Signify, a new Seattle startup that recently spun out of the AI2 Incubator, has raised $2.1 million to build out its software platform designed to help manufacturers manage compliance-related tasks.
AI2 Incubator, FUSE, and Founders’ Co-op invested in the pre-seed round. GeekWire first reported on the new funding.
The company is led by CEO Martín Ramírez, a former exec at Seattle-based voice AI startup WellSaid Labs. He also co-founded a sales startup called Angles Media Corp. in 2013 and spent four years at Microsoft.
Signify is one of many startups applying artificial intelligence to antiquated processes.
Compliance can be repetitive and arduous — but it’s also mission-critical for manufacturers selling highly regulated products to different markets.
Cameron Borumand, founding partner at FUSE, called Signify “a perfect vertical specific use case for AI.”
Part of Signify’s special sauce is its ability to quickly analyze both internal company documentation and regulatory requirements. The idea is to help workers who traditionally comb through hundreds of pages of documents and spend hours making sure their products are in compliance with local rules.
For example, Signify is working with a food manufacturing company that makes a product in the U.S. and ships to other countries. Each market has different requirements for labeling. If there are issues with compliance, that inventory can end up sitting around — wasting valuable time and money.
The problem is magnified by a growing amount of regulatory burden, Ramírez said in an interview with GeekWire.
Labor practices, carbon emissions, and supply chain transparency requirements can also fall under compliance regulations.
Signify is still building out its technology and does not have paying customers. It plans to initially target mid-market companies that can adopt its software on a faster timeline.
Ramírez said there are existing quality management software systems that offer some compliance capabilities.
“There is software that has attempted to solve the problem,” he said. “But the problem still exists.”
Ramírez co-founded Signify with CTO Jonathan Delgado, his former colleague at WellSaid and Microsoft. Delgado also co-founded a startup called Contenido and was an engineer at Starbucks and Air Labs.
Signify’s chief innovation officer Kristina Hloptsidis was a vice president at weather prediction startup Tomorrow.io and held regulatory leadership roles at BlackSky and Spaceflight.
https://ift.tt/NrLXSyh July 19, 2024 at 02:24PM GeekWire
Post a Comment
0Comments