Plains Ventures Invests in Ordinal's AI Solutions for Local Governments

On September 16, 2025, Plains Ventures announced a significant investment in Ordinal, an innovative AI-powered research assistant tailored for local government use. This seed funding round raised $1 million and saw participation from notable entities like Winrock International and The Venture Center Arkansas Fund. The initiative aims to enhance the operational efficiency of municipalities across the United States, thereby improving their service delivery to residents.

Transforming Municipal Operations

Founded by Jacob Herrington, Nick Spinazze, and Jacob Eubanks, Ordinal is tasked with revolutionizing how local governments access information. The platform leverages a secure retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) model to provide quick and reliable answers derived from city documents, codes, and records. Currently, employees in several municipalities are estimated to spend almost 40% of their workweek on information retrieval tasks. This inefficiency not only consumes valuable time but also hampers decision-making processes. Ordinal’s AI-driven approach aims to mitigate these issues by ensuring that responses come from verified sources, enhancing accuracy, consistency, and compliance in local governance.

A Collaborative Start

The connection between Plains Ventures and Ordinal was fostered at the 2025 VC Immersions event held in Northwest Arkansas, organized in conjunction with the Northwest Arkansas Council. The venture capital firm was immediately impressed by Ordinal's product, the enthusiasm of its founders, and the positive early feedback from customers. As Matt Hickman, Investment Principal at Plains Ventures, stated, "Ordinal's product is intuitive and practical, which lowers the barrier to adoption in a sector where technology uptake is often slow."

The firm commended Ordinal's smart go-to-market strategy and the ambition of its founders, positioning it as one of the most promising government technology startups in the nation. Hickman further emphasized the critical need for such innovations in public service, expressing optimism about how Ordinal could positively influence civic trust and government transparency.

Partnership Beyond Investment

The founders of Ordinal echoed these sentiments, highlighting the additional support they received from Plains Ventures beyond financial backing. Jacob Herrington remarked, "Plains Ventures has been more than an investor; they've been a true partner. From opening doors with potential customers to helping us refine our sales playbook, their support has made a measurable difference in how quickly we’re scaling."

Expanding Reach and Features

Ordinal is already operational in multiple municipalities, including Sallisaw, OK; Decatur, IN; Lowell, AR; Benton County, AR; La Quinta, CA; Pea Ridge, AR; and Willard, MO. With an expanding customer pipeline, the company plans to utilize the latest funding to broaden its reach, improve its public-facing chatbot, and introduce additional features aimed at further streamlining municipal operations.

This partnership signals a promising future for both Plains Ventures and Ordinal. With their combined efforts, they hope to redefine how technology can aid local governments, thereby enhancing the lives of citizens across the state and the nation.