Element AI
Element AI is an artificial intelligence company based in Montreal, Quebec.[1][2]
Type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Artificial intelligence |
Founded | October 2016 |
Headquarters | , |
Website | www |
History
Element AI was founded in October 2016 by Jean-François Gagné and co-founders Yoshua Bengio, Anne Martel, Nicolas Chapados, and Philippe Beaudoin, along with Jean-Sébastien Cournoyer of Montreal venture capital fund Real Ventures.[1][3][4] In early 2017, the company acquired the entire team of MLDB.ai,[5] an open source machine learning database. It then raised US$102 million from US investors in a series A round led by the San Francisco venture fund Data Collective and Microsoft Ventures.[3][6][7][8]
In December 2018, the Government of Canada gave a loan of up to CAD$5 million to Element AI with the goal of creating new jobs.[9] They later hosted a conference on the effects of AI, with Justin Trudeau and Mounir Mahjoubi establishing a global panel to study the effects of AI.[10] In December 2018, Element AI also partnered with Amnesty International and released a study measuring online abuse against women in politics and journalism on Twitter.[11][12]
Element AI has partnerships with GIC, Singapore Management University, the Port of Montreal, LG Electronics, among others.[13][14] At the Port of Montreal, Element AI is working to predict how long trucks will wait to drop off or pick up goods at the port.[14]
The company's first standalone product Underwriting Partner, an AI-assisted insurance underwriting workflow software, was released in September 2019.[15][16]In December 2019, they released Knowledge Scout, a platform for data set management in manufacturing companies.[17]
On November 30, 2020, ServiceNow, a Californian cloud-based IT services company, announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Element AI.[18][19] The company was running out of money and options and sold for just US $230 million, terminating the vast majority of employees whose stock options were voided and cancelled with no value in lieu provided.[20][21]
References
- "Can This Startup Break Big Tech's Hold on A.I.?". Fortune. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- Metz, Cade (October 26, 2016). "AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Is Launching Element.AI, a Deep-Learning Incubator". Wired. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- Marotte, Bertrand (June 14, 2017). "Montreal's Element AI gets record $102 million boost from U.S. investors". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- "Global AI Software Provider - Element AI". Element AI. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Element AI acquires MLDB.ai open source machine learning database | BetaKit". 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2020-12-23.
- "Element AI Raises $102 Million as New Learning Model Sparks Interest". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Element AI, a platform for companies to build AI solutions, raises $102M". TechCrunch. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Revolution AI: Why everyone wants in to Montreal's deep-learning hub". Financial Post. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Element AI receives $5 million loan from the Canadian government". BetaKit. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Canada, France Plan Global Panel to Study the Effects of AI". Wiredaccess-date=January 27, 2019.
- "Element AI partners with Amnesty International to study online abuse". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Twitter Is Indeed Toxic for Women, Amnesty Report Says". Wired. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "Element AI partnering with Singapore companies to accelerate product development". BetaKit. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
- "LG, Element AI Plan to Detail AI in Consumer Devices". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
- Hotchkiss, Caitlin (September 23, 2019). "Element AI announces first product for the insurance market". Betakit. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- "Element AI for Insurance". Element AI. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- Kirkwood, Isabelle (December 3, 2019). "Element AI launches newest standalone product, turning data into actionable insights". Betakit. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
- Silcoff, Sean (November 30, 2020). "ServiceNow is acquiring Element AI, the Canadian startup building AI services for enterprises". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- Lunden, Ingrid (November 30, 2020). "Once touted as a technology world-beater, Montreal's Element AI sells out to Silicon Valley giant". The Globe And Mail. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- "Element AI sold for $230-million as founders saw value mostly wiped out, document reveals". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
- "Element AI hands out pink slips hours after announcement of sale to U.S.-based ServiceNow". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2020-12-19.