Investors Fund AI Pioneer’s Start-Up

The founder of Google Brain, Andrew Ng raised $57 million for his start-up, Landing AI. Investors include Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

The Company

Andrew Ng founded Landing AI in 2017. The company launched a software platform, LandingLens, that lets manufacturers create their own AI systems for detecting product defects. It also aims to address the technical challenges that come with developing AI apps.

According to Ng, AI is surrounded by a lot of hype but is not as widely deployed as the media presents it to be. He claims that there are numerous manufacturing use cases that can benefit from machine learning. 

The start-up aims to help the auto and electronics industries. Furthermore, it plans to integrate tech in the healthcare sector.

Currently, most people use AI for research, content generation, advertising, education, etc. It also seems to be gaining momentum - the number of AI startups grew 14 times over the last two decades.

The Investors

LandingAI’s investors include, but are not limited to Intel Capital, Samsung Catalyst Fund, Insight Partners, and also the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board.

The managing director at Insight Partners, George Mathew said: “The opportunity and need for Landing AI is only exploding. It will unlock the untapped segment of targeted machine vision projects addressing quality, efficiency, and output. We’re looking forward to playing a role in the next phase of Landing AI’s exciting journey.”

Ng plans to use the money to double his team from 75 workers to around 150. In addition, he wants to reach new customers and “make everything go faster.”