While locals hate the name "Silicon Beach," the LA tech scene is becoming a real rival to Silicon Valley.
We've compiled a list of the 25 hottest startups that investors, founders, and networkers in the Los Angeles tech scene are buzzing about. To limit our list, we excluded those older than five years, which eliminated some popular picks, like Headspace.
Here they are:
SEE ALSO: The 21 most innovative startups in tech
Jessica Alba's Honest Co. has created a commerce empire selling nontoxic versions of bath and baby products.
What it is: What started as a line of baby diapers has turned into one of LA's hottest startups. Jessica Alba's Honest Co. makes nontoxic and eco-friendly products, ranging from baby supplies to cleaning products. In September, it also launched a new beauty line, Honest Beauty, to make more natural make-up. The company has secretly filed for an IPO, according to reports, so it may be the last year the startup qualifies as such.
Founded: 2011 by Jessica Alba, Brian Lee, Sean Kane, and Christopher Gavigan.
Funding: $230 million from investors, including Fidelity Investments, IVP, General Catalyst, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Ring makes a doorbell that lets you see who's at the door.
What it is: In September 2013, Jamie Siminoff went on "Shark Tank" and totally failed. The judges all rejected him except one, who made a terrible offer. Yet customers — and eventually Richard Branson — saw something the judges missed. Everyone wanted a doorbell that could show you who is at the door.
Ring is simple: When someone presses on the doorbell, it "rings" your smartphone with a video feed. You can reject the video call or accept it and start talking to whoever is at the door. Ring's customers use it to do everything from telling a delivery man to leave a package at the door to telling a neighbor to come around to the back door.
Founded: 2012 by Jamie Siminoff as DoorBot. Siminoff rebranded the company as Ring in 2014.
Funding: $38.81 million from Richard Branson, True Ventures, Shea Ventures, American Family Insurance, Upfront Ventures, and others.
Scopely is the mobile-game creator Zynga should have been.
What is it: Described by one investor as the "company Zynga was supposed to be," Scopely has spent the last four years creating success after success. The mobile-gaming company was founded four years ago and soon launched its first game, "Dice with Buddies." Since then, it's released more hits like "Yahtzee with Buddies" and "The Walking Dead: Road to Survival," which broke into the top-25 highest-grossing apps in the Apple app store.
Founded: Walter Driver, Eytan Elbaz, Ankur Bulsura, and Eric Futoran.
Funding: $43.5 million from Lerer Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Anthem Venture Partners, and Evolution Media Partners, among others.
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