socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2020

Venice, California-based Robin Games , a startup that is developing mobile games aimed at women, has raised $7M in a seed funding round, the company said on Thursday. The startup, led by Jill Wilson, says it is developing "lifestyle gaming" titles, which run on such platforms as Apple's iOS and Google Android.

Seed Funding 140

Seed Funding Funding Venice Venture Capital 140

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

Venice, California-based Thankful, a new artificial intelligence software startup focused on customer service, announced this morning that it has raised $12M in its Series A funding round. The startup is led by CEO Ted Mico. The company says its customers include Crate & Barrel, FabFitFun, MeUndies, Morphe, and Bombas.

Artificial Inteligence 113

Artificial Inteligence Miramar Venice Custom 113

socalTECH

APRIL 26, 2021

Venice, California-based Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has acquired 3D image acquisition company Pixel8earth. Pixel8earth develops a crowdsourced, 3D imagery acquisition service, which allows people to help build out a an open, 3D map of the world--mapping into 3D space. The deal was reportedly worth $7.6M.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Venice Acquisition Report 113

SoCal CTO

MAY 22, 2012

I recently posted about the Increase in Early-Stage Startup Activity in Los Angeles. In that post, I mentioned how one of the signals is the big increase in number of startup events and the number of attendees at those events. Of course, given the size of this list and having kids, I really can't attend a lot of these.

Los Angeles 198

Los Angeles Southern California Angel Enterprise Forum 198

socalTECH

JULY 8, 2021

Venice, California-based Repeat, a startup which is developing technology to help encourage reordering of consumer packaged goods online, has raised $6M in a funding round, according to the company. Battery Ventures' Neeraj Agrawal will join the company's board of directors as part of the funding.

Venice 113

Venice Capital Funding Product 113

socalTECH

JANUARY 7, 2019

My biggest takeaway this year was truly understanding the strength and cohesion of the Los Angeles startup community. There was no monetary reward for those who participated (and Startup Boost does not take fees or equity from the companies that we help). What was the biggest lesson you learned this year?

Technical Review 157

Technical Review Software Review Startup Coach 157

Tech Zulu Event

AUGUST 8, 2012

We had such a great response from July’s TZ Tech Crawl Silicon Beach Santa Monica edition, that we decided to get another one in before the summer was out and this time focus around the Venice area. Where: Venice, CA (Silicon Beach!). It’s like a bar crawl, but with startup/Accelerator/Incubator offices instead of bars.

Venice 111

Venice Mogreet Santa Monica Incubator 111

socalTECH

MARCH 20, 2020

Venice, California-based Robin Games , a startup that is developing mobile lifestyle games aimed at women and others, has raised $7M in a seed funding round, the company said on Thursday. Wilson previously worked at Jam City. READ MORE>>.

Seed Funding 100

Seed Funding Funding Venice Venture Capital 100

socalTECH

MAY 3, 2017

Venice, California-based Fifth Wall Ventures , a brand new venture capital firm focused on investing in real estate technology, announced this week that it has raised a new, $212M venture capital fund.

Invest 124

Invest Funding Venice Venture Capital 124

socalTECH

MARCH 7, 2018

Venice, California-based Amplify LA , the startup investor which got its start as one of LA's first startup accelerators, said this week that it has added two new companies-- Kulagy and Tapcart --as part of its portfolio of companies. Financial details of any investment in the two startups were not announced.

Company 147

Company Companies Venice Commerce 147

Both Sides of the Table

JULY 13, 2013

One of my favorite events last year was attending Startup Grind where I got to interview Clayton Christensen, author of The Innovator’s Dilemma. ” We talked about my influences as a younger person and what got me started in technology and entrepreneurship. And of course we talked about many of my views of building startups.

Startup 337

Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Venture Capital 337

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014

Venice, California-based Gem said this week that it has launched a new, Bitcoin platform specifically aimed at developers. The startup--led by Micah Winkelspecht--said it is hoping to let developers use Bitcoin, but not require them to be expects in security or cryptography. READ MORE>>.

Venice 185

Venice Platform Software Develop 185

socalTECH

DECEMBER 13, 2018

Venice, California-based startup Vyng , which develops software which turns calls from friends into cute "video ringtones" that show up on your lock screen when a friend calls, has raised $4M in a funding round, the company said on Thursday. Paul Kats is the CEO and co-founder of Vyng. READ MORE>>.

Venice 133

Venice Screening Patents Software 133

socalTECH

JANUARY 31, 2013

Lyft , the developer of a service and mobile app which lets users find, and offer, rides across town, said it is launching today in the Los Angeles area. The service has been only available previously in San Francisco, but said it will now start serving trips in Santa Monica, Venice and West L.A.

Santa Monica 204

Santa Monica Venice Hollywood Startup 204

socalTECH

DECEMBER 18, 2019

Venice, California-based GIGXR , a new startup, has acquired the assets of Pearson Immersive Learning Group , a unit of publishing firm Pearson, and raised $1M in a seed funding round, the company disclosed today. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced.

Seed Funding 100

Seed Funding Venice Training Acquisition 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 28, 2016

Venice-based Snap, Inc. , the parent company of Snapchat, has reportedly acquired Israeli startup Cimagine Media. Cimaging Media develops augmented reality technology. The deal is reportedly worth between $30M and $40M. The acquisition was first reported by a local Israeli financial daily. Cimagine was founded in 2012.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Media Report Venice 113

Tech Zulu Event

JULY 16, 2013

Today’s startup innovators come from about six hours south of Silicon Valley. Fun Fact: One of the most prominent figures from their firm, Mark Suster t, runs a blog startups follow religiously. Product Development: philosophie. Silicon Valley? That’s so yesterday. Get to know them now before they become household names.

Startup 111

Startup Snapchat Social Media Venice 111

socalTECH

MARCH 11, 2013

Are you a cat lover, and an iPad app developer? A new hackathon, being held at Amplify in Venice Beach later this month, is looking for you. The top prize: $15,000. The hackathon runs on the weekend of March 23rd to 24th at Amplify, according to the organizers. READ MORE>>.

Venice 262

Venice Software Development Los Angeles Tool 262

TechCrunch LA

MARCH 26, 2020

Startups across the nation and around the world are looking for ways to relieve shortages of much-needed personal protective equipment and sanitizers used to halt the spread of COVID-19. ” Against this backdrop local startups and maker spaces are stepping up to do what they can to fill the gap.

Company 281

Company Companies Mobile Organization 281

socalTECH

JUNE 22, 2017

Venice, California-based Snap Inc. , the parent company of Snapchat , has acquired social app startup Zenly , in a deal reportedly worth $250M to $350M in cash and stock. Zenly is the developer of a social, location sharing app which lets you track where your friends are at any time. READ MORE>>.

Snapchat 113

Snapchat Report Venice Services 113

socalTECH

APRIL 20, 2016

Venice, California-based Snapchat has set up an a new office in Texas, to help it recruit talent to help develop its software, according to a report Tuesday. The report says that Snapchat has opened up an output in Dallas, in part to tap into that area's local tech startup community and low cost of labor.

Snapchat 100

Snapchat Venice Report Software 100

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Venice, California-based Bitcoin startup Gem has raised $2M, to make Bitcoin easier to use for developers, the company said this week. Gem has develops an API which helps developers build in Bitcoin support and security into their apps. Crypto Currency Partners, QED Associates, and Angel investor James Joaquin.

Idealab 180

Idealab Seed Funding Venice Venture Capital 180

socalTECH

JUNE 14, 2013

Venice-based ZEFR has rolled out a new product today, BrandID , which it says will help brands identify their fans on YouTube, provide visibility into how those fans are responding and engaging, and provide data on a brand''s competitors. Pricing on the new software offering was not announced. READ MORE>>.

Services 124

Services Venice Startup Content 124

Both Sides of the Table

JUNE 27, 2013

Let’s start with the fund. Santa Monica is the place where the highest concentration of early-stage startups are created if you consider also the contiguous geography of Venice Beach. And we chose to locate ourselves 3 blocks East of The Third Street Promenade where much new development is taking place.

Funding 343

Funding Santa Monica Venture Capital Startup 343

socalTECH

JUNE 20, 2014

Paul Bricault of the AmplifyLA startup accelerator in Venice, has scored an exit with one of his companies. Twitter said Thursday that it has acquired SnappyTV , a San Francisco developer of software which helps people capture live event video, edit that video, and post it directly to Twitter.

Venice 196

Venice Acquisition Software Help 196

socalTECH

NOVEMBER 4, 2013

Venice-based Viddy , the developer of social video sharing apps, said today that it has rebranded itself as Supernova , and has expanded into a new set of mobile apps. The startup--which went through a huge rollercoaster ride earlier this year--is launching two new online apps, Clique, and EPIC. READ MORE>>.

Venice 153

Venice Mobile Startup Develop 153

socalTECH

OCTOBER 30, 2015

Venice, California-based startup accelerator Amplify.LA is an investor in a host of LA startups, including HelloTech, StackSocial, Vadio, Gem, and many others. The accelerator recently had a high profile exit, in mapping technology developer Mapsense, which was acquired by Apple in September. Amplify.LA Amplify.LA

Capital 100

Capital Funding Venice Los Angeles 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 11, 2015

Hermosa Beach-based Precipice Labs , a new startup developing mobile apps, has announced a new platform and SDK which helps mobile app developers add photo sharing to any mobile app. The platform handles everything from the photo gallery within the app to all the back-end database and image storage. READ MORE>>.

Hermosa Beach 100

Hermosa Beach Social Network Venice Mobile 100

L.A. Business Journal

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

parent company and developer of messaging app Snapchat, has confidentially filed for an initial public offering of its stock with the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to multiple press reports. It was also reported last month that startup is seeking to raise up to $4 billion from its offering.

Journal 100

Journal Snapchat Venice Press 100

socalTECH

DECEMBER 5, 2012

Venice-based StackSocial , which develops an e-commerce platform for publishers, said today that it has partnered with technology publication Digital Trends. StackSocial said that the deal will offer up new products via a new "Digital Trends Deals" section, which will offer up new apps and products to users.

Technical Review 183

Technical Review Venice Commerce Software Review 183

socalTECH

APRIL 17, 2013

Venice Beach-based Bitium , a new startup out of LA''s Amplify accelerator, announced this morning that it has raised $2.4M Bitium said it is developing a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) operating system, offering up everything from authentication and authorization of cloud-based software to features like consolidated messaging for apps.

SaaS 208

SaaS Seed Funding Venice Venture Capital 208

socalTECH

DECEMBER 26, 2018

Editor's note: All this week, and into the start of next year, we'll be featuring reflections on 2018 from notable investors, entrepreneurs, and others from Southern California's technology community. Andy is a leader in the Southern Californian innovation ecosystem and has started, led or invested in more than two dozen tech start-ups.

Southern California 113

Southern California SoCal Pasadena Riverside 113

socalTECH

APRIL 6, 2016

Los Angeles- and Sydney, Australia-based Clapit , a startup developing a social media crowdsourcing app, said it has raised AU$2.57M ($1.94M US), to bring its mobile app to market. The startup was founded by Paul J. The seed funding came from Australia angels Mark Moran and Paul Siderovski. READ MORE>>.

Social Media 100

Social Media Seed Funding Venice Social Network 100

Both Sides of the Table

APRIL 18, 2019

The company started the year with no revenue and at it’s peak had a run rate well in excessive of $100 million / year. They are no longer remarkable in Santa Monica or Venice or in many cities in America, Europe or South America. They were new, they were strange, they were ridden mostly by young people?—?they they were highly visible.

Santa Monica 250

Santa Monica Venice Competition Software Review 250

socalTECH

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

We caught up with Rachel recently to hear more about the company. Part of the difference is we use video recommendations as a starting point, not and end point. They''re both data scientists, and have done lots of work developing complex algorithms to target what videos would improve the user experience, and add value at the moment.

Google 233

Google Content Startup Venice 233

socalTECH

JUNE 24, 2013

Venice-based starutp Flkidate , a developer of mobile dating applications, said today that it has debuted a new set of features. The startup is headed by Nick Bicanic, and says it is being advised by Don Dodge (Google), Ryan Holmes (Hootsuite), and Vinny Lingham (Gyft). The app runs on both iOS and Android. READ MORE>>.

Mobile 153

Mobile Venice Google Startup 153

socalTECH

JANUARY 29, 2015

Los Angeles-based Takehollywood , a new startup offering up online short form videos around different topics about acting, said Wednesday that it has linked with Venice-based Mobli , the developer of a social sharing app. The two said the move will help offer up Takehollywood''s content library to Mobli''s users.

Coach 100

Coach Venice Hollywood Los Angeles 100