Factal’s Seattle news team working out of downtown offices. (Factal Photo)

Factal, which provides incident and news alerts for corporate users, announced Tuesday that it’s started round-the-clock global coverage after more than a year of testing with large corporations.

The Seattle-based startup, which revealed itself in August, has been closely watched because its three founders came from Breaking News, a popular NBC News-owned journalism website and app that was shut down by the network in late 2016.

“With more than half of Factal’s team coming from Breaking News, Factal restores the lightning-fast, verified coverage that was trusted by thousands of global organizations,” Cory Bergman, Factal’s co-founder, wrote in a blog post Tuesday noting the 24/7 coverage milestone. “So in many ways, Breaking News is finally back — but even better than before.”

Bergman, who is Factal’s vice president of product and was Breaking News’ general manager, said the startup lets companies — for a subscription fee — get alerted to situations such as active shootings, fires and floods, “that pose an immediate risk to their people and business operations.” Bergman says Factal’s combination of journalists and technology includes precise geolocation and mapping, proximity alerts, customized updates, a mobile app and live chat to connect with Factal’s editors.

Factal’s founders, from left, Cory Bergman, Charlie Tillinghast, and Ben Tesch. (GeekWire photo/Todd Bishop)

Along with Bergman, the co-founders of Factal are Ben Tesch, vice president of technology, and Charlie Tillinghast, CEO. All three had key roles with Breaking News. Last week, the startup announced it had finished hiring the team for its Seattle and London newsrooms, including staff from NBC News, BBC News and CBS News.

Bergman himself will be the guest for a live recording of the GeekWire podcast on Wednesday, Oct. 24, in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, starting at 6 p.m.

For Breaking News fans who miss that free service, Factal has also launched a free newsletter for “analysts, journalists, and news junkies alike” called Factal Forecast, which highlights global news of the week ahead. Factal earlier said it was also exploring a potential consumer product that would support its mission of protecting people from harm around the world.

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