May 22, 2017 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) has sent a letter to the California Assembly Apparitions Committee stating their “strong opposition” to AB 784.  This bill, if enacted into law, will set a rate cap for consumer loans between $300 and $5000.  OLA states this legislation has… Read More

May 12, 2017 @ 11:53 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Friday, crowdfunding giant Kickstarter announced it is set to bring over 100 funded projects to the 2017 Maker Faire, which will be held May 19th through the 21st in San Mateo, California. Maker Faire describes itself as a family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and… Read More

May 10, 2017 @ 11:27 am By JD Alois  |  

Lemonade, a new spin on providing insurance, has announced it has received regulatory approval in California and is now available for homeowners to purchase insurance online. The Insurtech firm is now operating in three states including New York and Illinois. Lemonade said that launching in… Read More

May 5, 2017 @ 11:23 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

HyGen Industries, Inc. a California-based company that supplies clean renewable hydrogen for fuel cell electric vehicles, announced on Friday it launched a crowdfunding offering on StartEngine to raise funds under Regulation A+ Tier 2. The company reported that this offering news comes just after it… Read More

May 4, 2017 @ 4:37 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Following the shooting at a pool party in San Diego that left one person dead and injured six others, GoFundMe announced that several campaigns have been launched on its crowdfunding platform to help those involved in the tragic event. The funding portal revealed on Wednesday… Read More

April 27, 2017 @ 1:38 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Insurtech startup Hippo Insurance announced on Wednesday it is officially launching in California. The company is currently seeking to reinvent the way its customers seek home insurance by giving them the ability to receive a quote quickly and purchase instantly online at lower prices. Hippo’s platform… Read More

April 26, 2017 @ 2:37 pm By JD Alois  |  

The California intrastate crowdfunding bill (AB 1517) took another step in the direction of becoming an actual law yesterday.  On Tuesday, April 25th, the bill was green-lighted by the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee. Next up is the Assembly Appropriations Committee. A hearing on the AB… Read More

April 26, 2017 @ 1:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

California-based fintech company Robinhood announced on Wednesday it not only has reached two million users, but it also secured $110 million during its recent Series C funding round, which was led by DST Global, with participation from NEA, Index Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Thrive Capital and… Read More

April 18, 2017 @ 6:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

California is perhaps the most natural state to enact an instrastate law to facilitate investment crowdfunding. Yet multiple attempts at crafting bespoke legislation to allow crowdfunding have failed multiple times. Honestly, I have lost count of the number of bills hoisted up the lawmaking flagpole… Read More

April 17, 2017 @ 3:09 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Texas fintech company Payix announced on Monday it has formed a partnership with California’s Nortridge Software to help lenders connect with borrowers and improve their collect payments abilities. According to the companies, this new partnership with allow Payix to offer real-time integration between its suite… Read More

March 23, 2017 @ 9:20 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Global innovation platform Plug and Play announced on Thursday its largest cohort to date. It is now running nine of their programs simultaneously with 175 startups being dispersed across the following innovation platforms: Brand & Retail, Fintech, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Insurtech, Internet of… Read More

March 14, 2017 @ 11:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last month, California fintech company Rich Uncles announced the launch of its wealth management division. According to the company, new managing director of capital markets, Brad Watt, will be leading the recently-developed division. Rich Uncles revealed that Watt has decades of experience in providing real… Read More

February 6, 2017 @ 12:12 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Real estate crowdfunding platform DiversyFund announced on Monday a seven thousand square foot luxury home investment opportunity in Monterey, California is nearing fulfillment. The project, which is offering an 18% preferred return with an estimated nine to twelve-month investment term, raised 90% of its funding target.  According to DiversyFund,… Read More

January 24, 2017 @ 9:12 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

It has been two weeks since Knightscope announced its “mini-IPO” Reg A+ equity crowdfunding campaign on SeedInvest where the company is seeking to raise $20 million.  Based in Mountain View, in the heart of Silicon Valley, the startup says that it is currently worth $80 million…. Read More

January 24, 2017 @ 10:29 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Alpaca, a California-based Fintech startup building AI and database technology for financial trading, on Tuesday the closing of its venture round, which has secured $1.75 million. Participants of the latest round include D4V, a joint-venture fund by IDEO and Genuine Startups, Monex Ventures of Monex… Read More

December 30, 2016 @ 8:54 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a few months after securing $2,952,508 from 16,732 backers for its project, Superbook, on Kickstarter, California startup Andromium announced shipping of the tech product from winter 2017 to summer 2017.  As previously reported, the device, which is described as a smart laptop shell that consists of an 11.6″ HD screen,… Read More

December 27, 2016 @ 3:29 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Peak Design, the company behind The Everyday Backpack, announced last week that 99% of its backpack, tote, and sling have successfully been shipped to Kickstarter backers. The project was launched on the crowdfunding platform earlier this summer and secured $6,565,782 from 26,359 backers. As previously reported, Peak… Read More

December 22, 2016 @ 7:23 am By Jessica Pham  |  

During the first half of 2016, regulators feared that Fintech would become all too powerful.  Then, in November, they concluded that the Fintech sector was not threatening.  At the cusp of 2017, it also appears that other observers have concluded that the FIintech boom is… Read More

December 21, 2016 @ 11:35 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Just a couple of weeks after the devastating fire at Oakland’s Ghost Ship warehouse that claimed the lives of nearly 40 people, two campaigns on crowdfunding platform YouCaring that are dedicated to the victims of the events have raised more than $1.3 million. As previously… Read More

December 12, 2016 @ 2:59 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Following the devastating Ghost Ship fire in Oakland that killed nearly 40 people, YouCaring announced that campaigns dedicated to the tragic event’s victims had raised more than $1 million on its crowdfunding platform. On the evening of December 2nd, the first broke out in the… Read More