Symbium

Symbium is a technology company focused on streamlining the interaction between citizens and government, particularly within the residential construction and decarbonization sectors. Founded in 2018, the company emerged from a collaboration at Stanford University's CodeX and the Computer Science Department by Leila Banijamali, Abhijeet Mohapatra, and Professor Michael Genesereth. The founding team's journey began at Stanford's AI Lab, where they aimed to commercialize research on computational law and democratize complex regulations. Banijamali, with a background as an enterprise technology lawyer, and Mohapatra, with experience in software development, joined forces with Genesereth, a professor and director of the Logic Group at Stanford, to tackle the inefficiencies in navigating government regulations.

The core of Symbium's offering is its proprietary Complaw® technology, which translates complex legal and regulatory codes into a computable format. This enables the platform to function much like TurboTax does for tax codes, providing instant analysis and feedback on regulatory compliance for construction projects. Symbium's platform serves homeowners, contractors, architects, and city planners by providing tools to visualize and understand what is possible on a specific property. Its services are particularly focused on residential projects such as the installation of solar panels, heat pumps, energy storage, and the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). Users can access comprehensive data about a property, including permit history and zoning regulations, to assess project feasibility and manage permit applications directly through the platform.

The company's business model is centered on a pay-per-use transaction fee for services like permit submissions and rebate management through its "Citizen's Dashboard." By automating compliance checks, permit applications submitted via Symbium can often be approved for issuance instantly, which significantly reduces processing times for both applicants and government agencies. Initially launched in California, Symbium has partnered with numerous cities and organizations, including the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, to expand its reach. The company has secured funding from investors such as BBG Ventures, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, and Third Derivative, who are focused on sustainable solutions for the built environment. Symbium has received multiple accolades, including being named a GovTech 100 company for several consecutive years.

Keywords: computational law, Complaw, govtech, permitting automation, residential construction, decarbonization, accessory dwelling units, ADU, property development, zoning regulations, building codes, government relationship management, sustainable solutions, real estate technology, permit management, solar permitting, home electrification, compliance automation, urban planning tools, citizen-to-government, property data, land use regulations, construction technology, regulatory technology, proptech