Seattle-based startup LiveStories today announced a $3 million funding round led by True Ventures. Founders’ Co-op, Social Leverage, Urban.us, the Knight Foundation and angel investors also participated.
LiveStories, a Techstars Seattle 2014 graduate, builds web-based software that helps both governments and non-profits glean insights from data that can be packaged in an easy-to-digest format. Clients include the City of New Orleans, the City of Melbourne, California Health Care Foundation, and San Diego County. You can see some examples of how customers use LiveStories here.
“The public sector is in need of better ways to communicate data in order to inspire action and build healthier, safer, and more informed communities,” LiveStories CEO Adnan Mahmud said in a statement. “Our platform and data storytelling approach helps with that.”
In a statement, True Ventures Partner Puneet Agarwal said with LiveStories, it’s the “first time I have ever seen the government spend money so fast on a product.”
The company’s first backer was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which gave LiveStories a $75,000 grant in 2013 to help one of its largest grantees, Agra, become more data-driven.
