Element AI, a Canadian artificial intelligence startup backed by one of the field’s leading scientists, raised $102 million in new funding as it seeks to assert itself in an industry quickly being taken over by internet giants such as Alphabet Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.
The Montreal-based company, which counts artificial intelligence pioneer Yoshua Bengio among its founders, received investments in the funding round from venture capital firm Data Collective, Microsoft Ventures, Intel Corp. and Nvidia Corp., among others. Element will use the cash to double its workforce to more than 200 by the end of the year and invest in other AI startups with the hopes of bringing their technology into its suite of offerings. The company declined to comment on its valuation.
