EYE ON A.I. GETS READERS UP TO DATE ON THE MOST CRITICAL FUNDING, CORPORATE AND REGULATORY NEWS WITH ORIGINAL CONTENT AND MEDIA REPORTS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE.

This week our corporate finance newsletter features our interview with the COO of BrainChip, which is out with a new low-power processor for edge computing.

Next up is eight acquisitions, four equity filings, 16 funding rounds, a handful of regulatory moves and 23 executive hires in the AI sector.

Companies we have tracked over the past year or so in the news this week include Trax, Medtronic, Accenture, Dynatrace, SentinelOne, IntelyCare, Labelbox, LeanDNA, DataCubes, Globality, CrowdStrike and WhiteHat Security.

See all of this and more below ↓

OUR EXCLUSIVE THIS WEEK

BrainChip to look at US and European innovation centers in commercialization push

BrainChip, the Aliso Viejo, California-based and Australian-listed AI company, may open additional innovation and research centers in locations such as Silicon Valley and Germany, according to COO Roger Levinson.

The company is currently at work on its first center in Perth aimed at helping to commercialize the low power, neural network processor it has developed.

The company is targeting edge computing, where technology is sited closer to where it is used instead of distant servers in cloud computing networks.    

The processor, called Akida, has applications in autonomous vehicles, vision-based robotics and drones, cybersecurity, facial recognition, acoustic analysis - such as keyword spotting – and surveillance. The company opened its Akida platform to developers in February.

Read the full story, including Levinson’s thoughts on the challenges of edge computing, here.

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Nominet, the Oxford, UK-based cybersecurity company, said it acquired CyGlass, a cybersecuruty firm using AI.

Asset General, the San Diego, California-based business services firm, said it acquired AI startup Predictive Logistics and International Computing. The combined companies will operate under the International Computing name.

Trax, the Singapore-based computer vision firm focused on the retail sector, said it acquired European computer vision firm Qopius. In June, Trax acquired Shopkick.

PullRequest, the Austin, Texas-based computer code review firm using AI, said it acquired Moonlight.

Medtronic, the Dublin, Ireland-based medical technology company, acquired Digital Surgery, the simulation and data platform using AI, according to a Hit Consultant report. In November 2018, the company acquired Nutrino Health, in part, for its AI technology.

Dialog Semiconductor, the London, UK-based chip maker, said it acquired Adesto Technologies to build out its AI-backed product offerings.

Navis, the Oakland, California-based unit of logitics firm Cargotec, said it acquired Biarri Rail, a freight scheduling software developer using AI.

Accenture, the New York City-based professional services company, said it acquired VanBerlo, the AI and internet of things company.

Earlier this month Accenture acquired Mudano, the British financial consulting firm using machine learning.

In December, Accenture acquired AI and machine learning consultancy Clarity Insights. It acquired Spanish AI company Pragsis Bidoop in September.

In August, Accenture said it was acquiring Analytics8, the Australian data and analytics firm using AI. It acquired TargetST8 Consulting, which specializes in commercial lending with AI, in October 2018.

FILINGS

Dynatrace, the Waltham, Massachusetts-based AI company, said shareholders, including private equity firm Thoma Bravo, raised USD 862.5m from the sale of 25m million shares at USD 34.50 each, a 2.5% discount.

In December, shareholders, including private equity firm Thoma Bravo, sold 27.5m shares worth USD 690m.

In August, the company and shareholders raised USD 569.76m from an initial public offering of 35.61m shares at USD 16 each, almost twice the amount the deal was originally set for, on the NYSE.

dMY Technology, the Las Vegas, Nevada-based blank check company, downsized to USD 200m the size of its IPO by cutting the number of units on offer to 20m from the original 23m. The price remained the same at USD 10 a unit.

The company is touting its management expertise in fields like AI and big data but doesn’t actually commit to an actual strategy of investment in the sectors.

Other deals include the blank check IPO of East Stone Acquisition and Investview, which brought in Joseph Cammarata as CEO in December.

FUNDING

SentinelOne, the Mountain View, California-based cybersecurity firm using AI, said it raised USD 200m in a Series E funding led by Insight Partners. Qualcomm’s venture capital unit also participated.

Earlier this month the company hired Mark Parrinello as senior vice president of global sales and Daniel Kollberg as vice president Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Semios, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based farming platform using AI, said it raised USD 75m in a funding round led by Morningside Group.

ZeroFOX, the Baltimore, Maryland-based cybersecurity firm, said it raised USD 74m in a new financing round led by Intel’s venture capital unit.

IntelyCare, the Quincy, Massachusetts-based healthcare staffing company using AI, said it raised USD 45m in a Series B funding round led by Endeavour Vision.

In November 2018, the company raised USD 10.8m from a Series A led by Leerink Revelation Partners, the healthcare industry focused investment fund.

Outrider, the Golden, Colorado-based autonomous truck maker, raised USD 32m in a Series A led by NEA and 8VC, according to a TechCrunch report.

Eureka AI, the Singapore-based business software developer, said it raised USD 20m in a Series B funding led by Apis Partners, Gobi Partners and Riyad TAQNIA.

iMerit, the Kolkata, India-based AI firm, said it raised USD 20m in a Series B funding led by CDC Group.

Aisera, the Palo Alto, California-based business services firm using AI, said it raised USD 20m in a Series B funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners.

Algo, the Troy, Michigan-based supply chain technology services firm using machine learning, said it raised USD 15m in a funding round led by Integrity Growth Partners.

Eventus Systems, the Austin, Texas-based anti financial fraud company using AI, said it raised USD 10.5m in a Series A funding round led by Jump Capital and LiveOak Venture Partners.

OnSiteIQ, the New York City-based construction site services firm using computer vision, raised USD 4.5m in a Series A led by Bullpen Capital, according to a Venture Beat report.

Credify, the Singapore-based antifraud firm, said it raised USD 1m in a seed funding led by Beenext and AI-focused incubator Deepcore.

Just AI, the London, UK-based AI company, said it raised an unspecified amount from Russian telecommunications operator MTS and Russia’s Sovcombank.

Other deals include Maven, Brace and Conquest Planning

LEGAL AND REGULATORY

The EU published a white paper on regulating AI this week that leaves much to be desired, according to a Quartz report.

China buys Danish disinfection robots to fight coronavirus.

PEOPLE

One Stop Systems, the Escondido, California-based AI computer systems developer, said it promoted David Raun as interim president and CEO.

Aternity, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based business software developer using AI, said it hired Bill Hewitt as president and CEO. Hewitt was a partner at Beacon Equity Partners. Aternity is a subsidiary of Riverbed Technology, which is owned by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Selligent Marketing Cloud, the San Jose, California-based marketing firm using AI, said it promoted Karthik Kripapuri to CEO.

Xeeva, the Detroit, Michigan-based business software developer using AI, said it hired Nina Vellayan as president and CEO.

XenZone, the London, UK-based online mental health care provider, said it hired Tim Barker as CEO to build out its AI business.

MMI, the Calci, Italy-based robotic surgery company, said it hired former Restoration Robotics CEO Ryan Rhodes as global chief commercial officer.

TGS, the Asker, Norway-based oil and gas data services firm using machine learning, said it promoted Fredrik Amundsen to CFO.

Laboratory for Advanced Medicine, the Irvine, California-based cancer detection company using AI, said it hired Benjamin Oyler as COO.

Labelbox, the San Francisco, California-based data platform for machine learning, said it hired Jason Stewart as chief revenue officer.

Earlier this month, the company raised USD 25m in a Series B funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. In April, the company raised USD 10m in a Series A led by Gradient Ventures, the AI-focused venture capital fund run by Google.

LeanDNA, the Austin, Texas-based inventory management company using AI, said it hired Tod Klubnik as chief revenue officer. In December, the company raised USD 15m in a Series B funding led by S3 Ventures.

DataCubes, the Chicago, Illinois-based insurance services platform using AI, said it hired Mike Goldstein as chief technology officer. In November, the company raised USD 15.2m in a Series B funding led by Palm Drive Capital, the tech-focused venture capital firm based in New York City.

Globality, the Menlo Park, California-based business services firm using AI, said it hired former Oracle executive Keith McFarlane as chief technology officer. In September, the company hired former Accenture executive Keith Hausmann as chief revenue officer.

CrowdStrike, the Sunnyvale, California-based cybersecurity firm using AI, said it promoted Michael Sentonas to chief technology officer. Co-founder and former CTO Dmitri Alperovitch left to launch a non-profit.

The controversial firm raised USD 300m two years ago from a Series E financing led by General Atlantic, Accel and IVP.

Liqid, the Broomfield, Colorado-based data storage firm using AI, said it hired John Spiers as chief strategy officer.

Clearwater Analytics, the Boise, Idaho-based data and analytics firm, said it hired former UnitedHealth executive and AI specialist Subi Sethi as chief client officer.

Featurespace, Cambridge, UK-based financial crimes detection firm using machine learning, said it hired Don Riddick as chief legal officer.

WhiteHat Security, the San Jose, California-based cybersecurity company using AI, said it hired Chris Leffel as vice president of product management. In November, the company hired Anthony Bettini as chief technology officer. The company was acquired by NTT Security, a unit of Japanese telecommunications firm NTT, last year.

ABBYY, the Milpitas, California-based AI company, said it hired Joe Rayfield as vice president of sales. In August, the company acquired business services firm TimelinePI.

Qlik, the King of Prussia, Philadelphia-based data and analytics firm, said it hired former Cognizant vice president of AI and analytics Poornima Ramaswamy as executive vice president, strategic clients to build out its AI offering.

Saama Technologies, the Campbell, California-based clinical analytics platform using AI, said it hired Jonathan Burr as senior vice president of clinical platform strategy and Gregory Simpson as vice president, head of marketing.

Other hiring includes Inseev Interactive

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