2020 Startups to Watch: Draiver pulling out of stealth mode with steady hands on the wheel
January 22, 2020 | Anna Turnbull
Editor’s note: Startland News selected 10 Kansas City firms to spotlight for its annual Startups to Watch list. The following is one of 2020’s companies. Click here to view the full, ranked list of Startups to Watch.
Businesses across the country have a mobility problem and Draiver is set to flip mobility tech on its head in 2020, said Zarif Haque.
Elevator pitch: Draiver is an artificial intelligence-based, self-learning logistics platform that moves vehicles by planning, executing and instructing drivers.
•Founders: Zarif Haque, Kevin Burke
• Founding year: 2013 (launched in 2016)
• Amount raised to date: $2.625 million
• Noteworthy investors: Tim Barton, David Ferdman, Scott Coons, Brian McClendon, Matthew Vettel
• Current employee count: 19
“Our company is focused on vehicle logistics,” explained Haque, CEO and founder of Draiver — an artificial intelligence-based, self-learning logistics platform that moves vehicles by planning, executing and instructing drivers.
Backed with confidence from board members that include Tim Barton, founder of Freight Quote and Brian McClendon, vice president of products at Uber and creator of Google Maps and Google Earth, Draiver isn’t just another tech company — its a transformative operation that stands to deliver innovative technologies in 2020, never before seen by the public, explained Dan Rizzo, vice president of finance.
“We look at all of the possibilities and we give those options to our drivers,” added Haque in anticipation of a year that could also see the startup close in on significant funding as it pushes the boundaries on what’s possible in mobility tech.
“[We are looking forward to] securing additional intellectual property. We have seven issued patents [as of] today and we are expecting a few more, in addition to some international patents. If we get those we will be untouchable,” he said confident in the company’s abilities.
As its popularity mounts, Draiver’s team is expected to expand in 2020, creating jobs across 30 states and further driving revenue, noted Haque.
“[In 2019] we had our largest revenue generating year. We expect to continue our steady three-times revenue growth year-after-year. We are slow but steady and continuously growing.”
Major partnerships with municipalities, which will put the startup’s latest technology to the test are also expected to be announced in the coming months, the company said.
1) United American Hemp
2) Tesseract Ventures
3) ELIAS Animal Health
4) Healium
5) Fishtech
6) Draiver
7) Backstitch
8) Stenovate
9) Boddle Learning
10) Destiny
This story is possible thanks to support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a private, nonpartisan foundation that works together with communities in education and entrepreneurship to create uncommon solutions and empower people to shape their futures and be successful.
For more information, visit www.kauffman.org and connect at www.twitter.com/kauffmanfdn and www.facebook.com/kauffmanfdn
Featured Business
2020 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Build to barrel: Inside Holladay Distillery’s ironclad plan to boost bourbon production by one-third
WESTON, Missouri — Holladay Distillery is breaking ground with Rickhouse D — its first new barrel-aging warehouse in 75 years — marking a major step in expanding bourbon production from the historic plant. Renowned as the only Missouri operation to age bourbon in ironclad rickhouses, Weston-based Holladay Distillery is increasing capacity to meet surging demand,…
So you think you’re CEO material? UMKC’s ‘CEO Academy’ puts that ambition to the test
Aspiring executives with an eye on the C-suite need to be ready well before the opportunity arises, said Dan Hesse, leaning on his years of past experience as president and CEO of Sprint. It’s not about just being the boss, he emphasized. “Of all the roles, that of the CEO is so different than any…
Pitch locally or look to outsiders? How founder bias toward funding at all costs could leave your distracted startup without a why
Kansas City’s funding gaps often feel deeper for women entrepreneurs, two top founders said Tuesday, describing a startup ecosystem that pits emerging entrepreneurs against each other — but perhaps more critically, against time — in a highly competitive fight for a limited amount of local capital. “Kansas City is very startup friendly — at least…
KC-built Buzz acquired by Vegas tech company hoping to solve AI’s ‘last mile’ challenge in property management
A leading property tech company is placing its bet on the Kansas City-built rent collections platform that Buzz brings to the table, announcing the AI-driven startup’s acquisition Tuesday by Las Vegas-based Pay Ready. The potential for artificial intelligence’s use in an industry historically is limited by the way tech collides with humans, said serial entrepreneur…