States gear up to work on AI
Startup policy outlook under second Trump term
Executive coaching should be accessible to anyone who is interested, but oftentimes scaling the education is not practical. With her company Zella Life, co-founder Remy Meraz is democratizing professional development using AI. We sat down with her to discuss AI, independent contractors, and more.
After working in the financial sector for over 20 years, Mical Jeanlys-White founded her own company, WealthMore, a wealth tech with a focus on tackling a key financial barrier—wealth building and management. Her company leverages technology to connect everyday Americans with accessible wealth management services, aiming to provide wealth creation for all. We sat down with her to discuss her journey in raising capital, navigating tax policy, the evolving role of AI, and more.
Vance Reavie is no stranger to entrepreneurship. Using his knowledge from previous ventures, he created an AI platform that intelligently automates manual marketing and merchandising workflows and content generation processes for brands and retailers. We sat down with Vance to discuss the startup ecosystem in Arkansas, AI policy and regulation, grant opportunities, and more.
Based in Lincoln, fyiio is a new tutorial management platform using its patented technology to create user-centric educational guides. By combining video and written guides into templates, the startup is working to ensure that consumers and businesses are getting the most out of their tutorial experiences. We recently spoke with fyiio’s founder, Alex Kuklinski, to learn a little more about the startup, Lincoln’s startup ecosystem, and the patent process.
With many small businesses struggling as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, startups are stepping in to offer free services to help small firms navigate the economic uncertainty. Whether it’s opening up their platforms to keep small businesses engaged with their local communities, or aggregating available resources and federal loan information for struggling firms, startup founders are using their knowledge, experience, and services to support other entrepreneurs in need of assistance.
TLDR: Congress is set to allocate additional funding to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program to aid small businesses coping with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, but available loan programs are not doing enough to support startups that are in desperate need of financial assistance. As policymakers continue to evaluate legislative and regulatory responses to the ongoing outbreak, it’s imperative that they pursue policies—such as public-private equity investments, R&D tax credits, and forgivable loans beyond payroll expenses—that can adequately support the nation’s startup ecosystem.
The Big Story: Small business loan program hits funding limit. The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it hit the $350 billion limit in funds Congress allocated for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help small businesses as part of last month’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. At this time, SBA says it is unable to accept any more applications for PPP loans. While the program was designed to support companies with under 500 employees, many venture capital-backed firms were ineligible for the loans because the SBA’s “affiliation rules” require companies to count the employees of their “affiliates”—broadly defined in the law—as their own employees.
Based in Lower Manhattan, JustFix.nyc is a nonprofit startup that is harnessing technology and data to promote housing justice across New York City. As New Yorkers continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, the City has issued an eviction moratorium and closed its housing courts except for virtual-only emergency repair and illegal lockout cases. JustFix.nyc has partnered with the housing court system to adapt their existing tools in order to streamline the emergency filing process for tenants. We recently spoke with Georges Clement—JustFix.nyc’s Co-Founder and Acting Executive Director—to learn more about the startup’s work, how technology can be used to promote housing justice, and how they’re working to support tenants amidst the coronavirus outbreak.
As federal officials increasingly rely on tech companies to help combat the spread of COVID-19, entrepreneurs across the country are retooling their existing digital applications to aid in coronavirus detection and prevention efforts. Whether it’s working with local and state health officials to leverage their apps, or figuring out ways to implement their services in a beneficial way, startups are determining how to best utilize their mobile apps for the public good.
TLDR: Surveys conducted by Engine and other entrepreneurial organizations show that U.S. startups need further economic relief to sustain their operations in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost two-thirds of respondents to our survey said their startups are in need of emergency financial support, even as entrepreneurs told us they are still seeking certainty that they will be eligible to apply for existing government programs.
The Big Story: Privacy, big data, and COVID-19. As federal officials, tech companies, and researchers are using data to help identify and track viral transmissions and coronavirus hotspots, policymakers and advocates are raising concerns about the collection and use of potentially sensitive data. This week, the Senate Commerce Committee held a paper hearing to examine how anonymized and aggregated data is being used to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Capice, a Florida-based AI startup that uses deep learning to analyze data, is helping companies of all sizes quickly generate predictive outcomes from a variety of sources—including audio, image, spreadsheets, and text. But the startup also recently announced that it is offering medical researchers free access to its deep learning network to help combat the spread of COVID-19. We recently spoke with Capice’s CEO, Gordon McDonald, to learn more about how the startup’s deep learning platform works, and the firm’s decision to open up its platform to coronavirus researchers.
As Americans struggle to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, hundreds of startups all across the country are leveraging their tools, resources, and services to aid medical researchers and businesses in need of immediate assistance. Engine spoke with four entrepreneurs who pivoted their business practices to better support those affected by the ongoing pandemic. This is the first post in a series on startups and entrepreneurs who are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During these unprecedented times, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is one of the many institutions taking steps to avoid the spread of COVID-19: shifting to telephonic proceedings, releasing live audio of oral arguments, restricting in-person access to court buildings, and modifying operations. But the court is continuing its work, issuing new opinions every day.
TLDR: The startup community is still waiting for clarity about whether venture capital-backed startups are eligible for small business loans included in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, despite suggestions by federal officials that the issue would be addressed shortly. To better understand the relationship between economic relief efforts and startups, we are asking companies to fill out a brief survey here to help determine how the government can clarify existing rules—such as the SBA’s affiliation rules—to better protect the nation’s startup ecosystem.
The Big Story: Treasury Department reportedly clarifying rules for VC-backed startups. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told Axios yesterday that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is preparing to release guidance in the next few days, easing the rules around venture capital-backed startups and eligibility for small business loans included in the mammoth Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Applicants can start applying for those loans today, but there were concerns that existing Small Business Administration rules would have precluded many startups from applying.
Founded in San Francisco in 2015, mobility startup Scoop Technologies has grown into the nation’s largest carpooling provider in the United States. Scoop works with employers and commuters to find carpooling solutions that take the stress and pressure out of commuting to and from work. We recently spoke with Charles Knuth, Scoop’s head of strategic research initiatives, and Lizzie Ryan, Scoop’s communications manager, to learn more about the company’s carpooling efforts, the San Francisco startup ecosystem, and their mobility-related policy concerns.
TLDR: COVID-19 has put unprecedented stress on global health systems and the economy, but a variety of public and private institutions are offering resources and developing tools to try and help businesses. We have compiled a list of resources on our website to help startups navigate these uncertain times—from guidance on protecting the health and safety of teams, to information about accessing federal economic relief.
The Big Story: As startup funding declines, stimulus offers some relief. With seed-stage investments disappearing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the $2 trillion stimulus package approved by the U.S. Senate this week offers some short-term relief for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and gig workers who are struggling as a result of the global economic downturn.
Humanyze, a Boston-based analytics startup that developed out of the MIT Media Lab in 2011, is helping companies across the world gain a better understanding of their organizational health. With a privacy-first focus, the startup uses anonymized and aggregated enterprise data to help firms measure and comprehend how work gets done across their teams. We recently spoke with Ben Waber—Humanyze’s co-founder and president—to learn a little more about the startup’s work, goals, and policy concerns.
The Big Story: Websites working to combat COVID-19 misinformation. Large social media platforms warned this week that more user-generated content could be removed for policy violations as Internet companies increase their reliance on automated software to flag and remove harmful content in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. But despite the necessary move towards automated detection tools, online companies of all sizes are working to carefully balance concerns about their employees’ health with heightened efforts to combat the spread of false information, especially about the virus.
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