Year: 2019

The ubiquity of APIs and cloud solutions have opened up a world of interesting ways for businesses to create a service without having to build every part of it themselves. But they have unleashed something else, too: an increased risk of breaches resulting from data being moved and used in multiple places and in multiple ways. Now, a startup that has built a way to help safeguard against that threat — using homomorphic encryption — is announcing funding, a sign of market demand and the opportunity it presents for cybersecurity.

Duality, which builds solutions based on homomorphic encryption — a technique that encrypts an organization’s data in a way that lets it stay encrypted even as the company collaborates with third parties that also process the data — is today announcing that it has raised $16 million in funding.

The Series A round is being led by Intel Capital, with participation also from Hearst Ventures and Team8.

Team8 is the heavyweight Israeli cybersecurity incubator that counts Intel as a strategic partner and itself has an impressive list of backers that include Microsoft, Walmart, Eric Schmidt and Accenture.

Intel is a financial and strategic backer here: last year the two worked on a project to expose the security challenges of AI workloads, which utilised homomorphic encryption on Intel platforms in order to minimise data exposure. Intel’s are used in a wide range of use cases that include cloud services and massive hardware companies, you could see where the two might work together more in the future.

Other companies that Duality works with are in the financial markets, healthcare, and insurance, although it says it cannot disclose who because of NDAs. One customer it did name was the CDA, the Cyber Defense Alliance, in the UK, a cross-bank security alliance.

Another is may well be Heart, the other investor named in this round.

“As a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses across industries, we are acutely aware of the increasing importance of data and data collaboration in companies across many market segments,” said Kenneth Bronfin, Senior Managing Director of Hearst Ventures, in a statement. “Sensitive data is constantly being generated by both individuals and businesses; there needs to be technology available that protects such data while allowing us to extract insights. We are excited by Duality’s mission and its ability to deliver complex technology to real-world use cases and applications.”

There are a handful of cybersecurity startups and larger companies emerging that are building solutions on the principle of homomorphic encryption.

They include Enveil, CryptoNext Security, IBM. Duality, however, has an interesting pedigree when it comes to the field: one of its co-founders, Shafi Goldwasser, won a Turing Award for her groundbreaking work in cryptographic algorithms that form the basis of homomorphic encryption.

As with a lot of high-level math, that work is largely theoretical, and so the work that Duality — led by its other co-founders Alon Kaufman, Rina Shainski, Vinod Vaikuntanathan and Kurt Rohloff, all of whom also have long lists of cybersecurity and data science credentials — has done has involved making the algorithms into something that is commercially viable and usable by most businesses.

That being said, there is still a lot of time and computing energy that are needed to process encrypted data, and so the idea with Duality is that it’s used on a company’s most sensitive information. With some of the funding going towards R&D it will be interesting to see whether algorithms can improve enough to extend that kind of encryption i a practical way to wider data sets.

“There is no free lunch here,” said Kaufman, the CEO, in an interview this week. “Homomorphic encryption is the holy grail of security and privacy since it removes huge challenges. But there are overheads. When we deploy it with a customer, we don’t say, from now on encrypt everything and assume nothing is open. That’s because i’s a storage and computational overhead. That is why we focus on sensitive data sets.” He added that one of Duality’s unique qualities is that its overhead is dramatically improved compared to others that are also building solutions on this principle, but all the same, “you apply it only when you need to.”

“The ability to secure data during analysis is a critical component in the future computation stack, specifically in the context of AI. Intel Capital has been following the space closely, and we are excited to see secure computing and homomorphic encryption becoming practical and broadly applicable,” said Anthony Lin, Vice President & Senior Managing Director of Intel Capital, in a statement. “We believe privacy-preservation in AI and ML represents a huge market need, and we’re investing in Duality because of its unique founding team and world-leading expertise in both advanced cryptography and data science.”

 

Good news, satellite radio fans: SiriusXM is getting a bit easier to control on your various Google Home and Nest Mini speakers.

The streaming radio network is at long last getting support for Google Assistant, allowing you to say things like “Hey Google, play 90s on 9” and have the station start right up.

While SiriusXM has technically been compatible with these speakers for a while, getting it to play meant poking around the mobile app and sending your desired station over via Chromecast. With this update, all it takes is a voice command.

Google says the SiriusXM functionality should start rolling out this week. It’ll roll out in the US and Canada first, initially supporting English and later supporting Canadian French.

Getting any of this to work, of course, means having a SiriusXM subscription. As such, Google says that all Nest speakers and smart displays will include a three-month SiriusXM trial out of the box. (Just don’t forget to set that calendar reminder in case you want to cancel.)

Why raise venture capital when you can raise debt and keep your equity?

That’s the question a whole slew of new financial technology companies are hoping entrepreneurs will ask themselves as they begin to think about collecting outside capital for their businesses. Clearbanc made waves with its “20-Minute Term Sheet” campaign, with a goal of backing 2,000 businesses with $1 billion in non-dilutive capital by the end of 2019. Now, Capital is launching to educate founders about the possibility of debt funding.

Founded by former Draper Fisher Jurvetson (now known as Threshold Ventures) investor Blair Silverberg, Csaba Konkoly and Chris Olivares, Capital is launching today with $5 million from Future Ventures, Greycroft, Wavemaker and others. Additionally, it’s raised from “prominent institutional pools of capital” to invest between $5 million and $25 million in promising companies, determined using “The Capital Machine.”

Capital’s underwriting technology, dubbed The Capital Machine, determines if businesses have the growth potential necessary for an infusion of debt (by analyzing revenue and other financial considerations), then delivers term sheets within 24 hours. The expedited process cuts out the time-consuming elements of pitching venture capitalists, the company says, allowing businesses to go from zero to $5 million—or more—in a matter of hours.

For companies that are’t ready for a debt round, or who don’t meet Capital’s qualification, the company is offering access to a free calculator that determines the cost of a company’s capital based on their fundraising and valuation data.

“We are trying to create a business that is the place that all founders go to start their fundraising process,” Silverberg tells TechCrunch. “We just want entrepreneurs to understand that step one in building a balance sheet is to understand your cost of capital. Step two is you can now use that to compare your financing options. We hope we can make this process simpler and more transparent.”

Capital charges a 5% to 15% flat fee on its capital, investing a maximum of $50 million over time. The company has ambitions of becoming a holistic investment bank of sorts, says Silverberg, ready and willing to advise companies on fundraising possibilities and connect them with VCs for future deals.

Historically, Silverberg explains, venture capital dollars went to risky upstarts poised to disrupt a category. Today, loads of equity funding is funneled into predictable business models that could be funded entirely with non-dilutive capital: “I saw what the venture process was like,” Silverberg said, referencing his stint at DFJ. “Tech companies do not utilize debt … this is extremely expensive for founders.”

There’s a culture surrounding venture capital fundraising in Silicon Valley and beyond. One in which startups seek to become ‘unicorns,’ hoping for stories on this very sight to laud their accomplishments—including the loads of venture capital dollars they’ve pulled in. In reality, much of that capital is plowed into things like Facebook and Google to fuel digital ad campaigns, which is not how VC is intended to be used and can result in founders taking a company public with just a few percentage points of ownership.

Solutions like Capital, Clearbanc, Lighter Capital and others, should remind entrepreneurs that venture capital isn’t the only route to getting a company off the ground and can be raised in addition to venture debt.

“There’s no excuse for not knowing your cost of capital,” Silverberg adds.

The Mavic Pro was a revelation when DJI announced it a little over three years ago. The foldable drone was precisely the shot in the arm the industry needed to help make the technology more accessible for the masses.

In July, I paid a visit to the markets of Shenzhen, and it’s clear that the design has had a profound impact on both the industry at large and the public perception of a drone’s platonic ideal. DJI, meanwhile, has spent the last few years refining the line and building up a robust software offering.

The Mavic’s design has also impacted DJI’s other line, including, notably, the DJI Spark. In spite of superficial similarities, however, the selfie drone was never really considered part of the Mavic line. After all, the higher-end drones have long appealed to professionals, thanks to their ability to capture great footage in spite of a small footprint.

Announced today, the Mavic Mini is the next logical step in that evolution. Like the Spark, the new drone is small enough to rest comfortably in the palm of your hand. Unlike the Spark, however, the sub-250 gram drone is designed to serve as a more serious imaging product, capable of shooting 2.7K video at 30fps or 1080p video at 60fps. For stills, it can do 12 megapixels courtesy of a 1/2.3-inch sensor, all mounted on a three-axis motorized gimbal.

Granted, none of that can compete with the Hasselblad camera mounted on the latest Mavic Pro, but weight and pricing were both concerns here. And besides, the Pro is sticking around, so DJI will want to differentiate between tiers. There’s another big difference here, as well — one that deserves to be highlighted for prospective buyers: there’s no built-in obstacle avoidance. The requisite sensors were not included for the aforementioned reasons.

While I can understand cutting corners here, that’s a pretty big one for two key reasons. First, DJI is very much positioning this as a first-time drone for many. Second, the thing is tiny, meaning it’s pretty easy to lose line of sight on the thing quickly.

I will say that, as someone who has flown a few of these things, the Mini handles well and is quite easy to maneuver, in spite, or because, of its small size. Also, DJI offers up free demo software, so you can take a virtual drone for a spin before potentially sacrificing the real thing. Even so, the lack of the feature feels like a pretty glaring omission here.

That said, there’s plenty to like here, including a battery that should get a solid 30 minutes of flight time on a charge, along with a slew of different shooting modes that will make you look like you know what you’re doing with the press of a button.

The drone is up for pre-order today, priced at $399. There’s also a $499 package that includes three batteries, an extra set of propellers, a carrying case, a charging hub that will also charge your phone and some beefy propeller cages. It starts shipping November 11.

Digital media startup Brut is announcing that it has raised $40 million in Series B funding. The money will be used, in part, to finance its launch in the United States.

CEO Guillaume Lacroix said that that he and his co-founders all come from the French TV industry, where they were all “frustrated not to be able to follow up the conversation on social.” So they created Brut as a way deliver video news that felt conversational and authentic, hoping to spark viewer conversation, then take advantage of that commentary to find future stories.

“We always always say to journalists, ‘Forget the audience, think about your two best friends,'” Lacroix told me. “‘Would you be excited to have this conversation tonight with your friends? If yes, let’s do it.'”

The publisher focuses on topics like social good and social impact — for example, it published the first viral video featuring climate change activist Greta Thunberg. Lacroix argued that Brut’s audience is looking for solutions, not just problems, in contrast to the “negative news cycle” that they see on traditional media.

“People are not waiting anymore — they don’t wait for institutions to do it, they don’t wait for the collectivity to do it,” he said. “It’s very inspiring to see someone who takes even a small action.”

At the same time, he doesn’t want Brut’s journalists to veer too heavily into advocacy or activism themselves: “We don’t do a call to action, we’re not activists, we don’t point a finger. We just shine a light on people who are trying to do something to change the world.”

In many ways, Brut seems to check off the same boxes (it aims to reach a millennial/Gen Z audience with short videos on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat) that many U.S. digital media startups did before they started to struggle and consolidate over the past few years.

But Lacroix said the startup’s approach is working — not just in terms of reaching an audience, but also building a real business. Brut is already profitable in France, and it plans to be profitable in the U.S. within three years.

Asked about whether he’s worried about relying on social platforms to reach his audience, Lacroix argued that even if you focus on publishing on your own website, you’re reliant on Google for traffic.

“For me, it’s not a problem of distribution, if you’re diversified enough,” he said. “It’s a problem of: What’s your business model? Why did Spotify explode from day one? They have a global DNA. It’s exactly the same for us.”

For example, Lacroix said that Brut’s audience is concerned about many of the same issues no matter what country they’re in. And the company is able to produce content for them in a relatively low cost way, because it can shoot a video in French or English, then add subtitles in a variety of languages — most audiences won’t even notice since they’re watching on their phones, with the sound off.

To be clear, Brut hasn’t exactly been ignoring the U.S. market before this. The company said it has an audience of 30 million daily active viewers across the globe, including in the United States, and it opened an office in New York City a couple of years ago. By “launching” here, Brut means it’s hiring an advertising salesforce to start monetizing that audience.

The company previously raised 10 million euros (approximately $11.1 million) from Kima Ventures, according to Crunchbase. The new funding was led by Red River West and Blisce, with participation from Aryeh Bourkoff, Eric Zinterhofer and others.

“When deciding where to invest, we look for mission-driven companies whose values are aligned with our own,” said blisce founder and CEO Alexandre Mars in a statement. “Like blisce’s previous investments in Spotify, Pinterest and Bird, we believe that Brut.’s unique global approach represents a special competitive advantage, as well as an understanding that business success and positive social impact are inextricably linked.”

US regulators shouldn’t be sitting on their hands while the 50+ state, federal and congressional antitrust investigations of Google to grind along, search rival DuckDuckGo argues.

It’s put out a piece of research today that suggests choice screens which let smartphone users choose from a number of search engines to be their device default — aka “preference menus” as DuckDuckGo founder Gabe Weinberg prefers to call them — offer an easy and quick win for regulators to reboot competition in the search space by rebalancing markets right now.

“If designed properly we think [preference menus] are a quick and effective key piece in the puzzle for a good remedy,” Weinberg tells TechCrunch. “And that’s because it finally enables people to change the search defaults across the entire device which has been difficult in the past… It’s at a point, during device set-up, where you can promote the users to take a moment to think about whether they want to try out an alternative search engine.”

Google is already offering such a choice to Android users in Europe, following an EU antitrust decision against Android last year.

DuckDuckGo is concerned US regulators aren’t thinking pro-actively enough about remedies for competition in the US search market — and is hoping to encourage more of a lean-in approach to support boosting diversity so that rivals aren’t left waiting years for the courts to issue judgements before any relief is possible.

In a survey of Internet users which it commissioned, polling more than 3,400 adults in the US, UK, Germany and Australia, people were asked to respond to a 4-choice screen design, based on an initial Google Android remedy proposal, as well as an 8-choice variant.

“We found that in each surveyed country, people select the Google alternatives at a rate that could increase their collective mobile market share by 300%-800%, with overall mobile search market share immediately changing by over 10%,” it writes [emphasis its].

Survey takers were also asked about factors that motivate them to switch search engines — with the number one reason given being a better quality of search results, and the next reason being if a search engine doesn’t track their searches or data.

Of course DuckDuckGo stands to gain from any pro-privacy switching, having built an alternative search business by offering non-tracked searches supported by contextual ads. Its model directly contrasts with Google’s, which relies on pervasive tracking of Internet users to determine which ads to serve.

But there’s plenty of evidence consumers hate being tracked. Not least the rise in use of tracker blockers.

“Using the original design puzzle [i.e. that Google devised] we saw a lot of people selecting alternative search engines and we think it would go up from there,” says Weinberg. “But even initially a 10% market share change is really significant.”

He points to regulatory efforts in Europe and also Russia which have resulted in antitrust decisions and enforcements against Google — and where choice screens are already in use promoting alternative search engine choices to Android users.

He also notes that regulators in Australia and the UK are pursuing choice screens — as actual or potential remedies for rebalancing the search market.

Russia has the lead here, with its regulator — the FAS — slapping Google with an order against bundling its services with Android all the way back in 2015, a few months after local search giant Yandex filed a complaint. A choice screen was implemented in 2017 and Russia’s homegrown Internet giant has increased its search market share on Android devices as a result. Google continues to do well in Russia. But the result is greater diversity in the local search market, as a direct result of implementing a choice screen mechanism.

“We think that all regulatory agencies that are now considering search market competition should really implement this remedy immediately,” says Weinberg. “They should do other things… as well but I don’t see any reason why one should wait on not implementing this because it would take a while to roll out and it’s a good start.”

Of course US regulators have yet to issue any antitrust findings against Google — despite there now being tens of investigations into “potential monopolistic behavior”. And Weinberg concedes that US regulators haven’t yet reached the stage of discussing remedies.

“It feels at a very investigatory stage,” he agrees. “But we would like to accelerate that… As well as bigger remedial changes — similar to privacy and how we’re pushing Do Not Track legislation — as something you can do right now as kind of low hanging fruit. I view this preference menu in the same way.”

“It’s a very high leverage thing that you can do immediately to move market share and increase search competition and so one should do it faster and then take the things that need to be slower slower,” he adds, referring to more radical possible competition interventions — such as breaking a business up.

There is certainly growing concern among policymakers around the world that the current modus operandi of enforcing competition law has failed to keep pace with increasingly powerful technology-driven businesses and platforms — hence ‘winner takes all’ skews which exist in certain markets and marketplaces, reducing choice for consumers and shrinking opportunities for startups to compete.

This concern was raised as a question for Europe’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager, during her hearing in front of the EU parliament earlier this month. She pointed to the Commission’s use of interim measures in an ongoing case against chipmaker Broadcom as an example of how the EU is trying to speed up its regulatory response, noting it’s the first time such an application has been made for two decades.

In a press conference shortly afterwards, to confirm the application of EU interim measures against Broadcom, Vestager added: “Interim measures are one way to tackle the challenge of enforcing our competition rules in a fast and effective manner. This is why they are important. And especially that in fast moving markets. Whenever necessary I’m therefore committed to making the best possible use of this important tool.”

Weinberg is critical of Google’s latest proposals around search engine choice in Europe — after it released details of its idea to ‘evolve’ the search choice screen — by applying an auction model, starting early next year. Other rivals, such as French pro-privacy engine Qwant, have also blasted the proposal.

Clearly, how choice screens are implemented is key to their market impact.

“The way the current design is my read is smaller search engines, including us and including European search engines will not be on the screen long term the way it’s set up,” says Weinberg. “There will need to be additional changes to get the effects that we were seeing in our studies we made.

“There’s many reasons why us and others would not be those highest bidders,” he says of the proposed auction. “But needless to say the bigger companies can weigh outweigh the smaller ones and so there are alternative ways to set this up.”

In a move to boost family subscriptions to its app, Spotify this morning announced the launch of a dedicated Kids application which allows children three and up to listen to their own music, both online and offline, as well as explore playlists and recommendations picked by experts, and more. The music selection is also filtered so songs won’t have explicit content.

The launch is a first in the online music streaming space, where kids on parents’ music plans typically sign in through the same app — just with a different login. But Spotify believes children deserve their own space, where the music they listen to is available in an ad-free environment, where they won’t accidentally encounter lyrics that parents disapprove of, and where content is hand-curated by editors.

Spotify Kids, essentially, is a set of hand-picked playlists across categories.

These span categories like Movies & TV, top hits, Activities (bedtime, homework, playtime, etc.), genres, seasonal, Spotify Originals, artist/groups and Stories.

These playlists are all programmed by human editors, not algorithms, who follow a set of guidelines about what’s appropriate for children.

The editors, Spotify says, have backgrounds from some of the most well-known brands in the children’s entertainment market, including Nickelodeon, Disney, Discovery Kids, Universal Pictures, Public Service (Sweden) and BookBeat (family and kids-oriented audio streaming service).

The app isn’t just for the preschool set. Instead, it can grow with the kids as they get older — but still aren’t ready for the parents’ application yet.

In the younger kids’ version, children can listen to things like singalongs, lullabies, and soundtracks aimed at little kids. Older users have access to tracks and playlists of their own, including some popular tracks, that are appropriate and relevant for their age group. Parents will select the appropriate age group upon launch.

In time, Spotify will expand the app with more content and build enhanced parental settings and controls that allow parents to customize the kids app further.

The app also looks nothing like the main app — it’s colorful and bright, and has a look and feel that varies by the kids’ age group. For example, the younger kids see artwork that’s softer and character-based, while older kids have a more detailed experience.

“Spotify is committed to giving billions of fans the opportunity to enjoy and be inspired by music and stories and we’re proud that this commitment now includes the next generation of audio listeners,” said Spotify’s Chief Premium Business Officer Alex Norström. “We are excited to be expanding the Spotify Premium Family experience with a dedicated app just for our youngest fans. Spotify Kids is a personalized world bursting with sound, shape and color, where our young listeners can begin a lifelong love of music and stories.”

The app is initially available in beta, while Spotify works to refine the experience based on additional insights gained from use as well as parents’ feedback. It requires a Premium Family plan to use.

Spotify Kids is available today in Ireland on iOS and Android, but is rolling out to all markets, the company confirms.

 

Urban air mobility company Volocopter has focused its efforts to date on getting its passenger electric drone business off the ground – literally, in fact. But now, the German startup has unveiled a new electric vertical take-off and landing craft (eVTOL), which is designed specifically to move large payloads of goods around, without a pilot on board.

The new Volocopter VoloDrone has a familiar ‘crown’ of rotors up top – it’s essentially the same design the company uses for its passenger aircraft. But instead of a cabin for people, the body of the VoloDrone is a squat rectangular platform, with attachments underneath for hooking up cargo, and two tall landing skids.

VoloDrone can hoist up to 440 lbs, either tucked between its landing rotors in cargo containers, or in a payload-holding sling or other similar carrying mechanism. It can fly for 35 miles on a single charge, which is not that far – but the whole point is to serve industries including agriculture, public infrastructure and others where distance isn’t a challenge so much as is navigating complex terrain via ground-based vehicles.

Volocopter says that the new aircraft was developed by a specialized team based near Munich, and that its design was informed by work done with strategic partners from across the target industries the eVTOL is designed for. VoloDrone has also already taken its first demonstration flight this month, so it’s more than just a concept.

This is a good example of how Volocopter can look to extend the fundamentals of its rotor craft platform into new areas with fit-for-purpose customized variants. That’ll probably be a key ingredient as the company looks beyond its current testing and trial phase and into building a sustainable, revenue-generating business.

Uber Freight, the Uber business unit that helps truck drivers connect with shipping companies, said Wednesday it’s launching the app in Canada as part of its global expansion plan.

The move into Canada will give Uber Freight access to the country’s $68 billion trucking industry, which is facing severe driver shortage that has constrained freight capacity, the company said. It also follows Uber Freight’s announcement in September that it was expanding into Europe.

Since launching in May 2017, Uber Freight has grown from limited regional operations in Texas to the rest of the continental U.S., Europe and now Canada.

“Since the beginning, we have been dedicated to scaling our operations to enable opportunity for both Uber Freight and the shippers and carriers that keep our world moving,” said Lior Ron, who leads Uber Freight.

The company said that its platform can help increase efficiency in the sector and reduce trucks running empty miles across North America. Local carriers and their drivers based in the U.S. and Canada are able to book and move domestic and cross border loads with the Uber Freight app, now available in both English and French, the company said.

The company is focused on routes in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec as well as across the Canadian border into the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. Uber Freight said it plans to expand to the rest of Canada.

Uber Freight serves more than 1,000 shippers, including companies such as AB Inbev, Niagara Bottling and Land O’Lakes.

Earlier this year, Uber Freight established its headquarters in Chicago as part of its parent company’s broader plan to invest more than $200 million annually in the region, including hiring hundreds of workers. Uber said at the time, it would hire 2,000 new employees in the region over the next three years; most of which will be dedicated to Uber Freight.

Uber Freight, which with also has offices in San Francisco  and Amsterdam, has become an important piece to Uber’s larger business strategy to generate revenue from all forms of transportation, including logistics for packages. Uber has dedicated more resources to the trucking platform since August 2018 when Uber Freight spun out as a separate business unit. Since then, the company has expanded its operations and redesigned the app, including the addition of new navigation features, an updated map view and a search bar across the top of the screen.

Workiz, a startup whose software helps field service professionals manage their work, said today it has raised $5 million in Series A funding. The funding was led by Magenta Venture Partners, with participation from returning investor Aleph. The company announced the launch of Workiz Voice, an Amazon Alexa-powered feature that allows the app to be controlled with voice commands, making it safer to use while field service workers driving.

Magenta Venture Partners general partner Ran Levitzky will join Workiz’s board of directors. The Series A brings Workiz’s total funding so far to $7.3 million. The company says it grew 247% last year and CEO Adi Azaria told TechCrunch that the company currently has thousands of customers in the U.S. and Canada. Many are home or equipment maintenance companies, including locksmiths, garage door repair, junk removal, appliance repair and carpet cleaning businesses. The software has also been used by medical transport companies, including Trinity Air Medical, to manage highly-time sensitive delivery of organ donations to their recipients.

Targets SMBs field service businesses with less than 50 employees, but can scale up to organizations with 600 technicans, and franchises, says CEO. Include locksmiths, garage door repair, junk removal, appliance repair and carpet cealning businesses. Also used by international organ donor and medical transport companies, makeup companies, and environmental waste disposal companies. LIke Trinty Air Medical, which uses Workiz to manage organ donations and make sure thye are delivered in time.

Workiz’ new funding is being used on its automation platform for field service workers and Workiz Voice, as well as hiring for its North American team and operations.

The startup was founded in 2015 by a team including Idan Kadosh and Erez Marom, who worked as locksmiths for over 15 years in San Diego, California. They were frustrated by the field service management software options available and relies on pen, paper and Excel spreadsheets to manage their business. They also carried multiple cell phones, since most customer appointments were arranged by phone calls and they could not hide their personal numbers.

Workiz was created to give field service companies a full set of tools, including the ability to monitor interactions between technicians and customers, keep detailed records of client calls and texts, send clients reminders, track advertising spending and effectiveness and process credit card payments.

“At Workiz, we have a vision to transform tradespeople into business professionals, and the Workiz platform is able to successfully do so. While 75% of small businesses close within their first five years of business, businesses who are using Workiz are able to slash that number down to just 20%,” said Azaria.

About 52% of field services companies still rely on pen and paper to manage their businesses, presenting a growth opportunity for Workiz. To get them to switch, Workiz provides free help for onboarding, which can be completed in as little as one or two days. The software syncs with QuickBooks or CSV files.

The startup says Workiz Voice, which enables workers to look up job schedules, sort through leads, communicate with team members or clients and find directions to their next job, is the first feature of its kind on the market. It helps Workiz Voice differentiate from other field service management software like Jobber or HouseCall Pro.

In a press statement, Levitzky said “We are constantly on the lookout for exciting companies transforming industries, and Workiz ticked all of the boxes. The company’s approach levels the playing field so that businesses of all sizes can better secure and manage job opportunities, given the on-demand nature of the field service industry.”