Khosla Ventures' New Bet on Policy Data Company State Affairs

Summary

Khosla Ventures' Keith Rabois and State Affairs CEO Evan Burns discuss the investment in the AI-driven policy data platform State Affairs. They explain how proprietary, hard-to-access data differentiates it from competitors and why AI is transforming the policy market for enterprises. The conversation also covers the platform's customer base, business model, and long-term vision to expand beyond the US and eventually to the general public.

• State Affairs is a policy data company that uses AI to track state and federal legislation in real time.
• It has over 30,000 customers, including Fortune 1000 companies like Walmart, Mastercard, and McDonald's.
• Keith Rabois led four investment rounds, comparing his conviction to his investment in Ramp.
• Proprietary, public-but-not-accessible data (from state hearings, etc.) forms a unique knowledge graph that gives the company an edge.
• The business model relies on subscription revenue and enterprise integration, selling both data access and proactive strategy tools.
• State Affairs aims to scale to other Western democracies and eventually make policy information accessible to every citizen.
• Competitors include Fiscal Note, Quorum, Politico Pro, and Bloomberg Government, but State Affairs emphasizes its non-partisan, real-time data advantage.