TechCrunch LA

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Women have made great inroads into the tech world in recent years, but there remains a long way to go before we reach a truly equitable state of affairs in workforce numbers, remuneration and product development. An edtech startup called Entity Academy — which provides women with training, in areas like data science and software development; mentoring; and ultimately job coaching — has raised $100 million on the heels of strong growth of its business, and an ambition to improve that

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Mentor Training Startup Course 297

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Westwood-based startup CarbonBuilt Inc. has raised $10 million to further develop and market its technology that reduces carbon dioxide emissions by injecting the gas into concrete.

Funding 254

Funding Marketing Startup Technology 254

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Los Angeles-based Jurny, a developer of software used by independent hotels and vacation and short-term rental property operators for property and guest management, has raised $9.5M in a funding round. The funding was led by Mucker Capital. According to the company, the funding will go towards global expansion of its product, Jurny Virtual. The company's software provides both front- and back-office automation for hospitality providers, and Jurny also provides service like 24/7 inquiry support a

Software Review 196

Software Review Screening Los Angeles Software 196

Berkonomics

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Reward failure? . That may be a difficult concept for an executive. And there are limits of course. We wouldn’t reward a failure to follow laws, or protect lives, or deliberate endangerment of the company or its people. There are “good” failures. But should we reward a research team that fails for the fourth time to find the solution to a nagging problem – on the way to a new product?

Course 156

Course Research Venture Capital Resource 156

Advertiser: Aggregage

Office leases are one of companies’ largest expenses, and if your whole team is working from home with no clear end in sight, you may be wondering what to do about your lease.

Company

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 8, 2021

All of us have been on the receiving end of a difficult conversation at work, and many have had to deliver a hard message to others. Unless you are totally inhuman, none of these are painless, and we all wish we had some way to make them more meaningful and more effective. We all want to feel good about our work and relationships, and we want others to feel that same way.

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Product Startup Help Entrepreneur 146

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Jurny Inc. raised $9.5 million in capital to fund its global expansion.

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Capital Funding 246

Southern California Edison Blog

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Good first impressions are essential for attracting new businesses to your property. Now more than ever, building owners are losing out on potential tenants even before they visit. With the ability to browse pictures and information on a property’s website, companies may not sign up for a showing if they feel the building lacks the right amenities. And coming out of the pandemic, they are rethinking their office spaces and evaluating what features will best promote employee happiness and product

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Southern California Sites Class Networking 96

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 2, 2021

One of the most important skills for every entrepreneur is timely and effective decision making. In a startup, any decision is better than no decision. One of the primary roles of every founder is to solve problems, make a decision, and manage the decision to results. The best entrepreneurs relish this role, while others struggle mightily and ultimately lose their health and their company.

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Startup Entrepreneur Ideas Coach 140

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Software company to develop new tool allowing companies to upsell during customer service interactions.

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Custom Customer Services Tool 182

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2021

Beverly Hills-based APX Platform, a developer of cloud-based software for the aesthetic industry, says it has raised what it calls an "oversubscribed seed round" for its company. Size of the seed funding was not announced. According to the company, it is developing a "disruptive alternative to the traditional option of a practice management consultant" for the aesthetic practice industry.

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Seed Funding Platform Beverly Hills Funding 113

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 4, 2021

In 2014, Igor Vaks knew the creator economy was going to boom — and he wanted to be a part of it.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2021

San Diego-based Qualcomm said today that it has named a new General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. The company said that it has appointed Ann Chaplin to the position, replacing longtime General Counsel Don Rosenberg, who is retiring from the company after 14 years. Chaplin was most recently corporate secretary and deputy general counsel for General Motors (GM), an also previously served at Fish & Richardson.

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socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2021

San Diego-based Opy USA and its parent company, Openpay Group Ltd., announced this week that the two have raised $271.4M in a debt funding round, which came from Goldman Sachs and Atalaya Capital Management. The two, who provide "buy now pay later" financial products, said the funding will help it with expansion in the the U.S. payments market. Terms of that debt were not announced.

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Funding San Diego Education Capital 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 8, 2021

Billionaire Elon Musk says that one of his tech companies--Tesla, will be moving its headquarters out of California, and to Austin, Texas, making good Musk's threat to pull out of Silicon Valley. Musk previously made threats to pull his companies out of California, citing pandemic restrictions. Musk also runs Hawthorne-based SpaceX, in the Los Angeles area.

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SpaceX Hawthorne Los Angeles Angel 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Santa Barbara-based performance marketing firm Mobile Focused Media says it has renamed itself Intelsio, and has added a new Chief Revenue Officer. The company said that Jesse Beal has been named Chief Revenue Officer, joining the company from Progrexion Marketing, where he was General Manager/SVP. Intelsio is led by CEO Matt Frank. The company says it serves company across the home services, consumer products (CPG), financial services, e-commerce and other industries.

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Mobile Media Santa Barbara Commerce 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Irvine-based analytics software developer Alteryx announced this morning that it has acquired Hyper Anna, a developer of a cloud-based platform for generating artificial intelligence (AI)-driven automated insights from data. Financial details of the acquisition were not announced. Hyper Anna was based in Sydney, Australia. According to Alteryx, the deal will allow it to allow it to automate its analytic pipeline.

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Artificial Inteligence Software Development Acquisition Platform 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Los Angeles-based artificial intelligence and robotics startup GrayMatter Robotics said today that the company has received a $1M award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), via a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant. The company said the funding comes on top of the $4.1M in a seed funding round the company announced last week. The company said the award goes towards the development of Smart Robotic Cells for Surface Finishing & Treatment Applications on manufacturing lines.

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Artificial Inteligence Seed Funding Research Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2021

Los Angeles-based CarbonBuilt, a startup developing "low-carbon" concrete technology, said yesterday that it raised $10M in its Series A funding round. The funding was led by Grantham Environmental Trust's Neglected Climate Opportunities, with participation from Tony Pritzker, Lime Street Ventures, Climate Capital, YouWeb IV: Impact, Foundamental and others.

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Los Angeles Platform Funding Capital 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 7, 2021

San Diego-based Gretel.ai, a startup which is developing privacy technology, has raised $50M in a Series B funding, the company said today. The funding was led by Anthos Capital, and also included Section 32, Greylock, and Moonshots Capital. According to the company, it has now raised $65.5M. Gretel.ai is led by CEO Ali Golshan. Gretel.ai's privacy technology helps generate synthetic data, which preserves privacy, but can help provide data sets for training machine learning and AI models.

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Artificial Inteligence San Diego Training Capital 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Los Angeles-based online ordering technology developer ChowNow says it has launched a new product, called the Order Better Network. According to the company, the new product helps connect restaurants to over a dozen channels for delivery and takeout. The brands include Google, Snapchat, OpenTable, Tripadvisor, Yelp, plus a number of airline and hotel rewards programs.

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Product Snapchat Google Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Ontario, California-based Maury Microwave, a developer of RF calibration, measurement, and modeling products, says it has acquired dbmCorp, a developer of designer and manufacturer of wireless link emulation equipment used for research & development, qualification and production verification testing in the satellite and wireless communication industries.

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Capital Equity Research Design 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Carlsbad-based mionx, a developer of lithium-ion battery technology, says it has received a Series B financing round. Size of the investment was not announced. The funding came from existing investor Qualcomm Ventures LLC, as well as Hongkou Management and Inherent Group, along with other investors. The company said the funding will go to accelerate transfer of its technology to lithium-ion battery manufacturers.

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Technology Funding Invest Help 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Los Angeles-based Dalan Animal Health, which is developing vaccinations for one of the major diseases that impacts honeybees, American Foulbrood, has raised $1.9M in a seed funding round. Source of the seed funding was not announced. The company, led by CEO Annette Kleiser, says it has recently completed safety and efficacy testing on its first product and will submit a license application for the conditional approval of the vaccine this fall.

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Seed Funding Los Angeles Tool Funding 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Mojave-based space launch provider StratoLaunch has added a former defense official to its Technical Advisory Group, the company said on Monday. According to Stratolaunch, it has added Dr. Mark Lewis, most recently the Acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering for the U.S. Department of Defense, to the group. The company said that he was responsible for research, development, and prototyping activities, and was the senior-most scientific professional in the Pentagon,

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Research Activity Develop Development 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Los Angeles-based wellness app developer Blue Fever, a startup which is backed by Amazon's Alexa Fund, said on Tuesday that it has acquired Trill Project, a developer of a social network built focused on self-care for teens. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. According to Blue Fever, the acquisition will help it fuel its growth. The company says its customers primarily consist of young women.

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Social Network Acquisition Los Angeles Networking 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Los Angeles-based electric vehicle battery maker Romeo Power says its is expanding its operations in Southern California, and has signed a lease for a new, 215,000 square foot facility in Cypress. According to the company, the new location is both its headquarters and will serve as a manufacturing facility. The company said the new faclity will supports its expansion of battery development and testing capabilities.

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Southern California Los Angeles Angel Develop 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Los Angeles-based Honey says it is extending its service, and adding new, cash back options through PayPal. The service--which helps users find coupons and rewards for e-commerce purchases--says that people using its browser extension for shopping can now earn cash back through its desktop browser extension, mobile app and new iOS Safari for mobile extension.

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Southern California Commerce Mobile Los Angeles 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 5, 2021

Los Angeles-based Orca Security, a cloud-based security provider, has raised a big, $550M Series C funding round, with a valuation of $1.8 billion, the company said this morning. The company--led by CEO Avi Shua--said the new funding was led by Temasek. Orca Security said the funding round also included CapitalG (Alphabet's independent growth fund), Redpoint Ventures, GGV, ICONIQ Capital, Lone Pine Capital, Stripes, Adams Street Partners, Willoughby Capital, and Harmony Partners.

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Redpoint Los Angeles Capital Funding 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2021

El Segundo-based Stamps.com, which provides e-commerce shipping and online postage services, said last week that its stockholders approved a merger with private equity investor Thoma Bravo. The deal calls for Stamps.com stockholders to receive $330.00 per shar in cash for each share of Stamps.com common stock they own. The company said the acquisition is expected to close this week.

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El Segundo Acquisition Equity Commerce 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Culver City-based PacketFabric, a provider of optical network services for the enterprise market, said this morning that it has acquired RSTOR, a Saratoga, California-based cloud-based storage and data mobility products. Financial terms of the acquisition were not announced. PacketFabric is led by CEO Dave Ward. PacketFabric's network services are used to connect colocation facilities, cloud providers, and enterprises.

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Culver City Networking Acquisition Mobile 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2021

San Diego-based Qualcomm and New York investor SSW Partners said this morning that they are acquiring Veoneer, a developer of advanced driving systems that is based in Stockholm. The two said they will pay $37.00 per share in cash for Veoneer, giving the transaction a total equity value of $4.5 billion. According to the companies, the deal comes as a result of Veoneer terminating a prior acquisition agreement with Magna International.

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San Diego Equity Acquisition Capital 113

socalTECH

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Irvine-based electric vehicle maker Rivian is planning to raise up to $100M in an IPO, according to the company's S-1 filing. Rivian said on Friday that it has applied to list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as RIVN. Rivian's IPO is being underwritten by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan, Barclays, Deutsche Bank Securities, Allen & Company LLC, BofA Securities, Mizuho Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, Nomura, Piper Sandler, RBC Capital Markets, Baird, Wedbush Securities,

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Pricing Capital Marketing Invest 113

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 6, 2021

Most of you business leaders focus first on providing guidance to your team, but neglect self-leadership as an equally important dimension. In my experience, many entrepreneurs rely too much on the perspective of a trusted advisor, or try to emulate a competitor who is getting attention. Personal leadership is setting your own direction and making real decisions first.

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Entrepreneur Course Satisfaction SpaceX 132

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 3, 2021

The biggest challenge for every entrepreneur and every startup today is to get noticed and remembered in today’s information overload. The number of entrepreneurs worldwide is huge, starting an estimated 50 million new businesses per year, or 137,000 per day. Every one of these probably has a unique story, but in my years as a startup advisor I only remember hearing a few who capitalized on their story.

Startup 125

Startup Technical Review Entrepreneur Customer 125

L.A. Business Journal

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Los Angeles aerospace companies won big in the latest round of Space Force contracts.

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SpaceX Los Angeles Angel Company 130

Startup Professionals Musings

OCTOBER 4, 2021

Does your business have a visible positive strategy, or do your customers and employees still see your primary focus as closing more sales and killing competitors? Certainly that has been the strategy of many companies, and has worked in the past, but today’s customers and workers are looking for more. They want relationships, positive experiences, and a win-win for society.

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Competition Sales Custom Customer 110