Truleo

Truleo is a technology and analytics company focused on the law enforcement sector. Its patent-pending technology helps police departments analyze body camera footage in an effort to decrease incidents and increase professionalism among police officers.

This company was co-founded by two pioneers of natural language processing technology. Initially, they used this technology to create sales and customer service metrics, and built audio analytics software for Wall Street banks. But following recent civil unrest related to law enforcement incidents, the pair decided to pivot to the public safety market and aim to repair the civilian-officer relationship.

Trust in police is at a record low. A recent poll conducted by the Washington Post and ABC found that only thirty-nine percent of respondents are confident that police are properly trained. And a 2022 Gallup poll found that forty-five percent of surveyed American adults are confident in the police — down three percent from the previous low in 2020.

Adding to this problem is a lack of time for police departments to address areas of focus. For example, eighty percent of large police departments use body cameras. And millions of hours of video are captured and stored in the “cloud” each year, yet this footage is rarely reviewed.

Truleo aims to solve these problems with its body camera analytics technology. Simply put, this company aims to automate supervision, facilitate coaching, and promote police professionalism.

Features offered by Truleo’s software include fast video playback, officer risk verification workflow, and a visualization dashboard. The software analyzes body camera footage to identify professionalism labels like politeness, formality, and explanation, while also highlighting risks labels like profanity, insults, and threats.

The technology also separates officer language from civilian and even redacts civilian personal identifiable information, such as a person’s name, address, or license plate. This isn’t merely a keyword search — this technology can put all language into context.

Truleo’s software is used by more than a dozen police departments. In a year-long case study with the Alameda Police Department in California, the department noted a thirty-six percent drop in use-of-force occurrences, as well as a thirty-percent drop in unprofessional officer language. There was also a twelve-percent decrease in civilian non-compliance and a seventeen percent increase in officer explanations.

Departments pay Truleo an annual licensing fee of twenty dollars to fifty dollars per officer per month to transcribe and analyze all body camera videos. The company aims to service the 18,000 police departments nationwide, creating a ten-billion-dollar total market opportunity.

Truleo aims to have more than thirty departments as customers by the end of 2023.

Team Background

Anthony Tassone - Co-Founder & CEO

Anthony grew up in a law enforcement family and has an extensive background in software development.

He started his career as a developer with Proprietary Capital, creating machine learning software. He then founded GreenKey, a natural language processing platform designed for global financial institutions. This company was acquired by VoxSmart, a surveillance-technology company, in 2021.

More recently, Anthony became an advisor with IPC Systems, a voice communication platform created for financial companies. He still holds this position today in addition to his duties with Truleo.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from DePaul University.

Tejas Shastry - Co-Founder & CTO

Tejas is an avid technologist who has authored more than thirty peer-reviewed research publications and ten patents. He’s also been recognized on Forbes “30 Under 30” list.

Prior to starting Truleo, he co-founded GreenKey, the natural language processing platform, with Anthony Tassone. Before that, he co-founded Stryde Technologies, a technology company focused on the “Internet of things” sector.

Earlier in his career, he co-founded AMPY, a company creating charging systems for consumer devices. This company was acquired in 2016. Before that, he was a senior software engineer and also spent time as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins University.

Tejas holds a Bachelor’s degree and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Northwestern.

Co-Investors