The core of Declara's technology is its platform, called the CognitiveGraph, which analyses and observes how users interact with data — including searches, Tweets, posts, blogs, videos, likes, recommendations, messages, and web content — to create a personalized, cognitive learning map based on a user's data, history, and interests. Declara's customers include governments, companies, educational institutions, non-profits and research organizations that use its platform to connect everyone in a company or organization to collaborate, learn, and solve problems more effectively.
History
Declara was founded in 2012 by Ramona Pierson and Nelson Gonzalez. The inspiration for Declara, Pierson has said, came from her recovery from a 1984 car accident that tore apart her body and put her in a coma for 18 months. When Pierson awoke, she was blind and was forced to relearn how to walk, breathe, and even smile. She regained partial sight in her left eye after a successful corneal transplant operation. The process of having to relearn such basic skills for her highlighted the importance of being a lifelong learner, which ultimately led to her co-founding Declara. Nelson and Pierson started a company that has been described as building a software simulation of Pierson's mind. With the help of algorithms developed by Pierson and others, including engineers from Google and Microsoft, Declara's system learns how people interact, what types of questions they're looking to answer, and who can provide the best answers. Declara secured $5 million in early investments, which included the backing of Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal. In April 2014, Declara raised $16 million in Series A funding, led by GSV Capital, with participation from Data Collective, Founders Fund, and Catamount Ventures. In June 2014, the company secured $9 million in funding from Linden Venture Fund and EDBI, bringing its total Series A funding to $25 million. At the same time, Declara announced its expansion into Singapore.
Customers
Education Services Australia, a national, not-for-profit company owned by Australian education ministers, began using the Declara platform in 2013. In April 2014, Sindicato Nacional de Trabajadores de la Educatión, the largest teachers' union in Mexico and Latin America, selected Declara as the technology platform for professional development of its 1.6 million teachers and administrators. Declara's customers include Genentech and The University of Pennsylvania in the United States; Bécalos, an organization of Mexico's Televisa Foundation; and Tu clase, tu país in Chile.
