Bond.Ai CEO talks at caucus session

The House Entrepreneurship Caucus heard Wednesday from Uday Akkaruju, chief executive officer of Bond.Ai.

The company, which describes itself as “the most advanced financial intelligence platform for banks and consumers,” was founded in 2016. Originally based in New York City, it later moved its headquarters to Little Rock.

Second Congressional District U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, invited Akkaruju to participate in the caucus’s virtual round-table talks.

Hill is co-chairman of the bipartisan caucus, which was launched last year. He hosted Wednesday’s event, along with U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., and U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill.

For these lawmakers, entrepreneurship isn’t an abstraction, Hill noted.

“All three of us have personally begun startups and personally backed startups,” Hill noted.

Before being elected to Congress, Hill was Delta Trust & Banking Corp.’s founder, chairman and chief executive officer. The company was acquired in 2014 by Simmons First National Corp.

Participants Wednesday described the challenges businesses face as a result of the covid-19 public health emergency as well as the importance of the federal Paycheck Protection Program.

Despite the economic downturn, “we, as a company, have been doing well,” Akkaruju said.

Plenty of other businesses are struggling, he noted, encouraging lawmakers to provide flexibility in future assistance programs.

Planning to visit the nation’s capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Washington bureau? It’s available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.