Winter Tech Watch: 26 L.A. Companies to Track

Winter is arriving in Los Angeles. The holiday season in Tinseltown looks a little different than the rest of the country: it’s the one time of year could find yourself on the beach, ice skating outdoors Downtown or on a trip out to Big Bear to hit the slopes (or curling up with some hot chocolate at the lodge). 

It might also be a good time to catch up on the movers and shakers in your local tech scene — and Built In LA has curated 26 noteworthy companies to get you started.

What’s more: Many of the city’s tech employers are developing upgrades to the breadth, depth and inclusion of their company culture, tech stacks and benefits.

The L.A.-based companies we featured are special in many ways, but all 26 have one thing in common: They are innovative, people-first organizations with intriguing perks — and well worth keeping on your radar in the winter season ahead.

 

 

Collectors is a platform that enables users to grade and manage their collectible items.

 

 

In the news: In March 2022, Collectors brought its valuation to $4.3 billion after raising a $100 million financing round from existing investors. The fresh capital was set to help the company grow its business and technology, as well as hire more talent.

 

 

System1 is an omnichannel customer acquisition platform.

 

 

Growth strategy: “At System1, we want to grow our ability to source profitable web traffic, while also maintaining diversity in traffic sources. To meet these goals, we launched integrated data analytics support for several new buy side networks. Aligning these integration projects with System1’s growth strategy made our efforts an easy sell to internal partners, while close partnership and constant engagement with users helped us to ensure we were shipping maximum value from ideation to launch,” Product Manager Henry Fellows told Built In LA this September. 

 

 

FIGS is a direct-to-consumer maker of healthcare garments and personal protective equipment.

 

Women empowerment: FIGS is a female-founded company, and women comprise over 50 percent of the leadership team. “The inclusive and equitable culture at FIGS is hard-wired from the beginning. We have two amazing female co-founders who care more than anyone else, and the company provides programs and events to celebrate and empower women,” Sourcing Director Janice Hu told Built In LA this August.  

 

 

 

Veritone is an artificial intelligence platform. 

 

 

In the news: Veritone was included in the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 500. The list ranks each company based on its percentage of revenue growth from the 2018-2021 fiscal years. “We’re excited to be recognized in the Deloitte Fast 500 alongside fellow technology leaders. This award is a testament to our work and continued growth in providing leading AI services and solutions,” President Ryan Steelberg said in a press release.

 

 

 

Tala provides financial services to the global underbanked using mobile technology and data science.

 

Driving impact: Chief Technology Officer Kelly Uphoff told Built In LA in February, “With our core machine learning models, we have to think about the impact on an individual person. If we cannot get our decisioning right, we may be denying them the opportunity of financial agency. The high stakes of each decision our technology aids keeps customers at the forefront of how we ideate and innovate.”  

 

 

Metagenics provides vitamins, minerals and health supplements to patients and practitioners.

 

 

Global growth: “The biggest rocket ship-fueling project that I’m currently working on is bringing all Metagenics e-commerce under one umbrella. We’re a global company, but over the years each major geography evolved in unique ways. We’re building a headless e-commerce platform that we can change, enhance and iterate as needed. This is an incredible opportunity to understand how to optimize the direct-to-consumer model within various geographic contexts. Additionally, we’re building an enhanced portal for healthcare providers while maintaining compliance with data laws and regulations in every geography,” Director of Product Management and Global E-commerce John Bevell told Built In LA in September. 

 

 

 Supernatural is virtual reality fitness app on the Oculus Quest.

 

 

Professional growth: “We have a company perk called ‘Invest In You,’ a program intended to provide employees with the opportunity to invest in their general well-being. The program provides each employee the option for eligible reimbursable expenses such as fitness classes and meditation app memberships. It’s great to work for a company that recognizes the importance of being in a good place both physically and mentally, as it makes developing new skills that much easier when you’re feeling like your best self,” Head of Customer Experience Jose Mella told Built In LA this October. 

 

 

HydraFacial is a health and beauty company. 

 

 

In the news: BeautyHealth, home of HydraFacial, announced in November that it entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement to repurchase $100 million of common stock. “Following our strong Q3 results, today’s announcement underscores the executive team’s and the Board of Directors’ confidence in BeautyHealth’s business, community, financial position and long-term growth outlook. We will remain in a strong cash position after the execution of this buyback. As we head toward the end of the year, wrapping up an intentional two-year period of elevated investment in the business to build our infrastructure, we are well positioned to drive and accelerate profitable growth across the globe,” BeautyHealth President and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Stanleick said in a press release.

 

 

GrayMatter builds AI robotics that power smart automation solutions for manufacturing.

 

 

In the news: In August, GrayMatter announced a $20M Series A investment led by Bow Capital and joined by existing investors B Capital Group. With the new capital, GrayMatter Robotics will expand its team to meet customer demand. “We are a next-generation automation company shaping the future of work with smart robots. Automating surface finishing and treatment applications for mission-critical production environments poses some extremely challenging engineering problems in AI and robotics. It is fascinating for our team to see how our day-to-day work is immediately impacting a wide range of industries from recreational equipment to aerospace,” Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Brual Shah said in a press release. 

 

 

Prodege is a marketing and consumer insights platform.

 

 

Interesting work: “One project that we recently kicked off is equal parts challenging and exciting. We’re taking the plunge and migrating our back-end application code from a monolith to a microservice-oriented architecture. I’m always on the lookout for a good refactoring project but, when you’re working with mature tech like our existing application, it’s rare to get a chance to tackle a refactor of this magnitude,” Director of Web Development Phil Curtis told Built In LA this June.

 

 

 

Artera (formerly WELL Health) is a SaaS platform for patient health communications.

 

 

In the news: In August, Artera (formerly Well Health) was named for the third year in a row on the annual Inc. 5000 list, a prestigious ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in America. This year Artera ranked 718 nationally and 114 in California, with a three-year revenue growth of 880 percent.  

 

 

FightCamp is a connected at-home boxing gym.

 

 

Who FightClub is hiring: After launching on Android earlier this year, FightCamp is looking for a senior Android engineer among other product and engineering roles. 

 

 

Metropolis is a parking and mobility commerce platform connecting transportation, local businesses and payments.

 

 

In the news: In June, Metropolis raised $167 million in Series B funding, bringing its funding total to $226 million. The app is active in over 60 cities and is used by more than 1.8 million members. “We’re excited to ramp up hiring across engineering, sales, growth and more,” Co-founder and Chief of Staff Courtney Fukuda told Built In.

 

 

 

Lever is a talent acquisition suite of software solutions.  

 

 

In the news: In November, Lever released its “2022 DEI Through the Recruiting Lifecycle Report”, highlighting how diversity, equity and inclusion impacts the employee lifecycle from initial hiring through long-term employment. “DEI has come to the forefront for many companies, and while numerous organizations are making positive strides, employees and candidates are still unsure about bringing their true selves to work. Employers must reevaluate their DEI efforts to ensure their policies are making employees and candidates feel included, welcome and comfortable. One-off DEI initiatives don’t cut it for employees or candidates, and inclusive and equitable practices need to be ingrained into the fabric of the company,” Senior Vice President of Customer Success Jessica Green said in a press release. 

 

 

MFour Mobile Research is a mobile market research and intelligence company.

 

 

In the news: In November, MFour Mobile Research launched MFour Studio, a cloud-based home for its suite of SaaS products. “Consumers own their shopping and search data and want to control who gets it. We believe in fair trade data, compensating people fairly to share their app and web behaviors, which helps our clients to survey specific behaviors,” MFour Chief Executive Officer Chris St. Hilaire said in a statement, according to Destination CRM.  

 

 

 

Demand.io operates a suite of e-commerce products.

 

 

Top speed: Within hours of Apple’s announcement that it would bring Safari web extensions to iOS and iPad, Demand.io’s lean team started bringing its web product, SimplyCodes, to mobile. The product shipped in three weeks. “We’re a small, highly skilled team which enables us to be nimble, agile and to make strategic bets on innovation that keep us ahead of our competition and fuels our growth as a company. This was a perfect opportunity to show that yet again,” Founder Michael Quoc told Built In LA in August.  

 

 

 Autograph is a non-fungible token platform.

 

 

Web3 funding: In January, Autograph announced that it raised a $170 million Series B, which it planned to invest in expanding its team, according to Built In LA. In October, the company announced the launch of its collection with the “SAW” movie franchise. 

 

 

Emotive is an all-in-one SMS growth platform for e-commerce businesses.

 

 

Great product: “We are transforming the way brands are able to communicate with their customers through two-way text messaging. This provides a five-times return on investment guarantee for e-commerce brands utilizing our platform and allows their consumers to have the in-person experience via text message. Brands are able to keep customers engaged based on previous shopping history with tools such as abandoned cart SMS broadcasts, and consumers can communicate and ask questions before making a purchase,” Senior Director of Sales Development Melissa Stapleton told Built In LA in April. 

 

 

 

Pluto TV is a free streaming television service.

 

 

Growing platform: In October, Pluto TV parent company Paramount announced that it added more than 6,300 episodes of content from the CBS television vault to the platform, including properties such as “Sister, Sister” and “Star Trek”. “Pluto TV and CBS are both proven leaders delivering world-class entertainment to global audiences. With unrivaled access to the coveted CBS library, Pluto TV is able to deliver the best of both worlds to our viewers – world-class, evergreen programming with flexible viewing options, all for free,” Paramount Streaming President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Ryan said in a press release.  

 

 

Papaya Pay is a bill-paying app.

 

 

People first: “Benefits like unlimited PTO, flexible work hours and generous parental leave, which allow employees to have a better work-life balance, support a people-first culture. At Papaya, we also have a program called Papaya Talks, where employees have the opportunity to showcase their passion and talents to the whole company. Topics have included beekeeping and 3D printing,” Recruiter Humna Gardezi told Built In LA in February.

 

 

 Mothership is an on-demand logistics company.

 

 

Laser focus: “In the last few quarters, our team has become hyper-focused on messaging and personalization. We recently onboarded messaging platform Braze, which was a huge undertaking involving almost every team at the company. The project has opened up a whole new range of functionality to our team. We are focused on how timely messaging can help to create and influence our customer or carrier behavior,” Director of Product Marketing Peter Prior told Built In LA in July.

 

 

 

 

Alchemee is a skincare company.

 

 

Beauty evolution: “The beauty industry is a continuously evolving business sector that never becomes old. It empowers people to make a change in their lives and drives confidence and self-esteem. New trends in ingredients and systems are more powerful than ever, with breakthroughs in studies that keep the excitement alive. It feels great to be a part of something that makes a difference for others,” Senior Director Product and Package Development Scott Bruce told Built In LA in May.  

 

 

DISQO is an audience insights platform.

 

 

Data transparency: “I joined DISQO because of the people, our values and the opportunity to build both a user-centric mindset and design team within the product organization. Over the past six months, we’ve been working to transform our products so they reflect our transparency value as well as create a fair exchange of value for sharing data with consent. The option of consent is a big differentiator in the market and something that inspires me about DISQO’s business model,” Director of Product Design Om Suthar told Built In LA in May.  

 

 

Serving more than 12 million users, Albert’s banking app combines banking, savings, investing and budgeting tools with guidance from a team of expert financial advisors.

 

 

Nurturing women: In a February 2022 interview about empowering women, Head of Product Amanda Lui told Built In LA, “One of the best things you can do is give people space to grow. Growth is difficult, especially in a fast-paced startup environment. I believe in learning by doing, which involves searching for ways to give team members a chance to try new things. If you give them space to hone a new skill or make mistakes and learn from them, there’s a good chance they’ll achieve success.”

 

 

 

WhoWhatWear operates fashion news sites in the United States and United Kingdom.

 

 

Take aim: “We’re big believers in the objectives and key results goal-setting methodology and center conversations around goals, objectives, successes and improvement opportunities. We connect each person’s job role to the company’s objectives and ensure our employees know how they contribute. We have a little fun, too. We’re big into team events, social good events, employee mixers and meals together where we cut loose,” People and Talent Manager Kia Topps told Built In LA in June.

 

 

OpenX is a global omnichannel advertising exchange.

 

 

New leadership: OpenX recently made a key hire: digital ad veteran Mike Chowla joined as the senior vice president of product as the marketing industry braces for a world without third-party cookies. “OpenX has fantastic technology built on a modern platform, and it has a strong track record of innovation. I’m eager to apply those strengths in building solutions for both buyers and publishers as the industry transitions to new types of identity and targeting, and as it accelerates the adoption of programmatic and biddable CTV advertising,” Chowla said in a November press release.