Hero House Glendale
A startup hub in Southern California where entrepreneurship, technology, and capital converge into an unstoppable force
ABOUT US
Hero House is an entrepreneurship hub in Glendale, CA that combines the scientific potential of local leading universities with the expertise and network of business leaders in entertainment, aerospace, bioscience, advanced transportation located in the Los Angeles area.
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Southern California is home to entertainment industry giants such as Walt Disney, Paramount, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., NBCUniversal, MTV and others;
Hero House is established by the in-house venture capital fund SmartGateVC.
SmartGateVC is a seed venture capital fund that is the initiator of the Hero House and GateWay Program. The fund invests in deep tech companies that graduate from the program, as well as backs promising deep tech founders of the Hero House community.
The fund is backed by notable Venture Capital Firms and Investors, among them Tim Draper and a number of serial entrepreneurs. It has invested in 20 early-stage companies at the edge where science and entrepreneurship join to disrupt the status quo.
SmartGateVC is a value-add investor providing hands-on technology and business development support to companies.
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$5M Series A with Storm Ventures, Sierra Ventures & Shanda Group
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AI 50: America’s Most Promising AI Companies (Forbes)
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$3M Seed with Point Nine Capital, Runa Capital, Berkeley SkyDeck, Plug&Play
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Strategic Partnership With OpenCV
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4 ongoing pilots in pediatric hospitals in California and Massachusetts
OUR INVESTMENTS
12-week individual development program tailored to establish growth frameworks, advance sales, and prepare for a seed round.
8 weeks of on-site in-person customer interviews, sales meetings, and investor introductions to grow sales in the US, implement customer development and raise funding.
Guidance from scientists of leading universities in the LA area, such as Caltech, USC, UCLA for the development of AI models, making path-breaking advancements, and product design refinement.
Support for US companies for setting up professional, yet cost-efficient tech teams in Eastern Europe.
TIMELINE
Nov 20
Jan 10
Feb 1
Nov 25
Jan 12 - 30
Feb 8 - July 24
OUR MENTORS
Founder and CEO at Service Titan​
OUR STARTUPS HAVE ACCESS TO...
top tire co-investors and follow on investors
and more ....
over $500k perks and benefits
influential customers & partners
OUR COMPANIES WERE FEATURED BY...
STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Hye Rise Investments is a group of seasoned entrepreneurs and executives that invest in companies with strong vision, grit, and resilience. Hye Rise is an in-house investment company and is looking to invest in companies that graduate from Hero House programs.
The Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America is a non-profit organization with a mission to enable and empower the Armenian STEM community worldwide. The collaboration ensures the establishment of strong ties among researchers, scientists, and business talent for creating a new wave of companies built based on cutting-edge technologies.