Abstract Raises $4.8 Million to Give the Public Access to the Levers of Power

Pat Utz, CEO and co-founder of Abstract, found himself confronted with a major flaw in the transparency of legislative processes—a flaw that he couldn’t ignore. While working in California, Utz discovered that although legal requirements called for public access to letters of opposition or support for proposed laws, these letters were effectively out of reach for the general public. The reality was stark: while lobbyists, legislators, and other insiders could easily access these documents, the average citizen had to go to great lengths—requesting paper copies in person at the state capital—to obtain them.

This glaring issue spurred Utz into action. He believed that in a democratic country like the U.S., the public had the right to full transparency regarding the policies and laws that would impact them, their communities, and their businesses. The lack of access to these vital documents, Utz concluded, created a significant imbalance in power and information. And while this problem was especially evident in California, Utz soon realized that most states made it difficult for the public to gain access to this critical information.

This insight became the foundation for Abstract, a company that seeks to address this transparency gap by providing businesses with the tools they need to better understand and manage the risks posed by proposed regulatory changes. Abstract’s AI-powered platform leverages data from over 145,000 government bodies, news channels, and social media sources to flag relevant legislative and regulatory developments, offering tailored insights that help organizations stay ahead of potential challenges.

But the evolution of Abstract wasn’t without its challenges. Initially focused on providing a workflow SaaS tool for lobbyists, the company pivoted as it became clear that large language models (LLMs), such as those used in AI, were commercially viable and could be integrated into the platform. The decision to incorporate LLMs marked a turning point for Abstract, as the team recognized that AI would allow them to offer deeper insights and more refined predictions for regulatory changes.