In this edition of Localogy’s Local Radar, we examine newly funded companies Pharos, Interface.ai and Glovo.
1. Pharos
One of AI’s top promises – and one that resonates with SMBs – is automating and streamlining organizational tasks like paperwork. And nowhere is paperwork more onerous than in healthcare. Doctor’s and Dentist’s offices are increasingly inundated with daily paperwork and electronic medical records (EMRs). Recent Y Combinator grad Pharos wants to offer pain relief for this ongoing challenge, and is tapping into AI to do so. It focuses on reporting to clinical registries. This is a function in any healthcare center’s reporting to regulatory bodies (such as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) that track effective patient care. It’s a necessary evil for any healthcare provider. Pharos mitigates the burden of this function by taking unstructured data from EMRs and automatically populating forms, thus reducing lots of rote and redundant busywork. The company also appears to be on a roll. After graduating from the esteemed Y Combinator, it recently landed a $5 million seed round led by Felicis, with participation from General Catalyst, Moxxie, and Y Combinator. It will use the funds to staff up, especially in business development roles.
2. Interface.ai
Another place AI is coming to the rescue to streamline traditional processes is Banking. That’s already happening quickly among large banks, but smaller local concerns (as always) are a bit behind in the adoption curve. Interface.ai wants to change that. It recently closed $30 million in funding from Avataar Venture Partners to bring more AI-fueled operations to smaller banks. Specifically, it offers voice and text-based AI agents that can handle basic customer service functions, thus freeing up finite staff for higher-value work. Like most AI software these days, this is offered as a model that’s then trained on a given bank’s in-house data and processes. From there, it can calibrate itself to a given bank’s processes, products, language, etc.. The company says that the types of tasks it can perform include helping a customer modify mortgage payments, or open new accounts. And it’s working so far. The Interface.ai already works with more than 100 banks across North America, processes millions of daily interactions, and generates tens of millions in ARR. As for the new funding, like Pharos above, it will be used to staff up and expand its 120-person team across North America and India.
3. Glovo
When it comes to infusing products with new technology, it’s not just about AI. Glovo is elevating its food delivery and quick commerce app with a dash of good-old-fashioned social media. After all, food and social sharing go together if you consider all of the restaurant activity on apps like Instagram and TikTok. In Glovo’s case, it’s adding social sharing functions for both users and restaurants. On the user end, this includes the ability to broadcast a food order they made. This is presumably driven by users’ interest to generally share what they’re up to – a key tenet of the social economy (think: sharing Venmo transactions). On the restaurant side, it’s giving them tools to create typical social fodder and content marketing like food preparation videos. Altogether, the idea is to spice up the otherwise spartan UX of food ordering/delivery apps. In the process, it’s hoping to create its own little social graph and network effect. From that, it can do things like boost engagement with friend connections, food recommendations, etc. And there are lots of natural upsell and monetization opportunities for restaurant marketing/visibility. Glovo is owned by Delivery Hero and is expected to reach positive adjusted EBITDA by the end of the year.
