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Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Palmer Luckey's Anduril leads second quarter surge for venture capital in greater L.A.
Venture capital investments in the Greater Los Angeles region more than doubled to $5.8 billion in the second quarter, compared to a year ago, as investors poured money into the area's defense tech and aerospace companies amid escalating geopolitical tensions. Costa Mesa-based defense tech company Anduril received the most venture capital in the region last quarter, raising a $2.5-billion funding round, according to research firm CB Insights. The company, co-founded by entrepreneur Palmer Luckey, said it would use the money to invest in scaling up its production, hiring, taking big swings on products and capabilities and other efforts such as its mergers and acquisitions strategy. Anduril, which manufactures autonomous weapons systems, was recently awarded a $99.6-million contract to build a next generation command and control prototype for the U.S. Army that it says will help modernize communications on the battlefield. Anduril employs more than 6,000 people and has a valuation of $30.5 billion. Venture capital firm Founders Fund led the recent round with a $1-billion investment, marking the firm's largest check to date, said Founders Fund partner and Anduril executive chairman Trae Stephens in a Bloomberg TV interview in June. The company's recent fundraising round is an example of strong investor interest in defense tech and aerospace, which venture firms believe is ripe for disruption, with startups taking market share from incumbents such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Globally, venture capital investments in defense tech is on the rise. Already, the funding in this category has outpaced last year, according to CB Insights. For the first half of 2025, investors allocated $11.1 billion in venture capital to defense tech companies, compared to $8.2 billion in the full year of 2024, CB Insights said. Investors are eager to jump on an area of growth that has a lot of support from the government, as the U.S. enters a period in which defense and the geopolitical arena is at the forefront, analysts said. The world is being rocked by multiple international conflicts, including Russia's ongoing war on Ukraine and Israel's battle against Hamas in Gaza. 'We're entering an administration, a regulatory period, and a broader geopolitical arena where defense is at the forefront of everyone's minds,' said Jason Saltzman, head of insights at CB Insights. 'We're starting to see a lot of support from the government in particular, with an increasing number of investors hopping on the defense tech train.' Southern California, long an aerospace and defense tech hub, is benefiting from the investor interest, with the area's companies representing nine of the top 30 private businesses globally in defense tech that have received the most venture capital financing, according to CB Insights. Local companies said they were attracted to Southern California because of its strong talent pool, with nearby universities like Caltech and USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Going back to World War II and the Cold War period, key defense contractors like Northrop Grumman and Hughes were built in the South Bay area, making the region a crucial locale for the defense and aerospace industries, said Professor Dan Wadhwani, director of the Lloyd Greif Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the USC Marshall School of Business. As startups build new technologies, they will need to integrate them with other existing systems, he added. 'The proximity to key players within the defense industry makes L.A. a prime place for capitalizing on the growing trends towards defense spending,' he said. Last quarter, defense tech and aerospace companies represented the top four businesses receiving venture capital, according to CB Insights. Anduril led the way, followed by Redondo Beach-based Impulse Space, which raised $300 million, Hawthorne-based Chaos Industries that had a $275-million funding round and L.A.-based spacecraft manufacturer Apex, which raised $200 million in the second quarter, CB Insights said. Chaos Industries makes sensors and radars that provide warning and tracking against unmanned aerial systems, missiles and aircraft. The company, which has more than 100 employees, raised a total of $490 million since it was founded in 2022. The funding will go toward hiring and increasing the company's manufacturing capabilities, said Chief Strategy Officer Will Hurd. Hurd said he remembers when he worked at an investment bank in 2021 and no investors were interested in funding companies where the government was their client because there was a fear or lack of understanding of how that process worked. Now, that's changed and evolved, with a wave of defense tech and aerospace companies, including Chaos Industries. 'Now the adversaries have gotten more sophisticated, and we have to match that,' Hurd said. Impulse Space, which makes space vehicles, said there has been surging customer demand. The company said it has more than 30 signed government and commercial contracts worth nearly $200 million in value and the additional venture capital funding will go toward hiring, scaling production and accelerating its research and development. 'We've proven that we can build fast and fly successfully,' said CEO and founder Tom Mueller in a statement. 'Now, the market is demanding more.'
Business Recorder
17-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
The alchemy of scale: turning MVPs into market-defining products
Every ambitious startup begins with a hypothesis. An idea that a specific need exists, and that a lean, targeted solution can meet it. That hypothesis materializes into a Minimum Viable Product (MVP), a first attempt to engage the market and test assumptions in real time. It is the crucial first step, but far from the finish line. The path from MVP to a scalable, sustainable business is neither straightforward nor guaranteed. Usually, it is a carefully balanced act of vision, technical foresight, and adaptability. The startup graveyard is littered with ventures that failed to move beyond the early boom. A 2023 CB Insights report revealed that 42% of failed startups cited misreading market demand as the primary reason for shutting down, while a 2022 Stripe infrastructure report found that 68% of growing startups were blindsided by escalating technical costs that ultimately disrupted their growth plans. These insights underscore a common reality; initial success is encouraging, but it is only meaningful if the product architecture and organizational mindset are prepared for scale. Successful companies understand that the MVP is not just a tool for validation. It is a foundation on which future complexity must be carefully built. Take the example of Airbnb, which started in 2008 with a simple WordPress site and a vision for short-term room rentals. As the platform grew, its technical backbone evolved from a single code-based system to sophisticated modular services. This shift was not merely about performance gains; it allowed Airbnb to handle 150 million daily searches with sub-second latency by the time of its IPO in 2020. Aristotle Balogh, then CTO, reflected that this painful rewrite from monolith to services also resulted in USD 50 million in annual cloud savings, directly impacted their unit economics and long-term viability. In markets like Pakistan, where infrastructural challenges often force constrained innovation, similar lessons apply. Dastgyr, a B2B marketplace aimed at fixing fragmented retail supply chains, launched its MVP in 2020 with a focus to provide inventory visibility to small kiryana and grocery stores in Karachi through a mobile app. The company claims that even before expanding beyond the first neighborhood, they had already built out warehouse integration APIs which helped in maintaining a 98% delivery success rate; a key metric that helped secure USD 37 million in funding. At the heart of such growth stories, lies a consistent thread. The discipline to collect and act on real user behavior. McKinsey's 2023 benchmarking study found that startups leveraging behavioral data, scale revenue 2.3 times faster than those relying on gut instinct. Canva is a case in point. Originally a simple design tool with a few templates, Canva embedded analytics early to monitor how users interacted with their editor. When data revealed that templates were responsible for 92% of user engagement, the company expanded its asset library dramatically. Over time, those insights helped reduce time-to-first-design by 65%, transforming a basic MVP into a platform used by more than 60 million people worldwide. For many scaling ventures, the right development partner can make all the difference. A Pakistan based IT and ITeS firm, Devsinc's work with a US-based real estate investment platform exemplifies this principle. When the startup needed to scale from its initial MVP to support institutional-grade investment operations, Devsinc architected a complete infrastructure overhaul that integrated blockchain technology with traditional financial systems. This helped the platform support over 3,500 investors managing USD 5 million in transactions, while maintaining 99.7% uptime during peak investment periods. Devsinc implemented seven different payment gateway integrations, reducing transaction failures by 87% compared to the original MVP. This technical foundation enabled the startup's successful acquisition by a major investment platform. Eventually, almost every growing startup faces a reckoning. The MVP-era shortcuts can no longer sustain user demand. According to Stripe's 2023 analysis of 500 post-MVP companies, 61% had to undertake major infrastructure rewrites. Critically, those who delayed these rewrites until after crossing 500,000 monthly active users took three times longer to raise their next round. Instagram's own rebuild in 2016 from a Django monolith to a React-based architecture shows what is at stake. The redesign reduced crash rates by 90%, laying groundwork for a product that now serves over a billion users. This performance factored heavily into its USD 100 billion valuation by Meta. These journeys reveal that scaling a startup is as much about mindset as it is about code. It requires teams to balance user-centered iteration with infrastructure that can grow in complexity without collapsing under its own weight. Patrick Collison, co-founder of Stripe, says, 'Startup mortality correlates less with growth speed than with growth quality.' In this sense, the MVP is never just a prototype. It is a lens into a team's thinking of how they prioritize, how they learn, and how they plan for the future. Whether you are building in Silicon Valley or scaling across South Asia, the principle holds that today's technical decisions shape tomorrow's outcomes. For startups with the right partners and the right foresight, that future can be transformational. For Pakistani founders, the question isn't whether to scale or not; but how to align growth with sustainable architecture
Zawya
09-07-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Oman: Digital healthcare booming
The global healthcare market is undergoing a massive paradigm shift from the conventional way to digital healthcare, a long-overdue transformation, and the reflections are felt across the region too. In 2024, the market attracted $25.1 billion globally, reflecting a 5.5-per cent year-on-year increase across thousands of deals. From start-ups to industry giants, tech investment is changing the face of healthcare. AI-driven innovations accounted for nearly half of all digital health advancements globally, with US AI start-ups securing 60 percent of all digital health funding in Q1. A recent report from CB Insights reveals that digital health start-ups across the globe raised $5 billion during the first quarter of this year. This huge investment reflects a trend for fewer, higher-quality deals. In the first quarter of 2025, the average digital health funding deal was $6.4 million, according to the report. The MENA region, Europe, APAC and the Americas have all attracted substantial investments in key areas, including oncology, medical diagnostics, and of course, Artificial Intelligence. 'Oman's healthcare sector is steadily aligning with global trends in digital transformation. From the integration of electronic health records (EHRs) to the adoption of telemedicine and AI-driven diagnostics, the country is embracing innovation to enhance patient care and accessibility,' Dr Viresh Chopra from Oman Dental College says. But with change comes challenges. And in the inertia-heavy, regulation-rich healthcare landscape, the report suggests that the only way to maintain momentum is through global collaboration. Going forward embracing the challenges, the government's commitment to Oman Vision 2040 has further accelerated this progress, encouraging public-private partnerships and investments in health tech. While challenges such as infrastructure and digital literacy remain, Oman's forward-thinking approach signals a promising future where technology and healthcare go hand in hand. 'We are witnessing a clear and progressive shift towards digital transformation in the healthcare sector — both nationally and within our organisation. While global investments, like the $25.1 billion reported by CB Insights in 2024, highlight the momentum of this transformation, Oman is steadily aligning itself with this trend by embracing technology to improve efficiency, patient care and overall health outcomes,' says Ajimsha P A, Head of operations, NMC hospital. Oman's hospitals are witnessing how digital tools are reshaping healthcare delivery. Healthcare providers have invested in Electronic Health Records (EHRs), AI-assisted diagnostics, and cloud-based data systems that streamline operations and reduce administrative burdens. Telemedicine, which gained strong traction during the pandemic, continues to be a critical component in enhancing accessibility for patients, especially in remote areas. Self registration app and pay from home facility, wherein the patient will be directly coming to the outpatient clinic without hassle of waiting in queue and getting the care needed, are the new additions that Oman hospitals would see soon. At the national level, initiatives such as Oman Vision 2040 are driving digitisation across sectors, including healthcare. The Ministry of Health has been proactive in launching digital health portals, mobile apps for appointment bookings and e-prescriptions, and even piloting AI-driven patient monitoring systems. From the integration of electronic health records (EHRs) to the adoption of telemedicine and AI-driven diagnostics, Oman is embracing innovation to enhance patient care and accessibility
Observer
08-07-2025
- Business
- Observer
Digital healthcare booming
The global healthcare market is undergoing a massive paradigm shift from the conventional way to digital healthcare, a long-overdue transformation, and the reflections are felt across the region too. In 2024, the market attracted $25.1 billion globally, reflecting a 5.5-per cent year-on-year increase across thousands of deals. From start-ups to industry giants, tech investment is changing the face of healthcare. AI-driven innovations accounted for nearly half of all digital health advancements globally, with US AI start-ups securing 60 percent of all digital health funding in Q1. A recent report from CB Insights reveals that digital health start-ups across the globe raised $5 billion during the first quarter of this year. This huge investment reflects a trend for fewer, higher-quality deals. In the first quarter of 2025, the average digital health funding deal was $6.4 million, according to the report. The MENA region, Europe, APAC and the Americas have all attracted substantial investments in key areas, including oncology, medical diagnostics, and of course, Artificial Intelligence. 'Oman's healthcare sector is steadily aligning with global trends in digital transformation. From the integration of electronic health records (EHRs) to the adoption of telemedicine and AI-driven diagnostics, the country is embracing innovation to enhance patient care and accessibility,' Dr Viresh Chopra from Oman Dental College says. But with change comes challenges. And in the inertia-heavy, regulation-rich healthcare landscape, the report suggests that the only way to maintain momentum is through global collaboration. Going forward embracing the challenges, the government's commitment to Oman Vision 2040 has further accelerated this progress, encouraging public-private partnerships and investments in health tech. While challenges such as infrastructure and digital literacy remain, Oman's forward-thinking approach signals a promising future where technology and healthcare go hand in hand. 'We are witnessing a clear and progressive shift towards digital transformation in the healthcare sector — both nationally and within our organisation. While global investments, like the $25.1 billion reported by CB Insights in 2024, highlight the momentum of this transformation, Oman is steadily aligning itself with this trend by embracing technology to improve efficiency, patient care and overall health outcomes,' says Ajimsha P A, Head of operations, NMC hospital. Oman's hospitals are witnessing how digital tools are reshaping healthcare delivery. Healthcare providers have invested in Electronic Health Records (EHRs), AI-assisted diagnostics, and cloud-based data systems that streamline operations and reduce administrative burdens. Telemedicine, which gained strong traction during the pandemic, continues to be a critical component in enhancing accessibility for patients, especially in remote areas. Self registration app and pay from home facility, wherein the patient will be directly coming to the outpatient clinic without hassle of waiting in queue and getting the care needed, are the new additions that Oman hospitals would see soon. At the national level, initiatives such as Oman Vision 2040 are driving digitisation across sectors, including healthcare. The Ministry of Health has been proactive in launching digital health portals, mobile apps for appointment bookings and e-prescriptions, and even piloting AI-driven patient monitoring systems. BLURB From the integration of electronic health records (EHRs) to the adoption of telemedicine and AI-driven diagnostics, Oman is embracing innovation to enhance patient care and accessibility
Axios
07-07-2025
- Business
- Axios
Here are the Triangle's largest "unicorn" startups
When Durham-based sports software company Teamworks revealed last month it had gained a valuation of more than $1 billion, it became the Triangle's first tech startup to join the " unicorn" club — startups surpassing a $1 billion valuation — in more than three years. Why it matters: While the early pandemic years saw an influx of cash go to startups due to low interest rates, raising money has grown significantly more difficult over the past two years. But there are signs that such investments could be picking back up, Scot Wingo, a local investor, told Axios. What they're saying: "It's whipsawing around," Wingo said of investments into startups, noting investment companies seem less concerned now about tariffs. "There is a lot of private equity deals going on, and there have been a couple high-profile IPOs that have gone well," he added. "It definitely feels like directionally we are going in the right way." Between the lines: It's been years since the Triangle had a startup go public on a stock exchange, and startups valued at more than $1 billion represent some of the region's best chances of hitting that mark. An IPO could potentially provide financial windfalls for some local employees and investors that could flow back through the local economy. Wingo said many people are watching to see how well Figma's potential IPO fares, as an encouragement for local startups like Pendo or SAS. Zoom in: There are more than 1,200 startups around the world valued at $1 billion or more, according to CB Insights. Five of them are located in the Triangle, according to data from CB Insights, Pitchbook and Crunchbase. Here are the startups in the Triangle that have fetched "unicorn" valuations: 🕹️ Epic Games: The Cary-based video game maker has a valuation of $22 billion, according to CB Insights, after raising $1.5 billion from Disney last year. The company is the 13th most valuable startup in the world, according to CB Insights, and is so large that Axios' Dan Primack suggested referring to startups of its size as "dragons" rather than unicorns. Locally, the company has a large presence in Cary, with more than 3,000 employees. However, it has withdrawn plans to build a new headquarters on the former site of Cary Towne Center. 🖥️ Pendo: The Raleigh software startup has a valuation of $2.6 billion, according to Pitchbook, and has long held ambitions of going public. The company has conducted layoffs in recent years, but remains one of the largest tech firms in Raleigh and became profitable for the first time last year. 🏈 Teamworks: Founded by a former Duke football player, Durham-based Teamworks runs a software platform that helps sports teams manage their players' schedules, nutrition and even their online brand — a feature that has become popular in the era of NIL. The company now has a valuation of $1.2 billion, according to Pitchbook, and its customers include every NFL team, most Division I college athletic departments and 90% of MLB teams. 🔐 JupiterOne: Morrisville-based JupiterOne, a maker of cybersecurity tools, has a valuation of $1 billion, according to Pitchbook. The company's founder, N.C. State grad Erkang Zheng, stepped down as CEO last year. But he is now raising money for a new AI startup, though details on the company have not yet been revealed.
