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Ahoi
Techstars '24Boston, US · Founded 2022 · 22 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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Ahoi is an accessibility-focused app that helps users find locations meeting their specific accessibility needs through personalized ratings, community-driven reviews, and wayfinding technology. It serves individuals with disabilities seeking accessible places to visit.
Also known as Ahoi App · Ahoi!
Founders & leadership
Ahoi was founded in 2022 by Jake Haendel, Chris Beissel, and Justin Robinson.
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Ahoi is an accessibility platform built for and by the disabled community. Its mobile app lets users create granular profiles describing their specific barriers, then ranks locations against those profiles to surface places that match each user's needs. Rankings are built on community-driven reviews that combine structured data on what accessibility features are available or absent — such as automatic doors, entrances, grab bars and restrooms — with photos and written comments.
Beyond location ratings, the app incorporates wayfinding technology and sidewalk health data intended to help users navigate to a destination. Reviews are open to contributors with and without disabilities; the company encourages any user to add information such as street obstructions or photos, and provides in-app explainer screens to guide reviewing. The product has been described in press coverage as a crowdsourcing app for people with disabilities and characterized as a "Waze for accessibility."
Founding story
Founder Jake Haendel, who survived ATPL and is recovering from locked-in syndrome, identified a gap in access information for people with mobility challenges after losing his ability to walk; press coverage recounts the idea crystallizing when he was accidentally locked in a bathroom stall at a nightclub near North Station in Boston. He assembled a team to build the Ahoi app.
Business model
Ahoi offers a free consumer mobile app and states it intends to keep the app free. It builds an accessibility database from community-contributed reviews and photos, and says it seeks public and private partners to grow the business and serve its communities.
Traction
The app is live on Apple and Android platforms and available in the U.S. and Canada. Coverage has appeared in the Boston Globe, NBC News, ABC Boston Chronicle and People Magazine.
Latest developments
The app is available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in the U.S. and Canada, with Boston as the home market and expansion driven by community reviewing.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as an accessibility-focused mapping and review app, compared in press coverage to Google Maps and Waze but centered on accessibility features.
Technology
Ahoi uses per-user accessibility profiles to produce personalized location rankings, a crowdsourced review layer capturing available and missing accessibility features alongside photos and comments, and wayfinding technology supported by sidewalk health data.
Go-to-market
The app is distributed through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and is available for download in the United States and Canada, with a focus on building coverage in the Boston metro area first. The company recruits reviewers and community ambassadors, maintains a mailing list, and solicits partnership inquiries.
Individuals with disabilities and mobility challenges seeking places that match their accessibility needs, plus non-disabled contributors and community ambassadors who add reviews and photos.
Geography
Home market is Boston, with the app downloadable in the U.S. and Canada and usable anywhere; the company is currently focused on expanding coverage in the Boston metro area.
History
The team includes co-founder and creator Jake Haendel, CEO and co-founder Chris Beissel (previously Uber and GoPuff), and co-founder Justin Robinson (co-founder of Drizly, which exited for $1.1B in 2021), alongside staff covering finance, design, software and legal with prior experience at firms including Citibank, IDEO, Fidelity, Amazon, Zylotech, Drizly and Wayfair.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 2
Companies working in the same space as Ahoi.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Ahoiahoimate.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Ahoi do?
- Ahoi is a free mobile app that rates and maps locations by accessibility using community reviews and personalized profiles.
- Who founded Ahoi?
- Ahoi was founded by Jake Haendel, Chris Beissel, Justin Robinson in 2022.
- Who are Ahoi's investors?
- Ahoi's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Ahoi headquartered?
- Ahoi is headquartered in Boston, US.