Banc of California Renews Commitment to Alliance for Southern California Innovation
The Alliance's SoCal Venture Pipeline improves access to sources of institutional capital for Seed and Series A funding for local founders
The Alliance for Southern California Innovation (the Alliance) and Banc of California, a wholly owned subsidiary of Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC), announced today that Banc of California has renewed its title sponsorship of the SoCal Venture Pipeline (the Pipeline) for a third consecutive year.
The Pipeline improves access to institutional capital for Southern California-based founders who are seeking Seed and Series A funding by introducing the most promising early-stage startups to venture capitalists. Thanks to lead underwriting from Banc of California and funding from other supporters, the Pipeline is free for participating startups across Southern California.
The Pipeline — which is banked by Banc of California — serves as the primary sourcing engine for the Alliance's Catalyst Fund. The fund exclusively focuses on investing in early-stage startups in the Pipeline program that have secured institutional lead investors. The fund has already made several investments, including four SoCal-based startups that have financing from lead investors such as CityRock Ventures, K Street Capital and Long Journey Ventures. The startups include:
- Automotus, which uses AI to make streets safe, sustainable and efficient for everyone;
- Nectir, which provides personalized learning solutions for students in schools ranging from kindergarten through college;
- PrivacyHawk, which helps people manage their digital footprint and reduce their risk of cybercrime, scams and fraud; and
- Wethos, a pioneering force in AI-driven team optimization.
"Increasing capital access for the most promising startups across Southern California is core to the Alliance's mission, and we're grateful to have Banc of California's support for both the Pipeline and the Catalyst Fund," said Eric Eide, Managing Director of the Alliance. "By connecting top startups with critical early-stage funding, we're fueling the local economy and catapulting innovative solutions onto the global stage."
Startups based in the SoCal region — which includes Los Angeles, Orange County, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Riverside and San Diego counties — can apply to be in the Pipeline program. After a rigorous screening and vetting process, they are eligible to receive personal introductions to targeted venture capital investors in the Alliance's extensive network.
Since its formal launch in June 2021, the SoCal Venture Pipeline has attracted nearly 800 total applicants. It has accepted 88 companies, of which 24 were funded for a total of $112 million raised. An additional three companies found acquirers. The companies in the Pipeline represent a broad range of industries, including advanced materials, artificial intelligence, cleantech, consumer goods, medical devices and software. In addition, the founder portfolio represents the rich diversity of the region, with more than 40% being led by women and 60% being led by people of color.
"We're honored to support the Alliance as we work toward a common goal to increase funding opportunities for startups across Southern California," said Mark diTargiani, a Managing Director with Banc of California's Venture Banking Group. "Banc of California is dedicated to businesses at every stage of growth — from early startups to IPOs and beyond. Our Venture Banking team has been serving startups across the country since 2005, and we're proud to call ourselves a trusted financial services partner to companies and investors throughout the venture ecosystem."
In addition to its work with the Pipeline and Catalyst Fund, Banc of California supports the Alliance through volunteer engagement. Greg Smith, the bank's Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy, serves on the advisory council to the board of directors.
About Banc of California, Inc.
Banc of California, Inc. (NYSE:BANC) is a bank holding company with over $33 billion in assets and the parent company of Banc of California. Banc of California is one of the nation's premier relationship-based business banks, providing banking and treasury management services to small-, middle-market, and venture-backed businesses. Banc of California is the third largest bank headquartered in California and offers a broad range of loan and deposit products and services through 80 full-service branches located throughout California and in Denver, Colorado, and Durham, North Carolina, as well as through regional offices nationwide. The bank also provides full-stack payment processing solutions through its subsidiary, Deepstack Technologies, and serves the Community Association Management industry nationwide with its technology-forward platform, SmartStreet™. The bank is committed to its local communities by supporting organizations that provide financial literacy and job training, small business support, affordable housing, and more. For more information, please visit us at www.bancofcal.com.
About The Alliance for Southern California Innovation
The Alliance for Southern California Innovation (the "Alliance") is a not-for-profit formed in 2017 that has successfully brought together the heft of Southern California's top research institutions, local business leaders, and world-class advisors to focus on bridging critical gaps in the SoCal innovation ecosystem. The goal of the Alliance is to engage and unify SoCal's compelling diversity of talent, ideas, and perspectives in order to optimize the conditions for the region's innovators to bring breakthroughs to the world.
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