Sign up to save tools and stay up to date with the latest in AI
bg
bg
1

The scientist behind IBM Watson has raised $60 million for his AI startup in New York

Aug 17, 2023 - cnbc.com
David Ferrucci, the artificial intelligence researcher who led the team that created IBM Watson, has raised nearly $60 million for his AI startup, Elemental Cognition. The New York-based company, which aims to develop AI that "thinks before it talks," sold $59.95 million worth of equity to 17 investors and plans to raise another $5.75 million. Elemental offers two enterprise products, Cogent and Cora, which are chatbots designed for different scenarios, including financial services, travel planning, and automating research discovery in life sciences.

Elemental's leadership team includes several former IBM and Bridgewater Associates executives. Notable investors and advisors include Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital and one of the first investors in Facebook, former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, and Greg Jensen, Bridgewater's co-chief investment officer. The company's hybrid AI platform combines large language models with an AI-powered reasoning engine, differentiating it from other AI chatbots. Ferrucci confirmed the funding and stated that the company will continue to bring reliable reasoning and transparency to the market.

Key takeaways:

  • David Ferrucci, the AI researcher who led the team that created IBM Watson, has raised nearly $60 million for his AI startup, Elemental Cognition.
  • The company plans to raise an additional $5.75 million and has already sold $59.95 million worth of equity to 17 investors.
  • Elemental Cognition is developing AI that "thinks before it talks" and offers two enterprise products, Cogent and Cora, which are chatbots designed for different scenarios.
  • The company's hybrid AI platform combines large language models with an AI-powered reasoning engine to help responses better stay within guardrails.
View Full Article

Comments (0)

Be the first to comment!