Week Ending 08.03.2018
"COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE IS COMING OUT OF THE DARK AGES WHEN IT COMES TO TECHNOLOGY"
SKYLINE AI RAISES USD $18M IN SERIES A AND MORE ↓
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Alion Science and Technology, the McClean, Virginia-based military engineering firm, said it is acquiring Macaulay-Brown, which uses AI in its work with the US Department of Defense. Alion is backed by Veritas Capital. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Insight Enterprises, the Tempe, Arizona-based information technology firm, said it was acquiring Cardinal Solutions, which offers mixed reality services to companies among other AI-backed products.
Arm, the Cambridge, UK-based computer chip maker owned by SoftBank, said it is acquiring Treasure Data, the AI-based corporate data and analytics provider. Terms weren’t disclosed but a Bloomberg report said Arm was paying USD 600m.
Apax Partners, the London, UK-based private equity firm, said it acquired Britain’s Genius Sports from Three Hill Capital Partners, management and company founders
FILINGS
No AI related filings occurred during the week we are tracking
FUNDING
Bitmain, the Beijing, China-based cryptocurrency mining equipment maker, is likely to soon file for an initial public offering, according to a Fortune report. The company raised USD 400m in a pre-IPO financing led by Sequoia Capital, according to a China Money report in June citing local media.
Expressive, the Santa Clara, California-based business services company using AI, said it raised USD 23m from investors including General Catalyst Partners and Wing Venture Capital.
AntWorks, the Palo Alto, California-based AI services firm, said it raised USD 15m in a Series A from Japanese venture capital fund SBI.
Skyline AI, the New York City-based real estate services company using machine learning, said it raised USD 18m in a Series A led by existing investor Sequoia Capital and TLV Partners. In June, the company acquired two buildings for USD 26m, according to Calcalistech.
DefinedCrowd, the Seattle, Washington-based company compiling data for use in machine learning, said it raised USD 11.8m in a Series A led by Evolution Equity Partners. Existing investors Sony and Amazon also participated.
Test.ai, the San Francisco, California-based app testing service using AI, said it raised USD 11m in a Series A led by Google’s AI-focused venture capital fund, Gradient Ventures.
Olive, the Columbus, Ohio-based company using AI to cut healthcare costs, said it raised USD 32.8m in a Series D round led by Oak HC/FT and Ascension Ventures.
Precision Therapeutics, the Eagan, Minnesota-based AI-backed drug developer, said it is delisting from the Stuttgart stock exchange in Germany. The last day of trading there is September 6. The company’s share will solely trade on the Nasdaq from that point.
In July, the company announced the acquisition of Helomics, which developed an AI-backed analytics platform to study cancer.
Other deals included Pico Interactive, InVia Robotics, Labelbox, WorkDone and Xwing
LEGAL & REGULATORY
Australia’s Labor party plans a AUD 3m (USD 2.2m) AI lab, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.
PEOPLE
BioXcel Therapeutics, the New Haven, Connecticut-based company developing cancer treatments using AI, said it hired Vikas Sharma as vice-president of business development. Sharma was head of business development at MacroGenics.
LotLinx, the Chicago, Illinois-based automotive marketing company using AI, said it hired Michael Morrison as senior vice president of sales. He was previously a managing director at Nielson.
Invicro, the Boston, Massachusetts-based medical imaging and software developer, said it hired Brian Avants as senior director of machine learning. Invicro is owned by Japan’s Konica Minolta. Avants was an associate director at Biogen, which develops treatments for neurological diseases.
Capco, the Brabant, Belgium-based financial services consultancy, said Joanna Lewis was promoted to run its AI and data science business in Canada.
Appriss Retail, the Irvine, California-based retail industry analytical services provider, said it hired Christopher Hoffman as a senior program manager in its client services department. Hoffman, who previously worked at Bon-Ton department stores, will help the company build out AI offerings.
Other hires included Shaker, iQor, Slync, Gopher Protocol and Quantum Computing
DATA
The percentage of companies taking on VC funding using AI, or say they are, is rising across all categories, according to Silicon Valley Bank’s State of the Market Report.