- Voatz is a mobile-focused platform company that enables citizens to vote in many types of elections and voting events through a smartphone or tablet
Voatz is a mobile-focused voting and citizen engagement platform company. Through Voatz, citizens can vote in many types of elections and voting events through a secured smartphone or tablet. And earlier this year, Voatz announced it set up a pilot program with the City and County of Denver, Colorado for expanding absentee voting for deployed military personnel and overseas US citizens during the city’s 2019 municipal elections — which concluded successfully earlier this month.
Recently, Voatz announced it raised $7 million in Series A round of funding led by Medici Ventures and Techstars. Urban Innovation Fund and Oakhouse Partners also participated in this round of funding.
“We are delighted and grateful for the continued support of our existing and new investors to help us accelerate the development and deployment of our technology,” said Voatz co-founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney. “We are committed to the steady progress of mobile voting backed by blockchain technology to improve our election infrastructure and make remote voting more accessible and safer.”
With this round of funding, Voatz is planning to leverage the funds for enhancing the accessibility and usability of its technology. Plus the company is going to grow its security footprint as it prepares to launch new pilot programs with states, cities, and select international jurisdictions.
“Voting is a great application of blockchain technology,” added Medici Ventures President Jonathan Johnson. “What Voatz is doing to allow more registered voters to participate remotely in elections in a safe and secure way is important. It bodes well for more widespread adoption of the Voatz application. That’s one reason we’ve increased our investment in the company by leading this Series A round.”
Last year, Voatz also conducted a successful pilot with 24 counties in West Virginia during the 2018 Midterm Elections where deployed military personnel and US citizens overseas utilized the platform for casting their ballots. The pilot was considered the first time that mobile voting secured by a blockchain-based infrastructure has been used in a US Federal Election.
“Techstars has been impressed with the vision and drive demonstrated by the Voatz team since their participation in the Techstars Boston Accelerator in 2017. We are thrilled to continue to support Voatz on their mission to modernize the technology of voting and to improve the voting experience for constituents around the world,” explained Techstars partner Cody Simms — who is joining the company’s board in conjunction with the funding round.
The Voatz platform utilizes biometrics, encryption and blockchain technology for increased convenience, security and auditability to election systems. And the company also partners with state political parties, universities, labor unions, church groups, and nonprofits for administering elections using its platform.
“Voatz has the potential to revolutionize the way we vote. By providing access through a mobile device, Voatz can dramatically increase citizen participation, and the company is committed to ensuring everyone votes safely and securely. We’re excited to back Voatz to make voting more accessible and secure,” noted Urban Innovation Fund Managing Partner Julie Lein.
Voatz has run 39 elections with towns, cities, states, both major state political parties, colleges and universities, and unions since 2016.
“Many of the key issues facing the world today cannot be addressed until we have functioning democracies with high levels of citizen participation. The Voatz election platform provides a radically more inclusive and secure voting process and the team’s progress has been incredible. Programs with states like West Virginia and cities like Denver make it clear that Voatz is on the right track for delivering large scale impact and we are incredibly excited to continue supporting their growth,” Oakhouse Partners investing partner Andrew Maguire commented.
