DefinedCrowd, a US-based provider of machine learning development tools, has received $50.5m in series B funding from investors including energy utility EDP and paper, pulp and cement holding producer Semapa.
The round also featured Hermes GPE, an investment firm backed by asset manager Hermes, as well as IronFire Ventures, Evolution Equity Partners, Portugal Ventures, Kibo Ventures and Bynd Venture Capital, while EDP and Semapa took part through EDP Ventures and Semapa Next respectively.
Founded in 2015, DefinedCrowd uses a combination of machine learning algorithms and human experts to provide specialist datasets that assist with the development of artificial intelligence products.
The service supports a range of automated technologies, including computer vision, and can either be accessed through a cloud-based portal or integrated within a customer’s internal software.
The series B proceeds will go toward developing new subscription-based products as DefinedCrowd looks to expand internationally. It also plans to double headcount and launch new research and development facilities this year.
Evolution Equity Partners led DefinedCrowd’s $11.8m series A round in mid-2018, investing with EDP, e-commerce and cloud services company Amazon’s Alexa Fund, payment services firm Mastercard and Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, part of electronics producer Sony.
Kibo Ventures, Portugal Ventures and Busy Angels also contributed to the series A round, which followed $1.1m of seed funding from Portugal Ventures, angel syndicate SWAN and Bynd Venture Capital, then known as Busy Angels, in 2016.