Week Ending 08.11.19
TAOGLAS ACQUIRES FIRMWAVE & SIEMENS UNIT BUYS US ROBOTICS COMPANY FOR USD 1.1BN
CHINA LIBERAL EDUCATION TO RAISE USD 7M ON NASDAQ & INPIXON SLASHES PREFERRED SHARE SALE
SCALE AI RAISES USD 100M & SCALEFACTOR RAISES USD 60M
UK TO INVEST IN AI HEALTHCARE RESEARCH & US CONGRESS SEEKS INFORMATION FROM AI EXPERTS
MERK-BACKED SERIMMUNE BRINGS IN NEW CEO AS FOUNDER ADOPTS SCIENCE ROLE
AND MORE ↓
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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Exiger, the New York City-based security company using AI and focused on the financial industry, said it acquired Convergent Solutions, a cybersecurity firm with mostly government clients.
Taoglas, the Dublin, Ireland-based Internet of Things and radio frequency company using AI, said it acquired Firmwave, the Irish Internet of Things and AI company.
Groupon, the Chicago, Illinois-based local commerce marketplace, said it acquired marketing company Presence AI.
Siemens Healthineers, a medical device unit of German energy giant Siemens, said it is acquiring Corindus Vascular Robotics, the US medical robot maker, for USD 1.1bn.
ZYUS, the Saskatchewan, Canada-based company developing cannabinoid treatments, said it acquired Revon Systems, which uses AI to collect patient data.
ABBYY, the Milpitas, California-based AI company, said it acquired business services firm TimelinePI.
Cisco, the San Jose, California-based technology firm, said it acquired Voicea, which uses AI in voice transcription.
Extreme Networks, the San Jose, California-based software company, said it completed the acquisition of Aerohive Networks, the cloud computing company using AI. The deal was originally announced in June.
FILINGS
China Liberal Education, the Beijing, China-based educational services firm using AI, said it plans to raise USD 7m in a Nasdaq IPO of 1.17m shares at USD 6 each.
Blue Frog Robotics, the Boston, Massachusetts-based company making robots for home use, said it is raising USD 4.5m in a Form D filing.
Thunder Bridge Acquisition II, the Great Falls, Virginia-based special purpose acquisition vehicle, saw its share close up 1% on the first day of trading.
The company raised USD 300m in an initial public offering of 30m shares at USD 10 each. It plans to invest in companies that include AI firms.
Inpixon, the Palo Alto, California-based cybersecurity company using AI, slashed to USD 6m a sale of convertible preferred shares with warrants. The company had originally sought USD 15m.
In July, Inpixon acquired Jibestream, a location technology firm. In September, the company hired Adam Benson as chief technology officer.
FUNDING
Scale AI, the San Francisco, California-based AI company, said it raised USD 100m in a Series C funding led by Founders Fund.
ScaleFactor, the Austin, Texas-based automated accounting platform using machine learning, said it raised USD 60m in a Series C led by Coatue, the technology fund.
TickPick, the New York City-based ticketing marketplace, said it raised USD 40m from PWP Growth Equity to build out AI-based services.
Exo Imaging, the Redwood City, California-based medical imaging company using AI, said it raised USD 35m in a Series B financing round led by the venture capital unit of semiconductor maker Intel.
Ezoic, the Carlsbad, California-based digital publishers platform using AI, said it raised USD 33m from early stage venture firm Sageview Capital.
Securiti.ai, the San Jose, California-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it raised USD 31m in a Series A funding led by Mayfield and Navin Chaddha.
Teralytics, the Zurich, Switzerland-based company developing transportation operating systems using machine learning, said it raised USD 17.5m in a round led by Robert Bosch Venture Capital.
XOi Technologies, the Nashville, Tennessee-based field service communications company using AI, said it raised USD 11m in a Series C financing round led by PeakSpan Capital.
Opsani, the Redwood City, California-based AI company, said it raised USD 10m in a Series A funding round led by Redpoint Ventures.
Helbiz, the New York City-based electric scooter company using AI, said it raised USD 7.3m in the run up to a dual US - Italy listing.
BlueDot, the Toronto, Canada-based health analytics company using AI, said it raised USD 7m in a Series A financing round led by the The Co-operators and BDC Capital's Women in Technology Venture Fund.
Crosschq, the San Francisco, California-based human resources company using machine learning, said it raised USD 4.1m in a seed round led by GGV Capital.
DeepCode, the Zurich, Switzerland-based programming platform using AI, said it raised USD 4m in a seed funding led by Earlybird, a Europe-focused venture capital firm.
Torii, the Boston, Massachusetts-based real estate technology company using machine learning, said it raised USD 1.4m in a seed round from undisclosed investors.
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government was investing GBP 250m (USD 300m) in an AI lab focused on health care.
The US Congress is seeking input on self-driving car regulations until August 23, according to a report in the National Law Review.
The Trump administration, meanwhile, has killed an autonomous driving committee it had set up, according to a report in The Verge.
PEOPLE
Serimmune, the Goleta, California-based antigen database developer using machine learning, said it hired Noah Nasser as CEO to replace company founder Patrick Daugherty, who is taking the role of chief science officer. The company is backed by European pharmaceutical company Merck.
ICX Media, the Washington D.C.-based marketing company using machine learning, said it hired Serge Matta as president and CEO. Founder Michael Avon, the previous CEO, will now be executive chairman.
Eta Compute, the Westlake Village, California-based machine learning company, said it hired Ted Tewksbury as CEO.
insitro, the South San Francisco, California-based drug development company using machine learning, said it hired former Pfizer executive Keith James as senior vice president of drug discovery and Mary Rozenman as CFO and chief business officer.
Notal Vision, the Manassas, Virginia-based medical diagnostics company using AI, said it hired Kester Nahen as chief commercial officer.
GreyOrange, the Atlanta, Georgia-based logistical software and robotics platform, said it hired Terrie O’Hanlon as chief marketing officer.
Bespoke, the Tokyo, Japan-based AI company focused on the travel industry, said it hired former Google executive Tobias Wessels as chief commercial officer.
Data Conversion Laboratory, the Fresh Meadows, New York-based data services company using AI, said it hired former IBM researcher John Heidenreich as sales director for the financial services market.
Babel Street, the Washington D.C.-based data translation services company using AI, said it hired former FBI agent Scott Hansen as senior vice president of international business development.
Micron Technology, the Boise, Idaho-based AI chip maker, said it hired former Flextronics executive Sharawn Connors as vice president of diversity and inclusion.
And, a global AI talent report from jfgagne here.