GovTech Biz

As artificial intelligence gains ground among governments, firefighters and other first responders could soon depend much more upon the technology. As the market grows, various companies are gearing up in different ways.

Vimo, which runs some of the largest state health insurance exchanges with its GetInsured software, has acquired the company for its health and safety net service delivery management technology.

The latest in a string of acquisitions for the Canadian public safety tech company reflects the push to upgrade emergency dispatch services as well as the hot M&A market for government technology.

ResourceX, which works on Priority-Based Budgeting, has pulled in a seed investment round right as the federal government is poised to pump billions of dollars in infrastructure funding into state and local government.

The New York-based company is pushing into the public sector as more agencies lean on the latest tools to prevent fraudulent claims for services and benefits. The funding reflects digital ID’s move into the mainstream.

Rivian, the startup electric truck manufacturer, announced a whopping $12 billion raised in a recent funding round. One potential roadblock for Rivian is a very steep price tag for its lowest-priced truck: $73,000.

In an effort to compete with Zoom, Cisco will release new video conferencing products and features later this year and in early 2022. The releases will address everything from background noise to worker inclusion.

At the InState GovTech Summit in Austin, a panel of venture capitalists was optimistic about the ongoing trend of growth and investment in public-sector technology, particularly among startups and newer companies.

In this quarterly series, gov tech adviser Jeff Cook takes a look at the rapid pace of recent deals — transactions that involved such companies as Granicus, OpenCities and CivicPlus.

The device, called the Raven, is going through beta testing now and will launch for general sales in January. It’s designed to detect gunshots, as well as other sounds such as glass breaking, and activate nearby cameras.

The partnership combines Internet of Things sensors with back-end technology, and targets municipalities. The two companies are teaming up as lawmakers consider an infrastructure bill that could boost smart city tech.

The company, which also offers grant assistance, online training, digital wellness and other tools, has gone through three mergers since its acquisition by a private equity firm in 2014. Now that firm is selling it off.

The $300 million defamation claim accuses the news outlet of misrepresenting the technology's efficacy and inaccurately making data manipulation charges. ShotSpotter continues to face criticism as its technology spreads.

The company, a major biometric identification vendor for law enforcement, hopes that by putting the technology in the hands of more agencies it will make the whole practice of fingerprint matching more useful.

Through a new partnership, HdL aims to help local governments in populous North Texas create innovative tools for financial and revenue management. The move comes as those agencies await federal infrastructure money.

StateRAMP made it easier for companies that are already in the FedRAMP marketplace to get in, and the initial list is made up mostly of FedRAMP vendors. Here are the companies that have made the leap.

Artificial intelligence made few gains during the pandemic, Gartner finds, even as more agencies turn to chatbots. Confusion about the technology and anxiety among government workers are among the main hurdles.

Austin-based Olea Edge Analytics has pulled a massive $35 million round of funding to expand its AI water management systems. The company, founded in 2014, has now raised a total of $50.6 million.