Adapx

About Adapx

Adapx, Inc. was a Seattle-based software company founded in 1999, which operated until its closure in 2016. Initially established as Natural Interaction Systems LLC by Dr. Philip Cohen and Dr. David McGee, the firm specialized in user interface solutions to streamline data capture. The founders' backgrounds were deeply rooted in advanced computing research; Dr. Cohen is a distinguished fellow in artificial intelligence, while Dr. McGee spent two decades as a chief scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), where their foundational research in multimodal digital paper was patented. The company successfully raised approximately $46.4 million over nine funding rounds from investors including OVP Venture Partners, Paladin Capital Group, and Pelion Venture Partners.

The company's core business revolved around its flagship product, Capturx, a software platform designed to automate data collection for mobile workforces. Capturx catered to enterprise and government clients in sectors like oil and gas, defense, healthcare, and utilities, with customers including NASA and Carnival Cruise Lines. The business model included packaged applications and a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering. The technology enabled users to convert natural inputs like handwriting, sketches, and speech into structured, actionable digital data. This process bypassed manual data transcription, reducing costs and delays. The product suite had specific integrations, such as Capturx for Microsoft Office, SharePoint, and Esri ArcGIS, allowing seamless data flow into existing back-end systems like CRMs and ERPs.

The Capturx platform was versatile, supporting data capture on paper with Anoto digital pens, as well as on tablets, touchscreens, and other mobile devices. When using digital pens, forms were printed on regular paper with a unique, non-intrusive dot pattern that allowed the pen to record everything written. This data, including original handwriting and converted text, could then be uploaded to central systems for immediate analysis and workflow automation. This functionality was particularly valuable for field service operations, compliance documentation, and marking up plans. Following Adapx's closure, its commercial products and inventions were acquired by Field Data Integrators LLC, which continues the Capturx platform, while its defense-related technologies are now managed by Hyssos Tech LLC.