If you ask Dan Ryan, cofounder and CEO of workplace sensor company VergeSense, workplace staples like assigned desks have gone the way of fax machines and Rolodexes—he’s been betting on it, even before the pandemic forced offices around the world to shutter last year.
After learning about the limited methods for collecting data on people’s interactions and movements in buildings like offices, Ryan and CTO Kelby Green launched VergeSense in 2017. Their AI-powered sensors track employees on the job, allowing employer customers including Shell and Cisco to see, in real-time, who is in an office, what areas are in use and whether occupancy capacities have been reached. Initially, the pair created their technology to help companies make smarter, data-based real estate decisions, but today, the data will be especially essential as employees cautiously return to their offices, Ryan says.