Algorithmia, the US-based operator of an algorithm network for app developers closed a $10.5m series A round on Friday led by internet technology provider Google’s newly formed artificial intelligence (AI) fund.
Rakuten Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of e-commerce firm Rakuten, also participated in the round, as did Madrona Venture Group, Osage University Partners and Work-Bench.
Algorithmia has put together an online community that contributes algorithms that help developers build smarter, machine learning technology-equipped apps.
There are more than 3,500 algorithmic microservices available through the platform, and Algorithmia intends to build up that number by increasing the number of universities that interact with the network.
The round represents the first disclosed investment by the Google fund, which is focused on AI and machine learning technology, but which has not revealed its name. Anna Patterson, Google’s vice-president of engineering, is leading the fund.
Patterson told TechCrunch: “We were impressed with Algorithmia’s engineering capabilities and community promise. They have built a secure and scalable marketplace for AI models that allows developers to openly collaborate.”
Algorithmia had previously raised $2.4m in a 2014 seed round led by Madrona Venture Group and backed by Rakuten Ventures, Deep Fork Capital and angel investors Oren Etzioni and Charles Fitzgerald.