Inspired by personal loss and backed by tech leaders, Eazewell delivers an advanced digital and AI platform to handle all aspects of end-of-life from negotiating the best prices with funeral homes to planning funeral services to financing the funeral itself
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eazewell, an AI-enabled funeral planning and facilitation platform co-founded by Donnell Beverly Jr. (a former NCAA National Champion at UConn), NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, and NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, today announced its official public launch. Their own experiences with loss led the founders to create a better approach for grieving families, one that provides the kind of compassionate assistance they wished had been available to them. Eazewell’s platform uses AI to autonomously handle the difficult funeral and administrative tasks that burden people during early grief, everything from paperwork to affordable burial or cremation services, financing, and practical planning. By replacing a traditionally offline, time-consuming process with a technology-empowered alternative, Eazewell enables families to honor their loved ones without being overwhelmed by logistics, especially at a time when life stress and grieving are highest.
For Beverly Jr., the genesis for Eazewell began long ago, when he and Westbrook suddenly lost their high school friend and teammate, Khelcey Barrs III, to an enlarged heart. The loss exposed how few resources exist for families left to plan and manage funerals. In the years since, Beverly also endured the passing of both of his parents. Each loss deepened his desire to help others face end-of-life logistics with guidance and empathy.
“Eazewell is our way of reaching anyone facing loss,” said Beverly Jr., CEO and co-founder of Eazewell. “When I lost my parents, phone calls and paperwork took up time that I would rather have spent mourning and consoling my extended family. We built Eazewell so people don’t have to go through that alone.”
Westbrook, known globally for his achievements on the basketball court, has repeatedly turned personal grief into public tributes, wearing wristbands honoring Barrs, dedicating record-breaking games to those he has lost, and leaning on close friend Beverly in moments of tragedy. Westbrook has long sought a way to ease burdens for others in similar circumstances:
“Years ago, Donnell and I connected through the loss of a close friend. Witnessing the profound impact it had on the family left a lasting impression on me,» said Westbrook, co-founder of Eazewell. “Eazewell is the solution we wished they had then. We’re turning that pain into service for those experiencing loss, providing families with someone in their corner when they need it most. I’m incredibly proud to be part of something that will truly make a difference in people’s lives.”
Eazewell’s AI-driven funeral planning platform acts as a digital concierge automated by autonomous AI agents. Users can request quotes, receive curated funeral home options, and manage essential paperwork with an AI-powered interface. In the coming weeks, Eazewell will introduce advanced agentic AI features, including sentiment analysis, text-to-voice capabilities and broader data-extraction tools to manage form-filling to multi-step negotiations on a family’s behalf.
Key Features:
- Funeral Home Matching – Families receive curated quotes based on budget, location, and specific needs. This reduces cost surprises and saves them from phone calls.
- Automated Paperwork – Eazewell handles key administrative tasks such as filing death certificates, contacting financial institutions, and streamlining the documentation process.
- 24/7 AI Communication – An initial chatbot interface offers real-time support, pricing information, and helpful checklists at any hour, particularly important for families who may need quick answers day or night.
- Financing for Funerals and Cremations – Despite funerals being one of life’s most costly and often unexpected expenditures, more than 75% don’t offer payment plans or any financial relief. By analyzing a user’s budget and financial situation, Eazewell helps identify the best approach, whether that’s an installment plan, a small loan, or another payment option.
Over 1,000 families have already used Eazewell’s beta version during their soft launch, generating a backlog of users interested in a platform that does more than offer directories or piecemeal services. Planning a funeral can require calling multiple providers, with each conversation taking up to 30 minutes to repeat personal details and discuss pricing. This process can easily stretch to hours spent on the phone or at a funeral home when families are already exhausted. Recent advances in agentic AI allow Eazewell to automate complex negotiations, paperwork, and loan applications in real-time, instantly parsing user requests, learning from each exchange, and coordinating with service providers. The result is a significant reduction in logistical strain for grieving families.
“In my previous roles, we built sophisticated voice interactions, but we never aimed them at something as delicate and complex as arranging a funeral,” said Viviane Ghaderi, CTO of Eazewell. “Back then, we lacked the generative AI agent power to manage sensitive, multifaceted logistics in real time. Today’s breakthroughs enable AI to go far beyond gathering data or producing price estimates, it can coordinate quotes, pre‑populate legal forms, and maintain a consistently compassionate tone for grieving families. Tasks once deemed ‘too nuanced and profoundly human’ are now possible with well‑designed, personalized AI.”
“The funeral industry hasn’t changed in decades,” explains Stephen Stokols, an early investor. “Using AI to minimize red tape and simplify the toughest parts of funeral planning puts families first and modernizes a process that’s stuck in old methods.”
Eazewell is now available nationwide, offering both online and concierge-based assistance. For more information, or to explore partnership opportunities and see how Eazewell supports families in their greatest time of need, visit www.eazewell.com
About Eazewell
Eazewell is an AI-powered funeral planning and facilitation platform founded by Donnell Beverly Jr., Russell Westbrook, and Kemba Walker. Driven by personal experiences of loss, Eazewell combines AI and autonomous agents with a human touch to guide families through end-of-life arrangements. From negotiating fair pricing and securing loans to automating paperwork, Eazewell’s technology saves time and spares emotional strain. The platform offers dynamic checklists, 24/7 support, and compassionate human specialists who ensure nothing is overlooked. By modernizing a traditionally complex process, Eazewell enables families to focus on remembrance instead of red tape.
Eazewell is proudly backed by an accomplished group of investors, including Tru Skye Ventures, co-founded by serial entrepreneur Stephen Stokols and former NBA All-Star Metta World Peace, alongside Chad Brownstein, Founder and Chairman of Rocky Mountain Resources and Co-Founder of Banc of California; Jeron Smith, former White House Strategist under President Obama, Nike executive, and Founder of Incubation Lab; Will Smith, former Chief Marketing Officer at PetSmart and Abercrombie & Fitch; and Echo Investment Capital. Learn more at www.eazewell.com.
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