Former IBM Watson Leader Raises $60M for AI Startup Elemental Cognition
Prominent artificial intelligence researcher David Ferrucci, who led the team behind IBM Watson, has successfully secured nearly $60 million in funding for his AI startup, Elemental Cognition. The substantial investment was disclosed in a regulatory filing and involved the sale of equity shares to 17 different investors, with plans to raise an additional $5.75 million in the near future.
Elemental Cognition, headquartered in New York’s historic Helmsley Building, aims to develop advanced AI technology that possesses the capability to think intelligently before communicating. The company currently offers two enterprise products, Cogent and Cora, which serve as customized chatbots geared towards various scenarios. These chatbots can be utilized in financial services, interactive travel planning, and automating research discovery in life sciences.
David Ferrucci led the IBM Watson team from 2006 to 2012, spearheading the breakthrough AI system that famously triumphed on the game show Jeopardy! Following his involvement with IBM Watson, Ferrucci directed AI research at Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds globally. Armed with a Ph.D. in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Ferrucci is now the CEO and founder of Elemental Cognition.
Joining Ferrucci at Elemental Cognition is David Shepler, the company’s operating chief, who is a former high-ranking executive from Bridgewater Associates and IBM. The leadership team also includes vice presidents Eric Brown and Mike Barborak, both of whom boast extensive experience working with IBM.
Notable figures within the tech and investment industries have also backed Elemental Cognition. Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital and an early investor in Facebook, is listed as an investor and advisor on Elemental’s page. Former IBM CEO Sam Palmisano, Greg Jensen (Bridgewater’s co-chief investment officer), and Geoff Yang from Redpoint Ventures are also among the influential group of supporters.
The AI startup landscape has been booming as investors flock to capitalize on the hype surrounding OpenAI’s ChatGPT, a revolutionary AI chatbot released in late 2022. While Elemental Cognition’s website does not prominently feature generative AI, the company’s LinkedIn page reveals its commitment to delivering a revolutionary Generative AI platform equipped with superior natural language understanding. This platform promises expert problem-solving intelligence and transformative applications in research and discovery.
Elemental differentiates itself with its hybrid AI platform, which combines large language models (LLMs) with an AI-powered reasoning engine. Unlike ChatGPT, Elemental’s approach ensures responses adhere to predefined constraints and guidelines, enabling more controlled and accurate communication.
IBM Watson, despite being an early frontrunner in the AI field, failed to achieve profitability. In January 2021, IBM sold its Watson Health unit to private equity firm Francisco Partners for an undisclosed amount. Recently, IBM unveiled WatsonX, a development studio catering to companies seeking to train, fine-tune, and deploy machine learning models.
With its secured funding and strong leadership team, Elemental Cognition appears poised to make significant strides in the AI industry, continuing the momentum sparked by its esteemed founder David Ferrucci.
