Unlock Venture Partners Launches $62 Million Seed Fund Focused on LA Startups

Harri Weber

Harri is dot.LA's senior finance reporter. She previously worked for Gizmodo, Fast Company, VentureBeat and Flipboard. Find her on Twitter and send tips on L.A. startups and venture capital to harrison@dot.la.

Unlock Venture Partners Launches $62 Million Seed Fund Focused on LA Startups
Photo by Olenka Kotyk on Unsplash

Unlock Venture Partners, a Seattle- and Los Angeles-focused venture capital firm investing in seed-stage startups, unveiled a new $60 million-plus fund on Monday.

Unlock has closed on roughly $62 million for its second fund and is aiming to raise more with a target of $75 million, co-founding partner Sanjay Reddy told dot.LA. In addition to startups in its hometown of Seattle, the firm is eyeing ventures in the L.A. region, its second core market.


While just announced, the fund isn’t brand new; Unlock has been “deploying [the fund] for close to a year,” Reddy said, citing 16 investments to date out of the vehicle. Those deals include L.A.-based “meta-fashion” company DressX, Seoul- and Santa Monica-based esports group Gen.G and Pasadena-based Continuum Space Systems, which sells software for space missions.

The investments speak to Unlock’s specific interest in metaverse, Web3 and gaming companies within the L.A. and Seattle markets. (The firm is also an active investor in fintech startups like North Hollywood-based UNest.) When asked about the ever-growing backlash to the metaverse, Reddy said Unlock is unfazed by doubters and remains bullish on the emerging space.

“The problem with capitalism is you require continued growth, but our environment has finite resources,” he noted. “If you look at the metaverse, theoretically you can accommodate infinite growth… Where does it go? We don’t know. But the metaverse is real, as an opportunity.”

Including its first $22 million fund, which launched in 2018, Unlock has raised over $85 million in capital to date.

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LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

LA Tech ‘Moves’: Mapp Gains New CPO and CTO, Prodoscore Taps Boeing Exec
LA Tech ‘Moves’:

“Moves,” our roundup of job changes in L.A. tech, is presented by Interchange.LA, dot.LA's recruiting and career platform connecting Southern California's most exciting companies with top tech talent. Create a free Interchange.LA profile here—and if you're looking for ways to supercharge your recruiting efforts, find out more about Interchange.LA's white-glove recruiting service by emailing Sharmineh O’Farrill Lewis (sharmineh@dot.la). Please send job changes and personnel moves to moves@dot.la.

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This Week in ‘Raises’: GITAI Lands $30M, Steno Gains $15M

Decerry Donato

Decerry Donato is a reporter at dot.LA. Prior to that, she was an editorial fellow at the company. Decerry received her bachelor's degree in literary journalism from the University of California, Irvine. She continues to write stories to inform the community about issues or events that take place in the L.A. area. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in the Angeles National forest or sifting through racks at your local thrift store.

Raises
Image by Joshua Letona

A local space robotics startup raised fresh funding to expand the flight model manufacturing facilities throughout the U.S. and increase employment, while a remote litigation platform raised more funding to continue growing its footprint in new markets across the country, develop service channels for its clients and continue expanding its tech team.

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Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Gitai Secures $30 Million in Funding to Continue Space Robotics Developments
\u200bPhoto: Gitai

Space robotics company Gitai raised a $30 million Series B extension this week, bringing the total value of the round to roughly $47 million.

The funding will be used to further develop Gitai’s suite of space robots as well as build out its manufacturing footprint in Torrance. Previously Gitai announced it raised a $17.1 million Series B in March 2021; this additional raise is still part of that round.

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