AI funding

Along with the April showers came the funding shower for many top companies. Ever since artificial intelligence became a dominant part of our life, many entrepreneurs started AI companies to make solutions that help power our routine artificial intelligence usage. As more and more AI companies started mushrooming, the funding in the field also surged. Like many other months, this April also witnessed a significant number of funding at top organizations, especially, at AI companies. Remarkably, many companies that bagged the AI funding are pushing technology boundaries in big data, cybersecurity, data storage, deep learning, AI chip making, etc. IndustryWired has listed top companies that secured AI funding this April.

Top companies that secured AI funding 

Axiado

Founded: 2017

Headquarters: California, United States

Axiado Corporation is a fables semiconductor company with hardware-enabled, AI-driven security technologies. Axido envisions securing the end-to-end digital infrastructure by embedding a new breed of security processors in servers and network infrastructure. The company believes that data security should be the default solution, not an option. Axiado is a security processor redefining the hardware root of trust with hardware-based security technologies, including per-system artificial intelligence.

Axiado raised US$20 million from investors for its artificial intelligence-driven cybersecurity hardware in April. The Series B round was led by Orbit Venture Partners. Additional support for the AI start-up came from investors like Dave Welch, founder of Infinera, Dick Kramlich, and co-founder of New Enterprise Associates.

SambaNova Systems

Founded: 2017

Headquarter(s): California, United States

SambaNova Systems is a computing start-up focused on building machine learning and big data analytics platforms. The company also creates AI hardware and integrated systems to run artificial intelligence applications from the data center to the cloud. SambaNova aims to bring AI innovations development in advanced research to organizations around the world.

SambaNova Systems announced a US$676 million Series D funding round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 in April 2021. The round included additional new investors Temasek and GIC, plus existing backers including funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Intel Capital GV, Walden International, and WRVI.

Vastai Technologies

Founded: 2018

Headquarter(s): Shanghai, China

Vastai Technologies develops chips to provide efficient computing power for intelligent applications for artificial intelligence and application empowerment. The company also develops AI chips for the optimization of computer vision and video processing. Vastai Technologies provides high-performance intelligent vision processing semiconductors that improve everyday life with abundant visual details and real-time intelligence.

Vastai Technologies secured US$75 million in Series A+ funding round led by Matrix Partners China and China Internet Investment Fund (CIIF). The funding was joined by existing shareholders Redoint China Ventures, 5Y Capital, SAIF Partners, Glory Ventures, Sirius Capital, and Yuan Capital.

Scale AI

Founded: 2016

Headquarter(s): California, United States

Scale AI is a data platform for artificial intelligence, providing high-quality training data for leading machine learning teams. The company’s advanced LiDAR, video, and image annotation APIs allow self-driving vehicles, drones, and robotics teams at companies Lyft, OpenAI, Zoox, Pinterest, and Airbnb to focus on building differentiated models vs labeling data. Scale AI believes that labeled data is the key bottleneck to the growth of the machine learning industry.

Scale AI’s value soared to US$7.3 billion following its new US$325 million funding round, which was jointly led by Dragoneer, Greenoaks Capital, and Tiger Global. The Series E funding was also powered by new investors like Wellington Management and Durable Capital, and existing stakeholders Coatue, Index, Founders Fund, and YC.

Sysdig

Founded: 2013

Headquarter(s): California, United States

Sysdig is a cloud-native visibility and security company that provides cloud and container security for enterprises and their DevOps teams. Sysdig is a passionate, technical problem-solver, continually innovating and delivering powerful solutions to secure and operate cloud-native applications in production. The Sysdig Secure DevOps Platform provides security to confidently run containers, Kubernetes, and cloud services.

Sysdig announced a US$189 million series F round at a US$1.19 billion valuation. The financing was led by Premji Invest & Associates and Third Point Ventures, with participation from Accel, Bain Capital Ventures, DFJ Growth, Glynn Capital, Goldman Sachs, Insight partners, and Next47.

Deep Instinct

Founded: 2015

Headquarter(s): New York City, United States

Deep Instinct is the first company to apply end-to-end deep learning to provide cybersecurity. By leveraging deep learning’s predictive capabilities, Deep Instinct’s on-device solution protects against zero-day threats and APT attacks with unmatched accuracy. The company safeguards the enterprise’s endpoints and any mobile devices against any threats, on any infrastructure, whether or not to connect to the network or the internet.

Deep instinct announced in April 2021 that it has successfully raised US$100 million in Series D funding. The round was led by funds and accounts managed from BalckRock, with participation from Untitled Investments, The Tudor Group, and investment by Anne Wojcicki, and existing investors, including Millennium, Unbound, and Coatue.