dot.LA

🔩 Spotlight Hello Los Angeles, This week, LA proved it can scale in silence and shine in the spotlight, sometimes in the same breath. Let’s start with the quiet powerhouse. Culver City-based Silvus Technologies is being acquired by Motorola Solutions for $4.4 billion in up-front consideration, with the potential for an additional $600 million in earnout payments, bringing the total deal value to $5 billion.

🔩 Spotlight Happy Friday, LA, It’s Coachella Weekend 2, which means fewer cars on the road, easier restaurant reservations, and just enough quiet to hear the next wave of innovation humming through the city. This week, we’re watching more driverless cars roll in, Instagram remix your Reels feed, and a $100K climate challenge call for startups. Let’s get into it.

šŸ”¦ Spotlight Hello LA! While most tech headlines are busy chasing AI chatbots and flying taxis, one startup in El Segundo is aiming a little higher. Literally. Rainmaker just secured$25 million in Series A funding to expand its cloud-seeding drone technology. The round was led by Lowercarbon Capital, with participation from Starship Ventures, 1517 Fund, Long Journey Ventures, Naval Ravikant, and others. Their idea is simple but urgent.

ūüĒ¶ Spotlight Hello Los Angeles, The future just got a flight plan, and it includes skipping traffic for the 2028 Olympics. Image Source: Archer This week, Santa Clara-based Archer Aviation made headlines (and history) by being named the official air taxi provider for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games and Team USA.

ūüĒ¶ Spotlight Hello Los Angeles, and happy Friday! Memorial Day Weekend is finally here, and it seems even PCH got the memo, just in time for those coastal drives to kick off summer, traffic jams included. Speaking of navigation, El Segundo based startup CX2 has charted its own impressive course this week, securing $31 million in a Series A round led by Point72 Ventures, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, 8VC, and Pax Ventures, to boost its mission in electronic warfare.

🔦 Spotlight Happy Friday, Los Angeles! As we wrap up another busy week in LA’s tech scene, there’s big news on the leadership front. PledgeLA has a new chair, and it’s someone who knows what it takes to break barriers and build lasting impact. Noramay Cadena, a San Fernando High grad turned triple-degree MIT engineer, has spent her career defying expectations.

ūüĒ¶ Spotlight Happy Friday, Los Angeles! This week, we‚Äôre rewinding the clock and fast-forwarding into the future at the same time. Napster, yes, that Napster, just got acquired for $207 million byInfinite Reality, a metaverse and immersive tech company that‚Äôs aiming to bring the iconic music platform into the next generation. For anyone who came of age in the early 2000s, Napster was either your musical awakening or the reason your dial-up connection crashed.

ūüĒ¶ Spotlight Hello LA, Step into the world of Incentify, the El Segundo-based innovator turning the headache of managing tax credits and incentives into a walk in the park. Founded in 2019, this trailblazing company is reshaping how businesses approach what was once a daunting bureaucratic challenge.

🔦 Spotlight Hello Los Angeles, Move over Coachella, hello Stagecoach. With crowds headed east, LA might feel a little quieter this weekend, but beneath the surface, the city is busy making moves that could shape the future of travel. Image Source: Metro First up: a major milestone at LAX. This June, the new LAX/Metro Transit Center Station will officially open, finally linking Metro's C and K Lines to a new ground hub near the airport.

ūüĒ¶ Spotlight Happy Friday, LA ‚ÄĒ LA‚Äôs mobility scene is shifting gears ‚ÄĒ fast. We‚Äôve got movement on the ground and in the skies this week. Image Source: Upway Let‚Äôs start on two wheels. Sequoia-backed startup Upway just launched its new 30,000 square-foot flagship facility in Redondo Beach, and it‚Äôs not your average bike shop.