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
Candidates: Unchecked property crime against businesses driven by prosecutor’s failure to hold offenders accountable
Melesa Johnson, Tracey Chappell share their solutions for combatting recent uptick in break-ins at Kansas City businesses Editor’s note: Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is not seeking re-election, so it’s an open race for her countywide seat. Democrat Melesa Johnson and Republican Tracey Chappell are running in the 2024 general election with a vote…
A simple sauce passed down six generations is headed to your table; Lenexa man says that’s his family’s great legacy
Jack Williams’ dream of seeing his great-grandmother’s picture in every grocery store across the country is one step closer to reality as the Lenexa entrepreneur’s jars of Grandma Morrelli’s pasta sauce — emblazoned with her photo — hit Kansas City shelves. “I’m trying to honor her and family traditions,” he said, describing how the venture…
Bingo with lingo: Black culture reshaped history (and how we talk); this board game revives a timely story of KC pride
A board game originally conceived in the wake of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1969 assassination is making a revival in 2024 — thanks to the Kansas City entrepreneur who created it and remains committed to keeping Black history alive. SLANG-A-LANG!™ returned to shelves earlier this year, said Irene Carter, noting the game was born out…
Here’s how a new data dashboard could help KCMO redirect funds to small businesses
A new data dashboard built to better understand Kansas City’s business needs — and guide the city’s response — is not only revolutionary for the metro, said Nia Richardson, it could be the first of its kind, period. Small business advocates already are calling it a win. “I don’t know of any other city or playbook…