Kong Studios has moved its headquarters to Santa Monica.
Kong Studios Inc.
Video game developer Kong Studios Inc. has moved its headquarters from Nevada to Santa Monica, where the company said it plans to ramp up development for its next triple-A title.
The company released its first game, “Dungeon Link,” in 2015 and its second, “Guardian Tales,” in 2020. “Guardian Tales” achieved $216 million in sales and a total of 25 million downloads in its first year of release.
Kong Studios is planning to focus on developing a 3D open-world sandbox game for its next title.
The company raised $62 million in Series B financing in August 2021, reaching unicorn status.
In other L.A.-area tech news:
- A consortium led by L.A.-based The Chernin Group (TCG) plans to invest $263 million for a stake in pop culture lifestyle brand Funko Inc. (Nasdaq: FNKO). The investor consortium includes Ebay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY); former Disney (NYSE: DIS) CEO Bob Iger; and Rich Paul, CEO and founder of Klutch Sports Group and head of sports at United Talent Agency. TCG will name two directors to Funko’s board, including TCG co-founder and partner Jesse Jacobs. The additional director will be named at a later date. Iger and TCG co-founder Peter Chernin will become advisors to the board.
Electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy is led by serial founder Scott Painter.
Autonomy
- Electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy has added Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo counties to its service area. The Santa Monica-based company says it’s the first U.S. company to offer a comprehensive monthly subscription for a Tesla Model 3, with other popular EV models scheduled in the near future. Customers can order a vehicle on Autonomy’s app and pick it up from the company’s delivery center in Santa Monica or schedule a delivery within a week.
- Promenade Group has expanded its e-commerce platform to include order and delivery services for restaurants and beverage stores. Launched in 2010, the Santa Monica-based startup was originally called BloomNation and built for local florists.
LinearB said it will use new funding to scale its engineering team and accelerate the development of its platform.
LinearB
Funding
- Engineering platform LinearB has raised raised $50 million in Series B financing led by Tribe Capital. Also participating in the round were new investor Salesforce Ventures and existing investors Battery Ventures and 83North. Sri Pangulur, partner at Tribe Capital, will join the LinearB board. This round brings total funding for LinearB to $71 million. The company said it will use the Series B funding to scale its engineering team and accelerate the development of its platform.
- Zora has raised $50 million in funding led by Haun Ventures to help it develop tools that allow people to create and sell NFTs. The round valued Zora at $600 million and included investments from Coinbase Ventures, Kindred Ventures and others, according to VentureBeat.
- Sensible Weather, a climate risk technology company, has raised $12 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its total financing to more than $20 million. The round was led by San Francisco-based Infinity Ventures with participation from Certares Ventures, Derive Ventures, and existing investors Wonder Ventures and Group1001. Sensible said the funds will allow it to grow its engineering and scientific staff, accelerate development of its proprietary climate data and risk analytics platform, and expand its Weather Guarantee offering into international markets.
Funds
Magnify Ventures, led by Joanna Drake and Julie Wroblewski, invests in early-stage technology companies.
Magnify Ventures
- Venture capital firm Magnify Ventures has formed a $52 million fund to invest in early-stage technology companies in the $648 billion care economy, including parenting and family life, the future of work, household optimization, and aging and longevity. The company’s debut fund is anchored by Pivotal Ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, and includes limited partners from leading foundations, funds of funds, family offices and business leaders. Magnify Ventures was co-founded by Julie Wroblewski, who previously launched and led Pivotal Ventures' venture capital investment portfolio and strategy, and Joanna Drake, a venture capital veteran with Core Ventures Group.
- Elevation Ventures, an Orange County-based venture firm focused on investing in climate technology, has raised a $50 million fund. The fund will target seed-stage companies in SoCal and possibly invest in a few Series A funding rounds, with investments ranging from $500,000 to $3 million, reported dot.LA. Elevation has partnered with two organizations with deep O.C. roots: business incubator Octane and Sustain SoCal, a network of professionals focused on clean tech development.
People
Headspace Health has named Wisdom Powell as chief social impact and diversity officer and Jodi Bryant as chief commercial officer.
Headspace Health
- Digital mental health platform Headspace Health has named Wisdom Powell as chief social impact and diversity officer and Jodi Bryant as chief commercial officer. Powell is a psychologist, tenured professor and expert on racial trauma, healing and health equity. Bryant is a veteran employee benefits executive with nearly 30 years of experience leading commercial programs at Aetna, Putnam Investments, Mercer and Citistreet.
