I’d guess that upwards of half of USV’s portfolio companies have changed the name of their company during their lifetime. It is not hard to understand why. Founders start out with an idea and not much more. By the time they have built a product, built a team, and found product market fit, they might be doing something a bit different or a lot different than where they started out.
Most often the name change comes in the first few years when the business opportunity comes into clarity and the original name becomes an issue.
But occasionally it comes much later in life.
Zietview does aerial inspections of buildings, renewable energy infrastructure, and telecommunications systems using advanced AI/ML software. It is a high-growth business that just raised a $50mm late-stage round.
Over time, the company has adopted many techniques to acquire the imagery that they use to do the AI/ML inspections. Drones are still a big part of the mix but only when they are the best way to acquire the imagery.
