LA tech companies are building solutions for this world and beyond. Find out how these companies want to make life easier, from safe transportation and medicine to homes among the stars. This is the Built In LA Weekly Refresh.
Grindr appointed a new CEO. Grindr’s goal with its mobile dating app is to connect members of the LGBTQ+ community and help them express themselves. Under the new leadership of George Arison, the company is heading into its next stage of growth as a public entity. Arison most recently served as CEO for Shift Technologies. He’s slated to take up his new mantle on October 19. [Built In LA]
HopSkipDrive pulled in $37M. The company and its vetted network of CareDrivers works to make sure kids of busy parents get to school and other activities safely. HopSkipDrive’s Series D round will help it expand its services into new markets. Currently, its platform is active across 21 markets in 12 states and is contracted with more than 16,000 schools. [Built In LA]
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ETTA was featured in our Future 5 series. Rounding out the Q3 collection of LA Future 5 startups is ETTA, a mobile app that scans a user’s body and connects them to curated clothing selections. The consumer-facing solution is gearing up for launch next spring and has plans to launch a B2B component down the line to help businesses take care of both their customers and the environment. [Built In LA]
Morpheus Space secured $28M. Providing satellite service providers with AI-powered mobility solutions, Morpheus works to make entire constellations of satellite systems operable as singular entities. The company pulled in Series A funding led by Alpine Space Ventures with plans to open a new manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany. It’s also expanding its team to 100 people over the next six to 12 months. [Built In LA]
Acelyrin raised $300M. The biopharmaceutical company secured Series C funding led by Access Biotechnology for its treatment technology. Acelyrin works to develop and commercialize promising drugs for medicinal purposes. Its new capital will fuel the next development phase for selective antibody inhibitor izokibep for treating conditions including psoriatic arthritis. [PR Newswire]
Vast launched to make outer space livable. The company develops space habitation technologies with the goal of expanding humanity across the solar system. It’s currently developing artificial gravity space stations so that people can live in space for extended periods of time without experiencing the side effects of a zero-gravity environment. [Business Wire]
