Biggest Artificial Intelligence Startups 2018
Artificial intelligence is still a growing field, being one of the most well-funded categories. Startups in the space offer services ranging from automated data collection from unstructured sources to real-time data analysis and synthesis. Here are 6 biggest AI startups in the world.
Toutiao — $3.1B
China. Founded in 2012, Zhang Yiming
Category: Analytics, Big Data, Data Mining, Internet, Machine Learning, Social Network
Toutiao is a content platform that enables people to discover a world of content powered by artificial intelligence technology. Using Natural Language Processing and Computer Vision, Toutiao extracts entities and keywords as features from each piece of content. As a feed reader application tries to integrate the most relevant contents for users by gradually learning what the readers enjoy through analysis of data obtained from their social networking accounts.
Earlier this year, Toutiao joined to Buzzfeed to distribute entertainment content to Toutiao’s Chinese audience of 120 million, presumably to be vetted by the company’s over 10,000 in-house censors.
Sensetime — $1.6B
China. Founded in 2014, Xiaolan Xu
Category: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Vision, Image Recognition, Software
SenseTime develops face recognition technology that can be applied to payment and picture analysis, which could be used, for instance, on bank card verification and security systems. Ranked fifth in China Money Network’s China AI Top 10 Ranking in 2017, SenseTime currently provides its face recognition technology to over 300 companies including China Mobile Communication Co, China UnionPay, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Xiaomi Inc. and JD.com Inc.
SenseTime says its face recognition technology has an error rate below one in 100,000. It also provides text, vehicle, and image recognition to mobile Internet companies, financial services, and security companies.
Argo AI — $1B
USA. Founded in 2017, Bryan Salesky, Peter Rander
Category: Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Vehicles, Robotics
Argo AI was founded to tackle one of the most challenging applications in computer science, robotics and artificial intelligence with self-driving vehicles. Argo is developing and deploying the latest advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and computer vision to help build safe and efficient self-driving vehicles that enable these transformations and more.
Kreditech — $497.3M
Germany. Founded in 2012, Alexander Müller, Sebastian Diemer
Category: Banking, Big Data, Finance, Financial Services, FinTech, Lending, Personal Finance
Kreditech Group’s mission is to improve financial freedom for the underbanked with the use of technology. Combining non-traditional data sources and machine learning, the company is aiming to provide access to better credit and a higher convenience for digital banking services. The product offerings include consumer loans, a digital wallet and a personal finance manager designed to help customers manage their credit score and plan their spending. Kreditech also offers a “Lending as a Service” model, allowing partners to integrate Kreditech’s credit products via an API into their own platform and services.
Acorn — $486.3M
UK. Founded in 2015, Joel Perlman, Rishi Khosla
Category: Artificial Intelligence, Banking, Big Data, Commercial Lending, Finance, Financial Services, FinTech, Lending, Machine Learning, Personal Finance, Small and Medium Businesses
ACORN OakNorth is a fintech firm focused on unlocking the potential in bespoke SME lending globally using its data and technology platform — ACORN machine.
ACORN machine is a fintech platform that helps automate processes implementing leveraging process excellence, machine learning to data-driven decision making across the loan lifecycle. The platform collects millions of data items on SMEs across various parameters, sectors, and markets, and uses machine learning algorithms to identify data that lenders need to make more informed credit decisions through detailed line item underwriting. ACORN’s team of credit analysts and data scientists manage the process, training the machine learning algorithms.
The concept of ACORN machine was proven via OakNorth, an award-winning challenger bank founded in 2015 to address the mid-market funding gap in the UK.
Soundhound — $215M
USA. Founded in 2005, James Hom, Keyvan Mohajer, Majid Emami
Category: Artificial Intelligence, Audio, Mobile, Natural Language Processing, Speech Recognition
SoundHound Inc. is the leading innovator in voice-enabled AI and conversational intelligence technologies.
SoundHound Inc.’s Houndify is the first independent AI platform that enables developers and business owners to deploy it anywhere and retain control of their brand and users while differentiating and innovating. Houndify provides voice and AI integration, including the world’s fastest speech recognition and the most sophisticated natural language understanding.
SoundHound Inc.’s voice search & assistant app, Hound, leverages their Speech-to-Meaning™ and Deep Meaning Understanding™ technologies on a consumer app experience.
SoundHound music recognition app applies the technology to the listening experience, enabling people to discover, explore, and share the music.
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