Venture capital raises were the name of the game for several LA tech companies last week. One company even achieved unicorn status with a $1.3 billion valuation. Find out what you might have missed. This is the Built In LA weekly refresh.
Linktree raised $110M. Based in Sydney, Australia, Linktree is a “link-in-bio” platform for brands and users. Linktree raised a $110 million funding round co-led by Index Ventures and Coatue, bringing its valuation to $1.3 billion. Linktree plans to expand its LA team and has multiple openings available in its engineering and marketing departments. [Built In LA]
Bambee got $30M. Bambee helps small to medium-sized businesses with human resources and compliances by combining software with a real HR manager. Bambee raised $30 million in a Series C round led by QED Investors. SoftBank and Alpha Edison also participated in the round. The money raised will go toward hiring 150 new employees this year and expanding its operations in Nashville. [Business Wire]
LOS ANGELES TECH QUOTE OF THE WEEK
Snappt gained $100M. Snappt provides software for landlords to sift through rental applications and detect any fraud, such as altered or fake pay stubs. The Series A round was led by Insight Partners and will go toward Snappt’s sales and marketing efforts as well as product development. [Built In LA]
Chipotle tested a new robot. Chipotle is testing an autonomous robot at the Chipotle Cultivate Center in Irvine to cook and season the company’s chips. The idea to use a robot came about when the company was considering AI and technology to predict when restaurants might run out of chips. The robot is named Chippy and will work at a Southern California location later in the year. [CNBC]
Rolebot gained $4.5M. Rolebot is an AI-powered job platform that searches for passive talent by creating an ideal replica of a company’s best employees. Rolebot raised $4.5 million from Uncorrelated Ventures, Data Point Capital, Jason Calacanis and the LAUNCH fund. Some customers of Rolebot include the American Red Cross and Snowflake. [PR Newswire]
