Innovation is ablaze in the Los Angeles tech scene, particularly within the cannabis tech sector. A couple of companies in the space pulled in fresh capital last week to build out their solutions. Check out what they’re building and what else is new with the Built In LA Weekly Refresh.
LeafLink secured $100M. The company built a platform that connects wholesale cannabis brands with dispensaries looking to resale their products. LeafLink’s Series D round from investors like CPMG, L2 Ventures and Nosara Capital will help enhance its solution. To date, the company serves thousands of brands and retailers across 30 markets. [Built In LA]
Spartan raised $17M. The sensor software company aims to reshape the future of automated vehicle safety. The Series B round, led by 8VC with participation from Microsoft and others, will go toward bringing Spartan’s flagship product to market and scaling its product team and commercial vehicle division. The company is actively hiring for two software engineering roles. [PR Newswire]
WEEDAR pulled in $1.5M. Operating a loyalty and distribution solution that merges augmented reality-powered shopping experiences and gamified loyalty programs, WEEDAR aims to help cannabis brands boost sales and retain customers. The company pulled in a round of seed funding to expand and improve its existing feature set as well as scale its marketing efforts. [PRWeb]
LA Tech Quote of the Week
“Basketball is a sport where you can go just about anywhere in the world and play the game with people who don’t even speak the same language as you. We look at basketball as one culture that looks beyond the color of your skin, the language you speak or what your socioeconomic background is. That is the same vision we pursue in being a platform that represents all [kinds] of basketball.” — Matt Rodriguez, Ballislife CEO and co-founder
Ballislife got $2.7M. A round of seed funding for basketball lifestyle platform Ballislife will help expand its marketing partnerships with brands like Nike and Adidas, as well as grow its athlete influencer network. The digital media solution provides content, apparel and events that revolve around basketball and basketball players nationwide. [Built In LA]
Five LA tech companies raised a collective $100M in January. While the tech funding sector has been notably quieter in recent times, Los Angeles innovators rounded out January with enough new capital to back their ideas. The top raise went to a Web3 platform that merges both social and entertainment features. [Built In LA]
