# Hazel

> Hazel is a New York-based startup building AI-native software for U.S. government procurement. Its platform helps state, local, and federal agencies define requirements, draft solicitations (RFPs, RFQs, RFBs), run market research, and evaluate vendor responses in one place - compressing a process that often takes months into days while keeping agencies compliant. Founded in 2024 by Harvard classmates August Chen and Elton Lossner and backed by Y Combinator, Hazel counts the City of Dallas, City of Atlanta, PhilaPort, and the U.S. Air Force among its early adopters.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** New York, New York, United States
- **Founders:** August Chen (Co-Founder & CEO), Elton Lossner (Co-Founder)
- **Team size:** 5 (including 3 founding software engineers)
- **Products:** AI-Powered Solicitations, AI Scope Review, Market Research & Vendor Matching, AI-Assisted Evaluations
- **Notable:** Accepted into Y Combinator (Winter 2024 batch), Supports $2.5B+ in government procurement, 10+ government clients with a reported 100% customer recommendation rate

## Products & services

- **AI-Powered Solicitations** — Auto-generates RFP, RFQ, and RFB documents using an agency's own templates, boilerplate, and past-award language while checking for policy compliance.
- **AI Scope Review** — Helps procurement teams define and review the scope of a project before it goes to market, reducing rework and ambiguity.
- **Market Research & Vendor Matching** — Surfaces qualified vendors - including local, small, and minority-owned suppliers - and automates vendor discovery and background research.
- **AI-Assisted Evaluations** — Analyzes and scores vendor responses so evaluation committees can compare bids faster and more consistently.

## Achievements

- Accepted into Y Combinator (Winter 2024 batch)
- Supports $2.5B+ in government procurement
- 10+ government clients with a reported 100% customer recommendation rate
- Signed the City of Dallas - the first major Texas city on the platform - in July 2025
- Founders previously built at Palantir and Boston Consulting Group and co-founded MakeHarvard

## Latest updates

- **2025-07** — City of Dallas partners with Hazel AI to modernize procurement, cutting scoping-to-RFP timelines from months to days.
- **2024** — Hazel launches out of Y Combinator's Winter 2024 batch with pre-seed backing from Rebel Fund, Tusk Ventures, and Phoenix Investment Club.

## Links

- Website: https://www.hazelai.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hazel-ai

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/hazel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-05