The average Fortune 500 company has a portfolio of over $212M in Tax Credits and Incentives. As large as this sounds, nearly 50% of available credits and incentives (C&I) go unclaimed each year. Companies may be dissuaded by the process of applying, reporting, and maintaining these credits. Incentify is the enterprise SaaS platform that lets companies manage all aspects of tax credits and incentives.CEO Laurence Sotsky shares more on how Incentify is changing the narrative around C&I by providing analytics, reporting, and compliance in a centralized platform.
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LA Tech Week in Review: 9/6/20-9/12/20
Bingie is the Social App that Lets You Discover and Chat About What to Watch Next
Most have fallen into the trap of endlessly scrolling through Netflix’s immense library to find something to watch. The disproportionate time that people spend finding a series versus actually viewing has given rise to a new category of watchlist apps. Bingie is the entertainment recommendation app that taps into personal networks to help find relevant content. Bingie puts an emphasis on content suggestions from friends and family to create a highly-personalized interface where users can discuss, discover, and debate the merits of shows and movies. The platform works across the major streaming services including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu. Cofounder Matt Knox shares more about launching the company during the pandemic, the company’s future plans, and differentiators.
The 5 Largest LA Tech Startup Funding Rounds of August 2020
Xos Trucks Raises $20M to Make Last-Mile Delivery Cleaner and Greener
California recently passed regulations requiring that over 50% of all commercial trucks sold in the state must be zero-emissions by 2035 and other states have signed a memorandum to phase out all diesel-burning medium- to heavy-duty truck and bus sales by 2050. These new laws signal promise and opportunity for companies like Xos Trucks, the LA company building state-of-the-art OEM electric trucks that forge together battery packs, chassis, and software. Xos Trucks’ flagship X-Platform 1 is fully electric and compatible with a variety of medium-duty bodies, wheelbases, and range requirements up to 200 miles. The X-Platform 1 is often customized into Class 6 medium-duty bodies that fulfill short-range deliveries, which have been used by UPS. Xos Trucks is also developing the ET-One, a Class 8 heavy-duty truck that can carry 80,000 pounds and can travel 150 miles per charge. 65% percent of trucks on the road travel less than 150 miles per day and Xos is addressing this market with its solutions to make last-mile delivery sustainable and efficient. COO and Cofounder Giordano Sordoni shares more about Xos Trucks is disrupting an $8T industry from the ground up with saavy engineering and software.
Fastly Acquires Signal Sciences for $775M to Secure its Edge Computing Platform
Signal Sciences, the developer-focused provider of security solutions for APIs and web applications, has agreed to be acquired by Fastly, the edge computing platform, for $775M. The transaction is structured as $200M in cash and $575M in cash.
The 9 Largest LA Tech Startup Funding Rounds of July 2020
Unplug Meditation is the World’s First Drop-in Meditation Studio and is Now Digital
The world’s first drop-in meditation studio, Unplug Meditation, is on a mission to create a global movement to de-stress people’s lives. Unplug Meditation has two locations in Santa Monica and another West Hollywood. In response to the pandemic, the company went digital seemingly overnight. Founder and CEO Suze Yalof Schwartz walks us through what inspired her to transition from a successful career in fashion as the Executive Fashion Editor At Large for Glamour to founding Unplug in 2014, the company’s future plans, and response to COVID.
Uniper Care Raises $4M to Reduce Loneliness in Older Adults by Helping Them Age in Place with Tech
COVID-19 is exacerbating the loneliness and isolation and this is even more true among seniors. Uniper Care is the startup that helps older adults age in place, while simultaneously reducing feelings of social isolation through technology. Uniper Care’s multi-modular platform transforms any TV or mobile device into a social assistant that enables older adults to video chat with family and friends, access remote health care, participate in interactive programs, browse photo albums, connect with peer-led groups, and meet new people. CEO and Cofounder Rami Kirshblum shares more insight about how his cofounder’s experience with his aging mother led to the founding of Uniper, how the company is growing rapidly and alleviating loneliness for seniors during the pandemic, and the company’s latest funding round led by Zeev Ventures.
Arrive Outdoors Raises $4.75M for its Outdoor Gear Rental Platform That Delivers to Your Doorstep
The sharing economy is making the concept of ownership obsolete for many categories. Rachelle Snyder and her cofounder had to go through the difficult process of deciding which of their belongings to take with them during a cross country move and their outdoor gear just couldn’t be accommodated. The experience of trying to obtain gear once in LA led to the foundation for launching Arrive Outdoors, the rental company for premium, outdoor equipment that can deliver an assortment of outdoor gear straight to a consumer’s door. Rachelle shares some insight about how the company makes the exploration of the outdoors more accessible and the company’s recent seed funding round from investors that include Freestyle Capital Science Inc., AVG Basecamp Fund, Corigin Ventures, Pine5 Ventures, and James Reinhart and John Voris.
Swoop Raises $3.2M to Make Booking Group Transportation as Easy as Ordering an Uber
Anyone who has ever been in charge of organizing a group trip is familiar with all the planning that goes into it, and executing the most basic plans like how to get from point A to point B can kickstart a flurry of activity that includes hours of Google searches and phone calls with various vendors. Swoop makes it as easy as ordering an Uber with its group transportation booking platform that digitizes mom-and-pop group chauffeur operators. CRO and Cofounder Peter Evenson shares more insight on how Swoop is bringing SaaS to a historical paper and pencil industry, the company’s future plans, and recent funding round.