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- This Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Bank Is Going Public
This Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Bank Is Going Public
This Leonardo DiCaprio-Backed Bank Is Going Public
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Aspiration, the bank that bills itself as financial business for eco-conscious consumers, has plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in a deal valued at about $2.3 billion. The L.A.-based bank says it hopes to be listed in the New York Stock Exchange under the ASP symbol by the fourth quarter.
💳 PayEngine, an L.A.-based SaaS startup, has raised $1.6 million in a seed funding round.
🤖 Rapid Robotics, an automation solutions startup, will use some of the $36.7 million it raised recently to support expansion in Southern California and other states.
🎙 Spotify's sports show The Ringer and WWE are launching an audio network that will include wrestling personalities.
🏭 The multinational infrastructure consulting firm AECOM is relocating its Los Angeles headquarters to Dallas, Texas.
⚠️ Three former Netflix employees are among five people accused of illegal insider trading.
🏆 Shows from the now-defunct video platform Quibi have landed eight Emmy nominations.
😷 Masks are now required at all large outdoor events open to the public in Los Angeles County.
Now in its sixth year in business, Aspiration says it has more than 5 million members and the backing of celebrity investors like Leonardo Di Caprio, Drake and Cindy Crawford. Just in the last year alone, the eco-conscious bank says it has seen a "7x growth" and says it has planted more than 15 million trees.
As Playstation and Oculus bring VR to the mainstream, ForeVR Games just got another $7 million to turn real-life sports into virtual reality experiences. The round was led by Bessemer Venture Partners with other investors including Galaxy Interactive, All Star Capital, Mark Pincus and Emmett Shear.
Apeel Sciences, a Santa Barbara-based company whose edible coating helps extend the shelf life of produce, has raised $250 million in a Series E round that brings the company's valuation to $2 billion. The new round of fundraising will be used to advance the timeline for implementing this technology into Apeel-backed supply chains.
On this week's episode of LA Ventures, Drew Taylor, a partner at Digitalis Ventures, talks about broadening the company's investment from human healthcare to also animals.