HOUSTON, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alice, the first platform powered by AI that
works as a personal business adviser to small business owners,
today announced it closed a Series A funding led by SVB Financial
Group, parent company to Silicon Valley Bank, the bank of the
world's most innovative companies. Terms of the financing have not
been disclosed.
Founded in 2017 by Elizabeth Gore
and Carolyn Rodz, Alice uses AI to connect small business owners
to resources from enterprise companies, governments and
organizations, providing an online platform that acts as a free
business adviser. As these businesses grow and engage within the
Alice ecosystem, the platform's
technology learns more about a business owner's needs and matches
them with opportunities to scale based on their stage of growth,
industry, and location - including resources like capital and
business services, and connections to communities of like-minded
business owners and mentors. Alice
has a community of more than 100,000 companies in all fifty states
and across the globe, is open to all founders, and has a
highlighted focus on helping women, people of color, veterans, the
LGBTQ+ community, and persons with disabilities. With this round of
funding, Alice will continue to
build its predictive technology, using data analytics to guide each
entrepreneur through every stage of their business.
Integral to the raise is a first-of-its-kind #MeToo morality
clause. The clause reinforces the commitment of both Alice and SVB Financial Group to ensure
Alice board members and voting
stockholders are held accountable for choices that could affect
Alice's workforce and community of
business owners. The clause requires stockholders to use corporate
governance mechanisms to vote for removal of any board member in
the event of a "#MeToo event, racial discrimination, and/or sexual
orientation discrimination incident.
"Alice offers a level playing
field for the 543,000 owners launching per month in America, and
with SVB we found an innovative partner that will help us get our
resources into the hands of what we call the 'New Majority' of
business owners, collectively -- women, people of color, our US
Veterans, entrepreneurs with disabilities and the LGBTQ+
community," said Elizabeth Gore,
president and chairwoman of Alice.
"As a company that sees the monetary value of inclusivity, we
firmly believe that a #MeToo type clause should be included in
every funding agreement for every business in the country. Sexual
and race discrimination is just plain bad for business."
"We're proud to support Alice
and its work to help all businesses launch and grow, especially
those run by underrepresented individuals. Alice is building an incredible data set of
SMBs in the country and we expect the company to grow alongside the
small businesses in its portfolio," said John China, president of SVB Capital. "The
Alice team is taking an important
step with the introduction of a morality clause and I expect to see
other companies follow their lead."
ABOUT ALICE:
Alice is a free, multichannel
AI-driven platform that helps businesses launch and grow. With a
community of over 100,000 companies in all 50 states and across the
globe, Alice is building the
largest network of owners in the country while tracking data and
trends to increase the success rate for entrepreneurs. Our partners
include enterprise business services, government agencies, and
institutions looking to serve small- and medium-business owners to
ensure increased revenues and promote scale. Co-headquartered in
Houston and San Francisco and founded by Carolyn Rodz and Elizabeth Gore, we believe in business for all
by providing access to all owners including women, people of color,
veterans, and every American with an entrepreneurial spirit.
To learn more visit our company page at
www.helloalice.com, as well as
Twitter, Linkedin,
and Instagram.
About SVB Financial Group For more than 35 years, SVB
Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and its subsidiaries have helped
innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward,
fast. SVB Financial Group's businesses, including Silicon Valley
Bank, offer commercial, investment and private banking, asset
management, private wealth management, brokerage and investment
services and funds management services to companies in the
technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture
capital, and premium wine industries. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group
operates in centers of innovation around the world. Learn more at
www.svb.com.
SVB Financial Group is the holding company for all business
units and groups. ©2019 SVB Financial Group. All
rights reserved. Silicon Valley Bank is the California bank subsidiary of SVB Financial
Group. Silicon Valley Bank is a member of FDIC and Federal Reserve
System. SVB, SVB >, SVB Financial Group, Silicon Valley Bank,
Make Next Happen Now and the chevron device are trademarks of SVB
Financial Group, used under license.
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SOURCE Alice