Zencity Raises $13.5 Million in Funding to Help Local Governments

Zencity, the leading provider of AI-based insights for local governments, announced today the closing of a $13.5 million funding round. The round was led by venture capital firm TLV Partners and joined by strategic investor Salesforce Ventures, in addition to the company’s existing investors – Canaan Partners Israel (CPI), Vertex Ventures, M12 – Microsoft’s Venture Fund, and i3 Equity Partners.

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 many 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 many unique challenges: creating and enforcing social distancing policies, supporting local businesses, managing health services, and providing their citizens with accurate and timely information. These challenges require understanding their residents’ needs, concerns, and priorities in real-time and on a broad 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 we are looking forward to continuing these efforts thanks to our incredible partners,” said Eyal Feder-Levy, Zencity CEO. “Now more than ever, this investment further proves 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,” said 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 have 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 anonymized, aggregated feedback from various 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. 

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 to invest in, partner with, and get involved with these start-ups. 

About Salesforce Ventures

Salesforce is the global leader in Customer Relationship Management (CRM), bringing companies closer to their customers in the digital age. Salesforce Ventures, the global investment arm of Salesforce, invests in the next generation of enterprise technology that extends the power of the Salesforce Platform. Salesforce Ventures is building the world’s largest ecosystem of enterprise cloud companies and extending that technology to customers. Portfolio companies receive funding, strategic advisory, and operating support and can quickly join Pledge 1% to make giving back part of their business model. Salesforce Ventures has invested in over 400 companies, including DocuSign, GoCardless, Guild Education, nCino, Twilio, Zoom, and others across 22 countries since 2009.