🔦 Spotlight

LA-based Popshop Live, a mobile live shopping marketplace was acquired this week by CommentSold, a Huntsville, Alabama-based live selling technology provider. Never heard of live shopping? Fear not, you are in good company. Less than a third of US adults have heard of live shopping. Prepare to be ahead of the curve. 🎥 🛍️ 💸

Live shopping combines real-time video streaming with e-commerce, enabling viewers to watch product presentations, interact with hosts, and make purchases instantly during the stream - similar to TV-based QVC but online or in an app.

Live shopping is growing quickly in the U.S., but it’s not nearly as popular here as it is in China, where it saw $514 billion in sales in 2022, representing 17% of all e-commerce sales. U.S. live shopping is expected to top $31B this year, representing less than 3% of the overall e-commerce market. Popshop Live was a beneficiary of investors’ hopes that live shopping would grow quickly here to match its penetration in China.

Prior to its acquisition, Popshop Live had raised $24.5 million, most recently at a $100m valuation, from A-list investors including Benchmark, M13, Progression Fund, and many others. Unfortunately for Popshop Live’s investors and team, the company struggled to manage cash in the tougher venture environment of 2022 and 2023, and it doesn’t seem likely the acquisition generated much in terms of financial rewards, though terms were not disclosed.

The good news for creators is that this merger creates a more comprehensive platform that combines CommentSold's SMB-focused e-commerce capabilities with Popshop Live's app-based marketplace and offers creators of all sizes access to a suite of features, including state-of-the-art live streaming software, dropshipping, inventory management, and an easy-to-onboard marketplace.

Popshop Live’s closest competitor, LA-based Whatnot, is the big fish in the U.S. live shopping market. Focused on collectibles like Funko Pop dolls and Pokemon cards, it has raised $485 million from investors like CapitalG, DST Global, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint, Y Combinator and others. Whatnot seems to be experiencing none of Popshop Live’s growing pains, as it ranked #9 on the a16z marketplace 100 this year, sitting alongside more established marketplace leaders like Instacart and SeatGeek. In addition to pure-play attempts like Whatnot and Popshop Live, tech giants have dabbled in the space, with Amazon pushing Amazon Live while Instagram Live recently discontinued live shopping after a splashy release in 2020.

With the ups and downs of the last few years, it remains to be seen if live shopping with remain a fairly niche market in the U.S., or if we’ll all be buying our next big purchase from our favorite creators.

🤝 Venture Deals

LA Startups

• Lex, a months-old AI-powered writing tool raised a $2.75M Seed Round led by True Ventures. - learn more 

• Crate, an AI-powered platform that gives personalized product recommendations raised a $5M Seed Round from MaC Venture Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, UpFront Ventures and others. - learn more

• Massdriver, an extendable cloud ops platform, raised an $8M funding round led by Builders VC and joined by 1984 Ventures, YC, Uncorrelated Ventures, Page One Ventures, Soma Capital and Hack VC. - learn more

• Mosh, a maker of brain health-focused nutritional products, raised a $3M Series A led by Main Street Advisors and joined by Joyance Ventures, The Lab Capital Advisors, Verso Capital and Entrepreneur Ventures. - learn more

• LighthouseAI, a provider of pharma-supply chain compliance tools, raised a $2.3M Seed Round led by Healthy Ventures and joined by Bertelsmann Next. - learn more

• Ghost, a B2B marketplace for surplus inventory, raised a $30M Series B led by Cathay Innovation and joined by insiders Union Square Ventures, Equal Ventures and Eniac Ventures. - learn more

• Jinx, a dog food brand, raised a $17.9M Series B co-led by The Merchant Club and Align Ventures and joined by insiders AF Ventures and Era Ventures, and the Range Group. - learn more

LA Funds

• ScribeUp, a subscription management startup, raised a $3M Seed Round from Santa Monica-based Mucker Capital. - learn more

✨Featured Event✨

Plug In South LA is hosing its Accelerator Cohort 4 Founder Showcase on September 14th.

Hosted by our friends at Plug In, this event will showcase Early Stage Black and Brown Founders rolling out new service and platform solutions in Digital Health/Healthcare Tech, FinTech, Digital Media, PropTech, and EdTech.

🚀 For Early Stage Investors looking to diversify their portfolios with high-potential companies led by Black and Brown Entrepreneurs, this showcase is a must-attend. We also extend a warm welcome to the LA Tech community, including LPs, Corporate Executives & Foundations, and Family Offices.

🎟️ Secure your spot now and immerse yourself in a night of innovation, inspiration, and boundless opportunities. Register for the Plug In Accelerator Cohort 4 Founder Showcase here.

Want your event featured? Shoot us an email!

📅 LA Tech Calendar

Wednesday, August 30th

• GENERATIVE LA—LIGHTSPEED X SCOPELY X ACTIVISION 🗽 - Bringing together local founders, engineers, designers and product leaders building the future of AI!

Thursday, August 31st

• LA Tech Happy Hour + Product Managers Assoc. of LA🗽 - Meant to broaden LA tech networks away from laptops! Two tenured LA tech recruiters from Sharp Decisions will be in attendance.

• Pathways to Progress: Advancing AI Literacy in Education and The Workforce - Panel focused on the integration and evolution of AI literacy across the educational spectrum.

• Female Founder and Investor Walk!🗽 - Bringing female entrepreneurs and seasoned investors together for an evening walk around Echo Park Lake!

Other events to add to the calendar

🗽 - Free

Have an awesome event coming up? Reach out to be featured on next week’s Newsletter!

🎧 What We’re Listening To

• Listen to an engaging conversation between Minnie Ingersoll, Partner at TenOneTen, and Brett Queener, Managing Director at Bonfire Ventures. This insightful interview covers a wide array of topics, ranging from practical operational insights to Queener's unique experiences growing up in diverse countries. - listen here

📙 What We’re Reading

• Elysian Park Ventures hosted a portfolio company summit at Dodger Stadium - read more

• 25% of Grindr users are using the app, known for its association with hookups, for networking purposes - read more

• Federal judge dismisses an inventor’s attempt to copyright artwork produced by AI - read more

• Newzoo’s report on the global games market is favorable to the numerous video game publishers and developers headquartered in LA - read more

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Last Weeks Poll:

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