Skymind Global Ventures (SGV) appeared last year in Asia\/US as a vehicle for the previous founders of a YC-backed open-source AI platform to invest in companies that used the platform.<\/p>\n
Today it announces the launch of an $800 million fund to back promising new AI companies and academic research. It will consequently be opening a London office as an extension to its original Hong Kong base.<\/p>\n
SGV Founder and CEO Shawn Tan said in a statement: Having our operations in the UK capital is a strategic move for us. London has all the key factors to help us grow our business, such as access to diverse talent and investment, favorable regulation, and a strong and well-established technology hub. The city is also the AI growth capital of Europe with the added competitive advantage of boasting a global friendly time zone that overlaps with business hours in Asia, Europe and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
SGV will use its London base to back research and development and generate business opportunities across Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
The company helps companies and organizations to launch their AI applications by providing them supported access to Eclipse Deeplearning4j, an open-source AI tool.<\/p>\n
The background is that the Deeplearning4j tool was originally published by Adam Gibson in late 2013 and later became a YC-backed startup, called Pathmind, which was cofounded to commercialize Deeplearning4j. It later changed its name to Skymind.<\/p>\n
SGV is a wholly separate investment company that Adam Gibson joined as VP to run its AI division, called Konduit. Konduit now commercializes the Deeplearning4j open source tools.<\/p>\n
Adam Gibson now joins SGV as Vice President, to run its software division, Konduit, which delivers and supports Eclipse Deeplearning4j to clients, as well as offering training development.<\/p>\n
SGV firm says it plans to train up to 200 AI professionals for its operations in London and Europe.<\/p>\n
In December last year Skymind AI Berhad, the Southeast Asia arm of Skymind and Huawei Technologies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop a Cloud and Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hub, commencing with Malaysia and Indonesia in 2020.<\/p>\n
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Skymind Global Ventures launches $800M fund and London office to back AI startups - TechCrunch<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Skymind Global Ventures (SGV) appeared last year in Asia\/US as a vehicle for the previous founders of a YC-backed open-source AI platform to invest in companies that used the platform. Today it announces the launch of an $800 million fund to back promising new AI companies and academic research. It will consequently be opening a London office as an extension to its original Hong Kong base Continue reading