AI Startup Fraym Raised $7M in Series B and Cut Employee Commute Time

October 27, 2021 | By Adam Henry

Fryme Tech Connect

This month, Arlington Economic Development is featuring Arlington-based Fraym for its TechConnect Profile. Founded in 2015, Fraym uses AI/ML powered software to generate hyperlocal insights on communities around the globe. The company’s location-based data about population characteristics and behaviors is employed by governments and organizations tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges. In July 2020, Fraym announced its headquarters move to Arlington, Virginia, allowing the company to accommodate its growing team, and solidify Fraym as the leading producer of local population data in the global geospatial data market. More recently in June 2021, Fraym announced a $7 million Series B financing raise to further scale their AI/ML software for customers across the globe. 

We caught up with Fraym’s CEO, Ben Leo, to discuss the company’s recent raise, its decision to relocate its headquarters to Arlington, and how its technology is helping clients solve some of the most challenging problems. 

Can you tell us a little more about your technology and how it’s helping your clients address some of the biggest challenges? 

Ben: Fraym uses advanced AI/ML to generate hyperlocal data on what people look like (demographics, socioeconomics), how they behave (media consumption, spending behavior, health), and what they think (attitudes and sentiments). Our technology is Mapping Humanity across the developing world to provide governments and organizations with actionable data that drives organizational success. Over the last five years Fraym has mapped hundreds of distinct population characteristics covering over 3.2 billion people and 2 billion square kilometers and informed over $35 billion in programmatic and operational missions, spanning the design, implementation, and monitoring of strategic activities. 

A recent example of Fraym data in action is its work with leading epidemiologists to develop profiles for five types of COVID-related risks, including exposure, comorbidities, health facility access, and socioeconomic vulnerability. Powered by our AI/ML technology, we then produced data capturing these risks at the sub-neighborhood level for dozens of countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Armed with this never-before available information, governments, development agencies, and non-governmental organizations could quickly understand how COVID-19 might spread and affect highly disparate regions and make decisions based on localized needs.  

Fraym recently announced it raised $7 million in Series B financing to further scale its AI/ML technology. Can you tell us more about the raise and your vision for the company’s growth as a result of this exciting announcement? 

Ben: The additional funding, largely from Fraym’s existing investors, will support further capital-efficient development of cutting-edge product and delivery solutions. Additionally, it will be used to grow the team and build the foundational infrastructure required to support a high-growth technology company. As a leader in the innovative geospatial data market, we are trailblazing a new frontier in population-based data—importantly one that is built with individuals’ privacy as the protective default —and this raise will increase our velocity. 

In 2020, Fraym announced its headquarters relocation to Arlington, Virginia. What were some of the main decision drivers for choosing Arlington for Fraym’s relocation? 

Ben: After 3 years in the offices where we originally launched, the decision to move headquarters was a function of the company’s growth. Our core priorities when searching for a new location included: (1) attracting world class talent, (2) the office being easily accessible for people living in the greater Washington, D.C. metro area, (3) a workspace designed for collaboration, and (4) a walkable surrounding neighborhood with access to restaurants, gyms, and shops. As a data company, it also shouldn’t be surprising that we crunched the numbers on many of these things.  On average, each team member’s travel time declined by a staggering 30 minutes through our move to Arlington.   

For more information on Fraym and its services for government and commercial clients, visit https://fraym.io/. If you are a startup tech company looking to launch or grow your business in Northern Virginia, please visit AED's resource page and contact Adam Henry, Business Development Manager, for more information.  

 

About this Profile Series  

Arlington's startup ecosystem has been rapidly expanding over the past five years and is quickly becoming recognized as an established innovation hub in the United States. Since 2015, Arlington-based companies have generated 250 venture activity deals totaling over $35.7 billion covering several industries, including software, cybersecurity, fintech, big data, digital media, and more. AED launched its monthly TechConnect Profiles to highlight and profile companies in our technology startup ecosystem.