Unicorns, funding rounds and acquisitions — oh my! Los Angeles startups were certainly making moves last week as summer drew to its official close. Read on to find out the latest. This is the Built In LA weekly refresh.
Assembly earned its horn. After receiving a “significant capital injection” of an undisclosed amount from private equity giant Advent International, the e-commerce software startup has surpassed a $1 billion valuation, making it LA’s newest unicorn. Over the last two years, Assembly says it has acquired five companies, launched more than 30 new products and helped its customers scale their revenue more than 125 percent in aggregate — causing its annual recurring revenue to grow 260 percent since 2019. Now, the company will use this fresh funding to fuel further growth. [PR Newswire]
Bruvi scored $7M. In a bid to tap into the $7 billion single-serve coffee market, Bruvi has created a patent-pending, WiFi-enabled machine that brews filter coffee, espresso, Americanos and cold brew. Its proprietary B-Pods also come in a range of sustainably sourced coffees from popular local roasters like Wunderland Coffee and Mulholland Coffee Roasters. The pre-Series A round will be used for manufacturing, software development and digital advertising expenses as the company prepares for pre-orders in November and a national launch in early 2022. [Built In LA]
LA Tech Quote of the Week
NTWRK raised $50M. This is the latest of many content-based marketplaces to receive funding recently. NTWRK’s mobile-based video platform uses brand partnerships and exclusive drops to create shopping-related livestream content. Geared towards millennials and Gen-Z, the content has featured a range of celebrities, including Billie Eilish and Doja Cat. The round was led by Goldman Sachs, and will be used to accelerate the startup’s growth, expand its global footprint and increase its market share. [Built In LA]
Groundwork acquired by Snap! Mobile. Founded in 2015, Groundwork helps organizations budget, accept payments and create accounts, processing more than $152 million to date. Snap! Mobile, the Seattle-based parent company of fundraising platform Snap Raise, acquired the LA-based fintech startup for an undisclosed amount, and will discontinue Groundwork’s brand at the end of the year. However, its eight-person team will join Snap! Mobile, and its co-founder and CEO Bill Lennon will come on as VP of financial technology. [LA Biz]
StreamElements raised $100M. StreamElements provides analytics and production tools for creators who livestream and make on-demand videos. SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led the latest funding round, which will be used to bring on more creators and continue building the startup’s platform. The Tel-Aviv and LA-based company also announced that co-founder Gil Hirsch will now serve as CEO. [TechCrunch]
Syng pulled in $48.75M. The startup, led by former Apple employee Chris Stringer, plans to transform the home-listening experience by building a “triphonic” audio hardware. The Series A funding was led by Eclipse Ventures. Syng’s products are designed for spatial audio with a heafty focus on design. [TechCrunch]
Clovers got $15M. The HR tech company uses conversational intelligence to improve the interviewing process, offering features like unbiased questions in real time, post-interview candidate insights and postmortem interviewer coaching. The seed round was led by Greycroft and Alpha Edison and will be used for product development, marketing and talent acquisition. Clovers is dual headquartered in Nashville and Los Angeles, and is now hiring for several remote-friendly positions. [GlobeNewswire]
