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For Planning Purposes
May 7, 2018

MEDIA ADVISORY

Secretary of State Alex Padilla to Announce Major Upgrade to Online LLC Formation Filings and Launch of New Business Chat Bot

SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla will unveil two new online tools to make it easier to do business in California. For the first time, entrepreneurs will be able to form Limited Liability Companies (LLC) online with the Secretary of State's office, through the bizfile California portal. Customers will also have an easier time navigating through the business resources on the Secretary of State's website with the help of Eureka, a new artificial intelligence online search assistant, known in the information technology world as a “chatbot.”

These latest updates are part of Secretary of State Padilla’s Digital Initiative to modernize and digitize the agency’s divisions, including the Business Programs Division. The Digital Initiative includes an online LLC and Corporation Statement of Information filing tool, an online trademark and service mark filing tool, 11 million searchable business records through California Business Search, an updated search engine for the state’s successor-in-interest claims, and a Starting a New Business resource page. All of these tools can be found at bizfile.sos.ca.gov.

Secretary Padilla will be joined by business leaders including the California Chamber of Commerce, as well as representatives from ThinkSmart and Microsoft, whose teams helped develop the LLC formation and chatbot tools respectively.

*Media wishing to attend should RSVP at sos.press@sos.ca.gov

Who:

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla
Allan Zaremberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the California Chamber of Commerce
Peter Zalkind, Sales Director, Pacific Northwest at Microsoft
Troy Bare, Vice President of Sales-Public Sector, ThinkSmart

When:

Tuesday, May 8, 2018
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.

Where:

California Chamber of Commerce
California Room
1215 K St., Suite 1400
Sacramento, CA 95814

Visuals:

A demonstration of the new LLC Formation and chatbot tools.

Contacts:

Sam Mahood or Jesse Melgar (916) 653-6575

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