Two Silicon Beach startups had big news to share this morning, raising $45 million between them as LA tech rebounds from an otherwise sleepy July. Read on to learn more about the e-sports and greentech startups that have the SoCal tech scene buzzing.
The Los Angeles e-sports community received a major boost this morning when it was announced that Swift, the parent company of Santa Monica gaming startup Team SoloMid (TSM) closed a $37 million Series A from a cast of big-name investors.
According to Forbes, the round will enable the company to invest in acquisitions, its influencer content network and analytic web services for its gaming teams. Additionally, the team will use the funds on franchising fees and a new 15,000- to 20,000-square-foot gaming facility in Los Angeles.
Founded by 26-year-old Andy Dinh, an e-sports pioneer and leader of the winningest “League of Legends” team in the region, the company tapped Bessemer Venture Partners to lead the round, which included participation from NBA players Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala, Hall of Fame NFL quarterback Steve Young and Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang, among others.
EV Connect, an El Segundo cleantech startup that develops software for managing electric vehicle charging stations, closed an $8 million financing round to accelerate the deployment of its EV Cloud platform.
Founded in 2009, the company has already attracted customers like Hilton, Western Digital, Caltrans, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York Power Authority. Prior to the round — which was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund with participation from Montage Capital — the startup had raised $5.9 million in funding, some $500,000 of which came via grants.
“This funding will allow us to continue our momentum in delivering the most advanced EV charging management and grid services to our customers,” said founder and CEO Jordan Rame in a statement. “By leveraging the insights and expertise of our new investors, we expect our partnerships with electric utilities, network operators and other global organizations to rapidly expand.
