🔦 Spotlight
Happy Friday, LA!
Image Source: Waymo
In case you’ve been cooped up indoors or haven’t had a chance to leave the office this week, you might have missed the latest buzz—Waymo’s self-driving cars are now cruising all over LA! That’s right—Waymo One, the autonomous ride-hailing service, has officially expanded citywide, now covering nearly 80 square miles of Los Angeles. After months of testing and a waitlist, Angelenos can now book rides 24/7 in areas stretching from Santa Monica to Hollywood to the USC neighborhood. Early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with passengers rating the service 4.7/5. Riders are praising the smooth, safe experience—making it a game-changer for getting around the city, whether it’s for work, errands, or leisure.
Image Source: Snap
Meanwhile, Snapchat is stepping up its game with new features in its Family Center designed to boost family safety and connectivity. Parents can now request their teens' live location on Snap Map, stay informed about their location-sharing settings, and set travel notifications to get alerts when family members arrive or depart from key locations like home or school. These updates give families more control and peace of mind in managing their digital interactions.
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- Camouflet, an AI-driven platform specializing in real-time pricing optimization, has raised a $3M Seed funding round from private investors to enhance its services. - learn more
- Chaos Industries, a defense tech company specializing in advanced detection and monitoring systems, raised a $145M Series B funding round led by Accel to accelerate its development of critical national security technologies. - learn more
- Radiant, a company specializing in advanced nuclear microreactors, raised a $100M Series C funding round led by DCVC. The funds will be used to complete the Kaleidos Development Unit and conduct testing at Idaho National Laboratory's DOME facility, aiming to bring factory-built microreactors to market. - learn more
- Mundial Media, a company focused on contextual marketing for multicultural audiences, raised a $1.5M Pre-Seed extension round led by new and existing investors, with the funds aimed at advancing their Cadmus AI technology and expanding digital advertising offerings. - learn more
- Joyful Ventures participated in a seed funding round for Meatly, a UK-based company specializing in lab-grown pet food, though the exact amount raised has not been disclosed. - learn more
- B Capital participated in a $200M Series C funding round for Writer, a full-stack generative AI platform that helps enterprises deploy secure and reliable AI solutions to address critical business challenges. - learn more
- LFX Venture Partners participated in a US$30M Series C2 funding round for UniUni, a company transforming last-mile delivery for e-commerce through technology, and plans to use the capital to improve its platform and rapidly grow its operations. - learn more
- Alexandria Venture Investments participated in a $84M Series B funding round for TRexBio, a South San Francisco biotechnology company focused on decoding the immune biology of human tissue to develop groundbreaking therapeutics. - learn more
- Composition Capital participated in a $20M Series B funding round for Arbolus, an expert insights platform that connects investors and consultants with subject matter experts, to support Arbolus's expansion into the U.S. market - learn more
- Type One Ventures co-led a Series A funding round for Lunar Outpost, a company specializing in lunar surface mobility, commercial space robotics, and space resources; the funds will support their active programs. - learn more
- Trousdale Ventures participated in a $29M funding round for Starfish Space, a Seattle-based satellite servicing company that will use the funds to develop and launch its Otter spacecraft, designed to extend the operational life of satellites in geostationary orbit. - learn more
- Plus Capital participated in a $20M Series A funding round for OneSkin, a San Francisco-based biotech company specializing in skin health treatments, with the funds aimed at expanding research, developing new formulas, and growing its presence in the anti-aging skincare industry. The company will also invest in its team and explore new sales channels. - learn more
- Starshot Capital participated in a $10.5M Series A funding round for Ecolectro, a New York City-based green hydrogen company, to support the development of its scalable electrolyzer technology and make green hydrogen more accessible. - learn more
- Navitas Capital participated in a $37M Series B funding round for SwiftConnect, a company that provides connected access solutions for buildings and spaces, to expand its network, scale operations, and support new product initiatives. - learn more
- Edge Case Capital Partners participated in a $1.5M Pre-Seed funding round for TestSprite, an AI platform that automates software testing, to accelerate product development, expand the team, and scale operations. - learn more
- Griffin Gaming Partners led a €17M Seed funding round for BIT ODD, a Finnish gaming studio focused on creating mobile games that prioritize creativity and emotional depth over finance-driven metrics. - learn more
- The K Fund participated in a $20M funding round for Homethrive, a caregiving solutions platform, and the funds will be used to help expand its AI-driven care navigation, improve personalized support, and enhance digital tools to increase engagement across various payer populations. - learn more
LA Exits
- Farm Dog, a Los Angeles-based company that provides a platform with tools to help agronomists streamline their work—offering features for field scouting, document management, and data integration to enhance productivity in agriculture—has been acquired by FarmQA. - learn more
