Helios wants to be the AI operating system for public policy professionals

In 2022, while OpenAI was making headlines with ChatGPT, Joe Scheidler, the co-founder and CEO of Helios, was focused on establishing the newly formed cybersecurity office at the White House. Alongside him, co-founder Joseph Farsakh was engaged in peace negotiations in Yemen at the State Department. Their experiences in national security discussions led them to explore how large language models could reshape public policy processes. Recognizing the fragmented nature of decision-making in governmental operations—often relying on a mix of tools, spreadsheets, and institutional knowledge—the duo envisioned a more streamlined approach. This vision culminated in Helios, aimed at creating an AI-driven solution tailored for public policy professionals. To realize this ambition, they enlisted Brandon Smith, a seasoned machine learning expert with a background at Microsoft and Datadog, to spearhead the technical development. "Our unique blend of domain knowledge and technical skill gives us a significant advantage in tackling this crucial issue," Scheidler stated in an interview. Helios emerged from stealth mode last month, securing $4 million in seed funding from Unusual Ventures, along with contributions from Founders Inc. and Alumni Ventures. The startup’s flagship product, Proxi, is an AI-based operating system designed for public policy, legal compliance, and regulatory teams, currently in its beta phase. Despite this, early interest has been promising, with engagement from various federal, state, and local agencies, as well as Fortune 500 firms and startups. Scheidler expressed the aim of empowering public policy professionals with comprehensive automation, deploying a network of secure AI agents trained on extensive datasets to assist with strategic advice, complex writing tasks, data analysis, and stakeholder mapping. Proxi boasts four key features: 1. **Consult** - This feature acts as a conversational AI agent, constantly monitoring the legislative landscape and providing users with relevant updates based on their specific roles and objectives. 2. **Scribe** - An AI collaboration tool that helps policy professionals transform discussions with Consult into formal documents and memos. 3. **Decipher** - A large-scale data analysis feature that assists users in extracting insights from lengthy legislative documents and reports. 4. **CRM Tool** - This function enables users to visually organize their stakeholder interactions and maintain a history of communication, including meeting notes. Scheidler emphasized that Helios prioritizes security, employing top encryption standards for federal clients and undergoing compliance audits. The startup intends to utilize its seed funding to enhance its product and engineering teams, aiming to cultivate long-lasting business relationships while collecting detailed feedback from early users. Looking ahead, Scheidler envisions Helios becoming a household name in public-private interactions within the next five to seven years, positioning the company to compete not just with short-term players like Bloomberg Government but also with long-standing competitors such as Palantir and OpenGov. "There's plenty of room for growth in this sector," he concluded, referencing Palantir's impressive market cap of over $300 billion.