Web accessibility platform accessiBe secures $12 million to make the entire web accessible

Web accessibility platform accessiBe announced that it has secured funding from global investment firm K1 Investment Management, LLC. The $12 million capital will be used to help the company grow its market in North America and improve its services for its customers and partners.

The internet remains largely inaccessible to people with disabilities. Up to 98 percent of websites fail to fully apply the necessary standards to ensure that those afflicted by impairments are still able to use and navigate websites. This is despite the fact that the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act have already been around for more than a decade, both of which identify what websites need to become accessible.

Adhering to the WCAG remains a challenge for businesses. Site owners must perform comprehensive audits and modify their sites to comply with the technical standards and success criteria outlined in the WCAG. This often demands technical expertise that many smaller operations do not have. Because of this, many even forgo accessibility entirely.

However, businesses, especially those based in the United States, may not be able to afford deferring compliance for long. The number of lawsuits and claims against noncompliant sites has been rising in recent years. In 2018, 2,258 web accessibility-related cases were filed in US federal courts.

accessiBe looks to help site owners achieve compliance by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to automate the review and remediation processes necessary for sites to become usable for people with disabilities. The platform’s AI scans sites for accessibility issues and automatically applies the necessary modifications to make them ADA compliant within 48 hours or less.

Once integrated with a website, accessiBe adds an accessibility panel so that users can make visual customizations based on their needs. Those with motor impairments can choose the keyboard navigation option to browse web content. Flashing GIFs, animations, and videos that can trigger seizures for epileptics can also be easily disabled. There is also a built-in dictionary to help the elderly and those with cognitive disorders understand abbreviations, slang, and unfamiliar phrases.

accessiBe’s platform has already helped make more than 21,750 websites of both small businesses and industry leaders including BigCommerce, Volusion, and Digital Ocean accessible to disabled users.

The company’s partnership with K1 can drive accessiBe’s growth and help it achieve its goal of making the entire internet truly accessible to all by 2025. The investment firm features a strong portfolio and has assisted more than 125 software companies to scale up their businesses.

Peter Davidson works as a senior business associate helping brands and start ups to make efficient business decisions and plan proper business strategies. He is a big gadget freak who loves to share his views on latest technologies and applications.