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 Gupshup founder Beerud Sheth, who says there are no “silver bullets” for the challenges raised by a rapidly changing AI industry.

Next up is 10 acquisitions, five equity filings, 30 funding rounds, a handful of regulatory moves and 17 executive hires in the AI sector along with some new data on related venture capital and M&A activity.

Companies we have tracked over the past year or so in the news this week include Cornerstone OnDemand, Zoovu, Seal Software, SambaNova Systems, Qure.ai, Kinetica, Blue Prism, Urbint, CleverTap and Sisu.

See all of this and more below ↓

OUR EXCLUSIVE THIS WEEK

Gupshup founder sees potential for expansion in rapidly changing AI industry

Serial entrepreneur sees no ‘silver bullets’ to the struggles of constantly refining systems and processes.

Gupshup, the San Francisco-based enterprise messaging services firm using natural language processing, sees the potential for expansion in a rapidly changing but challenging industry, founder and CEO Beerud Sheth says.

Gupshup, which means chat in Hindi, analyses, sorts, presents and stores text message content for users.

That’s particularly useful in markets outside the US where the corporate landscape can be much more orientated towards text-based communication with customers, Sheth says.

The company announced a partnership with Chinese handset maker Xiaomi last month in India, the second largest mobile phone market after the US. Xiaomi held the largest share of the subcontinent market at 27% in the fourth quarter of last year.

Read the full story

MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Cornerstone OnDemand, the Los Angeles, California-based human resources firm, said it is acquiring Saba, an HR firm using machine language, for USD 1.4bn in cash and stock. Last month, Cornerstone acquired Clustree, an HR tech firm using AI.

Docusign, the San Francisco, California-based business services firm, said it acquired Seal Software, the contractual analytics company using machine learning. Seal raised USD 15m from DocuSign in March last year.

In July, Seal said it promoted John O'Melia to replace CEO Ulf Zetterberg, who became executive vice-chairman. Jim Wagner was also promoted to president.

Seal’s US HQ is in San Francisco, California and runs Europe, the Middle East and Africa out of London.

Roybi, the Palo Alto, California-based educational robot maker for young children, said it acquired KidSense.AI, a speech recognition firm.

Roybi closed a USD 4.2m seed financing from unidentified investors in July.

Zoovu, the New York City-based marketing company using AI, said it acquired Clever. In May, the company hired Tim O’Neil as chief revenue officer. It raised USD 14m in a Series B in February last year and acquired SmartAssistant, the AI marketing firm, in January that year.

ringDNA, the Los Angeles, California-based marketing platform using AI, said it acquired the sales podcast, 'Accelerate!’. In November 2018, ringDNA raised USD 60m in a Series B led by a Goldman Sachs growth fund.

Tech Mahindra, the Pune, India-based IT company, acquired US AI firm Zen3 Infosolutions for USD 64m in cash, according to an Analytics India report.

Bark Technologies, the Atlanta, Georgia-based online monitoring service for children using AI, said it acquired Router Limits, another monitoring firm also using AI.

Wave Neuroscience, the Newport Beach, California-based company developing treatments for neurological disorders using machine learning, said it acquired NeoSync, which is developing treatments for major depression.

Glantus, the Dublin, Ireland-based business services firm using AI, said it acquired JPD Financial.

Freshworks, the San Mateo, California-based marketing firm using AI, said it acquired AnsweriQ, which also uses AI in marketing.

FILINGS

ZoomInfo, the Vancouver, Washington-based marketing firm using AI, said it is raising a placeholder USD 500m from an initial public offering on the Nasdaq.

The company acquired Komiko, a sales software company using AI and started by former Microsoft executives, in November.

Zoominfo and business services firm DiscoverOrg hired former Dell executive Alyssa Lahar as chief human resources officer in September. The two companies announced a merger in February they said would take a year to complete.

Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. II and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp. III, Palo Alto, California-based blank check companies focused on acquisitions in industries including AI, said they are seeking initial public offerings on the NYSE. Social Capital II is raising USD 300m and Social Capital III is raising USD 600m. The original blank check Social Capital Hedosophia Holding Corp merged with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic last year.

Procore Technologies, the Carpenteria, California-based construction management software developer using AI, said it is raising a placeholder USD 100m from an initial public offering on the NYSE.

Other deals include Ecoark

FUNDING

Pony.ai, the Fremont, California-based autonomous driving company, said it raised USD 462m in a funding round led by Japan’s Toyota Motor.

SambaNova Systems, the Palo Alto, California-based AI company, said it raised USD 250m in a Series C funding round led by BlackRock. In April, the company raised USD 150m in a Series B led by the venture capital unit of semiconductor maker Intel.

Karius, the Redwood City, California-based medical testing company using AI, said it raised USD 165m in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, although the Softbank fund hasn’t actually closed yet.

Graphcore, the Bristol, UK-based AI processor maker, raised an additional USD 150m in an extended Series D that included Baillie Gifford, Mayfair Equity Partners and M&G Investments, according to a Cambridge Network report.

Behavox, the New York City-based AI company, said it raised USD 100m in a funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, although the Softbank fund hasn’t actually closed yet. In July, the Telegraph reported Behavox was raising USD 100m in an unspecified funding round from unidentified investors.

Plume, the Palo Alto, California-based home services firm using AI, said it raised USD 85m in Series D and debt financing that included Charter Communications and the venture capital unit of Qualcomm.

Cera Care, the London, UK-based predictive health care services company using AI, raised USD 70m in a funding round led by KairosHQ, according to a Tech EU report.

Lendio, the Lehi, Utah-based marketplace for small business loans using machine learning, said it raised USD 55m in a combined debt and equity financing that included Mercato Partners’ Traverse Fund and Signature Bank.

Flock Freight, the Solana Beach, California-based freight logistics platform using AI, raised USD 50m in a Series B funding round led by SignalFire and GLP Capital Partners, according to a Venture Beat report.

K Health, the Tel Aviv, Israel-based mobile primary healthcare service using AI, said it raised USD 45m in a Series C funding round co-led by 14W and Mangrove Capital, according to a mobihealthnews report.

Ripcord, the Hayward, California-based document digitization company, said it raised USD 45m in a Series B2 funding round led by CDK Global.

Laiye, the Beijing, China-based robotic process automation firm, raised USD 42m in a Series C funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, according to a Tech In Asia report.

Snapask, the Hong Kong-based tutoring app using machine learning, raised USD 35m in a Series B funding led by Asia Partners and Intervest, according to a Finsmes report.

FogHorn, the Sunnyvale, California-based edge computing software developer using machine learning, said it raised USD 25m in a Series C round of led by South Korea’s LS Corp. Venture capital funds run by Dell, Intel, GE, Honeywell and Saudi Aramco are also backing the firm.

Tractable, the London, UK-based insurance technology using AI, said it raised USD 25m in a Series C funding round led by Georgian Partners.

Ready Robotics, the Columbus, Ohio-based robotic automation software developer, raised USD 23m in a Series B funding round led by Canaan, according to a Forbes report.

Tempo, the San Francisco, California-based home fitness maker using AI, raised USD 17.5m in a Series A funding round that included Founders Fund, Khosla Ventures, DCM and Bling Capital, according to a Finsmes report.

Qure.ai, the Mumbai, India-based medical diagnostics company, said it raised USD 16m in a funding round led by Sequoia. In March, the company hired Chiranjiv Singh as chief commercial officer. He is based in the New York office.

CPacket Networks, the San Jose, California-based IT company using AI, said it raised USD 15m in a funding round led by a venture capital unit of Morgan Stanley.

Olea Edge Analytics, the Austin, Texas-based water utilities services company using AI, said it raised USD 9m in a Series B round of funding led by Renewal Funds.

Revl, the San Francisco, California-based video editing firm using AI, said it raised USD 5.5m in a Series A funding round led by Nimble Ventures.

Alkymi, the New York City-based business services firm using machine learning, said it raised USD 5m in a seed funding round led by Canaan. The company’s platform analyses, extracts and forwards data from email and other documents.

techspert.io, the Cambridge, UK-based business matching platform for technology experts using AI, said it raised £3.76m (USD 4.85m) in a Series A funding led by Nauta Capital.

FlixStock, the New York City-based fashion industry imaging firm using AI, said it raised USD 2.5m in a financing led by early stage venture capital firm Wavemaker Partners.

VODA.ai, the Boston, Massachusetts-based water utilities management firm, said it raised an unspecified amount in a round led by Innospark Ventures.

Other deals include Chattermill, MycoWorks, L1ght, LinkSquares and Ribbon Health

LEGAL AND REGULATORY

The US Department of Defense announces ethical guidelines for the use of AI in warfare.

London chief of police Cressida Dick, the most senior law enforcement official in the UK, called on the government to create a legal framework for the use of AI and other new technologies, according to a Reuters report.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development launched an AI Policy Observatory aimed at enabling the responsible development of the new technology.

The New Zealand government launched an independent digital council to advise the government on issues including AI, according to a ZDNet report.

PEOPLE

Expert System, the Modena, Italy-based business services firm using natural language processing, said it hired former Dell executive Walt Mayo as CEO.

Kloudspot, the Sunnyvale, California-based AI and analytics platform, said it hired former Cisco executive Guillermo Diaz as CEO.

Ness Digital Engineering, the Teaneck, New Jersey-based business services firm using AI, said it hired former Fitch executive Ranjit Tinaikar as CEO. 

MDS Global, the Warrington, England-based IT business services firm, said it hired Steve Bowen as CEO to build out its businesses including AI. He replaces Gary Bunney in the role.

BitBox USA, the Nashville, Tennessee-based edge and computer infrastructure firm, said it promoted Fred Dirla to CEO, Mike Skurla to CTO and Luke Dalske to COO. Company founder John Trout will continue to work with strategic accounts.

Persado, the New York City-based marketing platform using AI, said it hired former McKinsey executive Jason Heller as president.

Kinetica, the San Francisco, California-based analytics platform services company using AI, said it hired former DocuSign executive Dean Neese as CFO. Earlier this month, the company hired Tom Addis as chief revenue officer. In June, the company hired Elizabeth McGlauflin as chief customer success officer.

Celonis, the Munich, Germany-based business software company using machine learning, said it hired former Saleforce executive Miguel Milano as chief revenue officer.

Jvion, the Atlanta, Georgia-based healthcare industry services firm using AI, said it hired Eric Schrock as chief technology officer and Lizzy Feliciano as chief marketing officer.

Blue Prism, the Austin, Texas-based robotic process automation firm, said it hired Ian Horobin as chief product officer. In July, the company acquired AI company Thoughtonomy.

Urbint, the New York City-based company developing utility oversight systems using AI, said it hired former Pacific Gas & Electric COO Nick Stavropoulos as chief safety advisor. In December, the company hired former Salesforce and IBM executive Alison Graham as chief revenue officer. In November, Urbint acquired Opvantek, which makes software overseeing natural gas pipeline operations.

CleverTap, the Mountain View, California-based marketing platform using AI, said it hired Julie Simon as vice president of marketing for Asia-Pacific. Earlier this month, the company hired Prashant Parashar as chief human resources officer. In October, the company raised USD 35m in a Series C led by Sequoia India and Tiger Global Management.

Sisu, the San Francisco, California-based data services firm using AI, said it hired former Google executive Berit Hoffman as vice president of product and Bryan Hamblin as chief revenue officer. In October, the company raised USD 52.5m in a Series B funding led by venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates.

Resulticks, the New York City-based marketing firm using AI, said it hired Dinesh Menon as global chief marketing officer.

Other hiring includes SXiQ, Delphix and MemVerge

And Kingsley Gate Partners takes on gender bias in the AI world. Report here.

DATA

Growth in venture capital financing slowed as 2019 wound up but is seen as a short term blip, according to a Global Data report.

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