South Bend Safety Analysis Startup Receives Funding
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South Bend-based artificial intelligence startup SAFA has received a $20,000 investment from Elevate Ventures’ Community Ideation Fund. SAFA says it will use the funding to develop a product and recruit software developers.
The startup uses AI to improve safety analysis of technical documents and software in the automotive, robotics, IoT, and medical device industries.
“SAFA is an excellent example of a startup developing high-tech solutions for specific industry problems,” said Nicholas Kuhn, Elevate Ventures’ entrepreneur-in-residence serving Startup South Bend-Elkhart, a partnership that supports entrepreneurs in north-central Indiana. “SAFA is harnessing the most advanced AI capabilities to solve difficult and potentially dangerous problems.”
SAFA says its software integrates with existing systems, allowing it to automatically detect and analyze system changes, providing real-time warnings and recommendations to avoid hazards.
Dr. Jane Cleland-Huang, professor and lead researcher at the University of Notre Dame, founded SAFA last year. Huang and Chief Executive Officer Aarik Gulaya worked with the IDEA Center at Notre Dame to commercialize the technology.
“This funding will allow our team to jump over any hurdles and execute on our development partnerships,” said Gulaya. “We will be better able to meet our goal of providing innovative solutions to improve quality, efficiency and safety in high-risk industries.”
The startup was awarded a $20,000 pre-seed investment from the 2021 Elevate Nexus Regional Pitch Competition.