Investment from venture capitalist is the grease that keeps Los Angeles tech startups humming and headed down the road. Here are 17 firms that are particularly powerful and noteworthy.
Top Venture Capital (VC) Firms in LA
- Upfront Ventures
- Baroda Ventures
- Double M Partners
- Crosscut Ventures
- Karlin Ventures
- A-Grade Investments
- Pritzker Group Venture Capital
Named after Thomas Edison's lab workers, Mucker works with entrepreneurs in the LA area to provide their earliest institutional funding and work side-by-side to help launch and scale their new ventures.
Location: Santa Monica
Investments: 45+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Trunk Club, Twenty20, Surf Air, BloomNation, Retention Science, ServiceTitan
Founded in 1996, Upfront is one of the original VCs in LA's tech ecosystem with 30 of their 42 portfolio companies calling Southern California home. Their portfolio companies have collected more than $700 million with a heavy focus on retail innovation.
Location: Santa Monica
Investments: 150+
LA Portfolio Companies Hiring: Factual, ZestFinance, ChowNow, FabFitFun, Loot Crate, Ritual
Focused on pre-seed and seed stage investments, Baroda targets companies in the consumer internet, e-commerce, mobile, SaaS, and digital media industries. Like many other VCs on this list, a large majority of their investments have been local LA companies.
Location: Beverly Hills
Investments: 35+
LA Portfolio Companies Hiring: SHIFT, SteelHouse, Gem, Bridg
Named after the alliteration of its founder, Mark Mullen, Double M Partners focuses on Seed and Early Stage Venture Investments with a focus on B2B infrastructure, software, security, management platforms and/or hardware.
Location: Brentwood
Investments: 50+
LA Portfolio Companies Hiring: ChowNow, MomentFeed, Inspire, Tradesy
With offices in LA and New York, Greycroft focuses on small early stage funds with a separate growth fund in order to support companies at any stage. a self-proclaimed "syndicate-friendly" firm, Greycroft has no minimum ownership and does not require board seats.
Location: DTLA
Investments: 200+
LA Portfolio Companies Hiring: Nativo, Acorns, NuOrder, SteelHouse, Thrive Market
Founded by Rick Smith, Brian Garrett, and Brett Brewer in 2008, Crosscut was one of the first seed stages funds to emerge in Southern California. Although they view themselves as a national fund, their main focus is to support the SoCal startup ecosystem.
Location: Venice
Investments: 45+
LA Portfolio Companies: The Black Tux, Omaze, DataScience, HelloTech, GumGum, ClubW, EventUp
Anthem invests primarily in early stage Series A and B technology companies with a typical deal size is an initial investment between $1million and $5 million with reserve for follow-on investments. They are active investors who almost always lead or co-lead and take a board seat and focus primarily on Southern California investments.
Location: Santa Monica
Investments: 50+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Surf Air, Scopely, TRUECar, Buzz Media, Demand Media
Founders Jeff Lo and Paige Craig target seed and growth investments in LA and San Francisco. They have fully integrated their VC with AngelList, allowing individual investors to also participate in their deals.
Location: West Hollywood
Investments: 10+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Laurel & Wolf, HONK, Meerkat, DSTLD
With a focus on the Westside of LA, Canyon Creek primarily funds the "Bridge to A" and Series A space. They look for companies looking to disrupt their industry that have already shown market adoption and traction.
Location: Santa Monica
Investments: 15+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Bridg, ChowNow, Amplify.LA, Bringhub, Winc, Pixalate
Consisting of a team of investors who have experience founding companies, DFJ typical invests $100,000 to $1 million with additional capital reserved for follow-on investments. They are open to investing in any market and have portfolio companies in software, information services, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and alternative energy.
Location: Beverly Hills
Investments: 50+
Notable Portfolio Companies: MomentFeed, NetPulse, Instantly, Mogreet
Karlin focuses on enterprise software, commerce platforms and marketplace companies on the West Coast. With investments ranging from $250,000 to $2 million, they prefer co-investor roles and often participate in follow-on rounds.
Location: Westwood
Investments: 30+
Notable Portfolio Companies: AmplifyLA, ChowNow, HONK, Bitium
Led by Ashton Kutcher, Guy Odeary and Ron Burkle, A-Grade focuses on Seed, Early Stage Venutre, and Debt Financing Investments.
Location: Los Angeles
Investments: 25+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Fab.com, SocialCam, Casper, Victorious, Getaround
Co-headquartered in Chicago and Los Angeles, Pritzker users their vast network to grow companies at every stage of their growth. Since their founding in 1996, they have invested in over 100 companies around the country.
Location: Westwood
Investments: 100+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Honest Co., Dollar Shave Club, Heal, Hello Giggles, Pluto TV, Retention Science
Operating under the Walt Disney Company umbrella, Steamboat is an early stage investor focused on digital media and consumer tech companies. Although based in LA, the VC also has a large presence in Asia.
Location: Burbank
Investments: 100+
Notable Portfolio Companies: RazorGator, EdgeCast Networks, Photobucket, Joyus
The largest angel investment organization in the U.S., Tech Coast Angels was founded in 1997 and has invested in over 200 companies. The group has over 300 members in 5 regional networks covering Southern California.
Location: Newport Beach
Investments: 90+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Ranker, HitFix, Portfolium, Tapert, Twigtale
With a strong focus in the consumer internet sector, CAA invests in companies with cultural and pop culture ties. Their portfolio includes mobile platforms, social media, crowdfunding, online video, gaming, and e-commerce companies.
Location: Los Angeles
Investments: 40+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Whisper, NuORDER, Giphy, Hinge, Meerkat, Mobcrush
Wavemaker takes a co-investment approach to help startups bridge the "post-angel to pre-venture" gap. They usually invest between $100,000 to $1 million in early stage companies and use their global resources to help them grow.
Location: Santa Monica
Investments: 100+
Notable Portfolio Companies: Ranker, EAT Club, Amplify.LA, The Bouqs, Laurel & Wolf
