Pasadena
The breakdown
61 startups on file in Pasadena, spanning B2B, Healthcare, Artificial Intelligence (AI), 59 of 61 have disclosed funding, $1.93B combined, 16 at Series A stage, founding dates span 2000-2026.
A bit of history
Pasadena began in 1874 as the Indiana Colony, an agricultural settlement carved out of Rancho San Pasqual, and took its Ojibwa-derived name the following year before incorporating in 1886. Citrus groves and winter resort hotels drew wealthy industrialists west through the early 1900s, and in 1890 the city held its first Tournament of Roses parade. Throop Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1891, grew into the California Institute of Technology, and after World War II Caltech began managing the nearby Jet Propulsion Laboratory. That combination of scientific research and precision manufacturing turned Pasadena into a hub for aerospace and instrumentation work that continues today.
