Week Ending 04.07.19

 

RELIANCE UNIT ACQUIRES HAPTIK
PAGERDUTY IPO RAISING USD 180M
SAMBANOVA SERIES B RAISES USD 150M
FDA TO REGULATE AI
APPLE POACHES ANOTHER GOOGLE AI EXPERT
AND MORE ↓

 
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Reliance Jio Digital Services, the data storage unit of India’s Reliance Industries, acquired AI chatbot developer Haptik in a INR 7bn (USD 101m) deal, according to a DNA report.

INTEGRIM, the Montreal, Canada-based business services company, said it acquired AI company Logika.

GumGum, the Los Angeles, California-based AI company, said it is spinning off its dental division, which will be led by company founder Ophir Tanz. President and COO Phil Schraeder will assume the position of GumGum CEO.

Lear, the Southfield, Michigan-based autonomous technology company, said it acquired Seattle’s Xevo, which makes software for mobile devices.

Evolve IP, the Wayne, Pennsylvania-based computer services firm, said it acquired natural language processing company jog.ai.

Sonasoft, the San Jose, California-based business services firm, said it is acquiring E-Connect Software and OPtimAIze, two AI companies.

Other deals include Precision Theraputics


FILINGS

PagerDuty, the San Francisco, California-based business services firm using machine language, said it and shareholders, including company co-founders Baskar Puvanathasan and Alex Solomon, are raising USD 180m in an initial public offering of 9m shares at USD 19 to USD 21 each on the NYSE.

In September last year the company raised USD 90m in a Series D led by T. Rowe Price and Wellington Management.

Change Healthcare, the Nashville, Tennessee-based healthcare technology firm using AI and blockchain, refiled for a placeholder USD 100m initial public offering on the Nasdaq.

StoneCo, the Sao Paulo, Brazil-based payments firm using AI, said shareholders, including co-founders Andre Street and Eduardo Pontes, raised USD 1.2bn in a follow-on offering. The original filing is here.

The company raised USD 1.2bn from a Nasdaq IPO in October after pricing the shares at USD 24 each, above the marketed range.

HUYA, the Guangzhou, China-based live streaming company using AI, said unidentified shareholders are raising as much as USD 550m in a follow-on offering.

Premier Health, the Vancouver, Canada-based healthcare company using AI, said it is raising USD 3m.

Other deals include Quantum Capital, Qutoutiao and Precision Therapeutics


FUNDING

SambaNova Systems, the Palo Alto, California-based AI company, said it raised USD 150m in a Series B led by the venture capital unit of semiconductor maker Intel.

Separately, Intel also said its venture capital unit invested in four additional AI companies as part of a total USD 117m investment in 14 companies.

Okta, the San Francisco, California-based identity authentication company, said it set up a USD 50m venture capital firm aimed at AI, machine learning and blockchain.

Onfido, the San Francisco, California-based identity authentication company using AI, said it raised USD 50m in a funding led by a venture capital unit of Saleforce and SBI International. Microsoft’s M12 also participated.

Tonal, the San Francisco, California-based virtual gym company, raised USD 45m in a Series C led by an L Catterton venture capital fund, according to a VentureBeat report.

Pagaya, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based financial technology company using AI, said it raised USD 25m in a Series C funding led by Oak HC/FT. The fund in September led the company’s USD 14m Series B, which also included former American Express CEO Harvey Golub.

Other recent Oak HC/FT AI investments include a USD 32.8m Series D for Olive, the Columbus, Ohio-based company using AI to cut healthcare costs, and a USD 30m Series B in Groundspeed Analytics, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based firm developing AI-backed insurance processes.

deepwater, the Denver, Colorado-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it raised USD 23m in a Series A led by ABS Capital Partners.

Enlitic, the San Francisco, California-based medical diagnostics company using AI, said it raised USD 15m in a Series B led by Japanese trading firm Marubeni.

Squelch.io, the Redwood City, California-based customer services company using AI, said it raised USD 12m from Shasta Ventures, Correlation Ventures and Tenaya Capital

Agerris, the Sydney, Australia-based agricultural robotics maker, raised AUD 6.5m (USD 4.6m) in a funding round from Uniseed, Carthona Capital and BridgeLane, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.

Other deals include Quest Solutions, Augean Robotics and Medical Informatics


LEGAL & REGULATORY

The US Federal Drug Administration published a proposal for regulating AI in the medical industry. A short analysis was posted on the MIT Technology Review.

The US Department of Energy said it plans to invest USD 20m in small business efforts to use AI in energy technology and product design.

Slovenia is setting up an AI institute with UNESCO focusing on regulation, according to a Forbes report.

Other developments include Delaware Department of Transportation


PEOPLE

MTX Group, the Albany, New York-based business services firm using AI, said it hired Das Nobel as chief executive officer.

AI expert Ian Goodfella jumped to Apple from Google, according to a CNBC report.

Digital Reasoning, the Nashville, Tennessee-based AI company, said it hired former Hewlett Packard executive Chris Hasenbein as senior vice president of sales for the Americas.

Marcos Lopez de Prado, the head of machine learning at AQR Capital Management, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund, is leaving seven months after joining the firm, according to a Bloomberg report.

Cognex, the Natick, Massachusetts-based industrial sensor maker using AI, said CFO John Curren is resigning early next month. A search for his successor has begun.

Quanergy Systems, the Sunnyvale, California-based company developing AI software used in autonomous driving, said it hired semiconductor executive Gary Saunders as chief revenue officer.

In November the company raised an unspecified amount in a Series C. The company did not disclose the investors in the round, which it said valued the company at over USD 2bn. Last year, Ford executive Karen Francis joined the company’s board of directors.

Pryon, the New York City-based business services company using AI, said it hired Gregory Pelton as chief product officer.

Kneron, the San Diego, California-based AI company, said it hired former Qualcomm executive Adrian Ong as chief commercial officer. It also hired Daniel Yuan as chief architect.

TopOPPS, the St. Louis, Missouri-based business services company using AI, said it hired Steve DeMarco as president and chief revenue officer. He was previously CRO at Conga, a business services company using AI.

Delve Labs, the Montreal, Canada-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it hired Norman Menz as chief operating officer. Menz will work out of the company’s New York office.

Indico, the Boston, Massachusetts-based business services company using AI, said it hired Don Zereski as vice president of engineering.

And the AI talent shortage is highlighted in a report posted on Canadian software developer Element AI founder’s JF Gagne blog. A review is on the T_HQ website.


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