Major Venture Capital Firms Funding AI Research Labs

Venture Capital firms accelerate Research work in AI labs.

Every start-up or research organization requires investment to proceed with the work that they aim to do, and this requires funding from an external source that baits into the funding process. These funding organizations are called venture capitals firms and organizations. Over the years, the venture capitalist firm has pro-actively invested in technology. Artificial Intelligence and its subsidiaries, and big data are counted as the top investments by venture capitalist firms. A process which originally started in the west has become a worldwide phenomenon to support start-ups and the evolution of new technologies.

This article focuses on some of the major venture capital firms and companies that are heavily investing in AI research labs.

Softbank Group

The Japanese Multinational Conglomerate is infamously known for its investment in Energy, Financial Services and Technology. Under the leadership of the founder Masoyoshi Son, the company is undoubtedly a promoter for technology. But it is a less known fact that the organization is listed amongst the top funding venturing capitalist firm investing in AI research labs. Its Vision Fund which focuses solely on AI has launched US$108 billion. The research lab of SenseTime, which is the first AI start-up based in Hongkong is funded by the Softbank group. The start-up has established joint research labs with leading universities and research institutes which focus on developing Core Deep Learning Algorithms, 3D Vision, Augmented Reality, AI Supercomputing Platforms, High-performance Heterogeneous Computing and Applications, Big Data Analysis and Processing, In-depth Analysis and Understanding of Complex Visual Information, Autonomous Driving, and Medical Image Recognition amongst others.

Y Combinator

Launched in 2005, the Y Combinator is a seed company based in the USA that invests on tech start-ups. It invests US$125K on a "post-money" Simple Agreement for Future Equity in a span for 6 months. Its YC Artificial Intelligence Track is dedicated to funding companies. The alumni of YC funding are Lyre Bird research lab, a voice synthesizing AI, Msg ai, a conversational AI for Enterprise, and Floydhub, a Heroku for deep learning amongst others.

Intel Capital

Intel Capital is a division of the Intel Corporation that invests in innovative startups targeting cloud and AI infrastructure, Edge, 5G autonomy, Cybersecurity, gaming, and enterprise applications amongst others. It has invested over US$72 million into AI. Some of the key investments of Intel Capital in AI include Gamalon, previously known as Gamalon labs, a machine learning platform which reads and writes Bayesian programs.

Data Collective 

Data Collective holds the maximum record of funding AI start-ups since 2012. Located in San Fransisco, the firm has raised US$725 million for its flagship deep tech find, which backs early-stage start-ups and AI- companies. Some of the companies that are listed under the Deep Tech funding are Vicarious and its research lab which uses computational principles of the brain to develop smart robots. It has received a total investment of US$122 million. Moreover, the company has also been funded by Samsung, Pegasus Tech Ventures, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg.

Singularity University Ventures

Singularity University Ventures is the Venture Division of Singularity University. It operates as a bridge between Silicon Valley and exponential technology start-ups in innovation hubs around the world. Some of the key investment made by SUV is in Iris.ai, which is a research assistant drastically increasing the performance of R&D teams in mapping out existing knowledge. It is the perfect AI assistant for cross-disciplinary early-stage research projects. The capital firm invested US$2 million in Iris.ai.

Comet Labs

Comet Labs is a micro venture capital firm that supports AI and robotics start-ups. Some of the notable investment made by Comet labs is in Alces Technology which develops industry-leading 3D cameras for AR/VR, 3D scanning and security applications. The investment accounted for US$10.1 M, Another Key investment by Comet Labs is in Preteckt, a company that provides PaaS to connected and autonomous vehicles and leverages AI, deep learning and machine learning algorithms. The investment accounted for US$2 million.

Conclusion

Apart from big AI research labs, many start-ups and traditional companies are building research labs for R&D. These research labs are heavily backed by Venture Capital Firms, with undisclosed investment. Such investment will boost the start-ups in robust AI research work.