Arizona

“We’re developing technology that can help save the lives of road users,” says Darryl Keeton, founder of Sensagrate, an AI data and analytics platform that helps make roads safer. Recognizing the growing complexities on our roads for all who use them, Darryl spotted an opportunity to apply his background in technology risk management and the transportation sector to create a solution. “I saw a gap in the infrastructure connecting drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, and even e-scooters,” he explains. “How come the infrastructure isn’t providing value to everyone on the road to help with their decision making? I wanted to give road users the information to make safer and smarter decisions.” Tapping into existing cameras, and adding LiDAR and radar sensors, Sensagrate uses deep-learning computer vision software to provide public safety officials and traffic engineers with the data analysis they need to design safer urban spaces.

With Google for Startups, Sensagrate took advantage of training, mentorship, referrals, and networking opportunities. “It’s helped us create new business leads, not just for customers but also investors and partnerships,” Darryl says. In fact, Sensagrate expects to double their revenue in the coming year. Sensagrate uses Google Cloud to host their data storage and web app, helping them cut costs and gain new contracts. “The reliability of Google Cloud's uptime checks enables us to maintain 24/7 operations and supports our contracting," Darryl says. His team is also currently experimenting with Google Maps API for route planning. Plus, their latest application, SurePath, will provide new national data on situational awareness and weather conditions for safety applications, such as alerting emergency responders. Says Darryl, “We're starting to see how we can help optimize route planning with some of our partners to make commutes safer and smarter.”

Rebecca Clyde has always been an entrepreneur. Growing up in Latin America, she sold cookies and taught ballet lessons to earn spending money. As an adult, after nearly a decade at Intel and founding a successful marketing automation company, she experienced a more serious challenge. Furious after days of trying to refill her daughter’s prescription for asthma, she thought, “This is not acceptable. This is a problem for everyone, and there's a big opportunity if we solve it.” So in 2020, she co-founded Botco.ai with Anu Shukla and Chris Maeda, creating AI-powered chatbots that quickly connect patients to the critical resources and support they need. And in 2023, Rebecca was a recipient of the Google for Startups Founders Funds, which provides access to vital resources and connection with a supportive community of underrepresented founders.

Botco.ai’s technology is built using Gemini as the foundation for their domain-specific and fine-tuned models. “Google AI helps provide the safety and privacy guardrails necessary to support a highly compliant, high-stakes industry like healthcare,” Rebecca says. They use Google Dialogflow to ensure that their chatbots can handle pre-approved conversational workflows, while Device Manager and Google Workspace support SOC2 and HIPAA compliance requirements. The fully remote team also uses Workspace to collaborate from anywhere, allowing Rebecca to tap into AI talent across the globe. “I need specific skill sets and couldn’t build my company if I were geographically constrained,” she says. “I need tools that allow me to do that.” Today, Botco.ai serves many of the world’s largest healthcare brands, and offers multilingual chats to make their services more accessible. Revenue is doubling annually, and Rebecca’s goal is to triple in 2024. “It shouldn’t be so hard to navigate healthcare systems,” she says. “I got a unique view into that.”

Kathy Cano-Murillo describes her Crafty Chica website as “a world of Latina DIY, including crafts, recipes, home decor, travel, storytelling, and entrepreneurship.” Since launching in 2001, Kathy’s blog, website, and social media profiles have helped grow her brand into a full-time business, attracting book deals, speaking engagements, partnerships, and sponsorships. She’s even hosted craft-themed camps and cruises where she can “inspire others to bring out their inner sparkle—and to see the sparkle in others.” Business really began booming during the COVID-19 pandemic, where people at home were searching for fun crafting projects. “My traffic went crazy, because people wanted to find ways to save money and still be creative,” Kathy says. Google tools help her stay organized and maintain that increase in business.

Google Workspace, including Google Docs and Slides, let Kathy create and share presentations with business partners. And Google Ad Manager helps her deliver and manage ads on her blog. “You can make thousands of dollars a month with a blog, if you dedicate time to it,” she notes. “It's great passive income.” Google Analytics helps her learn where her audience comes from, what posts they’re viewing, and how long they stay. “This helps me craft landing pages and more posts about what interests them,” she says. For example, a post on “things to dip in chocolate” really hit users’ sweet spot, so Kathy created more content around that tasty topic. She pays it forward by inspiring and advising younger creators: “I’m excited to share my experiences, to motivate them to do what they love to do.” Next up: launching her own giftware line. “I am a fourth-generation Mexican American honoring my ancestors’ traditions of sewing, building, and creating,” says Kathy. “I am living their wildest dreams.”

Growing up in a city didn’t keep Paul Zway, a former game ranger and founder of Exclusive Tents, away from nature. As a child in South Africa, he had a menagerie that included a jackal, monitor lizards, an owl, and over 200 snakes. “My mother was a saint,” he recalls. Paul started Exclusive Tents in 2005 so that others could connect to nature without sacrificing luxury. “Glamping was unknown outside of Africa,” Paul says. “So we developed a market and a name for ourselves.” The Tucson-based company–a partnership since 2018 with the Johan Maree family–designs and creates quality tents that are four-season “alternate living structures.” Customers range from large resorts to celebrities to people using the tents as temporary homes during renovations. “Tent living is gaining traction. It gives people the ability to have a movable asset,” Paul says. He and his wife have themselves been living in a tent for nine years.

An avid traveler, Paul designed the business to be virtual and mobile. When sons Zane and Anders Zway and Brian Grisham joined the company, it was crucial to be able to collaborate from anywhere. “They all take off, into the desert, on site visits, but we work no matter where we are,” Paul explains. Brian conferences with clients via Google Meet, and the team works together with Google Docs and Sheets. To reach customers around the world–including the fast-growing U.S. glamping market–they’ve used Google Ads since 2006. “It brings us exposure and leads,” Brian says. “We’re able to get creative with keywords to find customers in different ways.” Their website now garners over 30,000 views a month, but the company’s priority remains connecting clients with nature and conserving the natural assets of a site. “Our whole thing,” Paul says, “is to effectively integrate your living space with your natural environment, without harming that natural environment.”