Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting and transformative opportunities of our time. From my vantage point as a venture investor at Playfair Capital, where I focus on investing and building community around AI, I see this as a great time for investors to help build companies in this space. There are three key reasons.
Osaro, an early-stage artificial intelligence startup, is announcing today a new seed round totaling $3.3 million. The startup is boasting a few high-profile investors: Peter Thiel, Scott Banister, and AME Cloud Ventures.
During which season of the year would a rabbit’s fur be thickest? A computer program called Aristo can tell you because it read about bears growing thicker pelts during winter in a fourth grade study guide, and knows rabbits are mammals, too. It’s studying for New York State’s standard science exams.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is an idea that has oscillated through many hype cycles over many years, as scientists and sci-fi visionaries have declared the imminent arrival of thinking machines. But it seems we’re now at an actual tipping point. AI, expert systems, and business intelligence have been with us for decades, but this time the reality almost matches the rhetoric, driven by the exponential growth in technology capabilities (e.g., Moore’s Law), smarter analytics engines, and the surge in data.
La proliferación de cámaras de vídeo y la posibilidad de utilizarlas en combinación con diferentes sensores y elementos geolocalizadores vía GPS mediante un software “inteligente” apropiado abren la puerta al desarrollo de un negocio de gran potencial en ámbitos relacionados con la seguridad en sistemas de transporte o procesos de fabricación industriales, y especialmente en el sector ferroviario.
The holy grail of artificial intelligence—creating software that comes close to mimicking human intelligence—remains far off. But 2014 saw major strides in machine learning software that can gain abilities from experience. Companies in sectors from biotech to computing turned to these new techniques to solve tough problems or develop new products.
The most striking research results in AI came from the field of deep learning, which involves using crude simulated neurons to process data.
Funding to artificial intelligence-related companies has nearly tripled over the past five years. Tech heavyweights including Google and Facebook are looking to AI to help understand and learn from the ever-increasing number of images, text, and videos circulating the web.
In the hope of turning the promise of artificial intelligence into reality, venture investors are betting on an increasing number of startups either heavily leveraging or developing and researching AI-related technologies. AI funded companies cover a wide range with everything from machine learning algorithms and deep learning to computer vision (facial and object recognition) and affective computing.
