Snapchat
$538 million
Type: Equity
Location: Venice
Investors: 35 undisclosed investors
Description: Days after declaring its intent to IPO, Snapchat disclosed it has raised a $538 million round from a group of 35 investors. The offering was for $650 million in stock and at this point leaves $112 million unsold, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sources cited by CNBC said the deal values the company at $16 billion. Since earlier this year, the company has been rumored to be valued at as much as $19 billion. Related: Snapchat Raises $538 Million
GumGum
$26 million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Round led by Morgan Stanley with participation from New Enterprise Associates, Upfront Ventures and First Round Capital
Description: GumGum’s image recognition technology combs a network of websites that subscribe to the service, identifies the contents of pictures on those sites and automatically overlays related advertisements. In total the company has raised almost $37 million in venture capital, with this last round valuing the company at $200 million. The company’s revenue run rate in the first quarter puts it on track to generate $75 million in 2015 and the company is considering an IPO in 2017. Related: AdTech Firm GumGum Raises Round, Eyes IPO
Enervee
$3.7 million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Round led by Obvious Ventures with undisclosed angel investors participating
Description: Enervee is an online marketplace for finding energy efficient appliances. Products sold on the site are rated via an “Enervee Score,” which informs consumers how energy efficient individual products are. Within the marketplace, shoppers can find energy-sipping products such as televisions, washing machines and refrigerators.
Mighty Proud Media
$2.5 Million
Type: Equity
Location: Burbank
Investors: Undisclosed
Description: TheMighty.com is a media site that publishes encouraging stories for those with disabilities. Content comes from a small army of freelancers and contributors that share viral stories of people overcoming “disease, disorder and disability.” Founder and Chief Executive Mike Porath’s previous jobs include a stint as executive vice president of programming for music media network SpinMedia of Hollywood and editor-in-chief of AOL News of New York City.
PatientPop
$2.1 million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Athena Healthcare led the round with other undisclosed investors participating
Description: PatientPop seeks to consolidate healthcare marketing activities onto one online service that helps doctors, dentists and other small healthcare providers improve their website search engine optimization, email marketing and other online promotional activities. The company recently joined the Athena Healthcare Incubator and previously raised $500,000 in seed funding.
HelloTech
$2 million
Type: Equity
Location: West L.A.
Investors: Collaborative Fund, Baroda Ventures, Greycroft Partners and Silicon Valley Bank
Description: HelloTech is taking on existing in-home technical support companies such as Best Buy’s Geek Squad by focusing on customer service, authoritative product upselling and an inexpensive workforce of college students working on a contract basis. It aims to serve adults in their late 40s and beyond, a population that is hungry for technology and is willing to pay for technical support. To date, HelloTech has raised $4.5 million in funding. Related: HelloTech’s College Kids Explain Wi-Fi to the Over-40 Set
Brilliant Bikes
$1.5 Million
Type: Equity
Location: Santa Monica
Investors: Round led by RRE with participation from Brand Foundry Ventures, Great Oaks VC, Aspiration Growth, and angels including Bonobos founder Andy Dunn and DogVacay Chief Financial Officer Bryan Wolff
Description: Custom online bike maker Brilliant Bikes wants to simplify the bike purchasing process for casual riders intimidated by bike shops over-stocked with complex bicycles. Brilliant Bikes is focused on selling simple bicycles that consumers can assembly themselves. The company believes limited inventory, bike self-assembly and an e-commerce model should keep operating costs and bike prices low.
*Some funding data provided by PitchBook
Technology reporter Garrett Reim can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @garrettreim for the latest in L.A. tech news.
