Doctors take a microscopic craft loaded with cancer-killing chemicals, inject it into the human body, and drive it to a malignant tumor to deliver its payload before making a quick exit. For most of the 55 years since "Fantastic Voyage" shrank Raquel Welch and company down to the size of a cell to zap a blood clot out of a scientist's brain, that scenario has been pure science fiction. But Bionaut Labs, a remote-control medical microrobot start-up, intends to be the first company to make it a clinical reality. Backed by $20 million in venture capital funding and building off recent advances in robotics and precision manufacturing, the Culver City company is developing a device the size of a breadcrumb that doctors can insert into the spine or skull and magnetically steer to a target to deliver a precise dose of drugs. The plan is to move to clinical trials by 2023.

Nineteen different startups were funded in February, raising $377 million; a substantial two-month start for the new year. Five acquisitions were reported during the month, while the IPO front had no activity whatsoever. CB Insights said that China dominated the funding of AI-related startups during 2017. So far in 2018, the China funding percentage appears to be less than the 48% of 2017. Viking Global Investors LP led the round, and was joined by investors including Perceptive Advisors and CPMG Inc.

Los Angeles County's most prominent start-up investor just got bigger. Upfront Ventures closed June with the announcement of a $400-million investment fund that it plans to spend on dozens of start-ups in the next couple of years. It's believed to be Los Angeles County's largest-ever venture capital fund by raw number, though Upfront Ventures' $390-million investment fund in 2000 comes out far on top when adjusted for inflation. Still, it beats the $280 million that Upfront Ventures picked up at the end of 2014. Mark Suster, managing partner at the firm, declined to provide specifics about the returns that prior funds have generated.

The company drew accolades for its fast growth, but tensions simmered inside the operation. The company drew accolades for its fast growth, but tensions simmered inside the operation. On its ascent to becoming the nation's fastest-growing start-up, Loot Crate Inc. fostered a workplace in which employees warred with Nerf guns, proudly brandished Captain America socks and chanted the company's name like a rally cry. But by last summer, when the Los Angeles firm landed on the cover of Inc. magazine for its stupendous expansion, the enthusiasm had been zapped. Last month, two senior executives came an eyelash away from fighting, not with foam darts, but with fists.