Abacus.ai Raises $50M Series C for Computer Vision Expansion

Abacus.ai Secures $50 Million Series C Funding and Expands Platform Capabilities

Abacus.ai is focused on developing an artificial intelligence platform designed to streamline the creation of machine learning models, catering to both novice and experienced users. The company recently announced a successful $50 million Series C funding round.

Investment Details and Growth

Tiger Global spearheaded the investment, with significant participation from Coatue, Index Ventures, and Alkeon Capital. This latest funding brings the total raised by Abacus.ai to over $90 million in under 30 months. Prior to this, the company completed a $22 million Series A funding round last November.

A Comprehensive AI Platform

Bindu Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Abacus.ai, who previously held positions at Google and AWS, explains the company’s vision is to deliver a complete AI platform. “Our platform offers end-to-end AI/ML capabilities, distinguished by vertically integrated solutions tailored to common enterprise AI applications. These include areas such as customer churn reduction, lead scoring, and personalization,” Reddy stated.

The platform is designed to empower organizations lacking dedicated data science resources to construct machine learning models effectively. “Abacus provides all the essential components and modules found in a standard AI platform like SageMaker, but specifically optimized for each use case,” she added.

AutoML and Model Flexibility

The platform’s workflow involves selecting a specific vertical and providing a dataset, allowing Abacus to automatically build a suitable model. This functionality is often referred to as AutoML. Organizations with existing data science teams and pre-built models can integrate those instead, providing a flexible experience aligned with their specific needs.

Competitive Landscape

This approach positions Abacus.ai as a competitor to major cloud providers and startups like DataRobot, a Boston-based AutoML company that has secured $1 billion in funding. Reddy believes Abacus has simplified the model production process more effectively than the larger cloud companies. While acknowledging DataRobot as a competitor, she emphasizes the value of Abacus’s vertical solutions as a key differentiator.

Expansion into Computer Vision

Abacus.ai has expanded its platform to include computer vision applications. The company announced new computer vision use cases, encompassing image detection, classification, and segmentation.

Team Growth and Diversity Initiatives

Founded in 2019, Abacus.ai currently employs 45 individuals. The new funding will facilitate a doubling of the workforce by the end of the year. Reddy highlights the importance of building a diverse team and actively encourages women in STEM fields.

The company offers an internship program specifically for high school girls, aiming to demonstrate the exciting opportunities within STEM. Reddy intends to expand this program, recognizing the need to attract more women to the industry. “We need to significantly increase the pool of female talent, as many women are discouraged by environments dominated by men,” she explained.

“We actively recruit women PhDs for our research science department, ensuring that we encourage and support women researchers in the AI space,” she continued.

Platform Adoption and Customer Success

The Abacus.ai platform is gaining traction, with 10,000 users who have collectively created over 30,000 models. While specific customer numbers were not disclosed, companies such as 1-800-Flowers, Flex, and Recorded Books are currently utilizing models built on the Abacus platform in production environments.

• Key Takeaway: Abacus.ai is simplifying machine learning model creation for businesses of all sizes.
• Focus: The platform emphasizes vertically integrated solutions for common enterprise AI use cases.
• Growth: The $50 million Series C funding will fuel expansion and team growth.