LA tech roundup: Honest eyes IPO, Patch of Land gets $250M, & more

Honest takes first move towards IPO

Bloomberg reported earlier this week that

hired two investment bankers to help the company prepare for an inevitable IPO. The bankers were hired from Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. The Honest Company is currently valued at $1.7 billion. [Report: Honest Co. Prepping For IPO, Hires Bankers: SoCal Tech]

 

Patch of Land receives $250 million from lender

, the online marketplace lender for real estate, announced this week that an East Coast Credit Fund has signed an agreement to purchase loans in a forward flow arrangement. The company announced the Credit Fund will invest $250 Million Across their platform. The credit fund is exclusively partnering with Patch of Land for their first voyage into marketplace lending. [Patch of Land Gets $250 Million Commitment: SoCal Tech]

 

Disney Accelerator breaks away from Techstars

LA's accelerator power couple broke up this week. Disney and Techstars decided to part ways after their two-year contract ended this week. The Disney Accelerator will continue on as its own and recently announced they are accepting applications for their third class. [Disney Accelerator Parts Ways With Techstars: LA Business Journal]

 

Float chosen for MasterCard/SVB e-commerce accelerator 

LA mobile credit startup, Float, was selected for the Commerce.Innovated accelerator this week. The app is designed to function as a digital credit card and was featured in our Top 50 Startups to Watch in 2016. The accelerator is in its fourth year and is run by Silicon Valley Bank and MasterCard. [Float Selected For E-commerce Accelerator, Commerce.Innovated: SoCal Tech]

 

Wevr launches content hub, raises $25M

In an announcement earlier this week, Venice-based VR content producer,

, announced a $25 million round of funding. In accordance with the announcement, the company also unveiled it's new content hub called Transport. [Wevr launches VR content hub, raises $25M: Built In]

 

Snapchat signs Viacom to advertising deal

In their biggest ad partnership yet,

inked Viacom to a an advertising deal this week. The New York-based media giant will be able to run ads on its own content on the app as well as Snapchat-produced live broadcasts. The financial terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed. [Snapchat Signs Advertising Deal with Viacom: SoCal Tech]

 

ZestFinance extends leave policy for new parents

In light of Mark Zuckerberg's recent 3 month paternal leave, LA-based

announced their employees will receive more time off to be with their newborns. The new policy gives six months for primary care givers with the option to work part-time for six additional months with full benefits. Meanwhile, secondary caregivers are receive three months of paid time off. [This LA company is taking a page out of Zuckerberg's book and changing their parental leave policies: Built In]

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