Two Atlanta venture capital firms are funding Danti, a local startup that’s launching a new type of search technology directed intelligence agencies.
Tech Square Ventures led a $2.75 million pre-seed round for the company. Overline also participated. Other investors include Radius Capital, Raven One Ventures, Space VC and other individuals.
Danti, which is emerging from stealth mode with this funding, says it aims to “make Earth’s data accessible.” The startup hopes to put information about physical locations, such as the age of a roof on a specific house or its ownership history, into one search engine.
The goal is to centralize location-based data, referred to as "geospatial" data, into one spot. CEO Jesse Kallman said Danti is focusing first on defense and intelligence customers and then looking at insurance and infrastructure companies.
“It’s connecting the dots based on what that person’s particular question was,” said Kallman, noting the company would mostly pull already public data that’s difficult to find.
Danti won the National Security Innovation Network’s innovation challenge for technologies that make complicated and hard to access datasets more accessible. The startup is now working with the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, which sponsored the challenge, and other partners with the U.S. Department of Defense.
The startup uses natural language processing to interpret a search query. Artificial intelligence would help improve the answers and interpretations, Kallman said.
Kallman is a Georgia Tech aerospace engineering graduate with years of experience in aerospace data and technology. Martice Nicks, co-founder and chief technology officer, has years of experience in databases, analytics and product development.
Danti employs just under 15 people and has a small office at Ponce City Market, Kallman said. Many of its workers have experience in AI, aerospace and data analytics.
With the announcement of the funding, Danti is now focusing on product development and customer acquisition, Kallman said.
