INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
AI training data provider Samasource has raised a $14.8 million Series A funding round led by Ridge Ventures.The San Francisco-headquartered
company delivers Fortune 100 companies with the inputs they need for machine learning development in fields including autonomous
transportation, e-commerce and communications and media
It does so with a global work force of data specialists, a large number of whom are located in East Africa.In addition to San Francisco, New
York and the Hague, Samasource has offices and teams in Kenya and Uganda
The company has a global staff of 2,900 and is the largest AI and data annotation employer in East Africa, according to CEO and founder
Leila Janah.As part of its Series A, Samasource plans to upgrade the features of its platform
It also opened an AI Development Center in Montreal, Canada and expanded its digital delivery center in Kampala, Uganda to serve its
The company generates revenue primarily through its machine learning data annotation and validation services.Samasource was originally
founded by Janah as a nonprofit in 2008
creating dignified technology work for people
We hire people from low-income backgrounds and offer them training in AI and machine learning
delivering high-quality training data
new tech workers in East Africa.As part of its Series A, Samasource increased staff in Kampala to 90 people and plans to grow that by 150%
