In another stellar month for tech fundraising, local startups collectively raised more than $380 million in May — with the top five rounds accounting for $231 million alone. Here are the top fundings from last month.
5. $30 million, May 4
Former Ticketmaster CEO Nathan Hubbard is back on the LA tech scene after spending a few years in a leadership role at Twitter. His latest venture, Playa Vista-based ticketing startup Rival, emerged from stealth early in the month, revealing a $30 million round of funding from several big-name investors. Andreessen Horowitz and Upfront Ventures led the round, which also saw participation from Slack CPO April Underwood, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo and Stripe co-founders Patrick and John Collison. [Built In LA]
4. $31 million, May 2
On-demand massage startup Soothe's $31 million Series C at the outset of the month came with some interesting logistic moves for the five-year-old startup. In addition to co-founder Merlin Kauffman stepping down as CEO, to be replaced by CFO Simon Heyrick, the company announced it would be moving its headquarters to Las Vegas — though it will maintain its LA presence. [Built In LA]
2. $50 million, May 9
Acorns, which allows users to invest spare change automatically to a diversified portfolio managed by professionals, quietly raised $50 million in funding in May to build out its portfolio stack with new investment options. The Irvine-based company chose financial planning and investment management firm BlackRock to lead the round. [Built In LA]
2. $50 million, May 16
Cloudvirga, a real estate tech startup that offers a digital mortgage point-of-sale software, closed a big Series C, bringing in $50 million in a round led by Riverwood Capital that also saw participation from Upfront Ventures. Since launching in mid-2016, the Irvine-based company has raised $77 million in funding. [Press Release]
1. $70 million, May 4
West Hollywood-based consumer electronic brand Muzik made waves in early May, closing a $60 million round of funding from a star-studded cast of inventors. Contributing to the round were Francois-Henri Pinault, Michael Jordan, Ndamukong Suh, Drake, Kevin Hart and Tony Robbins, all of whom will act as brand ambassadors. [Built In LA]
