A burgeoning Portland company has raised a $1 million pre-seed round to further build out its accessibility testing developer tools.
Assistiv Labs makes a browser-based tool that allows developers to easily test applications across assistive technologies, such as screen readers, that are used by people with disabilities. The tool also works across operating systems.
Its round was led by Zenda Capital and included Picks and Shovels and angel investors. The company selected investors with deep experience in developer tools and the accessibility market.
Founders Weston Thayer and Andrew Hedges are both experienced developers, with stints at Microsoft, Zapier, Apple and Disney between the two of them. While accessibility is core mission of their work, the pair have many goals.
“As a developer on Microsoft Word I had to worry about security and performance and accessibility,” said Thayer. “It ends up being everyone’s job in company and folks need help and support to built it in (among many needs).”
While similar tools help developers test security, accessibility testing isn't as abundant. Users can do so through a browser and don’t have to keep current their own devices and test environments.
“With more than 1 billion disabled people globally, enabling a more accessible web represents a tremendous opportunity,” said Esteban Reyes, founder and managing partner at Zenda Capital in a written statement. “The Assistiv team has proven they have asymmetric insight in delivering developer tools that make it easy to serve that audience."
The company earned its first paying customers at the end of 2019. Customers include the British government, consulting firm EAB, and nonprofit Knowability.
Thayer and Hedges started talking to investors earlier this year. They had good timing, said Hedges, since the fundraising environment has shifted. He noted that they have revenue, which also helped in their pitch.
“I was talking to our lead investor (this week) and the market is different than it was six months ago,” Hedges said. “It’s harder to raise now. We talked to several funds and investors to find the one that was the right size for our stage and had good experience (in developer tools). Zenda was a good fit.”
Thayer and Hedges expect this round to last about two years. So far, they are the company's only employees, but could hire more engineers now that they have some excess capital.
