With a wide range of tech industry developments on the West Coast last week, read more to find out which companies are raising funding, expanding their footprint and more. This is the Built In LA weekly refresh.
Honest Company files for IPO. Actress Jessica Alba’s e-commerce brand for natural baby, personal care and beauty products is planning its next phase of growth. Honest is planning to trade on the Nasdaq under the ticker symbol HNST. After the offering, the company plans to fund DTC advertising and marketing objectives, launch new products and make new acquisitions. [Built In LA]
GumGum got $75M. This adtech company raised new funding to bring its contextual API and web products to a broader market. GumGum uses computer vision and natural language processing tech to deliver ads to consumers that are more relevant than those from browser cookies. It’s also planning to accelerate its investments in the international market and hire new talent. [Built In LA]
LA Tech Quote of the Week
Simple Feast expands into LA. Based in Denmark, this plant-based meal kit provider is planning to start deliveries to LA residents. The B-corp was founded to solve environmental issues through sustainable food practices; it even delivers its products in eco-friendly packaging. Currently, Simple Feast is hiring for four roles on its LA marketing team. [Built In LA]
Virtualitics pulled in $18M. Specializing in AI-driven data analytics software, the Pasadena-based company closed on its Series B round led by North Sound Ventures. It plans to invest the fresh cash in expanding its business with the defense industry and increasing engagement in commercial markets like healthcare, finance and motorsports. [Business Wire]
Pearpop pulled in $16M. Pearpop offers a platform that enables social media users to buy and sell collaborations. The company has experienced plenty of growth since its launch last October, having attracted 10,000 creators to its platform and closed two funding rounds from investors like Ashton Kutcher and Snoop Dogg. The company is mainly investing in hiring new talent. With the remaining capital, Pearpop hopes to build out new tools and features for its users. [Built In LA]
Tagger Media secured $8.5M. With the funding from its Series A round, the influencer marketing startup is looking to accelerate product development and the momentum of its sales and marketing reach worldwide. To coincide with its growth plan, Tagger also brought on new additions to its team, including LA-based Bianca Ker as head of customer success. [Martech Series]
Boingo Wireless joins Qualcomm’s accelerator. The LA-based DAS and Wi-Fi provider is looking to make smart cities a reality. It joined the Qualcomm Smart Cities Accelerator Program to help power the wireless networks required to fulfill the program’s mission of developing smart cities. The program is designed to connect areas with providers that help deliver greater efficiencies, cost savings, safety, and sustainability. [Business Wire]
