Christopher Anzalone (CEO)

Publicly traded (NASDAQ: ARWR) RNAi therapeutics company developing TRiM-platform siRNA drugs that silence disease-causing genes across cardiometabolic, pulmonary and rare diseases. In 2024 it signed a licen...

Jason Wilk

Founded 2016 (Wilk's fourth venture, funded by his $85M AllScreen sale), Dave is a neobank/cash-advance app built to kill overdraft fees, now serving 10M+ users. Went public on Nasdaq (ticker DAVE) in Januar...

Thomas 'Temperrr' Oliveira, Richard 'Banks' Bengston & others

Founded 2010 as a CoD trickshot collective, FaZe grew into a leading esports/creator brand and went public via SPAC (NASDAQ: FAZE) in 2022 at a ~$725M valuation. After the stock collapsed, GameSquare acquire...

Doug Hirsch, Trevor Bezdek, Scott Marlette (Co-founders)

Public (NASDAQ: GDRX) digital-health platform founded 2011 offering prescription-price transparency and discount coupons used by tens of millions of Americans. IPO'd 2020; expanded 2023–2025 into pharma manu...

Ryan Hudson & George Ruan

Founded 2012 in LA, Honey built a browser extension that auto-applies coupons and rewards at checkout. Acquired by PayPal in 2020 for ~$4B — one of the largest LA tech exits ever. Early backers included Sant...

Patrick Soon-Shiong (Founder/Exec Chairman)

Public (NASDAQ: IBRX) immunotherapy company founded 2014 by billionaire physician-scientist Patrick Soon-Shiong. Won FDA approval of ANKTIVA (N-803) for BCG-unresponsive bladder cancer in 2024 — a milestone ...

Tony Koblinski (CEO)

Huntington Beach-HQ'd fabricator of mission-critical space & defense systems (payload fairings, propulsion, missile/hypersonic and UAS structures). IPO'd on NYSE (ticker KRMN) Feb 2025 at a ~$4B valuation, r...

Alan Auerbach (Founder/CEO)

Public (NASDAQ: PBYI) commercial-stage oncology biopharma headquartered on the Wilshire Corridor. Markets NERLYNX (neratinib) for HER2-positive breast cancer and is advancing alisertib (aurora kinase inhibit...

Brandon Beck & Marc Merrill

Founded 2006, Riot is the global HQ (League of Legends, VALORANT, TFT, Wild Rift) and anchors LA as a games hub. In 2024 it bought its five-building West LA campus (~288,000 sq ft) from Hudson Pacific for $1...

Peter Beck

HQ'd in Long Beach; NASDAQ:RKLB. Operates the small-lift Electron (69+ launches by mid-2025) and is bringing the reusable medium-lift Neutron to first flight, with Launch Complex 3 completed in 2025. Bought ...

Evan Spiegel & Bobby Murphy

Founded 2011, the camera/AR company behind Snapchat and Spectacles; anchor of LA's Silicon Beach. Public since 2017 (NYSE: SNAP). Continues to push AR Lens developer tools and Spectacles AR glasses (5th gen ...

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 ...

Bassil Dahiyat (Co-founder/CEO)

Public (NASDAQ: XNCR) antibody- and cytokine-engineering biotech built on the proprietary XmAb bispecific platform, spun from Caltech-linked protein-design science. Pipeline spans oncology and autoimmune (e....

Joe Cloyes & Greg Gonzalez

Founded 2015 by cousins, Youth to the People makes superfood-powered vegan clinical skincare (the Superfood Cleanser is a cult hit). Acquired by L'Oréal in 2021, a marquee LA clean-beauty exit.

Danny Harris & Marco DeGeorge

Founded 2007 (parent Color Image Apparel), Alo Yoga grew from yoga apparel into a global lifestyle and wellness brand, crossing $1B in sales in 2022 (nearly tripling YoY). A 2023 founder stake sale valued it...

Ian Cinnamon & Maximilian Benassi

LA-HQ'd productized satellite-bus maker; first Aries spacecraft (SN1) has been on orbit 1+ year and won a $46M Space Force contract. Raised a $200M Series C (Apr 2025, Point72/8VC) and a $200M Series D (Sep ...

Jeb Terry (CEO)

Immersive 'Shared Reality' entertainment company building dome venues plus the underlying LED/camera tech for live sports, music and art. Opened its first LA venue at Hollywood Park in 2024. Raised $250M+ in...

Jonathan Strauss & Alexandre Williams

Founded 2015, a music-tech company spanning distribution, rights management, publishing and creator monetization. Raised $165M at a $1B valuation (Flexpoint Ford, 2024), then a $450M equity+debt round at a $...

Kevin Czinger

Founded 2014, Torrance (plus Long Beach); its DAPS end-to-end digital manufacturing platform designs, 3D-prints and auto-assembles complex structures without fixed tooling. Expanded into defense (Lockheed, R...

Akash Nigam & Evan Rosenbaum

Founded 2017, Genies builds AI-powered 'Smart Avatars' plus SDKs/dev tools for games, apps and virtual experiences, and made its name creating celebrity avatars (Rihanna, Justin Bieber). Its 2021 Series C ra...

Andy Puddicombe, Richard Pierson (Co-founders)

Consumer mental-health unicorn built on guided meditation and mindfulness. Merged 2021 with Ginger to form Headspace Health, a ~$3B behavioral-health company adding on-demand coaching, therapy and psychiatry...

Karan Kunjur & Neel Kunjur

Ex-SpaceX team building high-power, low-cost 'mega' satellite buses (Mega-class) for MEO/GEO. Opened a 180,000 sq ft Torrance factory and flew its first in-space demo in Feb 2025. Raised a $110M Series B (Fe...

Mike Cessario

Founded 2017, Liquid Death is a canned water and beverage brand famous for heavy-metal branding ("Murder Your Thirst"). Sales hit $303M in 2024; a 2024 round pegged its valuation at $1.4B. Note: a Dec 2024 s...

John Linden & Rudy Koch

Founded 2018 by ex-Activision executives, Mythical builds Web3/blockchain games and the Mythical Platform. Its 2022 Series C hit ~$150M at a $1.25B valuation (a16z, NFL's 32 Equity, Michael Jordan among back...

Tim Ellis (fdr), Eric Schmidt (CEO/Chair)

Founded 2015; 3D-prints rockets via its Stargate printers in a 1M+ sq ft Long Beach factory. Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt took a controlling stake and became CEO/Chairman in March 2025, refocusing on the fully...

Walter Driver & Javier Ferreira

Founded 2011, Scopely is the world's #2 (and US #1) mobile games maker by revenue, behind Monopoly Go!, Marvel Strike Force, Star Trek Fleet Command and Stumble Guys. Saudi Arabia's Savvy Games Group (PIF) a...

Kim Kardashian, Jens Grede & Emma Grede

Founded 2019, SKIMS is a shapewear-turned-apparel powerhouse that reached ~$1B in annual net sales six years after launch. In November 2025 it raised $225M led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, hitting a $5B va...

Mark Groden

Hawthorne-HQ'd flight-automation startup; its aircraft-agnostic SkyOS automates takeoff, hover, engine-out landing and more (Skyryse One). Flew SkyOS on a Black Hawk after 91 days of integration and secured ...

Elon Musk

Founded 2002; the anchor of LA's space ecosystem and the alma mater of nearly every 'Gundo' founder. Its 1M+ sq ft Hawthorne plant still builds every Falcon 9/Heavy and Dragon. NOTE/HQ-FLAG: corporate HQ off...

Aaron DeBevoise

Founded 2019, provides upfront capital, analytics and AI tools to YouTube creators in exchange for licensing back-catalog rights. Hit a $1.7B valuation (SoftBank-led, 2022) and has deployed ~$980M+ to creato...

Arad Levertov, Tal Riesenfeld & Ornit Dweck-Maizel

Founded 2016, Sunbit is a point-of-sale BNPL/financing platform focused on non-discretionary spend (auto service, dental, optical, veterinary), with ~90% approval in 30 seconds. Hit unicorn status with a $13...

Adam Goldenberg & Don Ressler

Founded 2010, TechStyle runs membership-driven D2C fashion brands including Fabletics (co-founded with Kate Hudson), Savage X Fenty (with Rihanna), JustFab, ShoeDazzle and FabKids. Fabletics has explored an ...

Matthew 'Nadeshot' Haag

Founded 2017 by former OpTic CoD captain Nadeshot, 100 Thieves is an LA esports org and lifestyle brand, backed early by Dan Gilbert and later Drake/Scooter Braun. Fields franchised teams in VALORANT (VCT), ...

Bryon Hargis & team (ex-SpaceX)

Founded late 2022 by ex-SpaceX engineers; mass-manufactures low-cost hypersonic weapons (the Blackbeard missile) using SpaceX-style vertical integration. Ran 20+ development flight tests in 2025. Closed a $3...

Jack Etienne & Paullie Etienne

Founded 2013 as a League of Legends team, Cloud9 is a Santa Monica-HQ'd esports org competing across LoL, VALORANT, CS2 and more, backed by investors including Valor Equity Partners. It has raised multiple v...

Nathan Mintz & Bo Marr (co-fdrs)

Founded 2018, Torrance; makes the Leonidas solid-state high-power microwave (HPM) directed-energy system for counter-drone/counter-swarm defense. Closed an oversubscribed $250M Series D in March 2025 (~$550M...

Chris Power

Founded 2020; builds AI-powered, tooling-free automated factories ('Factories-as-a-Service') for precision aerospace and defense parts. Raised a $260M Series C in July 2025 (Founders Fund/Lux, Morgan Stanley...

Tom Mueller

Founded 2021 by SpaceX employee #1 and Merlin engine architect Tom Mueller; 60,000 sq ft Redondo Beach HQ. Builds in-space transfer vehicles: the Mira OTV (flew Nov 2023 and Jan 2025) and the high-energy Hel...

Chris DeWolfe, Aber Whitcomb, Colin Digiaro & Josh Yguado

Founded 2010 (formerly SGN) by Myspace co-founder Chris DeWolfe, Jam City is a mobile developer/publisher behind Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery, Cookie Jam and Disney franchise titles. It acquired Ludia for ...

David Marcus & Christina Smedley

Founded 2022 by ex-PayPal president / Meta-Diem lead David Marcus, Lightspark builds enterprise payments infrastructure on Bitcoin's Lightning Network (and its UMA/Grid stablecoin rails). Raised ~$175M co-le...

Doug Bernauer

Founded 2020, El Segundo (founder is ex-SpaceX); building the Kaleidos 1 MW portable/failsafe nuclear microreactor for remote and defense sites. Signed a USAF base supply agreement; first reactor (KDU) targe...

Wayne Slavin & Jarod Kolman

Founded 2015, Sure is an embedded-insurance infrastructure/API platform letting large brands (Toyota, Farmers, Mastercard) launch and manage insurance products fast. Raised a $100M Series C (2021, led by Dec...

Shivani Siroya

Founded 2014, Tala is a mobile microlender for the underbanked in emerging markets, using smartphone data to underwrite $10–$500 loans; core markets are the Philippines, Mexico and Kenya, expanding into Indi...

Andy 'Reginald' Dinh

Founded 2009, TSM is a storied North American esports org headquartered in a 25,000 sq ft, ~$13M+ Playa Vista performance center (billed as one of the largest esports facilities in NA). Forbes valued it at ~...

Will Bruey & Delian Asparouhov

Founded 2021; pioneers in-space (microgravity) pharmaceutical manufacturing, returning drug-crystallization capsules to Earth. Opened a 10,000 sq ft El Segundo pharma lab; completed multiple W-series launch-...

Jed McCaleb

Founded 2021, Long Beach; building commercial space stations. Its Haven-1 (targeting the world's first commercial station, launch ~2027) entered integration in 2025, and the Haven Demo flew and operated its ...

Andrew Chen & Jonathan Lai (partners)

a16z's games/tech accelerator, Speedrun, is headquartered in Los Angeles and runs 12-week cohorts investing in games and interactive-tech startups (part of a16z's $1.2B+ committed to gaming across two funds)...

Yinon Ravid & Andrzej Baraniak

Founded 2015, Albert is an all-in-one consumer money app (budgeting, automated saving, spending, investing and human financial 'Genius' advice). Raised a $100M Series C led by General Atlantic with CapitalG ...

Lili Yang, Gay Crooks, David Baltimore (UCLA/Caltech founders)

UCLA spinout (founded 2020) developing 'off-the-shelf' allogeneic CAR-iNKT and stem-cell-derived cell therapies via its ACUA and EngIL platforms. Raised a $52M Series A (Two River/8VC) and partnered with Kit...

Tom Brady, Richard Rosenblatt & Dillon Rosenblatt (CEO)

Founded 2021 by Tom Brady with the Rosenblatts, Autograph is a digital-collectibles / fan-engagement platform partnering with sports, entertainment and culture icons. Raised a $170M Series B (Jan 2022) co-le...

founding team (YC-backed)

Y Combinator-backed digital-health startup (founded 2021) offering EHR-integrated workforce software for in-home care — AI scheduling, route optimization and automated patient engagement for home-health agen...

John Haller & Peter Sinclair

Founded 2020, a music-financing fintech giving independent artists non-recourse advances repaid from a share of streaming/airplay revenue while retaining ownership. Raised $124M+ (backers include Citi), with...

Gregg Renfrew

Founded 2013, Beautycounter is a clean-beauty pioneer that campaigned for cosmetics safety regulation. Acquired by The Carlyle Group at a ~$1B valuation in 2021; after a 2024 write-down, founder Gregg Renfre...

Erik Allen Ford & Sasha Koehn

Founded 2013 in Venice, Buck Mason is an American-made men's and women's essentials brand blending D2C with a growing retail footprint (33+ stores). Opened its first store on Abbot Kinney in 2015 and has sca...

Lauren Makler, Arielle Spiegel, Halle Tecco (Co-founders)

Femtech fertility platform whose 'Split' program lets women freeze their eggs for free by donating half to families facing infertility, upending the ~$15k self-pay egg-freezing model. Raised a $7.25M Series ...

Jonathan Adams (CEO)

Neuro-implant medtech (successor to Second Sight, spun out of Vivani in 2023) developing the Orion cortical visual prosthesis to restore functional vision to the profoundly blind. Builds on the FDA-authorize...

Igor Vaks

Enterprise influencer-marketing 'operating system' unifying creator discovery, campaign management, payments and measurement with AI-powered analytics and fraud detection. Customers include Disney, Unilever ...

Nathan Mintz, Mark Trefgarne, Porter Smith & Lee Thompson

Founded 2024, El Segundo (2nd company from Epirus co-founder Nathan Mintz); electronic-warfare / spectrum-dominance startup building autonomous EW drones and SIGINT payloads (Vadris FPV payload, Wraith recon...

Michael Dubin

Founded 2011, the razor-subscription pioneer whose viral launch video defined the D2C playbook. Acquired by Unilever for ~$1B in 2016; sold again to Nexus Capital Management in 2023. A landmark LA D2C exit a...

Richard Saghian

Founded 2006, Fashion Nova is a fast-fashion D2C juggernaut built on influencer marketing and rapid drops, reportedly among the most-Googled fashion brands. Largely bootstrapped and highly profitable; in 202...

Walker Williams & Will Taylor

All-in-one creator-commerce platform for shops, memberships and fan engagement, targeting the $300B+ social-commerce opportunity. Raised $17M (Lightspeed, Initialized, Seven Seven Six) and appointed YouTuber...

Erik Palmer & T.J. Ronacher

LA-based, founded by ex-SpaceX engineers; AI-native autonomous metal 3D printing. Its GoldenEye (18-laser) system is evolving into the hundreds-of-lasers Skyfall platform (on-site H200 GPU clusters for real-...

Doug Hekking (co-founders)

Founded 2020, Front of the Pack is a D2C dog-wellness brand selling powdered supplements (health, calm, mobility) and freeze-dried raw treats. Closed a $10M Series A, bringing total funding to ~$13.5M — a no...

Kevin Chou & Kent Wakeford

Founded 2017, Gen.G is a global esports org that opened a ~13,000 sq ft LA HQ in 2019 alongside a $46M raise backed by Will Smith, NEA, Battery Ventures and others. Operates championship teams (notably in Lo...

Melanie Masarin

Founded 2020, Ghia is a non-alcoholic, botanical aperitif brand riding the sober-curious wave. Raised ~$6.5M, valued ~$50M (2024), with retail sales up 132% in 2024 to $7M+. Strategic backer Pernod Ricard to...

Emma Grede & Khloé Kardashian

Founded 2016, Good American is an inclusive denim and apparel brand (sizes 00–24) that made ~$1M on launch day — the biggest denim debut in apparel history at the time. Led by CEO Emma Grede, who is also a S...

Peter Levin, Nick Tuosto & Phil Sanderson

Founded 2019 in the Santa Monica area, Griffin is one of the world's largest venture funds focused exclusively on gaming, with ~$1.5B under management. Its debut fund closed at $235M (2019) and Fund II at $7...

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...

Nick Desai, Dr. Renee Dua (Co-founders)

Digital-health company (founded 2014) that pioneered on-demand doctor house calls plus telemedicine, later focused on value-based in-home primary care for Medicare/Medicare Advantage seniors. Backed by Human...

Betsie Larkin

Founded 2018 after a $300K Kickstarter, Honeylove is a D2C sculptwear/shapewear brand that expanded into tops, bras and apparel. Raised ~$13.2M total (incl. a $13M Series A) from Y Combinator and Lightspeed;...

Ari Segal (CEO)

Founded 2015, Immortals Gaming Club is an LA-based esports company (HQ on S. Sepulveda) that owns the Immortals and MIBR brands; it previously operated the Los Angeles Valiant (Overwatch League) before the l...

Luca Zambello & David Phillips

Founded 2017, Jurny is an AI-native hospitality operating system (jOS, powered by its NIA agents) that automates up to ~90% of back-office ops for short-term-rental operators and boutique hotels. ~$16M raise...

Eric Wei & Will Kim

Founded 2019, Karat is the financial operating system for content creators — a business bank account, high-limit 'Black Card', and credit lines underwritten on audience/social metrics for YouTube/TikTok/Inst...

Bryan Johnson (Founder)

Neurotech company founded 2016 by Bryan Johnson (Braintree/Venmo) building non-invasive brain-activity measurement helmets (Flow/Flux, TD-fNIRS). Raised ~$158M total incl. a $53M round; pivoted 2023–2025 to ...

Sheena Yaitanes

Founded 2015, Kosas is a clean, skincare-infused makeup brand (Revealer concealer, Wet Lip Oil) that became a Sephora and Ulta bestseller. A leading LA-born 'clean-plus-performance' cosmetics brand.

Alec Ellin

Direct-to-fan CRM and 'drop' platform for artists, athletes, podcasters and creators to own audience relationships (SMS/email) outside social algorithms. Raised ~$8M+ (Eldridge-led). Started in music and exp...

Reichen Kuhl, Derek Merrill & Ed Wolff

Founded 2013, LeaseLock is an AI insurtech that replaces apartment security deposits with a small monthly lease-insurance fee, integrated into property-management software (up to $5,000 coverage for landlord...

Katherine Power

Founded 2021 by serial founder Katherine Power (Who What Wear, Versed), MERIT is a minimalist 'less is more' luxury makeup brand with tightly edited essentials. Fast-scaling in Sephora and a standout of the ...

Jonathan Shokrian

Founded 2011, MeUndies is a D2C underwear and basics subscription brand controlling the full lifecycle from design to delivery, known for bold prints and membership model. A long-standing LA D2C staple in th...

Brian Anderson & Jon Roman

Headless / composable commerce platform accelerating ecommerce storefront speed and conversions for DTC brands. Raised a $50M Series B (Tiger Global led) atop an $18M Series A, ~$72M+ total. MarTech/commerce...

Soren Monroe-Anderson & Olaf Hichwa

Founded 2023 by former pro drone racers; American-made FPV strike drones (the Archer / Archer Strike). Selected for the US Army PBAS program plus USMC contracts. Opened a 15,500 sq ft El Segundo facility; sc...

Darshan Shah, Kevin Peake (Co-founders)

Longevity and health-optimization clinic chain (founded 2016) offering biomarker diagnostics, IV therapy, hormone optimization, cryotherapy and preventive membership programs. Pursuing an aggressive franchis...

Andy Miller & Mark Mastrov

Founded 2015 by Sacramento Kings co-owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov, NRG is an LA esports org that won 2025 world championships in VALORANT and Rocket League. In Dec 2025 its competitive assets were acqu...

Randi Christiansen & Nick Axelrod

Founded 2018 by an ex-Estée Lauder exec and Into The Gloss co-founder, Nécessaire is a body-care brand bringing face-grade actives to body wash, lotion and serums ("the Patagonia of beauty"). Backed by CAVU ...

Chris Ackerson

Founded 2018, Occuspace is an occupancy-intelligence proptech: plug-in WiFi/Bluetooth sensors give facility managers real-time space-utilization data for higher-ed, corporate and government real estate. Rais...

John Gentry (CEO)

Independent omnichannel supply-side platform (SSP) powering programmatic advertising across CTV, mobile and web. Founded 2007 and HQ'd in Pasadena; among the largest independent SSPs, consistently profitable...

Patrick Kann & Jason Meltzer

Founded 2016, Papaya is a mobile bill-pay app: users snap a photo of any bill (utilities, medical, parking tickets) and Papaya's 'bill understanding' tech handles payment. Raised a $50M Series B (Dec 2021) l...

Ariel Kaye

Founded 2014 in Venice, Parachute is an internet-first home textiles brand (bedding, bath, décor) that expanded into brick-and-mortar. Raised ~$35.5M including a $30M round; backed by Upfront Ventures and Qu...

Lucy Guo

Creator-monetization platform (founded 2024) for celebrities, athletes and creators to run memberships, paid DMs and direct fan commerce. Raised a $40M Series A (Bond-led) plus a physical creator HQ in Holly...

Cole Mason & Guy Oseary

Founded 2020, a creator-collaboration and influencer-marketing marketplace connecting brands and creators for social campaigns and creator-to-creator collabs. Raised a $16M seed+Series A (Seven Seven Six led...

Daniel Gil, William Lowry, Heather Christofk (UCLA)

UCLA-spinout biotech targeting hair-follicle regeneration by reactivating stem cells via metabolic (lactate/MPC) pathways. Raised a $16.75M Series A led by GV (Google Ventures) in 2024 and reported positive ...

Alex Taylor, Victoria Thain Gioia, Dr. Banafsheh Bayati (Co-founders)

Women's-health / femtech brand (founded 2020) making OB/GYN-formulated, stage-specific prenatal, postnatal and hormonal-cycle supplements. Raised a $6M Series A (Unilever Ventures, 2024) and a $27M growth ro...

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...

Alex Bouaziz & others

Founded 2019, Rain is an employer-integrated earned-wage-access (EWA) and financial-wellness app; it has onboarded 2.5M+ employees and distributed $2B+ in earned wages. Raised a $75M Series B (April 2025) le...

Eli Ben-Joseph, Nate Wilson (Co-founders)

Health-AI company (formerly HealthTensor) whose clinical 'co-pilot' auto-surfaces diagnoses and generates documentation from the EHR for hospital physicians. Raised a $15.3M Series A (2022) and a $61M Series...

Jordan Black & Benjamin Shanahan

Founded 2023 by ex-SpaceX engineers; onshores wire-harness manufacturing (the hand-made cable bundles behind satellites, drones and missiles) via proprietary design software + assembly-as-a-service. Raised a...

Howard Spector (Co-founder/CEO)

Practice-management SaaS for solo and small behavioral-health, therapy and wellness practitioners — scheduling, telehealth, EHR notes, billing and an AI note-taker serving 200k+ clinicians. Grew largely boot...

Peter Akemann (Amy Hennig studio lead)

Formed 2016 after Skydance Media acquired The Workshop Entertainment, this Santa Monica developer/publisher makes VR and immersive titles including the best-selling The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. Houses...

Melanie Stricklan, David Godwin & Thomas Ashman

El Segundo-HQ'd; AI-powered space situational awareness, satellite tracking and space-traffic coordination via a global sensor/telescope network. Holds Space Force contracts (incl. a $25M award). Raised a $4...

Milana Rabkin Lewis

Founded 2015, an artist-first music distribution and payments/splits platform with development services for independents. Raised ~$20M+ over its life and became a leading independent distributor; acquired by...

Marianna Hewitt & Lauren Ireland

Founded 2018 by two influencers, Summer Fridays broke out with its viral Jet Lag Mask and grew into a full skincare line. Landed a growth investment from TSG Consumer Partners, cementing its status as a lead...

Nathan Burba & James Iliff

Founded 2013, Survios is one of the leading independent VR game studios (Raw Data was the first VR game to top Steam's global charts). It has raised ~$70M+ over its life (rounds led by Lux Capital and a stra...

Steve Arhancet & Victor Goossens

One of the world's most-titled esports orgs (competing across LoL, Dota 2, CS2, VALORANT and more), Team Liquid is HQ'd in Santa Monica where it runs the Alienware Training Facility. Controlled since 2016 by...

Michael Mumbauer, Taylor Kurosaki & Jacob Minkoff

Launched July 2021 with a $100M investment from Korea's Smilegate, the independent AAA studio was founded by veterans of Naughty Dog, Sony Santa Monica, Infinity Ward and Bungie building a narrative-driven a...

Jenova Chen & Kellee Santiago

Founded 2006 by USC grads Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, the indie studio is known for Journey and Sky: Children of the Light (160M+ downloads). In 2022 it raised $160M led by TPG and Sequoia to expand its...

Joe Tung, Areeb Pirani & Michael Evans

Founded 2020 by ex-Riot/Bungie/Blizzard/Valve veterans (CEO Joe Tung was EVP of League of Legends), Theorycraft raised ~$87.5M in seed funding (2021–22) led by NetEase, with NEA, BITKRAFT and Griffin. Its de...

Karissa Bodnar

Founded 2014, Thrive Causemetics is a D2C vegan, cruelty-free beauty brand with a 'Bigger Than Beauty' giving model (a portion of every purchase funds women's causes). Best known for its Liquid Lash Extensio...

Robert Davari & Stephen Lord

Live-events commerce and ticketing platform positioned as a Ticketmaster challenger, serving 700+ venues, pro teams and major festivals. Investors include Dragoneer and Sony Innovation Growth Fund. Joined th...

Amy Liu

Founded 2019 (named after a Santa Monica lifeguard tower), Tower 28 is a clean, sensitive-skin beauty brand — the first 100% compliant with the National Eczema Association's guidelines. Its SOS Daily Rescue ...

Ryan Westerdahl

Founded 2020, Irvine (~200 staff); space domain awareness and satellite-servicing via its DROID spacecraft and Starfire OS. DROID.001/.002 (launched Mar 2025) delivered 40,000+ images; holds a $32.6M STRATFI...

Adam Arrigo & Aaron Lemke

Founded 2016, a virtual-concert and immersive live-entertainment platform blending live music, gaming and broadcast tech. Raised $30M+ (Warner Music partnered). Produced 50+ 'Waves' for artists including Jus...

(formed via TV Time / Mediamorph merger)

SaaS platform for the content-entertainment ecosystem, streamlining streaming analytics, royalty reporting and content-distribution ops across SVOD/AVOD/FAST/TVOD. Owns consumer tracking app TV Time and TheT...

Michael Mothner

Independent performance-marketing / martech agency-platform spanning paid media, SEO, data and 'Polaris' analytics tooling. ~$96M revenue and a 2024 Inc. 5000 honoree. One of LA's largest independent digital...

Rich Raddon & Zach James

AI-powered content-classification and brand-suitability adtech used to target and verify ad placements on YouTube, TikTok, Meta and CTV. Partners include Paramount, Universal, Netflix and Fox. A leader in GA...

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...

Alex Tseng & Devan Plantamura

Founded 2024, El Segundo (YC S24 — one of YC's first missile bets); builds low-cost, compact anti-ship cruise missiles ~10x smaller and cheaper than legacy systems, using commercial parts and vertical integr...

Robert Smithson

Founded 2019, Just Insure is a pay-per-mile, telematics-based auto-insurance MGA that prices on how/when/where you actually drive to reduce insurer bias. ~$36M total raised (backers include ManchesterStory, ...

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...

John Attanasio & Luisa Huang

Founded 2016, Toonstar is a Web3/AI 'story studio' (Disney/Warner/DreamWorks veterans) producing community-driven, blockchain- and AI-powered animated series distributed on social platforms. ~$4M+ raised fro...

Ken Schultz, Caius Radu (UCLA founders)

Clinical-stage biotech commercializing UCLA nucleotide-metabolism science; lead drug TRE-515 is a first-in-class oral deoxycytidine-kinase (dCK) inhibitor. Won FDA Fast Track in metastatic prostate cancer an...

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...

Jay Lee & Daniel Kim"

"Founded 2014, connected-risk / GRC SaaS for audit, risk and compliance teams; trusted by >50% of the Fortune 500. Acquired by London PE firm Hg for over $3B in 2024 (~20x its last VC valuation, having been ...

Michael DeGiorgio"

"Founded 2015, commercial-real-estate marketplace and SaaS/data platform (listing, workflow management, customizable analytics) spanning listing to close. One of the largest CRE tech platforms; raised a $135...

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...

Advait Shinde, Aza Steel & Jason Ramirez"

"Founded 2015, K-12 edtech SaaS for content filtering, classroom management and student-safety/security monitoring. Raised a $200M strategic investment from Tiger Global (2021) valuing it at a reported ~$1B;...

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...

Hasan Imam (CEO), Glenn Chisholm, Ben Johnson & Matt Wolff"

"Founded 2017 by Cylance/Carbon Black veterans, SaaS-security and identity-threat platform that protects apps like Salesforce, GitHub, ServiceNow, Workday and Atlassian (cuts SaaS attack surface ~80%). Raise...

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...

Andrew Peterson, Nick Galbreath & Zane Lackey"

"Founded 2014, developer-first web-application and API protection (next-gen WAF). Acquired by Fastly for ~$775M in 2020 — a landmark LA cybersecurity/SaaS exit; tech now core to Fastly's edge security. HISTO...

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...

Culver City (LA)-based construction-tech startup 3D-printing backyard studios, ADUs and small homes largely from recycled plastic/polymer, positioned as faster and lower-carbon housing. Raised debt/venture f...

LA-based (with NY office) logistics/supply-chain software founded by two women (YC 2018) that helps shippers and freight forwarders manage container demurrage and detention fees at ports. Raised a ~$4M seed ...

LA-headquartered business-management and booking software for salons, spas and self-care businesses, co-founded by Matt Danna and Sean Stavropoulos. Raised an $80M Series D (JMI Equity) at a ~$800M valuation...

LA-based (founded 2023) energy startup by ex-SpaceX flight-safety engineer Bala Ramamurthy (Indian-origin), building modular microgrids + battery storage + software to cut grid-interconnection delays from ye...

Los Angeles-headquartered fintech providing expense management, corporate cards and AP/travel spend automation for enterprises (brands include Certify, Abacus, Captio). A Greater-LA fintech/spend-management ...

LA-based mission-driven foodtech founded by Sam Polk selling affordable, healthy grab-and-go meals with variable pricing by neighborhood, plus a subscription/SmartFridge model and social-enterprise franchisi...

LA (Sherman Oaks)-based accounting and finance operations SaaS co-founded by Mike Whitmire, automating the financial close and compliance workflows. Raised a $100M Series E in 2024 at a $1.6B valuation. A du...

LA-headquartered (founded 2017) proptech SaaS helping commercial property-management teams coordinate maintenance, work orders and tenant/vendor collaboration. A Greater-LA proptech/operations software company.

Culver City (Greater LA)-based online marketplace for sneakers, apparel and luxury resale (GOAT, Flight Club, Grailed) co-founded by Eddy Lu and Daishin Sugano. Raised at a ~$3.7B valuation; one of LA's larg...

LA-based nutrition-technology company (founded by longevity researcher Valter Longo) behind the ProLon fasting-mimicking diet and clinical nutrition products targeting healthspan and metabolic health. Series...

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....

Santa Monica-based proptech founded by Malte Kramer providing websites, CRM, marketing and AI tools for real-estate agents and brokerages. ~$50M+ raised. A notable Greater-LA proptech/real-estate-marketing p...

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...

LA-based membership veterinary company founded by Steven Eidelman operating tech-enabled vet clinics with 24/7 telemedicine, instant booking and an app; expanding across LA/Southern California and beyond. Se...

City-of-LA-based cleantech startup (LACI Cohort 10, Spring 2025) building a fully integrated DC-native HVAC system that connects directly to solar and battery storage for building electrification. Early-stag...

Santa Monica-based mobility fintech building a vehicle-subscription platform and data model to make car access flexible and more sustainable for automotive retail. A Greater-LA entrant in the mobility/subscr...

LA-based (YC-backed, founded 2022) construction/AEC software by Ari Baranian and Peter Johann — a 'GitHub for construction' that lets architects and engineers store, search and reuse Revit design details wit...

LA-based high-protein snack brand (probiotic chips and puffs, no seed oils) co-founded by Tommy Riggs and built in-house by Science Inc. (the studio behind Dollar Shave Club / Liquid Death). Raised a $2.5M p...

Glendale (Greater LA)-headquartered vertical SaaS for the trades (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, home services) co-founded by Ara Mahdessian and Vahe Kuzoyan. IPO'd on NASDAQ in Dec 2024 (ticker TTAN). LA's lan...

Santa Monica-based commerce-tech platform (co-founded by Eric Netsch and Sina Sohangir) that lets Shopify brands build native mobile shopping apps without code. Venture-backed; a Greater-LA retail/commerce-e...

LA-based livestream shopping marketplace (collectibles, fashion, electronics) co-founded by Grant LaFontaine and Logan Head. In Oct 2025 it raised a $225M Series F at an $11.5B valuation (~$968M total raised...

Glassell Park (LA)-headquartered maker of Class 5–8 battery-electric commercial trucks and its Xos Hub mobile charging units, co-founded by Dakota Semler and Giordano Sordoni. Public (NASDAQ: XOS) with ~$240...