In the modern world, technology has become an increasingly central pillar of life. To fully glean its value, however, you first need to be able to interact with it.
That is a simple task for most people, but there are hundreds of millions of people who live with blindness, hearing loss or impaired dexterity for whom interaction with the virtual world is largely unobtainable.
Most websites are not easily accessible to people with disabilities, nor were they designed with accessibility in mind. Fortunately, Israeli start-up accessiBe aims to provide those people with at least some of the tools they need to gain increased access to the ever-advancing world of technology.
The company on Monday announced it has successfully completed a $58 million Series A funding round led by K1 Investment Management, with participation from Glilot Capital and Phoenix Holdings.
What is accessiBe?
AccessiBe currently provides a wide range of accessibility solutions, including widgets for website accessibility to, media accessibility tools and a free website accessibility checking service. The company hopes to utilize the Series A funds to support its growth and development of technological solutions, as well as to launch additional services that will make it a one-stop shop for making websites accessible.
“As previous owners of digital advertising and development agencies, we experienced firsthand how complex it is to make websites accessible,”
Dekel Skoop, co-CEO of accessiBe
The company was co-founded in 2018 by Dekel Scoop, Gal Visel and Shir Ekerling to provide Web developers with a simple and convenient way to make their websites and applications more accessible to people with disabilities.
“As previous owners of digital advertising and development agencies, we experienced firsthand how complex it is to make websites accessible,” said Skoop, who serves as accessiBe’s co-CEO with Ekerling. “We wanted to democratize the process so that every business – no matter its size, budget or knowledge – could participate in the inclusion revolution and make its digital assets accessible to everyone.”
Such interest from investors is indicative of growing awareness of the importance of Web accessibility, he said.
“The amount raised [illustrates] the understanding that the problem of Internet accessibility is acute and affects a large population,” he added.
The significant sum that the round yielded would be particularly helpful given the current challenges in the market, Ekerling said.
“[It] gives us the resources to continue to pursue additional solutions to the problem of Internet accessibility through education and technology,” he said.