Katie Trauth Taylor, Ph.D. – CEO & Co-founder at Narratize
Corporate researchers, scientists, and engineers might not seem like typical storytellers, yet they devote 30% of their workdays to communicating discoveries, failures, progress, and opportunities. Despite the importance of these tasks, only 37% report satisfaction with the support and resources available to them. Many turn to AI for assistance, but inaccuracies and misinformation, particularly in technical fields, can undermine their efforts.
Catherine O’Shea, Chief Operations Officer & Co-Founder Enter Narratize, a startup designed to supercharge the writing, researching, and ideating processes for professionals. Narratize leverages over 30 corporate storytelling algorithms and draws from peer-reviewed databases and authoritative journalism to help ensure content is factual. It assists experts and their marketing teams in crafting pitch decks, white papers, product sheets, success stories, research reports, technical product requirements, and more. The company specializes in complex sectors like aerospace, telecommunications, energy, and consumer packaged goods. The Narratize client roster includes recognizable brands and names such as Hearst, Nvidia, MIT, and the UN World Food Forum.
Their mission is simple yet profound: accelerate innovation through the power of storytelling so that great ideas are not left unshared.
“Our goal is to simplify the creation of the most complex types of content professionals are tasked with developing so enterprises can innovate faster,” said Narratize Co-founder and CEO Katie Trauth Taylor. “We empower even the most technical subject matter experts to write story-rich, evidence-based content.”
— Katie Trauth, Co-founder and CEO
Unlike most AI chatbots, which often require intricate, prompt engineering expertise, Narratize utilizes straightforward questions to extract ideas from users while recommending citations and data points to boost accuracy and credibility.
“Narratize is a reverse chatbot,” said Taylor. “It’s human-led AI. We’ve seen too often, scientists, technologists, and engineers who struggle to effectively communicate their insights, resulting in potentially revolutionary ideas being overlooked.”
An aerospace client reported a staggering 60x return on investment using Narratize, with employees saving an average of nine hours per week on communication tasks. Additionally, 80% of users at this company would recommend Narratize.
At the UN World Food Forum, 240 junior research teams were given access to Narratize to help develop proposals to solve world hunger. Five out of six winning teams used Narratize to prepare their submissions, with 73% of users rating it as more accurate than ChatGPT. They also reported a 12% time-saving compared to manual preparation.
Kara Uchtman, P.E. – Chief Product Officer & Co-founder Boosting AI Synergies: Narratize’s Growth Journey with LIFT Labs
In the spring of 2024, Narratize joined eight other startups participating in the LIFT Labs AI Accelerator. The program facilitated direct interactions between Narratize and Comcast’s business leaders.
“The LIFT Labs model is particularly effective because it enables founders to quickly establish proof of concept partnerships and validate their outcomes,” said Taylor.
When deciding whether to join the cohort, Taylor sought feedback from accelerator alumni founders.
“They gave rave reviews and said they are still connecting with leaders at Comcast a few months after completing the accelerator,” said Taylor. “I was convinced pretty quickly that this was a great opportunity.”
One of the key messages Narratize conveyed throughout their time in the Accelerator is that their platform is meant to enhance worker productivity and empower creative thinking. It’s a big reason Narratize developed a human-led user experience. In fact, the startup has turned away businesses that have approached Narratize with the primary goal of reducing headcount, said Taylor.
Another significant priority is data security. Narratize has instituted stringent data security measures to protect sensitive information, which is critical in highly technical industries. They tell clients their data will never be used to train large language models.
How Narratize Is Aiming to Change the Face of AI
Narratize was founded by Catherine O’Shea, Kara Uchtman, and Taylor, a trio of women who take pride in bringing much-needed gender diversity to AI. Despite all-women founding teams receiving just 0.3% of all AI fundraising, Narratize secured a $2 million seed round in late 2023.
“We strongly believe diversity is crucial to creating more inclusive AI applications,” said Taylor. “That’s a core value that resonates with our enterprise partners too. It also encourages young people from all backgrounds to realize that they can have careers in this field.”
Looking forward, Narratize aims to expand its customer base and release data showcasing its superior productivity and efficiency benefits compared to other AI tools. In the long run, Narratize aspires to be the preferred solution for enterprises aiming to communicate ideas more efficiently and effectively.
“We envision our platform continually providing tools that synchronize writing and thinking, thereby streamlining the creative process for many people,” said Taylor.