Clutter raises $200M — LA’s biggest funding round of 2019 so far
$297 million. That’s how much on-demand storage company Clutter has raised to date, thanks to a $200 million Series D funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund. Details of the round — which had been stirring up speculation for weeks — emerged in full on Wednesday. It’s the biggest single round of the year to date here in LA, and a major win for the Culver City-based tech company, giving their expansion plans more than a little boost. Of how the cash will be used, Clutter CEO Ari Mir told Built In LA: “We’ve become a market leader because we have great people, and we firmly believe that if we want to realize our long-term visions, we’re going to need even more great people.” [Built In LA]
CIE Digital Labs and Wavemaker Partners announce a formal partnership
CIE Digital Labs, the Irvine-based accelerator, announced a formal partnership with early-stage VC firm Wavemaker Partners this week. As partners, Wavemaker will provide funding and CIE expertise to the companies’ joint business ventures. The announcement of a formal partnership follows years of close collaboration between the two companies. Wavemaker has participated in funding rounds for CIE-accelerated companies including Nativo, ASAP Tire, StyleHaul, CloudTrigger and Titan School Solutions (which Wavemaker co-led).
“By combining our vast investing experience with CDL’s expert corporate and product strategy, we can further accelerate a diverse array of ventures into promising category leaders,” Eric Manlunas, founder and managing partner at Wavemaker Partners, said in a statement. [Press release]
Early-stage licensing platform Brainbase raises $1M
Brainbase, an LA-based startup focused on intellectual property licensing, announced a $1M seed round this week. Tera Ventures led the round, with participation from Sterling Road and a number of angel investors including Severin Hacker of the popular language-learning app Duolingo. The funding will be used to develop the company’s debut product, a licensing tool for brands and licensees. The day after the funding news dropped, the company launched a new product called Marketplace, a platform that facilitates licensing deals, from discovery through royalty payments. [Press release]
