Theres a new tool helping companies monitor the political situation, and its just raised $70M in funding

Corporate America has spent decades obsessing over every tick up or down of the stock market.But increasingly, policy has become just as central to running an effective business, and companies need to keep a watchful eye on state and federal legislatures.This can prove quite a headache.Last year, state legislatures introduced more than 135,000 bills; which is up more than 50% from 2024 — affecting everything industry from digital privacy to food delivery, flavored vapes, to whether you can ask for health advice from chatbots.Tracking changes as bill progress can become something of a regulatory black box and in some states hearings are not even broadcast, requiring someone to be in the room to monitor.

One company is betting they can help by supporting local journalists, and they can give indications about how a bill is going to play out, which can often be more effective than hiring a fleet of lobbyists.“Everything that Fortune 2000 companies do is through lobbyists.And lobbyists are both flawed, reactive instead of proactive, and are very expensive,” Keith Rabois, a managing director at Khosla Ventures, told The Post.“If the impact [of legislation] is obvious, you’re [more likely to] find out about it in time to impact it.

But if the impact is subtle or nuanced, there’s almost no chance a company discovers this in advance, let alone has the opportunity to affect the legislation.”To give companies an edge, Founders Fund and Khosla Ventures are among those who have invested in $70 million in State Affairs, a venture they hope will become the equivalent of Bloomberg Terminal for legislation and regulation.The platform gives companies real-time visibility on bills, hearings, and policy developments across all 50 states and the federal government.Major corporations including Walmart, Mastercard, and McDonald’s have already signed on. The company explains their edge is not just their AI dashboard, which lets companies sift through the information, bu...