New Orleans’s bureaucracy is notoriously difficult to navigate. The local tech startup Civilized AI proposes a solution that uses artificial intelligence to promote coordination and efficiency in government operations.
CEO Matt Wisdom founded the company in 2024 to simplify the complex systems he believes stifle entrepreneurship. The company’s key product is ChatNOLA, an online platform that allows residents to interact with city databases, report issues and locate certain infrastructure, streamlining communication between the public and city governments. By scanning QR codes attached to cones marking potholes, residents can access live updates on the city’s repair schedule.
The AI software can process videos provided by city inspectors to identify problems, transcribe the inspector’s spoken description into an email to local residents and enter relevant data into the city’s systems.
Civilized AI recently raised $2 million to fund an AI-powered municipal services platform. The New Orleans-based investment firm Benson Capital and Tulane Ventures, an organization launched in 2023 under the Tulane Innovation Institute, both participated in the funding round and contributed to Civilized AI’s capital.
Kimberly Gramm serves as the inaugural David & Marion Mussafer chief innovation & entrepreneurship officer at the Tulane Innovation Institute and managing director of Tulane Ventures.
“We continually consider the local impact of our investments,” Gramm added. “[Civilized AI] [is] leveraging AI to make cities more efficient and help workers perform their jobs better,” Gramm said.
Mike Katz is the managing director at Benson Capital and an innovator-in-residence at Tulane’s Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. According to Katz, Civilized AI stood out because it was solving a real civic problem.
When investing, Katz said he looks for AI companies that can responsibly navigate the challenges around data quality, model performance and ethical use.
“[Civilized AI’s] focus on building tools that make government services more accessible and responsive resonated with us. They had a clear mission, strong technical talent and early traction with local partners,” Katz said. “That combination of purpose and execution is rare, and it made them a compelling investment opportunity.”
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve and shape the global landscape, Civilized AI hopes to scale beyond New Orleans.
“[Civilized AI] [is] focusing on New Orleans and Louisiana first. But the goal is to help develop nations broadly – about 1.6 billion people,” Wisdom said.
“AI will increasingly act as the front door to government services. Citizens expect the same ease of access they get from private companies, and AI can help governments deliver that, whether it’s answering questions, streamlining applications, or connecting people to resources faster,” Katz said.
