INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Allen Institute for AI (AI2) started its incubator two years ago, helping launch companies like Xnor.ai, Blue Canoe and WellSaidLabs
Their success has attracted funding from not just local Seattle VC outfit Madrona, but Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins and Two Sigma Ventures as
well, resulting in a new $10 million fund that should help keep the lights on.The AI2 Incubator, led by Jacob Colker since its inception in
2017, has focused on launching a handful of companies every year that in some way leverage a serious AI advantage
Blue Canoe, for instance, does natural language processing with a focus on accent modification; Xnor.ai is working on ultra-low-power
generation of so-called AI-first companies are going to have to graduate into building long-term, successful businesses that start with an
startup community, anyhow) Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins, and Two Sigma Ventures from New York
Seattle-based Madrona also recently invested in AI2 company Lexion
Indeed, Seattle has over the last few years blossomed into a haven for AI research, with many major tech companies establishing or expanding
satellite offices here at least partly concerned with the topic: Apple, Google, Nvidia and Facebook among others, and, of course, local
standbys Amazon, Microsoft and Adobe.Practically speaking, the new fund will let the incubator continue on its current path, but with a bit
That means they have a lot more time to build out their team, aggregate training data, test their models, all these points that are
publishing pretty much everything publicly in order to spur the field onwards
Access to these big brains, many of which have bred successful startups of their own, is no less a draw than the possibility of more general
the brain power of a hundred PhDs and support staff
