President Donald Trump’s tariffs have highlighted the growing geopolitical risks facing almost all businesses. As the landscape continues to change with Trump’s unpredictable deal-making strategies, it becomes evident how challenging it is for companies, nonprofits, consultants, and lawyers to keep pace with the rapid day-to-day developments.
Matthew Oresman, the London managing partner of the global law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, shared with TechCrunch that his firm is overwhelmed with continuous trade updates. The firm’s client base includes multinationals, high-net-worth individuals, and companies in diverse sectors such as technology, energy, and artificial intelligence.
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman is among the initial clients of London-based startup Hence AI’s new software product, Hence Global. This product employs artificial intelligence to assist organizations in monitoring geopolitical and business risk. Hence Global offers two main functionalities: it enables companies of any size to track risk and provides guidance on risk mitigation, and it aids service providers, including consulting and law firms, in generating meaningful analysis for their clients.
Sean West, CEO and co-founder of Hence AI, described Hence Global as “an AI-powered business advisor.” Priced at $1,500 annually for its base product, West claims that Hence Global is more affordable than typical consulting services. West emphasized the goal of democratizing access to such information, which can be prohibitively expensive for startups and NGOs when relying on traditional legal consultation.
West, who previously served as the global deputy CEO of geopolitical advisory firm Eurasia Group, co-founded Hence AI alongside Steve Heitkamp, a former Palantir employee with expertise in political risk and counterterrorism. Hence Global is built on Palantir’s Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform, allowing it to combine various AI models to understand, summarize, and analyze information tailored to customers’ individual needs and industries. The system gathers data from news headlines, Wikipedia, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, press releases, and other public sources.
During a demonstration, West explained how customers create a persona within the system. This persona, for instance, could represent a cross-border cryptocurrency infrastructure company aiming for a forward-looking geopolitical analysis. Accordingly, Hence Global generates daily updates with relevant news and information, such as the impact of Trump’s trade policies on market volatility affecting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
West noted that Hence Global performs tasks that would traditionally be handled by a mid-level analyst, producing in a minute what might take an analyst an entire day. Hence Global’s briefings serve not only companies seeking to understand their own geopolitical and business risk but also service providers tracking such data for clients. When monitoring a company, the system adjusts its analyses based on whether the target is a client, competitor, or supplier.
Oresman expressed how vital tools like Hence Global are in synthesizing information to create client alerts and provide actionable insights amid the vast amounts of data available. Despite being live for only a short period, Trump’s tariff situation has already attracted new clients to Hence Global, adding to existing users such as TravelPerk, Diversifi Capital, and Three Crowns.
Rohitesh Dhawan, CEO of the International Council on Metals and Mining, uses Hence Global to stay informed about market sentiment and policy. Dhawan compared the utility of Hence Global to that of Uber Eats, stating it offers necessary, timely insights for industries exposed to rapid changes in public sentiment, such as tech startups and resource-based sectors.
Dhawan praised Hence Global for providing continual monitoring and aiding in quick decision-making. Hence Global is Hence AI’s second product, following Hence Legal, which focuses on outside counsel management.
Despite interest in potential acquisitions, West and his team aim to maintain independence, seeking to reach a global audience lacking access to specialized advice. West stated that partnering with a large service provider may not align with the company’s goal of tapping into underserved markets.