Hello, friends! Today, let’s dive into an exciting story about Helios, a startup aiming to transform public policy with AI technology.

When OpenAI was making waves in 2022 with ChatGPT, Joe Scheidler, co-founder and CEO of Helios, was busy working on securing the White House’s cybersecurity office and engaging in international negotiations at the State Department. His partner, Joseph Farsakh, was also involved in Yemen peace talks, and their shared experiences sparked ideas on how AI could improve decision-making in government.

Their concept? An AI-driven platform that supports government officials by merging cutting-edge tools with an understanding of how policies are crafted. This vision materialized as Helios, which launched recently with $4 million in seed funding led by Unusual Ventures.

Helios’s main product, Proxi, is an AI operating system tailored for public policy, legal, and compliance teams. Although still in beta, it’s already gaining interest from federal, state, local agencies, and private sector players. The platform offers several features, starting with ‘Consult’ — an AI assistant that keeps users updated on legislation and regulation changes by continuously monitoring relevant environments.

Next is ‘Scribe,’ a collaborative tool that helps convert discussions into official documents, and ‘Decipher,’ which analyzes complex bills and reports to produce structured insights. The final component is a CRM system that maps stakeholder interactions visually, aiding in relationship management.

Scheidler emphasizes that Helios prioritizes long-term relationships and meticulous feedback from early users over immediate profits. Their goal? To become synonymous with all government and corporate interactions within five to seven years, challenging big players like Palantir and Bloomberg Government.

With top encryption standards and ongoing compliance checks, Helios aims to build a secure, reliable tool for decision-makers. The startup plans to grow its engineering team to enhance product features, focusing first on building trust and long-term value rather than quick monetization.

This innovative approach could reshape how public policy is made, blending AI’s strength with domain expertise to create smarter, more efficient governance processes.