– ISRAEL, Tel Aviv – Zencity, the leading provider of AI-based insights for local governments, announced today the closing of a $13.5 million funding round led by TLV Partners alongside strategic investor Salesforce Ventures and existing investors – Canaan Partners Israel, Vertex Ventures, M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund, and i3 Equity Partners also participating.
Zencity uses advanced AI to provide local government agencies with actionable insights about their communities’ needs and priorities based on discourse in digital channels. The platform collects millions of resident-generated data points from a multitude of sources and using award-winning AI algorithms, transforms this mass of unstructured data into real-time and ongoing insights for local government leaders. These capabilities allow local governments to understand wide-scale community feedback and ensure they can truly hear the range of their residents’ voices.
Founded in 2015, the Tel Aviv-based company has been growing exponentially and today supports over 150 cities and counties of all sizes across four countries and 28 US states – including major cities like Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago, mid-size communities like Fort Lauderdale, FL, and Dayton, OH; and even small communities like State College, PA.
During this turbulent time, as local governments battle the COVID-19 pandemic and undertake the task of economic recovery, Zencity’s platform has been pivotal in their responses. Local governments face a host of unique challenges; creating and enforcing social distancing policies, supporting local businesses, managing health services, and above all, providing their citizens with accurate and timely information. These challenges require understanding their residents’ needs, concerns and priorities in real time and on a wide scale, to ensure a quick feedback loop as they shape their policies, actions and messaging. Since the start of the pandemic, Zencity has added dozens of government agencies to its network, including Austin, TX, Long Beach, CA and Oak Ridge, TN.
With this latest funding round, the company will continue to expand its product’s ability to serve the unique needs of state and local government agencies, particularly during these times of uncertainty. The funding will also aid in building out new strategic partnerships and further expand the company’s market presence.
“We are proud to be able to help the heroic women and men of local government at a time when resident feedback is incredibly valuable and are looking forward to continuing in these efforts thanks to our incredible partners,” said CEO, Eyal Feder-Levy. “Now more than ever, this investment is further proof of local governments’ acute need for real-time resident feedback. The ability to provide municipal leaders with actionable data improves the efficiency and effectiveness of their work.”
“We see great value in the unique approach taken by Zencity and are excited to lead this funding round,” commented Eitan Bek, Managing Partner at TLV Partners. “This is our first investment in a government focused company, and we see the amazing potential in supporting this sector’s needs. It is usually a “tough” market to penetrate, let alone scale in, and we were inspired by what Eyal, Ido and their government-obsessed team has been able to achieve.”
About Zencity
Zencity is an AI-powered data analytics tool providing local governments with data-driven insights about their communities’ needs and priorities. Zencity’s platform analyzes millions of pieces of anonymized, aggregated feedback from varied sources like social media, local broadcast media and government customer service channels to offer actionable insights based on trending topics in citizens’ conversations. Over 150 local government agencies in the US, from Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles to the Village of Lemont, IL, use Zencity to prioritize resources, shape policies, track performance and connect with their communities.
For more information: https://zencity.io/
About TLV Partners
TLV Partners is a venture capital firm with $490m under management and a community of over 30 portfolio companies across different sectors. The fund is dedicated to investing in innovative and disruptive early-stage start-ups. The firm seeks not only to invest but also to partner and get involved with the start-ups it invests in.
For more information: https://www.tlv.partners/
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