Element AI explained

Element AI
Type:Private
Industry:Artificial intelligence
Hq Location City:Montreal
Hq Location Country:Canada
Parent:ServiceNow

Element AI was an artificial intelligence company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.[1] [2] It was funded by the Government of Canada for CAD$5 million, and raised US$102 million independently, before being acquired by ServiceNow. Prior to its acquisition, it had collaborated with Amnesty International, Twitter, Singapore Management University, the Port of Montreal, LG Electronics, and others to release several studies.

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.[3] [4] In early 2017, the company acquired the entire team of[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.[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 900 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 had partnerships with GIC, Singapore Management University, the Port of Montreal, LG Electronics, among others.[13] [14] At the Port of Montreal, Element AI was working to predict how long trucks will wait to drop off or pick up goods at the port.

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 US $230 million.[20] [21]

Notes and References

  1. News: Can This Startup Break Big Tech's Hold on A.I.?. Fortune. January 27, 2019.
  2. AI Pioneer Yoshua Bengio Is Launching Element.AI, a Deep-Learning Incubator. Metz. Cade. October 26, 2016. Wired. February 1, 2019.
  3. News: Montreal's Element AI gets record $102 million boost from U.S. investors. Marotte. Bertrand. June 14, 2017. Montreal Gazette. February 1, 2019.
  4. Web site: Global AI Software Provider - Element AI. Element AI. January 27, 2019.
  5. Web site: 2017-02-17. Element AI acquires MLDB.ai open source machine learning database BetaKit. 2020-12-23. en-CA.
  6. News: Element AI Raises $102 Million as New Learning Model Sparks Interest. The Wall Street Journal. January 27, 2019.
  7. News: Element AI, a platform for companies to build AI solutions, raises $102M. TechCrunch. January 27, 2019.
  8. News: Revolution AI: Why everyone wants in to Montreal's deep-learning hub. Financial Post. January 27, 2019.
  9. News: Element AI receives $5 million loan from the Canadian government. BetaKit. January 27, 2019.
  10. Canada, France Plan Global Panel to Study the Effects of AI. Wired. January 27, 2019.
  11. News: Element AI partners with Amnesty International to study online abuse. Montreal Gazette. January 27, 2019.
  12. Twitter Is Indeed Toxic for Women, Amnesty Report Says. Wired. January 27, 2019.
  13. News: Element AI partnering with Singapore companies to accelerate product development. BetaKit. January 27, 2019.
  14. News: LG, Element AI Plan to Detail AI in Consumer Devices. Wall Street Journal. January 6, 2020.
  15. News: Element AI announces first product for the insurance market. Hotchkiss. Caitlin. September 23, 2019. Betakit. December 6, 2019.
  16. Web site: Element AI for Insurance. Element AI. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191206210233/https://www.elementai.com/industries/insurance. December 6, 2019. December 6, 2019.
  17. News: Element AI launches newest standalone product, turning data into actionable insights. Kirkwood. Isabelle. December 3, 2019. Betakit. December 6, 2019.
  18. News: ServiceNow is acquiring Element AI, the Canadian startup building AI services for enterprises. Silcoff. Sean. November 30, 2020. TechCrunch. November 30, 2020.
  19. News: Once touted as a technology world-beater, Montreal's Element AI sells out to Silicon Valley giant. Lunden. Ingrid. November 30, 2020. The Globe And Mail. November 30, 2020.
  20. News: Element AI sold for $230-million as founders saw value mostly wiped out, document reveals. The Globe and Mail. 2020-12-19.
  21. News: Element AI hands out pink slips hours after announcement of sale to U.S.-based ServiceNow. The Globe and Mail. 2020-12-19.

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