AI startups in Los Angeles

Michael Blend & Chuck Ursini

Responsive-acquisition-marketing (RAM) adtech platform matching consumer intent to advertisers across owned properties and its network. Went public via SPAC in 2022 (NYSE: SST). Operates search/monetization ...

Ophir Tanz (founder)

Founded 2008, a contextual-first adtech company using computer vision and AI to place ads based on page context rather than personal data — well-positioned for a cookieless world. Raised a $75M Goldman Sachs...

Aydogan Ozcan, Yair Rivenson (UCLA founders)

UCLA Samueli spinout applying deep learning to 'virtual staining' of tissue biopsies — digitally rendering H&E and special stains without chemicals, speeding and preserving pathology samples. Raised a $30M S...

Mike de Vere (CEO)

Founded 2009 (as ZestFinance), Zest AI sells AI-driven credit-underwriting software that helps banks and credit unions build fairer, more transparent lending models; customers include Freddie Mac, Discover a...

George Strompolos, Dave Clark & Jamie Byrne

Generative-AI entertainment studio (founded 2024) building films, series and new formats with its in-house 'Muse' tool that blends AI models with traditional VFX pipelines. Backed by Peter Chernin's North Ro...

Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Brian Schimpf, Matt Grimm & Joe Chen"

"Founded 2017, defense-tech company whose Lattice OS is an AI software platform that fuses sensor data for autonomous real-time situational awareness. Revenue hit ~$1B in 2024; valuation climbed to $30.5B (2...

Stuart McClure & Ryan Permeh"

"Founded 2012, pioneer of AI/machine-learning endpoint protection that identifies threats without signatures. Acquired by BlackBerry for $1.4B in 2019 (later sold to Arctic Wolf in 2025). HISTORICAL/ACQUIRED...

Ishan Gupta & David Paffenholz"

"Founded 2022 (YC S22), AI recruiting platform behind PeopleGPT — natural-language search across 800M+ profiles from 30+ sources, plus ranking and automated outreach agents. Raised $30M Series A (2025) led b...

Alex Israel, Travis Kell, Peter Fisher & Courtney Fukuda"

"Founded 2017, computer-vision 'checkout-free' platform that recognizes a vehicle 'fingerprint' so drivers park and pay automatically; largest parking network in the US (4,200+ locations, $5B+ annual transac...

Ryan Sinnet & David Zito"

"Founded 2016, AI + robotics for commercial kitchens; its 'Flippy' system uses computer vision and machine learning to automate frying and grilling. Deployed with White Castle, Jack in the Box and others; am...

Dave Cole & Mark Curphey"

"Founded 2019, cloud-native data-security-posture-management platform (multi-cloud data discovery, classification and DLP), backed by KPCB. Acquired by Formstack in 2024 and folded into the AI-native no-code...

Aber Whitcomb & Jim Benedetto"

"Founded 2023 by MySpace co-founders, contextual/agentic AI platform — a visual development environment for building enterprise AI workflows, now focused on regulated life-sciences and healthcare (drug disco...

Ian Siegel, Ward Poulos, Joe Edmonds & Will Redd"

"Founded 2010, online employment marketplace whose 'Phil' AI matching engine pairs job seekers and employers. Went public on NYSE (ZIP) in 2021; one of Silicon Beach's largest public tech employers and an ea...

Santa Monica-headquartered software engineering intelligence / developer-productivity platform (with Israeli R&D roots) giving engineering orgs metrics, workflow automation and AI-assisted delivery insights....

LA-based AI parking and mobility-commerce platform co-founded and led by Alex Israel; its computer-vision 'drive-in, drive-out' checkout runs across large parking networks. Took SP+ private (~$1.5B, 2024), a...