Qualtrics waits on that IPO, raises $180 million at a $2.5 billion valuation instead

 That Qualtrics IPO many have been expecting is on hold for now. The online market research platform has just raised its third round for $180 million at a whopping $2.5 billion valuation.
The Provo, Utah-based company came from much humbler beginnings, bootstrapping the operation for a decade before finally taking financing from Sequoia and Accel in 2012. It has blown up since then, hitting… Read More Continue reading Qualtrics waits on that IPO, raises $180 million at a $2.5 billion valuation instead

Is Qualtrics about to go public? A chat with founder Ryan Smith on the IPO question

 Qualtrics, an online survey research platform, is listed as tops among likely candidates to go public this year. But is it really going to file and, if so, how close is it to doing that? I’m betting yes and very soon based on some interesting answers in a recent interview with founder Ryan Smith. Read More Continue reading Is Qualtrics about to go public? A chat with founder Ryan Smith on the IPO question

Pluto AI raises $2.1 million to bring intelligence to water treatment

 Former 500 Startups accelerator company Pluto AI is announcing $2.1 million in fundraising today from Fall Line Capital, Refactor Capital, Unshackled Ventures, Comet Labs and additional angels. Pluto is taking advantage of the sensorification of modern water treatment plants to extrapolate insights that can save operators precious time, money and water. The Pluto analytics… Read More Continue reading Pluto AI raises $2.1 million to bring intelligence to water treatment

SirionLabs establishes US foothold to scale its NLP contract management software

 SirionLabs, a startup providing vendor management software to enterprises, is adding a US headquarters to its footprint. The company was initially founded in India and has raised $16.95 million from Sequoia Capital India, Canopy Ventures and Qualgro VC to extract data from contracts to ensure transparency and accountability. The establishment of a US presence represents a strategic shift… Read More Continue reading SirionLabs establishes US foothold to scale its NLP contract management software

Galvanize will teach students how to use IBM Watson APIs with new machine learning course

 As part of IBM’s annual InterConnect conference in Las Vegas, the company is announcing a new machine learning course in partnership with workspace and education provider Galvanize to familiarize students with IBM’s suite of Watson APIs. These APIs simplify the process of building tools that rely on language, speech and vision analysis. Going by the admittedly clunky name IBM… Read More Continue reading Galvanize will teach students how to use IBM Watson APIs with new machine learning course

New York-based Yext files for IPO

 Yext, the company that powers location data in search results, has revealed its IPO filing. The business will be able to join the stock market as soon as April. The offering is said to raise $100 million, but that number is subject to change. We will get more of an indication in the coming weeks about how Yext plans to price its shares. With clients like Best Buy, McDonalds and Marriott,… Read More Continue reading New York-based Yext files for IPO

Google partners with VCs to host its own machine learning startup competition

 On the heels of acquiring data science community Kaggle, Google is launching a machine learning competition of its own for startups. Google is targeting early-stage companies taking an innovative approach to machine learning. The competition is b… Continue reading Google partners with VCs to host its own machine learning startup competition

Ozlo releases a suite of APIs to power your next conversational AI

Illustration of laptop connected to bookshelf Building on its promise to give the entrenched a run for their money, conversational AI startup Ozlo is making its meticulously crafted knowledge layer available for purchase today. Ozlo’s new suite of APIs that includes tools for both expressing knowledge and understanding language will help to democratize the creation of conversational AI assistants. In the spirit of the expert systems… Read More Continue reading Ozlo releases a suite of APIs to power your next conversational AI

Workfit raises $5.5 million seed round to be your AI meeting assistant

Businessman leaning on conference room table and talking to co-workers at business meeting Conversational AI is pushing deeper into enterprise with Workfit, a new startup promising to make conference call follow-ups and mid-meeting CRM updates as easy as playing a song or checking the weather on Google Home or Amazon Echo. Battery Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Salesforce Ventures and a number of angels joined together to finance a $5.5 million seed investment in the… Read More Continue reading Workfit raises $5.5 million seed round to be your AI meeting assistant

TellusLabs wants to help us better understand our planet

cascades-and-agriculture-aug-2016 If you’ve spent time following companies like Orbital Insight and Descartes Labs, you might assume the geospatial analytics race has been won. But TellusLabs thinks, on the contrary, that the table hasn’t even started to cool. Armed with $3 million in new seed funding from IA Ventures and an investor group including Hyperplane VC, FounderCollective and Project11, the… Read More Continue reading TellusLabs wants to help us better understand our planet