Veritone Inc.’s artificial intelligence offerings are now available for the U.S. government.
The Costa Mesa-based company said last month that its aiWARE platform passed a “stringent assessment” of data security and governance capabilities from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRamp, whose sign-off now allows other federal agencies to use the company’s cloud-based operating system.
FedRamp provides third-parties a standard for security assessment, authorization, and monitoring cloud products and services.
The Department of Justice was Veritone’s initial sponsor agency partner.
Veritone President Ryan Steelberg said the milestone validated its AI platform as a “viable and secure option” for federal agencies to leverage artificial intelligence to accomplish missions more efficiently and effectively, from securing a public figure and identifying connections to extremist organizations to uncovering immediate insights in voluminous data sets.
Veritone’s aiWARE platform allow “users to run comprehensive, multivariate queries, correlations and analyses in near real time using cognitive engines across multiple categories, such as transcription, face recognition and object recognition,” the company said in regulatory filings.
Much of the product’s use initially has been media-related; it allows users to track advertisements and media comments in real time.
A 2017 report from Deloitte Insights indicated AI could potentially save federal government agencies up to 1.2 billion hours annually within the next five to seven years, translating into $41 billion in potential cost savings.
Veritone nearly doubled revenue last year to $27 million, but posted a larger net loss of $61 million.
The company, established in 2014, has lost more than $155 million the last three years.
In January, Apis Capital Management pulled an unsolicited $198 million cash offer for the company after Veritone’s board and Wall Street analysts voiced significant concerns regarding the credibility of the proposal.
Veritone (Nasdaq: VERI) shares were trading at about $6.37 last week and a $123 million market cap, down about 74% from a 52-week high of $24.76 in mid-June.
Experian Touts Charity Work, Inclusion
Experian PLC released its second annual inclusion and diversity report which highlighted activism and social causes championed by the firm and its North American workforce of more than 6,600.
Experian is one of three major credit reporting agencies operating in the U.S. Its North American headquarters are in Costa Mesa—a few doors down from Veritone’s offices—where more than 1,200 work at its campus along Anton Boulevard.
According to the report, employees boosted volunteer time more than 50% to over 12,500 hours in 2018, helping more than 700 charitable organizations.
National outreach included helping raise more than $23,000 for those affected by Hurricane Florence, and packing nearly 10,000 meals with Rise Against Hunger for people facing food shortages and famine.
Closer to home, the company partnered with Camp Pendleton to help educate veterans about Experian and assisted them in their transition out of the military into corporate careers.
Experian also participated in the 20th Annual Southland Technology Conference, a two-day educational event and job fair for the area’s technology community.
Among internal programs, the company recently launch the Experian Hardship Fund to help U.S. employees facing financial adversity and assistance due to dramatic life events, such as natural disasters, accidents or illness.
In the last two years, workers at the credit ratings provider established eight employee resource groups, or support networks with a set of objectives, including commemorating significant events and holidays, cultural or otherwise.
“The combination of all this inclusion brings more energy into our workplace and more energy in our workplace brings more innovation,” said Craig Boundy, chief executive of Experian’s North American region, in a statement. “And innovation brings more to our customers.”
Experian’s workforce last year was 55% male and 63% white, compared to 53% male and 62% white in 2017.
“I think we’re making some good progress but I’m never satisfied,” Boundy said. “There’s always more progress to be made.”
Experian’s parent, which is incorporated in Dublin, posted revenue of $4.6 billion in the 12 months through March 31, 2018, according to its last annual report. Experian North America posted revenue of $2.6 billion during the same period.
