Biometric Voting Startup Voatz Lands $7 Million in Series-A Funding

The mobile voting startup Voatz has received $7 million in series-A funding from a group led by Medici Ventures and Techstars, with additional contributions from the Urban Innovation Fund and Oakhouse Partners. The money will be used to make Voatz more accessible, and to upgrade its security as it trials the platform in more jurisdictions.

Voatz is based on blockchain technology that allows people to cast secure ballots in elections with a smartphone or a tablet. The system utilizes biometrics for identity verification, and has recently been deployed for absentee voters in a municipal election in Denver and the 2018 Federal election in West Virginia.

“Voatz has the potential to revolutionize the way we vote,” said Julie Lein, a Managing Partner with the Urban Innovation Fund. “By providing access through a mobile device, Voatz can dramatically increase citizen participation, and the company is committed to ensuring everyone votes safely and securely.”

“We are committed to the steady progress of mobile voting backed by blockchain technology to improve our election infrastructure and make remote voting more accessible and safer,” added Voatz Co-Founder & CEO Nimit Sawhney.

Voatz initially received $2.2 million in seed funding at the beginning of 2018, and has since managed to build on that with multiple successful pilots. The latest round of funding indicates that investors still see incredible potential in the company’s transformative elections platform.