. - learn more
  • Earth Sama, a Calabasas, Californiaโ€“based climate-tech platform that helps rural farming and Indigenous communities generate and manage carbon credits, secured investment from Omtse Ventures. The funding will support the rollout of Earth Samaโ€™s blockchain-powered field app, climate-creator platform, and smart-contract tools to scale community-led carbon credit projects globally under the Paris Agreementโ€™s Articleโ€ฏ6.4 framework. - learn more

            LA Venture Funds

            • Plassa Capital participated in Metafideโ€™s $3.275M funding round. Miami based Metafide, the creator of SURGE, a gamified trading platform that combines AI neural networks and human insight, will use the funds to scale and launch SURGE into the market. - learn more
            • BOLD Capital Partners participated as a founding investor in Syntis Bioโ€™s $33M Series A round, with an additional $5M in NIH grants. The Boston-based biotech is developing oral therapies for obesity and rare diseases, and the funding will help advance its SYNT platform, moving its lead obesity treatment, SYNT-101, into Phase 1 trials and supporting development of SYNT-202 for homocystinuria. - learn more
            • BAM Ventures participated in Credโ€™s $15M seed round for its predictive intelligence startup. San Francisco based Cred uses AI to unify company data with real time market signals and deliver actionable insights for sales and operations. The funding, led by defy.vc, will be used to scale Credโ€™s platform, expand its customer base, and grow team and product capabilities. - learn more
            • BOLD Capital Partners participated in Gallantโ€™s $18M Series B round to advance its ready-to-use stem cell therapies for pets. The funding, led by Digitalis Ventures with additional support from NovaQuest Capital, will help Gallant bring its off-the-shelf regenerative treatments to market. - learn more
            • Rebel Fund joined the seed round for Rocketable, contributing to the $6.5M raised to build a portfolio of fully automated SaaS companies. San Francisco-based Rocketable, backed by True Ventures and others, uses AI agents to operate acquired software products, and Rebelโ€™s support will help scale both the platform and acquisitions. - learn moreย 
                    LA Exits
                    • Leasepath, a cloud-first provider of equipment lease and loan management software, has been acquired by Solifi to enhance its mid-market offerings. The deal allows Solifi to expand Leasepathโ€™s Microsoft Dynamics-based platform into new global markets while keeping Leasepathโ€™s team and leadership in place. - learn more

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

                              ๐Ÿ”ฆ Spotlight

                              Hello Los Angeles,

                              In the shadow of LAโ€™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. Itโ€™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 isnโ€™t just building machines. Theyโ€™re rewiring the very systems that power aerospace, defense, and industrial tech.

                              Itโ€™s not sci-fi. Itโ€™s supply chain innovation. And itโ€™s very LA.

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

                              ๐Ÿค 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 โ€œHoloAvatarsโ€ 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 Angelesโ€“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
                              • Doรชn, 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. Doรชn 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 Neuron23โ€™s $96.5M Seriesโ€ฏD financing round. The capital will fund the global Phaseโ€ฏ2 NEULARK trial of NEUโ€‘41, a brain-penetrant LRRK2 inhibitor for early-stage Parkinsonโ€™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 Spinwheelโ€™s recent $30โ€ฏM Series A round led by Fโ€‘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
                                      • Chaacโ€ฏVentures participated in a $7M seed funding round for Meridian, a New York and Miamiโ€‘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 goโ€‘toโ€‘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 AGIโ€™s Series B round, which raised $50M to expand its Business AGI platform for enterprise use. The funding brings Mavenโ€™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 Therapeuticsโ€™ $8M Seriesโ€ฏC round. The funding will support the commercial launch of GenomicsNextโ„ข, a groundbreaking liquid biopsy platform that combines extensive gene expression profiling with highโ€‘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 Bโ€ฏCapital participated in COVR Globalโ€™s $2.5M seed round, led by MTech Capital. The funding will help COVR develop its AI-powered Decision Engineโ€”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 Industriesโ€™ $100M Seriesโ€ฏB round. The defense-tech startup will use the capital to ramp up production at its Forge Huntington factory, grow its Machโ€ฏPropulsion engine division, and further develop and deploy its advanced unmanned systemsโ€”Viper, Glide, and Stratos. This funding brings Machโ€™s total raised to about $185M as it scales vertically integrated defense manufacturing. - learn more
                                      • Fifthโ€ฏWall participated in Juniper Squareโ€™s Seriesโ€ฏD funding round, which secured $130M at a $1.1โ€ฏbillion 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 CarePilotโ€™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 โ€œProblemAssistโ€ diagnostic and coding tool and expand its team as it scales solutions for healthcare providers. - learn more
                                      • Prototypeโ€ฏCapital participated in Sunriseโ€ฏRoboticsโ€™ seed round, which raised $8.5M to emerge from stealth and advance its factory automation technology. The Ljubljana-based startup develops dualโ€‘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 MicroBlasterยฎ micro-precision sandblasting system, has been acquired by Medical Manufacturing Technologies (MMT), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management. This strategic move integrates Comcoโ€™s advanced abrasive technology into MMTโ€™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 Offscriptโ€™s entry into the $347 billion gaming industry and strengthens its creator-led IP development and distribution capabilities. 3BlackDot will now leverage Offscriptโ€™s infrastructure to scale its cultural impact while maintaining its creator-first approach. - learn more
                                            • Dr. Squatch, the fast-growing natural menโ€™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 CloudSodaโ€™s intuitive data orchestration and automation with Diskoverโ€™s enterprise-scale indexing, metadata enrichment, and AI-ready infrastructure. This comes alongside Diskoverโ€™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 Inspireโ€™s reach beyond its original markets. The merger creates one of the largest independent green energy retailers in the U.S., combining Inspireโ€™s subscription-based, 100% renewable electricity plans with Rhythmโ€™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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