How Statt AI is Revolutionizing Public Policy Research with $2.8 Million in Funding

The Scoop

Statt Inc., an innovative startup leveraging AI to streamline global public policy research, has successfully secured $2.8 million in funding, as reported exclusively by Semafor. This funding round, led by Moneta Ventures and Clutch VC, marks a significant milestone for the five-person team that has quietly emerged since its inception in 2020. Founded by former Obama administration advisor Steve Glickman and ex-Maryland state representative Andrew Platt, Statt is on a mission to make public policy data accessible.

Statt’s platform aggregates a vast array of real-time data, encompassing hundreds of millions of public policy and regulatory documents, alongside audio and video clips from around the world. Their AI models are fine-tuned for policy research, enabling a chatbot named StattChat to efficiently summarize complex policy issues that would typically take days to analyze.

“Even really specialized experts in this space don’t track all these information flows,” Glickman stated, emphasizing the tool’s relevance in today’s fast-paced policy environment.

Statt has garnered attention from notable clients, including Microsoft, Visa, FTI Consulting, and Avoq, with annual contracts ranging from $50,000 to over $200,000. With their new funding, the company plans to expand its team and boost sales.

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Statt’s data sources include 15,000 organizations, such as think tanks and industry groups. Their proprietary algorithm ranks these organizations based on influence, ensuring the validity of their reports. This data is continuously updated, allowing clients to track shifts in policy trends effectively.

Glickman noted that clients have utilized Statt’s capabilities to predict regulatory changes before they occur, providing a competitive edge in the policy landscape. The platform also assists interest groups in identifying legislative opportunities based on subtle consensus shifts that are otherwise challenging to detect.

Statt’s vision was initially inspired by the Overton window, a concept describing the range of acceptable policies at any given time. Glickman believes that understanding a broader set of inputs can help proactively shift this window faster.

While most of Statt’s clientele consists of private sector entities, the company aims to penetrate the US government sector, where their tools could enhance the understanding of lobbying influences on lawmakers.

Reed’s View

Statt’s recent funding, while modest compared to typical Silicon Valley rounds, exemplifies the significant impact of AI in real-world applications. Statt represents a new breed of company harnessing advances in large language models to create valuable services previously unattainable.

The company’s competitive advantage lies in its ability to deliver a constantly updating stream of data, which can be ingested by foundational models. Glickman and Platt’s unique backgrounds in public policy inform their proprietary machine learning algorithms, which automatically classify sources by importance.

If successful, Statt could reshape how governments operate, offering clearer insights into the policy landscape amidst the proliferation of special interest groups, ultimately fostering smarter, more democratic decision-making.

Room for Disagreement

However, it’s crucial to recognize that public policy in the US can often be influenced more by political donations than by ideas. As noted in a 2013 Democracy Journal article, significant spending by corporations and lobbyists often overshadows genuine policy discourse, raising questions about the integrity of the political process.