Element AI raises CAD 200m in Series B funding round
Canada-based AI developer Element AI has raised CAD 200 million ($151.4 million) which it says will accelerate the time to launch of its latest products in development.
New investors Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), McKinsey & Company, Gouvernement du Québec and QuantumBlack’s owner joined returning Series A investors Data Collective (DCVC), Hanwha Asset Management, Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), Real Ventures and others.
This investment by CDPQ is part of its AI Fund
Element AI has raised CAD 340 million ($257 million) in total so far.
“Operational AI is currently the industry’s toughest challenge, and few companies have been successful at taking proofs-of-concept out of the lab, embedding them strategically in their operations, and delivering actual business impact,” says Element AI’s CEO Jean-François Gagné.
For investor McKinsey, investing in Element AI is all about helping McKinsey’s own clients further unlock the potential of AI and machine learning to improve business performance.
Nine months ago, the investor’s advanced analytics and AI arm QuantumBlack launched its first Canadian office in Montreal.
McKinsey’s reasoning resonated with other investors’ motive for buying into the company. Head of Québec investments and global strategic planning at la Caisse, Charles Émond , wants “to transform Element AI into a company with a commercial focus that anticipates and creates AI products to address clients’ needs.”
This investment by CDPQ is part of its AI Fund recently designed to accelerate the commercialisation of AI solutions “strengthen Québec’s global presence in artificial intelligence,” says Émond.
