The 2023 LA Hard Tech 50

Highlighting the leaders shaping LA's hard tech ecosystem

There’s something happening in LA. From the South Bay to the Valley to Pasadena and everywhere in between, early-stage founders are setting up clean rooms and programming robots to manufacture everything from rocket engine components to portable nuclear fission reactors.

People new to LA might visit these ambitious companies and marvel at the hard tech startup ecosystem blossoming here. More informed observers realize this is the evolution of an industry that has been building in Los Angeles for a hundred years. LA has been a leading technology center for critical infrastructure like aerospace and defense since the founding of Lockheed in 1926 and Hughes, the JPL, and Northrop Corporation shortly thereafter.

The city boasts the greatest concentration of hard tech talent in the country. These scientists, researchers, and engineers have been making planes fly, satellites communicate, and submarines lurk for decades. Nick witnessed this firsthand because his mom and other family members led systems design and built flight control systems for programs like the V-280 Valor and the B-2 Bomber.

Until recently, most of this work happened inside large government prime contractors. However, after decades of consolidation in the aerospace and defense industry, the US Department of Defense acknowledges that “promoting competition to the maximum extent possible is a top priority for the Department.”¹ That has created the friendliest environment for technology startups in a generation, and there is no place where startups are taking better advantage of that than Los Angeles.

Since SpaceX was founded here in 2002, there has been an explosion of hard tech startups created throughout southern California. Unsurprisingly, many of the founders hail from SpaceX. The company ignited the entrepreneurial spirit in LA’s hard tech ecosystem. Now, people who previously progressed science and engineering inside primes at incumbent speed are pursuing hypergrowth startups.

But it doesn’t stop there. Countless founders are moving to LA to build ambitious companies in satellite manufacturing, boating, aviation, and more. The world of atoms is cool again. There has never been a better time to start hard tech companies, and because of the talent already here, many of the most promising ones are built in LA.

Here are the 50 hard tech companies you should know about in southern California (and many honorable mentions at the end). Let us know who we’ve missed!

---

LA Hard Tech 50

These are the companies that come up again and again when we speak to founders and co-investors. This list is just the tip of the iceberg: a sampling of companies that had stand-out years in 2023. We’ve compiled a searchable and sortable list of these companies for you here.

Public and Late-Growth (Series D+)

SpaceX

CEO & Key People: Elon Musk, Gwynne Shotwell
Stage: Late-growth
Founded: 2002
Hawthorne, CA
Designer and manufacturer of reusable orbital launch systems and satellite constellations for government and commercial applications.

Anduril

CEO & Key People: Brian Schimpf, Palmer Luckey, Trae Stephens, Matt Grimm
Stage: Series E
Founded: 2017
Costa Mesa, CA
Builder of interconnected, software-enabled sensors and autonomous systems that deliver new capabilities to the battlefield for the DOD and allies.

Rocket Lab

CEO & Key People: Peter Beck
Stage: Public
Founded: 2006
Long Beach, CA
Designer and manufacturer of small and medium-lift orbital launch vehicles, satellite buses, and satellite subsystems.

Relativity

CEO & Key People: Tim Ellis
Stage: Series E
Founded: 2015
Long Beach, CA
Designer and manufacturer of reusable 3D-printed heavy-lift orbital launch vehicles.

Shield AI

CEO & Key People: Ryan Tseng, Brandon Tseng
Stage: Series F
Founded: 2015
San Diego, CA
Developer of autonomous AI pilot software for manned and unmanned aerial systems and manufacturer of UAVs.

Rivian

CEO & Key People: RJ Scaringe
Stage: Public
Founded: 2009
Irvine, CA
Designer and manufacturer of electric consumer adventure vehicles and fleet delivery vehicles.

Apeel

CEO & Key People: James Rogers
Stage: Series E
Founded: 2012
Goleta, CA
Manufacturer of a plant-derived coating for fresh produce that extends shelf-life by reducing water loss and oxidation.

Divergent

CEO & Key People: Kevin Czinger, Lukas Czinger
Stage: Series D
Founded: 2013
Torrance, CA
Developer of end-to-end production systems, including software and hardware for industrial digital manufacturing in automotive, aerospace, and defense.

Zeitview

CEO & Key People: Dan Burton
Stage: Series D
Founded: 2014
Santa Monica, CA
Developer of advanced inspection software capturing visual data to accelerate the transition to renewable energy and protect critical infrastructure.

Early-Growth (Series B/C)

Radiant

CEO & Key People: Doug Bernauer, Bob Urberger
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2019
El Segundo, CA
Designer and manufacturer of small modular nuclear fission reactors for austere environments and off-grid backup use cases.

ABL Space Systems

CEO & Key People: Harry O’Hanley, Dan Piemont
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2017
El Segundo, CA
Designer and manufacturer of an orbital launch vehicle and deployable ground system that enables responsive launch capabilities delivered in a shipping container.

Epirus

CEO & Key People: Ken Bedingfield, Grant Verstandig, Nathan Mintz, Joe Lonsdale
Stage: Series C
Founded: 2018
Torrance, CA
Developer of directed energy systems for counter-electronics and counter-UAS using high-power microwaves.

SpinLaunch

CEO & Key People: Jonathan Yaney
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2014
Long Beach, CA
Provider of kinetic orbital launch capabilities using rotational mass acceleration to move small payloads at hypersonic speeds.

Umbra

CEO & Key People: David Langan, Gabe Dominocielo
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2015
Santa Barbara, CA
Designer, manufacturer, and operator of earth observation satellites using synthetic aperture radar to deliver ultra-high resolution imagery from orbit.

Skyryse

CEO & Key People: Mark Groden
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2016
El Segundo, CA
Developer of flight hardware and a software operating system to facilitate safe, autonomous, and accessible aviation.

Machina Labs

CEO & Key People: Ed Mehr
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2019
Chatsworth, CA
Provider of robotic manufacturing platforms that can scan, shape, and trim sheet metal into large and complex geometries.

inVia Robotics

CEO & Key People: Lior Elazary
Stage: Series C
Founded: 2015
Westlake Village, CA
Provider of next-generation warehouse automation robotics and orchestration software.

Spartan

CEO & Key People: Matt Markel, Nathan Mintz
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2019
Los Alamitos, CA
Developer of software and sensing hardware to improve safety and performance for mobility sensing radar.

Universal Hydrogen

CEO & Key People: Paul Eremenko, Mark Cousin
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2020
Hawthorne, CA
Designer and developer of hydrogen fuel cell electric powertrain conversion kits and natively designed aircraft with a mission to decarbonize aviation.

Arc Boats

CEO & Key People: Mitch Lee, Ryan Cook
Stage: Series B
Founded: 2021
Los Angeles, CA
Designer and manufacturer of high-performance and sustainable electric watercraft.

Vast

CEO & Key People: Max Haot, Jed McCaleb
Stage: Privately funded
Founded: 2021
Long Beach, CA
Builder of the world’s first commercial space station for space agencies, research, manufacturing, and private individuals.

Early-Stage (Series A)

Varda

CEO & Key People: Will Bruey, Delian Asparouhov
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2020
El Segundo, CA
Developer of a platform for manufacturing pharmaceuticals in space and manufacturer of re-entry vehicles to return to Earth.

Freeform

CEO & Key People: Erik Palitsch, TJ Ronacher
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2018
Hawthorne, CA
Builder of autonomous 3D printing factories to deliver complex metal parts at high volume using software-defined powder bed fusion printers.

Hadrian

CEO & Key People: Chris Power
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2020
Torrance, CA
Builder of software-defined automated factories to produce high-precision machined parts for aerospace and defense.

First Resonance

CEO & Key People: Karan Talati
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2020
Los Angeles, CA
Developer of next-generation manufacturing systems software for rapid, iterative, and data-driven hardware manufacturing.

Parallel Systems

CEO & Key People: Matt Soule, John Howard, Ben Stabler
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2020
El Segundo, CA
Builder of autonomous and decarbonized freight system with zero-emissions rail vehicles.

Epsilon3

CEO & Key People: Laura Crabtree, Max Mednik
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2020
Santa Monica, CA
Developer of a software suite for complex engineering, testing, and operations.

Harbinger

CEO & Key People: John Harris, Phillip Weicker, Will Eberts
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2021
Gardena, CA
Builder of a vertically integrated electric vehicle platform to produce commercial and specialty vehicles.

Impulse Space

CEO & Key People: Tom Mueller
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2021
El Segundo, CA
Designer and manufacturer of orbital transfer vehicles for maneuvering orbits and last-mile payload delivery.

Chaos Industries

CEO & Key People: Gavin Hood, John Tenet, Bo Marr
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2022
Los Angeles, CA
Builder of novel technology for defense and critical industries with rapid prototyping.

Apex Space

CEO & Key People: Ian Cinnamon, Max Benassi
Stage: Series A
Founded: 2022
Culver City, CA
Designer and manufacturer of standard and configurable satellite buses with transparent pricing.

Early-Stage (Pre-seed and Seed)

K2 Space

CEO & Key People: Karan Kunjur, Neel Kunjur
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
Torrance, CA
Manufacturer of large, heavy satellite buses to leverage cheaper and more available heavy-lift launch capabilities.

Cambium

CEO & Key People: Simon Waddington, Stephen Herrera
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2019
El Segundo, CA
Developer of materials and platforms, including UAVs, optical systems, and next-generation aerospace composites, for operations in extreme environments.

RangeView

CEO & Key People: Cameron Schiller, Aeden Gasser-Brennan
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2020
El Segundo, CA
Builder of a cyberfoundry that uses robotics and data processing to improve investment casting of metal parts.

Galvanick

CEO & Key People: Joshua Steinman, Brandon Park, Feliks Pleszczynski
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2021
Los Angeles, CA
Developer of an extended detection and response platform for securing industrial operations from cyberattacks.

AstroForge

CEO & Key People: Matt Gialich, Jose Acain
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2021
Huntington Beach, CA
Developer of near-Earth asteroid mining capabilities to deliver resources from space to Earth.

Inversion

CEO & Key People: Justin Fiaschetti, Austin Briggs
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2021
Torrance, CA
Provider of rapid, responsive cargo delivery services to Earth from space using orbital re-entry vehicles.

Rainmaker

CEO & Key People: Augustus Doricko
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2023
El Segundo, CA
Provider of weather modification technology using drone-enabled cloud seeding to address water scarcity.

AnySignal

CEO & Key People: John Malsbury, Jefferey Osborne, Ricardo Medina
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
El Segundo, CA
Provider of full-stack radiofrequency connectivity solutions for space and defense.

Firestorm

CEO & Key People: Dan Magy, Chad McCoy
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
San Diego, CA
Developer of mission-adaptable aerial vehicles that can be customized and manufactured at the edge.

Castelion

CEO & Key People: Bryon Harris, Sean Pitt, Andrew Kreitz
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
El Segundo, CA
Designer and manufacturer of hypersonic missiles and subsystems with rapid design iteration.

Arbor

CEO & Key People: Brad Hartwig
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
El Segundo, CA
Designer of carbon-negative power plants that convert waste into fresh water and clean energy, and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

OurSky

CEO & Key People: Dan Roelker, Alex Hawkinson
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
Los Angeles, CA
Developer of a data infrastructure platform for space applications leveraging real-time observational data and analysis of objects in space.

Senra Systems

CEO & Key People: Jordan Black, Ben Shanahan
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2023
Torrance, CA
Manufacturer of wire harnesses, enabling convenient, transparent, and rapid delivery.

Hgen

CEO & Key People: Molly Yang, Colin Ho
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2021
Hawthorne, CA
Producer of low-cost clean hydrogen to decarbonize heavy industry using alkaline electrolysis technology.

Ethos Space

CEO & Key People: Ross Centers, Brogan BamBrogan, Jeff Overbeek
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2022
Mar Vista, CA
Developer of lunar in-situ resource utilization technology with the ultimate goal of building a planetary sunshade to control climate change.

Open X

CEO & Key People: Cody James
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2019
Long Beach, CA
Developer of career-defining technical skills platform for aerospace, manufacturing, and engineering.

Picogrid

CEO & Key People: Zane Mountcastle, Martin Slosarik
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2020
El Segundo, CA
Developer of a unified data integration platform that connects sensors, cameras, and autonomous systems, backed by a suite of native hardware solutions.

Stell

CEO & Key People: Malory McLemore, Anne Wen
Stage: Pre-seed
Founded: 2022
Marina Del Rey, CA
Developer of software to digitize requirements management and accelerate complex engineering for aerospace and defense.

Sift

CEO & Key People: Karthik Gollapudi, Austin Spiegel
Stage: Seed
Founded: 2022
El Segundo, CA
Developer of telemetry operations software to enhance real-time anomaly detection and accelerate new tool and process integrations.

Honorable Mentions

Here are some more honorable mentions who inspired us and who we believe are worth getting to know:

Ampaire, Antares, Argo Space, Astrolab, Auriga, Cover, Datum, Duro Labs, Elementary, Exosonic, Flyby Robotics, Gambit, KittyCAD, Moonware, Morpheus, Neros, Odys Aviation, Outpost Space, Phase Four, Prewitt Ridge, Proteus, Quilter, Rollup, Salient Motion, Slingshot, Stellar Pizza, Syntiant, Terraform Industries, Turion Space, Valar Atomics, Vuecason…

…and many stealth companies that have yet to announce any information publicly.

1. State of Competition within the Defense Industrial Base, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (February 2022)