Hailo, the Israel-based developer of an artificial intelligence processor, collected $60m yesterday in a series B round featuring industrial automation technology producer ABB and IT product manufacturer NEC Corporation.
The round was led by unnamed existing investors and included venture capital firm Latitude Ventures. ABB took part through its corporate venture capital subsidiary, ABB Technology Ventures.
Founded in 2017, Hailo has created a chip that can run deep learning applications on smart devices such as phones, drones and cameras, removing the need to upload data to the cloud for processing.
The technology was developed to increase both performance and privacy, while reducing costs and requiring less electricity. The funding has been allocated to the international rollout of Hailo’s chip as it seeks to enter additional markets and target additional industries.
Hiroto Sugahara, general manager of NEC’s corporate technology division, said: “Hailo’s technology is a leading-edge solution for high-performance, low power and cost-effective processing at the edge.
“Hailo’s technology will help us dive even deeper into the intelligent video analytics market. We are excited to be a strategic investor in the company and look forward to incorporating Hailo’s technology into our next generation edge-based products.”
The company has now received $88m in funding in total, it said. It closed a $21m series A round in January 2019 after Glory Ventures led an $8.5m extension that also featured undisclosed new and existing investors.
VC firms Maniv Mobility and Next Gear Ventures, equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd and assorted angel investors supplied $12.5m for a June 2018 first close. It is unclear from where the remaining $500,000 was invested.
Hailo had reportedly raised $3.5m ahead of its series A round and its earlier investors include startup accelerator Drive.
