MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – The Marquette tech start-up Syncurrent has become the first artificial intelligence company to receive a grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development Division. 19 News spoke to the founder of the company for a look at what AI can do.
Navigating the landscape of applying for state, federal, and municipal grants has become increasingly complex. Finding the right grant, who qualifies, and what the requirements are can be a full-time job. That’s why Dhruv Patel and his company Syncurrent are using AI to better target the right grant for the right purpose.
“So it’s writing, identifying, understanding whether you’re eligible or non-eligible, and the compliance behind after you receive an award. How do you do your reporting and your budgeting and all that stuff. All of those items are called the grant life cycle,” said Patel.
One of the Syncurrent’s first clients is the City of Marquette. Assistant City Manager Sean Hobbins believes Patel’s platform is something Marquette can use.
“There are so many grants out there on so many platforms that it’s almost impossible to search them all as a human right. So it’s really useful to see AI being used in this capacity, because it it knows about what we need and our demographics and our budget, and it can go use that, all that information to go out and find what we’re qualified for,” said Hobbins.
Patel explains why AI is so useful.
What AI is really, really good at is taking a ton of information and organizing it, and bringing it to you,” explained Patel.
Syncurrent will roll out a monetized version sometime in January, but right now it’s free to sign up and try.
“All you need to do to get started is just enter in the name of the government, and that’s it. And we can match you with opportunities,” said Patel.
Patel believes AI is a worthwhile tool that can not only save time but help generate revenue.
