SparkCognition Announces $100M Series C Round

SparkCognition, a global artificial intelligence (AI) leader that builds AI technology to advance the most important interests of society, announced the close of its Series C funding of $100 million led by March Capital Partners. With overall funding of $175 million since its inception in 2013, SparkCognition is now one of the most valuable startups in Texas and one of the most valuable AI startups in the United States.

"In a short few years, SparkCognition has proven itself to be one of the leading industrial AI companies in the world," said Sumant Mandal, Managing Director and co-founder of March Capital Partners. "We are proud to lead their Series C round, and look forward to working closely with the company to drive its success even further."

SparkCognition builds AI technology for industrial applications-revolutionizing the way industries like oil and gas, defense, utilities, aviation, and financial services manage such critical functions as efficiency and safety. SparkCognition has partnerships and engagements with top companies across multiple industries, including The Boeing Company, Hitachi High-Technologies, Aker BP, and many others. The company recently partnered with Boeing to form SkyGrid, a joint venture focused on delivering unmanned aircraft system traffic management solutions through the use of AI and blockchain technologies.

New investors participating in the Series C close included March Capital and Temasek along with:

Kerogen Digital Solutions (KDS)
Hearst Ventures
Dalus Capital
Former CEO & Chairman of The Dow Chemical Company, Andrew Liveris
Sustainable Technology Ventures
Blue Horizon ex Ventures
Paul & Ann-Kristin Achleitner
Founders Equity Partners
Richard and Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux
Former Australian Prime Minister & former managing director of Goldman Sachs Australia, Malcolm Turnbull

Existing investors who participated in the round included:

The Boeing Company through its Boeing HorizonX unit
Former CEO and Chairman Emeritus of Cisco and current founder and CEO of JC2 Ventures, John Chambers
Former President of Goldman Sachs, John Thornton
MSD Capital, the private investment fund of Michael S. Dell and family
Former EVP and Chief Development Officer of Cisco, Pankaj Patel
Alameda Ventures

"SparkCognition's cutting-edge technology has enabled it to solve some of the toughest problems in the world," said Brian Schettler, Managing Director at Boeing HorizonX Ventures. "The company has seen incredible growth, and we at HorizonX are happy to continue our support of SparkCognition's mission."

Since its launch in 2013, SparkCognition has established itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence solutions. With a special interest in advancing the science of artificial intelligence, SparkCognition has produced research papers that are recognized by top conferences in the field such as GECCO, and published a collection of essays that addresses the current and future role of AI in warfare entitled "Hyperwar: Conflict and Competition in the AI Century." The company has also been ranked among the top 10 companies for patent applications on CB Insights AI 100 list.

"It is very rewarding to gain such distinguished investors who see our long-term commitment to building the future and have chosen to join us on this path," said Amir Husain, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SparkCognition. "I am very grateful for the company's success thus far and look forward to accelerating our mission with the support of our investors."

SparkCognition currently deploys four main products across multiple industries; the DarwinTM automated model building product, the DeepArmor�®️ AI-built cybersecurity solution, the SparkPredict�®️ analytics solution, and the DeepNLPTM natural language processing solution. These products are deployed on major assets such as combustion turbines, unlock insights and make predictions based on historical maintenance data and logs, and protect companies from even the most advanced cyber threats.

In addition to its technology development and research, SparkCognition has invested heavily in AI thought leadership, including its in-house magazine, Cognitive Times, and its annual AI and future tech summit, Time Machine. Time Machine 2019 brings together leaders from various industries who are building and deploying technology to shape the future. Agenda, speakers, and registration for the two-day summit, November 13 and 14 in Austin, Texas, can be found at www.timemachine.ai.

About SparkCognition:

With award-winning machine learning technology, a multinational footprint, and expert teams focused on defense, IIoT, and finance, SparkCognition builds artificial intelligence systems to advance the most important interests of society. Our customers are trusted with protecting and advancing lives, infrastructure, and financial systems across the globe. They turn to SparkCognition to help them analyze complex data, empower decision-making, and transform human and industrial productivity. SparkCognition offers four main products: Darwin, DeepArmor, SparkPredict, and DeepNLP. With our leading-edge artificial intelligence platforms, our clients can adapt to a rapidly changing digital landscape and accelerate their business strategies. Learn more about SparkCognition's AI applications and why we've been featured in CNBC's 2017 Disruptor 50, and recognized three years in a row on CB Insights AI 100, by visiting www.sparkcognition.com.