Ekistic Ventures
222 W. Merchandise Mart Plz., Ste. 1212, Chicago, Illinois, 60654, United States
Overview
Ekistic’s success is built on its network of the world’s leading urban doers, thinkers and innovators. The team brings unparalleled experience at the intersection of urban design and technology. Once companies join the Ekistic portfolio, we get to work reinforcing their technological architecture to ensure it is suitable for the businesses, consumers and governments who will deploy it. We also help refine the company’s strategic pitch, regulatory compliance and market approach to improve its chances for wide adoption in the world’s leading cities.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 0
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Investment portfolio
- RoadBotics by Michelin
Participated · Seed · Nov 2018
RoadBotics builds AI-driven computer vision software for pavement assessment and infrastructure management. Its RoadWay online GIS platform analyzes road images and color-codes each 10-foot segment from green to red, enabling decision-makers to monitor networks, communicate budget needs to city councils, and resolve citizen complaints. The company was spun out of Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute in 2016 by Mark DeSantis, Dr. Benjamin Schmidt, and Dr. Christoph Mertz and is based in Pittsburgh, PA. Over 150 governments across 23 US states and 11 countries use RoadBotics’ solution. The company closed a $7.5M Series A and intends to use the funds to accelerate growth and develop new products. RoadBotics develops computer vision and deep learning technology to inspect roads and infrastructure using a proprietary smartphone app. Users mount a standard smartphone on a vehicle windshield to collect roadway imagery, which is uploaded to RoadBotics' platform where deep learning isolates the road, assesses condition, and generates objective condition ratings. The company renders assessments on an interactive online mapping platform called RoadWay. RoadBotics emerged from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute in December 2016 and was co-founded by Christoph Mertz, Benjamin Schmidt and Mark DeSantis. It currently assesses roadways for 78 cities, towns and counties across the US and Australia. The company intends to use its new seed funds to continue developing its technology.
- Edovo
Participated · Series A · Apr 2018
Edovo is a Chicago-based social impact startup that provides educational, vocational and rehabilitation programming to incarcerated individuals. Its offering includes a suite of communication tools and re-entry resources delivered via secure tablet technology. The company is led by CEO Bran Hill. It plans to use the new funding to continue scaling its program to correctional facilities across the nation. Edovo closed an A-3 financing totaling approximately $9.8M (reported as over $9M) in this round. Investors in the round included Impact Engine, Lumina Foundation, SustainVC, IDP Foundation, Evolve.Foundation, Kapor Capital and Ekistic Ventures. Edovo provides tablet-based educational content and communication tools to incarcerated individuals. The company installs secure wireless networks and tablets in correctional facilities to deliver an incentive-based learning platform covering literacy, college coursework, cognitive behavioral therapy and vocational training. Upon completion of certain lessons, participants can receive certificates and entertainment options, and can use Edovo to stay in touch with loved ones. As of the article, Edovo is operating in 20 states across over 50 facilities, and more than 50,000 people have accessed its educational content. By the end of 2018 Edovo planned to be in all but five states and to open up channels of communication between incarcerated people and their families. Its 2018 goals also include creating accessible communications, driving mental health treatment through technology, and identifying what drives change in an individual.
Team
No current team members are available.