Los Angeles is one of the most famous and well-respected startup ecosystems in the world, with the city creating and housing numerous top startups. There are currently more than 4000 startups that have received startup funding within the city alone, with many more that haven't received funding. LA startups also have an easier route to access funding, with more than 120 VC firms managing $9.1 Billion in assets.
The actual startup ecosystem in Los Angeles is worth $119 Billion in total, which is far above the global average of $28.6 Billion. Los Angeles also has an exceptional pool of tech talent to choose from, with the area being the ninth best region in North America for this type of talent. These talents particularly emerge from USC, UCLA, CalTech, and UC Irvine-which are all world-renowned universities.
It's not just enough to have an idea and talent, you still need to get the business turning and the strong network of more than 30 accelerators and incubators in the area have been the start of numerous successful startups by providing much-needed office space, seed funding, legal support and networking opportunities.
1. Afterparty
Year Founded: 2021
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Dan Rahmel, David Fields, Eytan Elbaz
The first start-up on the list to watch in 2022 is the California tech company Afterparty. It is busy creating a home for the creatives, from artists, to collectors, to musicians and more creators. The digital platform is Web3, otherwise known as the semantic web, which allows customers to use token based economics with the blockchain technology. Afterparty has designed the platform to allow creators to manage NFT (non fungible tokens) collecting and create relationships between creators and fans.
Afterparty was founded by Dan Rahmel, David Fields and Eytan Elbaz in 2021 so is very new to the tech start-up world. The headquarters are based in LA, California, USA and the company has a small employee size of between eleven and fifty people as a part of the team. So far, the start-up has completed two funding rounds, raising $7M total funding with twenty three investors on board.
2. Zora
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Dai Hovey, Dee Goens, Ethan Daya, Jacob Horne, Slava Kim, Tyson Battistella
Zora is next up on the list, as a marketplace start-up from California. This start-up is trying to take back some ownership of creativity in the art world by creating a whole new infrastructure to tear down the current system. Zora has created a crypto-driven marketplace so both ends of the creative endeavors can trade in a way that makes them feel satisfied. The company is essentially taking away the middle man that usually ends up earning the most from a transaction.
In 2020, Dai Hovey, Dee Goens, Ethan Daya, Jacob Horne, Slava Kim and Tyson Battistella founded Zora. The base is in Los Angeles California, and the company currently employs between one and ten people. There are obviously people who seriously back the start-up as a very impressive $52M of total funding was raised with ten investors in just three funding rounds.
3. Blavity
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Aaron Samuels, Jeff Nelson, Jonathan Jackson, Morgan DeBaun
The next start-up on the list is Blavity. This company operates in digital and social media creating a social network. Blavity works specifically with black millenials and has been highlighted as black/African American founded and led and women founded and led. The platform was designed to be a space for creativity, to entertain and inform communities of color.
Blavity was founded in 2014 by Morgan DeBaun and co-founded by Aaron Samuels, Jeff Nelson, Jonathan Jackson. The headquarters are located in LA, California, USA and the start-up has between fifty one and one hundred employees. Six funding rounds have been completed so far; they took place between March 2016 and July 2018, raising $9.4M total funding.
4. VideoAmp
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Dave Gullo, Ross McCray
Next on the list has also been around since 2014, but definitely worth watching in 2022 to see where it goes. It is none other than the software start-up VideoAmp. The start-up works specifically for the advertising industry, providing tools to measure and optimize the ecosystem. Being data-driven enables the company to provide its customers with the best possible advertising solution across multiple platforms.
Dave Gullo and Ross McCray were the founders that created VideoAmp in 2014. It now employs over two hundred and fifty one and under five hundred individuals and has a headquarters in LA, California, USA. The company has some of the highest numbers in terms of total funding raised; six funding rounds brought in $456.6M total funding.
5. Divergent 3D
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 101-250
Founders: Kevin Czinger
Divergent 3D is next up on the list of LA start-ups to watch in 2022. 3D printing is the area of expertise for Divergent 3D, as the company aims to shake up the auto industry. Divergent 3D, or also known as Divergent Technologies, is using data to improve auto manufacturing and making it more environmentally friendly. One solution Divergent 3D has created is its software hardware solution DAPS, which stands for Divergent Adaptive Production System.
In 2014, Kevin Czinger founded Divergent 3D which has since grown to employ over one hundred and one and under two hundred and fifty people. The headquarters are in the Greater Los Angeles Area, California, USA. The funding rounds that have taken place for this start-up is also very impressive, with $248M total funding having been raised across three funding rounds with thirteen investors.
6. Sugar
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Fatima Dicko
Sugar is a start-up from LA that works in the hospitality, real estate, software, location based services and property management industries. It is another brilliant black/African American founded and led and women founded and led company. Sugar, or also known as Jetpack, is making better experiences for residential communities. It does this by providing a portal that can allow residents to communicate between each other and schedule events.
Sugar was founded in 2019 by Fatima Dicko. The company employs between eleven and fifty people and has a headquarters based in LA, California, USA. In three funding rounds, the company has raised $3.5M total funding with twenty three investors.
7. Heal
Year Founded: 2014
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 101-250
Founders: Greg Drobnick, Jason Shafton, Mike Wortsman, Nick Desai, Renee Dua
Heal is a start-up from LA working in the healthcare industry. It has an aim to make personal home health care more relaxing and effective. When an at home visit is the better option for a patient, it is vital to keep them comfortable and to build a trusting relationship between patient and the health care professional. Heal wants to step in here by providing at home services that are kept at the right pace, as well as phone support.
Heal was founded in 2014 by Greg Drobnick, Jason Shafton, Mike Wortsman, Nick Desai and Renee Dua. The headquarters are located in LA, California, USA and the employee size is between one hundred and one and two hundred and fifty people. $164.1M was raised in ten funding rounds that were supported by thirty two investors.
8. Ruth Health
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Alison Greenberg, Audrey Wu
Number eight on the list to watch in 2022 is the LA start-up Ruth Health. This start-up is rather unique as the target audience is pregnant women. Ruth Health provides its customers with quality pregnancy care specific for each person's needs. It supports people planning to have children, expecting parents and even postpartum parents. There are a range of services offered from pelvic floor training and recovery, c section recovery and more.
The start-up has completed four funding rounds so far that have raised the company $3.1M total funding. Fourteen investors supported these rounds with one lead investor. Ruth Health was founded in 2019 by Alison Greenberg and Audrey Wu. The company has an employee size of between one to ten people and the headquarters are located in LA, California, USA.
9. Papaya
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Jason Meltzer, Patrick Kann
Papaya is a startup in LA that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in the sunny city. The company aims to make bill payment much simpler for customers through the creation of online mobile apps and advanced payment technology. The solution makes it easy for customers to take a picture of their bill, which will then be paid automatically. This means customers can worry less about paying their bills.
The business has gone through four rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the last round being completed in December 2021. These funding rounds have been supported by 13 investors. The total raised from these investors has helped the company to raise $65.1 Million.
10. Orca Security
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Avi Shua, Ety Spiegel Hubara, Gil Geron, Hadas Amitay, Liran Antebi, Matan Ben-Gur, Shay Filosof, Wagde Zabit
Orca Security is a startup in LA that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in the world-famous city. The company provides an advanced workload-level security for multiple clouds such as AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. This solution can easily detect malware, misconfigurations and numerous other vulnerabilities.
The business has gone through five rounds of startup funding since it was founded, the last of these funding rounds took place in October 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with 17 investors. The total raised from these investors has reached a figure of $632 Million.
11. Subject
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Felix Ruano, Jonathan Quiros, Michael Vilardo
Subject is a startup in LA that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in the city of LA, California. The company provides an accredited learning platform that provides an online platform for the study of a custom-built curriculum made by teachers. The company offers a total of 64 courses across a range of different subjects, including Core, Electives and more.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in March 2022. These funding rounds have seen the company strike deals with 40 investors. The total raised from all of these investors has reached a figure of $34.7 Million.
12. Kernel
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Bryan Johnson
Kernel is an LA startup that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in the star-studded city. The company operates in the neurosciences niche of medicine and specializes in the research and development of new, more convenient brain-recording technologies that are just as accurate and effective as their more invasive counterparts.
Since being founded, the company has gone through a pair of startup funding rounds, with the most recent of these two taking place in July 2020. These funding rounds have been supported by a group of six investors. The total raised from these investors has reached a figure of $107 Million.
13. Sunbit
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 251-500
Founders: Arad Levertov, Ornit Dweck-Maizel, Tal Riesenfeld, Tamir Hazan
Sunbit is a startup in LA that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in Los Angeles, California. The company has created a buy-now-pay-later solution for consumers to be whitelabled by a range of retailers and businesses. This allows consumers to get the items that they need in more than 7300 businesses, ranging from car dealerships, to dentists and more.
The business has gone through seven rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent round taking place in May 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company receive support from a total of 17 investors and these investors have allowed the startup to raise a figure of $210 Million.
14. Thrilling
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Brad Mallow, Shilla Kim-Parker
Thrilling is an LA startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the city of LA. The company operates an online marketplace to limit waste and help people find hidden gems through buying and selling vintage and secondhand items that have been specifically curated. The team has more than 100 stores across 15 cities across the United States, showing its growth potential.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the last occurring in May 2021. These funding rounds have been supported by a total of eight investors. The total raised by the startup from these investors is currently $10.7 Million at the time of writing.
15. Metafy
Year Founded: 2020
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Josh Fabian
Metafy is a startup in LA that was founded in 2020 and is currently based in the city of Los Angeles. The company has created a platform for gamers that helps to educate them about how they can monetize and earn a living through their favorite hobby. This is achieved through coaching and specific training courses that arm these gamers with the tools that they need.
Since being founded, the company has gone through three rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in February 2022. These funding rounds have led to the company agreeing to deals with 27 investors. From these investors, the company has managed to raise a figure of $33.7 Million.
16. Vanilla
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Steve Lockshin
Vanilla is an LA startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in the city of LA. The company has created an online estate planning platform that allows estate planning advisors to bring more value and assistance to their clients through the use of an easy to understand platform that takes the hassle and grief out of the estate planning process, which improves overall client outcomes.
Since being founded, the business has gone through two rounds of startup funding, with the last taking place in April 2022. These funding rounds have seen the company strike deals with six investors. The efforts of these investors have allowed the business to raise a figure of $41.6 Million.
17. Mythical Games
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 101-250
Founders: Cameron Thacker, Chris Downs, Jamie Jackson, John Linden, Rudy Koch
Mythical Games is a startup in LA that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the city of Los Angeles. The company has developed the next-generation gaming engine for games that take advantage of the new landscape of digital ownership of assets. The aim is to create an ecosystem and economy of player-owned assets, which increases engagement and overall enjoyment.
Since being founded, the company has gone through six rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round being completed in November 2021. These funding rounds have received support from 35 investors and these investors have allowed the business to raise a figure of $260 Million in startup funding. The company has also completed three acquisitions.
18. Reel
Year Founded: 2016
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Alejandro Quilici, Daniela Corrente
Reel is an LA startup that was founded in 2016 and is currently based in the city it was founded in. The company has created a debt-free platform for shopping, which allows users to buy the items that they want by saving in incremental installments as well as providing motivational goals and price alerts for said items. This eliminates the need for buy-now-pay later, which is consistently plunging consumers into unmanageable debt.
The business has gone through eight rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent round taking place in May 2021. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with ten investors. The total raised from these investments has reached a figure of $250,000.
19. PlayVS
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 51-100
Founders: Delane Parnell
PlayVS is a startup in LA that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in the city. The company has created a platform that allows colleges and high schools to host and create their own e-sports tournaments which provides a platform for students to competitively game in a safe environment.\
The business has gone through five rounds of startup funding since being founded, with the most recent round taking place in October 2020. The company has also completed an acquisition. These funding rounds have been supported by 28 investors, which has allowed the startup to raise $106.2 Million.
20. Valence Community
Year Founded: 2019
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 1-10
Founders: Emily Slade, Kobie Fuller, La Mer Walker
Valence Community is an LA startup that was founded in 2019 and is currently based in the city of LA. The company helps the black professional community in the USA and across the world by connecting black professionals with work and mentorship opportunities, providing visibility and empowerment for these working professionals to help level the playing field with ethnic majority counterparts.
Since being founded, the company has gone through two rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in August 2020. These funding rounds have seen the company agree to deals with ten investors and the total raised from these investors has reached $7.8 Million.
21. LinearB
Year Founded: 2018
HQ: LA, California, USA
Size: 11-50
Founders: Dan Lines, Ori Keren
LinearB is an LA startup that was founded in 2018 and is currently based in LA, California. The company provides an analytics solution for software development companies which allows organizations to use data-driven insights in order to improve productivity by identifying problem areas in the working environment.
Since being founded, the company has gone through four rounds of startup funding, with the most recent round taking place in May 2022. These funding rounds have been supported by a group of six investors, with these investors helping the company to raise a figure of $70.6 Million.
FAQs
What is the Average Investment in LA?
The average seed funding round in LA is worth $627,000 and the average Series A round is worth $5.2 Million.
What Are The Strongest Sectors in LA?
The strongest sectors in LA are business and professional management, health, R&D, finance and tourism.
How Many Startups Are There In LA?
Los Angeles is a global startup hub, and as a result it should come as no surprise that there are more than 4000 VC-backed startups in the city.
