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Billion-Dollar Milestones and Snapchat’s New Features

dot.LA Weekly Update

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles!

This week’s spotlight showcases LA’s thriving tech scene, featuring Snapchat’s latest feature updates and two local startups, Liquid Death and Altruist, making TechCrunch’s Unicorn List for 2024. 

Image Source: Snap

Snapchat’s recent fall updates bring fresh features, including a new iPhone camera shortcut for instant snaps, Halloween-inspired AI-powered Lenses, and Bitmoji costumes inspired by Mean Girls and Yellowstone. Bitmoji stickers now reflect trending Gen-Z expressions like “slay” and heart symbols for added flair in chats. Plus, the “Footsteps” feature on Snap Map allows users to track their past adventures privately, adding a nostalgic touch.

Image Source: Liquid Death

ICYMI, two LA startups joined the Unicorn Club—achieving valuations over $1 billion. Liquid Death, based in Santa Monica, is a canned water company with edgy branding and a humorous sustainability focus. Known for viral marketing and brand partnerships, it redefines bottled water as a lifestyle brand and environmental statement. In March, Liquid Death closed $67 million in strategic financing, raising its total funding to over $267 million and valuing it at $1.4 billion.

Image Source: Altruist

Altruist, a Culver City-based fintech platform, offers financial advisors streamlined tools to better serve their clients. With a user-friendly investment and account management platform, Altruist has gained strong traction in the finance world. In May, it announced a $169 million Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to over $449 million and earning a valuation of $1.5 billion.

Together, Liquid Death and Altruist exemplify LA’s capacity for innovation across diverse sectors, from lifestyle branding to fintech. Whether reshaping financial tools or redefining sustainable branding, these companies showcase LA’s unique entrepreneurial spirit. Go LA!

Check out TechCrunch’s 2024 Unicorn List here. And don’t miss Snapchat’s latest features—perfect for adding some fun, connection and maybe a few selfies this weekend!

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

LA Venture Funds

  • Anthos Capital participated in a $70M Series D round for Carbon Robotics, which develops AI-powered robotics for precision agriculture, and the funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its autonomous weeding technology. - learn more

  • Anthos Capital participated in a $3.5M seed round for Plasma Network, aimed at expanding access to USDT stablecoins on the Bitcoin network, with the investment supporting the network’s growth and efforts to enhance stablecoin accessibility through the Lightning Network. - learn more

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