Bird Global Inc. began testing its first-of-its-kind “smart sidewalk protection” riding detection technology this week in West Hollywood.
The technology, which aims to prevent shared scooters from operating on city sidewalks, has been piloted in Milwaukee, San Diego and Madrid and will soon be launching in more cities worldwide.
Bird (NYSE: BRDS) said its engineering team and the GPS experts at Swiss chip maker U-Blox jointly developed an end-to-end positioning system designed to deliver centimeter-level accuracy specifically for the micromobility industry.
Riders traveling on a sidewalk will now receive both an audible alert as well as a mobile notification, and the vehicle will be brought safely and smoothly to a stop by removing throttle. Bird said unlike expensive, externally mounted cameras, its fusion-sensor solution can be implemented at scale without risk of damage caused by weather or vandalism.
In other L.A.-area tech news:
- Slingshot Aerospace Inc., located in El Segundo and Austin, Texas, has been awarded a 39-month, $25 million contract from the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command with strategic support from SpaceWerx. The contract will facilitate delivery of two key Slingshot Aerospace products: the company’s Digital Space Twin and the deployment of the Slingshot Laboratory training product for USSF. Funding was provided by Space Systems Command and SpaceWerx, the recently established venture arm of the Space Force, as part of its Strategic Financing program.
- Beverly Hills-based ReadySet, a company providing database infrastructure to help developers build real-time applications, has raised $24 million in a Series A funding round led by Index Ventures with participation from Amplify Partners. Several angel investors also contributed, bringing ReadySet’s total raised to nearly $29 million. The company previously raised $4.9 million in a seed round.
- L.A. gaming company Loaded, which represents several streamers and content creators, has raised $20 million. As part of its growth, the company has promoted several members of its staff, including naming former COO Josh Swartz CEO and promoting Bridget Davidson to president of its talent division. Loaded plans to use the funding to further expand its staff and services, as well as invest in data and analytics tools and expand potential brand partnerships to include the metaverse and Web3.
- Plant-based ice cream brand Sunscoop has completed a $2 million seed financing round led by Vibrant Ventures, participation from H/L Ventures and Torch Capital, along with early angel investors. The funds will go to support retail and DTC expansion, strategic new hires and the launch of five new plant-based products. Founded in 2017, Sunscoop originally launched at L.A.’s open-air Smorgasburg market and has since grown to 700 strategic retailers, including Erewhon and Whole Foods, and will relaunch its nationwide DTC shop in April.
- CreatorUp has raised an undisclosed amount of financing from Gaingels and JFF (Jobs for the Future) to expand its video marketplace that helps organizations create professional video content while simultaneously providing training and opportunities for its creative workforce. Funds will be used to expand operations of the CreatorUp marketplace, which features more than 650 video services.
