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Startups & VC
Funding rounds, acquisitions, and growth bets.
Rebuilt from the Tech desk's file at every publish · newest filing Sep 16, 2026
The desk’s Startups & VC file
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Two L.A. Startups Raised $2.37 Billion for AI. Neither Sells AI.
Torrance's Hadrian took $1.37 billion; El Segundo's Valar Atomics closed $1 billion led by Sequoia Capital, plus a $200 million credit line.
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A Gym Software Giant Bought L.A.'s Replify. No Price Was Disclosed.
Replify, the L.A. startup whose AI agents answer gym phone calls, sold to ABC Fitness three years after launching as HeyLibby.
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Travis Kalanick Raised $1.7 Billion for Robots. Uber Chipped In.
The Los Angeles company, formerly City Storage Systems and parent of CloudKitchens, now runs three arms: food, mining and transport.
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Torrance's Castelion Raised $1 Billion for Missiles. New Mexico Gets the Plant.
The company's Blackbeard hypersonic strike missile was designed in California and is expected to enter service in 2027.
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Vanguard Agreed to Buy Altruist, the Culver City Firm Holding Advisers' Accounts
The two firms didn’t disclose terms; Altruist keeps its brand, leadership and operating model as a standalone business.
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An L.A. AI Startup Raised $76 Million. Three Major Music Companies Are Backing It.
The Los Angeles company will put the money into professional services, applied research and creative production tools for music, gaming and entertainment, dot.LA reported on August 28, 2026.
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Torrance and El Segundo Startups Raised $2.37 Billion. The New Factories Aren't Built Yet.
Hadrian, in Torrance, closed a $1.37 billion Series D at a $7.87 billion valuation. Valar Atomics, in El Segundo, closed $1 billion led by Sequoia Capital, dot.LA reported on August 7, 2026.
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A $250 Million Round for Instinct, the Year-Old AI Assistant Whose Terms Keep User Data.
Instinct, an AI assistant from Spear Street Technology and 23-year-old founder Noah Shinn, disclosed a $250 million Series B on August 26, 2026, co-led by Index Ventures and Benchmark.
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Castelion, Torrance's Hypersonic Missile Maker, Raised $1 Billion at a $13 Billion Valuation.
dot.LA reported the round at a $13 billion valuation on August 21, 2026. The missile, Blackbeard, is designed in California and built in New Mexico.
Around the tech world
From the Globe’s tech wire — headlines from Hacker News and the tech press on this beat, each linking out to the outlet that reported it. Fetched Sep 18, 2026.