Funding to artificial intelligence startups totaled $310M in 2015, with 33% of dollars and 69% of deals going to early-stage (seed/angel or Series A) AI companies in that year.
With the help of our Mosaic algorithm, which tracks the health of private companies, we identified 10 early-stage startups to watch in 2016. All the companies on the list have either raised Series A or seed/angel funds since January 2015. None of them have yet raised a Series B.
New York-based stealth company ASAPP, which raised a $7.6M seed from angel investor David Strohm, has created an AI-powered asynchronous messaging platform, according to the Harvard Startup Career Fair site. Canada’s Maluuba, which raised a Series A round last month, is working on technologies to improve machine reading and natural language processing.
Other companies on the list are developing technologies ranging from advanced medical diagnosis using deep learning to AI-based personal scheduling assistants.
| Company | Description | Total Raised | Select Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enlitic | Healthcare company that uses deep learning technology in diagnostics | $12M | Data Collective, Amplify Partners, Capitol Health Partners |
| x.ai | Developing an artificially intelligent personal assistant, Amy, to schedule business and social meetings | $11.2M | FirstMark Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, IA Ventures, Softbank Capital, CrunchFund |
| Clarifai | Deep learning API for image and video recognition | $10M | Google Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Osage Partners, NYU Innovation Venture Fund, Lux Capital, LDV Capital,Corazon Capital |
| Descartes Labs | Uses deep learning and machine learning algorithms to analyze satellite imagery and study details like food production and urban growth | $8.3M | Data Collective, Crosslink Capital, Cultivian Sandbox, TenOneTen Ventures, ValueStream |
| Maluuba | Uses deep learning and natural language processing technologies to improve human-machine interactions | $8.2M | Emerillon Capital, Nautilus Venture Partners, Samsung Venture |
| ASAPP | AI-powered asynchronous messaging platform | $7.57M | David Strohm |
| SignalSense | Information security company that identifies and visualizes network security threats | $5.82M | Trilogy Equity Partners, Ignition Partners, Tola Capital |
| Anodot | Uses machine learning algorithm to automatically identify anomalies in data | $4.5M | Disrupt-ive |
| Diffbot | Visual learning robot that identifies and extracts information from websites | $2M | Bloomberg Beta, DG Incubation,Matrix Partners, Webb Investment Network |
| Howdy.ai | Robotic assistant for the messaging platform Slack that automates tasks such as scheduling meetings | $1.5M | Bloomberg Beta, True Ventures |
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