Onetera

Join us for SoCal Cities AI Design Day! Help shape the future of government services through AI innovation. Onetera is bringing together public sector leaders, technologists, and community partners to reimagine key city services like permitting and violation reporting systems. Who should join? All city staff involved with external-facing programs (e.g. City Management Analysts, City Planners, Community Dev Staff, Econ Dev Staff, City Department Managers, etc.). Register here: https://lnkd.in/gz3Z-EVp 📅 Date: Friday, January 31st ⏰ Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM 🎯 Los Angeles, CA (location coming soon!) What you'll gain: - Participate in hands-on wireframing sessions - Provide direct feedback on AI solutions - Learn how cities are leveraging AI

Onetera had a great discussion with the 67th Cohort of Coro Fellows in Public Affairs. Felix Ruano and Dr. Sylvia Jauregui shared Onetera's journey in bringing innovation to the public sector and had an engaging conversation about navigating the startup landscape. The fellows' thoughtful questions and interest in public-private partnerships remind us why we're passionate about bridging technology and community impact. Thank you Coro Southern California, Abril Iniguez-Rivas, and the entire FPPA cohort for the meaningful exchange. Looking forward to seeing how these emerging leaders will shape Southern California's future!  Brandon Karagozian, Aaron Harris, Alyssa Fundal, Andrea T., Asemayet Zekaryas, Bailey Meyers, Charvi Reddy, David Ramirez, Genavieve Koenigshofer, Nicholas Thell, Sophia Catalan, William Chao

At Onetera, we believe in fostering community well-being by creating intelligent, responsive ecosystems and investing in today’s emerging leaders who champion innovation and change. Throughout November, Onetera hosted Brandon Karagozian, our first Coro Southern California Fellow in Public Affairs. Brandon worked alongside Dr. Sylvia Jauregui, a Coro Women in Leadership alumna, where he was an asset in supporting Onetera Economic Development. Brandon aided Onetera’s public-private partnerships across city leaders and stakeholders and curated case study success metrics for future pilot programming and platform deployment. We are honored to share our collaboration with Coro Southern California to support future changemakers who are ready to take on our region's toughest challenges with vision, resilience, and innovation. Thank you, Natalie Samarjian, Abril Iñiguez-Rivas, and the Coro Southern California team, for selecting Onetera as a host organization. A special shout out to the Fellows in Public Affairs Program (FPPA) and Women in Leadership (WIL). We are confident that Brandon will be critical in redesigning how community members and city staff connect! Felix Ruano, Haripriya Rao, Jasmine Kim, Meghana B T, Lara Hattatoglu, Jesus Camacho

Coming January 2025, Onetera’s Business Licensing feature will transform how cities support local business development. The typical business license process can be complex, discouraging potential businesses and signaling an unwelcoming business environment. Our innovative solution replaces complex processes with a seamless, user-friendly digital experience. Key Features: - Intuitive Multilingual Online Portal: Complete license applications, renewals, and updates in your preferred language with just a few clicks. - Transparent Tracking: Real-time status updates and a comprehensive dashboard provide complete visibility into the licensing journey. - Automated Compliance Checks: AI-powered systems verify documentation and flag issues, reducing processing times. For City Staff: - Cut processing time through automated workflows - Gain instant insights into the local business ecosystem with mapping tools - Foster a more business-friendly municipal environment The Business Licensing feature advances Onetera's mission of fostering community well-being by creating intelligent, responsive ecosystems that drive economic vitality and community growth.

This week, Onetera’s design and engineering team members were in San Diego County for a design session with the City of Escondido's Kristin Ugrob. The city is eager to use our platform to facilitate their Vacant Commercial Property registration process. The Escondido team shared how "user-friendly" the agentic AI platform was - a testament to Onetera's human-centered design process. Unlike many government tech solutions, our design sessions incorporate HCAI principles—designing alongside city staff and community members. This is at the heart of our mission. Escondido will be one of the first municipalities in San Diego County to leverage agentic AI to improve city services.

Onetera has joined California Contract Cities Association (CCCA) as associate member. For over 65 years, CCCA has been at the forefront of empowering local governments through education, advocacy, networking, and access to innovative solutions. As part of our partnership we are offering member cities a one-year subscription to one use case from either Housing or Economic Development: HOUSING - TBRA (tenant-based rental assistance program) ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT - Vacant Property Registration - Commercial Façade Improvement - Business Sign Program This offer is available to all CCCA members through the end of year. As an AI-native gov tech company focused on bringing agentic AI solutions to the public sector, Onetera is aligned with CCCA's commitment to fostering public-private partnerships that enhance city efficiency and service delivery. Onetera is honored to join this dynamic community of forward-thinking local government leaders and service providers who share our vision of building more efficient, sustainable cities through innovative partnerships. Reach us at partners@onetera.com to learn more. https://www.onetera.com/ Marcel Rodarte Mayra Bonilla Danika Mendoza

We were thrilled to be part of a dynamic panel at the Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC) Annual Conference alongside Jessica Reyes Juarez, AICP, Gregory Kajszo, and Onetera CEO Felix Ruano, where we dove into the evolving role of AI in the public sector. Key takeaways from the discussion: AI's potential to streamline city services and provide real value to residents is clear, with examples like: - The City of Corona uses AI-powered cameras to detect potholes and assess road quality. - City of El Monte using a single-source-of-truth AI native platform with multilingual capabilities to support residents in applying for their Tenant Based Rental Assistance program – increasing access for residents and supporting city staff in implementing a federally-funded program - City of London Corporation freeing up 60% of social workers' time with transcription technology, allowing them to focus on client care. A critical takeaway: Human-in-the-loop remains essential. City leaders and staff are the experts, and AI is a powerful tool to support—not replace—them. Tech companies should build public sector AI tools alongside cities and the residents they serve. Most importantly, inclusive implementation is key. We must ensure all community members feel engaged and represented as we introduce AI-driven solutions. We risk bias when we leave the community out of the equation. Onetera will be releasing a white paper on the topic, with deeper insights and practical strategies for cities looking to leverage AI effectively. Stay tuned for our upcoming blog posts! Thank you to Dr. Sylvia Jauregui and Brendan Pringle for your support. National League of Cities, Robert Blaine, Clarence Anthony #MMASCAC2024 #LocalStrength #RootedInExcellence

Great to see YC highlight the massive govtech opportunity in their latest request for startups (RFS). Couldn’t agree more with Harj Taggar - it’s challenging but the scale and impact are tremendous. The Onetera team has been designing, iterating and making it happen - alongside some great local gov partners. Reach out to me or my colleagues if you’re interested in building with us. cc: Lara Hattatoglu Jasmine Kim Dr. Sylvia Jauregui Haripriya Rao Jesus Camacho Jennifer Schoeneck, CEcD Evan Brown Danika Mendoza Peter Wilczynski Christopher Chang Gary Lin Link to the YC RFS: https://lnkd.in/gHB-quRv

Moving From Chatbots to Agentic AI: Transforming City Services Onetera is redesigning the way cities provide services to community members through agentic AI. The Challenge: City staff spend countless hours clarifying eligibility requirements for various programs and services. This creates bottlenecks, frustrates applicants, and strains city resources. Our Solution: Our system-of-record platform includes an agentic conversational AI feature that: - Grounds responses in verified city data and program guidelines - Securely handles applicant information - Creates personalized application journeys - Serves as a single source of truth for program requirements The Impact: - Reduced staff workload - improves efficiency and program implementation, and reduces duplicative efforts - 24/7 applicant support - simulating the experience of having a city staff member by their side We partner with cities to ensure our agentic conversational AI understands the nuances of each program, regulation, and requirement. This creates a seamless experience for both staff and applicants while maintaining the highest standards of data security and transparency. Reach us at partners@onetera.com to learn more. https://www.onetera.com/