Snap moves to Santa Monica, former Uber CEO joins local healthtech board, and more

Snap moves employees from Venice to Santa Monica

The company perhaps most responsible for turning Venice into a tech destination is pulling up stakes. Last week, it was revealed that Snap was subleasing more than half its Venice headquarters in order to consolidate hundreds of employees to a palatial 300,000-square-foot space adjacent to the Santa Monica Airport. CEO Evan Spiegel will continue to work from the company's 63 Market Street HQ, but the nearby spaces Snap had rented out will be occupied by new neighbors. [LA Biz Journal]

Local schools named to Business Insider's list of best computer science programs

Business Insider's annual list of the 50 best computer science programs in the world once again featured local universities prominently, with two schools making the cut. The publication noted that USC, 47, is the oldest private research university in the west, while UCLA, 13, was ranked as the 33rd best university in the world according to QS World University Rankings 2018. [Business Insider]

Former Uber CEO joins Irvine-based Kareo's board

Travis Kalanick, the former co-founder CEO of ridesharing giant Uber, is back in the startup game. The Granada Hills High School alum — who also briefly attended UCLA —was pressured by investors to step down following a tumultuous few years for the company last summer, but appears to be back in the startup game. Last week, the tech veteran officially joined the board of Irvine-based health startup Kareo, which  Kalanick had invested in previously. Kareo founder Dan Rodrigues had previously started music search company Scour with Kalanick in Sherman Oaks back in the late-1990s. [Axios]

Silicon Valley-based The Athletic raises $20 million, plans LA expansion

San Francisco-based sports journalism startup The Athletic raised $20 million with part of the funding being earmarked for expansion into Los Angeles. The subscription sports service was founded in January 2016, raising $27.7 million to date to assemble the best and brightest journalists in markets all across the U.S. and Canada, welcome news to sports fans who have seen their favorite local sports reports fall victim to budget cuts and layoffs.  [The Wall Street Journal]

TigerText rebrands as TigerConnect

Healthtech startup TigerText, which has a secure messaging platform for healthcare professionals, officially rebranded as TigerConnect this week in a move the company hopes will reflect the company's goal to develop a larger suite of solutions for the healthcare industry. Founded in 2010, the company has raised more than $80 million to date. [SoCal Tech]

e-commerce startup Scalefast closes $8 million Series A

Scalefast, a Manhattan Beach-based startup that offers rapidly-growing brands an all-in-one enterprise e-commerce platform, officially closed its Series A early this week, adding $8 million. 2017 proved to be a big year for the startup, which facilitated more than 14 million orders from 240 countries and territories in 12 months, as well as more than 20 major product launches. [Press Release]

One Potato launches organic meal kits in 8 new states

One Potato, an LA-based startup that was founded by three working parents as a way to help families eat dinner together more often, is officially launching its organic, semi-prepared meal kits in eight new markets. In addition to California, the kits will be available in Arizona, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, among others.