Latest news with #Rwazi
Los Angeles Times
21-07-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Software Firm Rwazi Raises $12 Million Series A Round
Rwazi Inc., a software development firm headquartered in Los Angeles, raised a $12-million Series A funding to develop a simulation engine and decision copilot to replace 'gut calls.' 'For decades, decisions have been driven by instinct. But gut calls are expensive and in today's market, they're dangerous,' said Joseph Rutakangwa, chief executive and co-founder of Rwazi, in a statement. 'This raise lets us put a real-time AI copilot in the hands of every decision-maker so teams can move faster, smarter and with total clarity.' Rwazi captures real-time consumer activity shared directly and voluntarily at a massive scale. That precision powers a new kind of intelligence system that helps teams detect shifts early, simulate outcomes, and act with speed and confidence. The system receives constant data. The company already analyzes billions of behavioral signals across demographics, markets and products. The funding will be used to expand Rwazi's simulation capabilities, global data infrastructure and enhance its AI copilot's ability to contextualize and recommend next best moves across functions. Information for this article was sourced from Rwazi.
TechCrunch
15-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Rwazi raises $12M Series A to help companies with consumer insights and intelligence
Joseph Rutakanga spent eight years looking for tools to help companies gather consumer insight data. Eventually, he decided to just build them. Now his startup, called Rwazi, has raised a $12 million Series A led by Bonfire Ventures to help companies with market intelligence and consumer insights. He founded the company in 2021 with co-founder Eric Sewankambo. 'There was an abundance of consumer and market-level data for places like the U.S., UK, and a few parts of Western Europe, maybe some traces in Canada and Australia. But when it came to international markets, including economic giants like India, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Turkey, and China, there was nothing usable,' he told TechCrunch. 'No real picture on consumption, what consumers wanted, or how their behavior was shifting.' At first, he thought to solve the issue by purchasing statistics from government trade agencies. But eventually, he found that data to be outdated, fragmented, or sometimes simply nonexistent. He then turned to buying consumer reports and found them often inaccurate or hard to prove. 'The solution wasn't surveys. It wasn't panels. It was what we now call zero-party data; consumption data that's voluntarily shared by the consumer, within their own routines, captured using advanced validation and verification systems, across any location, in real time,' Rutakangwa said. The pair via their startup, ended up building an AI-powered intelligence software system that lets businesses have real-time visibility into their consumer markets. It helps predict consumer behavior and identify important areas to pay attention to, which, in turn, can help reduce the cost of customer acquisition and boost customer loyalty. Rwazi customers include top consumer companies such as Coca-Cola, Pampers, Visa, and Nestle, per Rwazi's website. The company previously raised a $4 million seed round in 2022, also led by Bonfire Ventures. Techcrunch event LIVE NOW! TechCrunch All Stage Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $450 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Rutakangwa described the fundraising process this time around as 'selective,' saying he and Sewankambo focused on 'finding the right partners, those who deeply understood the problem.' Other investors in this round include Santa Barbara Ventures, Newfund, and Alumni Ventures. Rwazi said it will use the fresh capital to scale its AI co-pilot to help its clients make more accurate real-time decisions. It also hopes to hire more engineers. It currently pulls data from 190 countries, with customers primarily in the U.S. and Europe. The goal, as Rutakangwa said, is to continue building infrastructure that captures the evolving world of consumer data. Rwazi does have competition,n including from legacy consumer insights companies GFK and Ipsos. But Rutakangwa said Rwazi is different from its competitors because it doesn't rely on modeled or inferred data. Instead, its own infrastructure allows for insight and execution; knowing what to do and what to do about it, he continued. 'Winning today means anticipating shifts, seeing around corners, and making confident moves before the competition even senses a change,' he said.
Time Business News
12-07-2025
- Business
- Time Business News
Listening to the Market: Why Micro Consumer Shifts Matter
In a bustling corner store in Nairobi, a shopper picks up a familiar brand of soap—but notices the price has shifted slightly. Two aisles down, another customer reaches for a snack they've seen in social media ads but can't quite remember where. These are tiny moments—barely noticeable to most. But for brands, they're everything. Understanding what consumers buy, why they switch brands, or how they respond to pricing and placement isn't always easy—especially in emerging markets, where traditional data systems often fail to keep pace with everyday change. That's not to say insight is impossible. But the old ways of data collection—static surveys, quarterly field reports, and generalized trend summaries—often miss what really matters: nuance, timing, and local context. And that's where platforms like Rwazi are quietly shifting the landscape. Africa, Asia, and Latin America aren't just growing—they're transforming. From rising middle-class incomes to digital-first behaviors, these regions are home to some of the most dynamic, brand-conscious consumers in the world. But they're also notoriously difficult to map. Consumer behavior shifts rapidly. Informal retail networks dominate. And what's true in one city may be entirely different just a few miles away. In short: brands entering these markets are navigating a world where real-time consumer insights are more than useful—they're essential. Yet most tools still expect consumers to behave like data points in a spreadsheet. They don't capture emotion, culture, or even simple behavioral changes like buying a different flavor 'just to try something new.' Modern platforms are beginning to adapt—not by pushing harder for surveys, but by observing quietly and respectfully. Rwazi, for instance, doesn't ask why someone skipped their usual brand. Instead, it simply notices the change. Was it the price? A promotion? A new store layout? The app's built-in AI assistant, Ela, doesn't assume. She watches for patterns and nudges users gently: 'Noticed a switch this week. Trying something new?' It's not about interrogation—it's about context. Instead of extracting data, Ela and Rwazi's system allow brands to witness behavior in motion, especially in regions where data collection in emerging markets has traditionally been fragmented or unreliable. This approach doesn't just bring more data—it brings data that's layered, timely, and real. In fast-moving markets, timing isn't just important—it's everything. A product can be well-stocked in the morning and sold out by lunch. A competitor's promotion can change the entire week's sales rhythm. And if your data arrives two months later in a PDF, it's too late to act. That's why more teams—from FMCG brands to product developers—are leaning into platforms that provide real-time consumer data at scale. Not just snapshots, but living streams of insight across cities, store types, and shopper demographics. Because what worked last quarter might already be outdated. Take, for example, a small but growing beverage brand expanding across East Africa. In the past, they might have launched based on market assumptions, waited months for sales data, and adjusted slowly—losing valuable time (and trust) in the process. But now, with Rwazi quietly tracking product placement, pricing, and competitor activity at the store level, they're able to see exactly: Where stock is moving fastest Which retailers are out of product How their pricing compares in informal markets What promotions are gaining traction The insights don't scream—they suggest. And that's all the brand needs to refine its strategy, neighborhood by neighborhood. It's easy to think of data as numbers, charts, dashboards. But at its core, data is a record of behavior. Of choices made. Of needs expressed, sometimes without words. In emerging markets, where culture and context are as important as economics, brands that succeed are those that listen more carefully. This doesn't mean abandoning analytics—it means combining them with human observation, real-world presence, and empathy. The most effective tools in this space are the ones that don't overwhelm. Rwazi, for example, isn't built to replace human decision-making. It's built to enhance it. Through its Enterprise Location Analytics (ELA) dashboard, teams can quietly observe retail execution across cities, flag trends early, and zoom in on micro-level patterns—all without losing focus on the bigger picture. There's no pitch. No blinking alerts. Just insight—ready when you are. Whether you're an investor looking to evaluate market penetration or a brand manager tracking display effectiveness, Rwazi sits in the background, offering what's needed: clarity, not clutter. The need for smarter insight isn't limited to large corporations. Across industries and roles, a common thread is emerging: the desire to act on truth, not assumption. Here's where subtle, real-time market insights with Rwazi are quietly making an impact: FMCG brands fine-tuning distribution fine-tuning distribution Market researchers enhancing qualitative work enhancing qualitative work Expansion teams validating go-to-market strategies validating go-to-market strategies Startups exploring demand in underserved cities exploring demand in underserved cities Investors tracking activity in hard-to-measure economies tracking activity in hard-to-measure economies Product teams iterating based on local adoption patterns In each case, the goal isn't volume. It's precision. Perhaps what platforms like Rwazi represent most isn't just a new way to collect data—but a new philosophy for working in emerging markets. It's not about trying to make these regions 'fit the model.' It's about building tools that fit the regions—tools that understand the pulse of local consumers, that reflect their unpredictability, and that respect their rhythms. Because understanding a market doesn't mean dominating it. It means showing up, quietly, consistently, and ready to learn. The world doesn't need more dashboards. It needs more clarity, more empathy, and more localized listening. Platforms like Rwazi don't need to lead with bold claims. Their value shows in the small shifts they make possible—the product launch that happens on time, the price change made with confidence, the marketing decision grounded in context. In a landscape where emerging markets are often described as chaotic or opaque, quiet insight may be the sharpest tool of all. And for teams ready to listen more and assume less, the future of real-time consumer insights may be not only more accurate—but more human. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Entrepreneur
08-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
Rwazi Launches Sena, An AI Copilot Turning Insight into Instant Action
They're all exceptional individuals who think far beyond the box, challenge every assumption, and have turned vision into reality. Sena is their work at its finest. You're reading Entrepreneur United Kingdom, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Rwazi, a global AI platform known for helping brands grow through zero-party consumer data, has announced the launch of Sena. This AI copilot was built to improve how enterprise teams interact with and act on data. It was designed as the next evolution in the company's mission to ensure clarity and accelerate action. Sena introduces a fresh way to interact with business data by allowing users to "talk" directly to it. If traditional analytics tools require predefined dashboards, SQL queries, or manual report generation, Sena responds to plain language prompts instantly. Teams can ask anything, from analyzing audience segments to comparing market trends, and get immediate insights. Besides speed and accessibility, Sena stands out for its intelligence. Layered on top of Rwazi's vast universe of real-time, zero-party consumer data, it understands context at scale. This capability means every answer isn't a surface-level metric but a tailored recommendation illustrating what's happening in the market, what matters most to the business, and where the clearest opportunities lie. In addition to interpreting the "what," Sena excels at decoding the "why." It connects patterns in consumer behavior to tangible business drivers, helping users understand what trends are emerging, why they matter, and how to respond. Sena was also built to slot seamlessly into existing workflows. Integrated with Rwazi's Consumer Insights module, it brings natural language exploration into daily operations without disruptions. Users can ask Sena to identify gaps in product lines, surface demand signals across key demographics, or simulate tactical actions to retain market share while working within the systems they already use. Sena will improve further in time and integrate with external tools such as reporting platforms and communications channels, enabling it to both recommend and execute. "We started Rwazi to fix an issue faced by enterprise teams everywhere, which is making critical decisions without hearing directly from the people who matter most: the consumers," says Rwazi co-founder and CEO Joseph Rutakangwa. "With Sena, we've built a partner that helps teams turn insight into action. It doesn't just interpret data. It acts with it, for you." Joseph Rutakangwa (CEO) and Eric Sewankamo (COO) The launch of Sena represents a significant moment in Rwazi's evolution. The company began by addressing questions for global brands, such as "What's going on?" Through AI-driven, zero-party data capture, Rwazi delivered accurate, real-time intelligence from actual consumers at scale and with global reach. This enabled early profitability and helped brands anchor decisions in real behavior instead of assumptions or third-party guesswork. However, customers' questions matured as they did, driven by the need to know what everything meant. Rwazi then built a custom infrastructure, processing billions of data points across voice, text, image, and video formats, to produce deeper meaning and context. This next phase catalyzed a wave of growth. The inevitable third question emerged from there: "What should we do about it?" That led to Lumora's development. Lumora, Rwazi's contextual AI engine, delivers high-level strategic recommendations based on market dynamics, competitor behavior, and internal business conditions. It has helped marketing, sales, and product innovation teams identify areas of opportunity and stress-test strategies before taking action. However, even with strategic guidance, execution was a challenge. Teams still needed to translate strategy into specific, timely actions. Sena was built to answer the final and most urgent question: "How do I actually do this?" "Sena guides users through every step of execution, step by step, prompt by prompt," Rutakangwa states. "Whether optimizing ad spend to attract Gen Z streamers or adjusting product positioning based on shifting price sensitivities, it can help teams act faster and more confidently." Sena's impact extends beyond a single use case. By compressing the cycle from data to decision and then to deployment, enterprises can unlock competitive advantage at scale in industries where every delay translates into a missed opportunity. With Sena, Rwazi completes a multi-year journey of product evolution that mirrors the natural arc of how modern organizations mature in their use of data. "I'm endlessly grateful to our team," says Rutakangwa. "They're all exceptional individuals who think far beyond the box, challenge every assumption, and have turned vision into reality. Sena is their work at its finest."
