Clarifai Expands Beyond Computer Vision | Unstructured Data Management

Clarifai Expands AI Capabilities and Secures Series C Funding

Clarifai is dedicated to integrating artificial intelligence into the workflows of developers, business professionals, and data scientists.

Company Overview and Growth

Founded in 2013 by Matt Zeiler, the New York-based company initially concentrated on computer vision technologies.

Since completing a $30 million Series B funding round in 2016, Clarifai has consistently broadened its offerings.

New Functionalities and Products

The company now provides solutions for managing a company’s unstructured data, including images, videos, text, and audio files.

Recent additions encompass natural language processing, audio recognition, data scanning, and Scribe – an automated data labeling tool released last year.

Clarifai is also advancing its Edge AI capability, which applies AI processing directly to data streams using diverse local hardware, such as servers, cameras, and drones.

Further innovations are scheduled to be revealed at Perceive 2021, the company’s annual deep learning conference, on October 20.

$60 Million Series C Funding

To support this expansion, Clarifai announced a $60 million Series C funding round on Friday.

New Enterprise Associates led the round, with participation from existing investors including Menlo Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital, LDV Capital, Corazon Capital, and NYU Innovation Venture Fund.

New investors CPP Investments, Next Equity Partners, SineWave Ventures, and Trousdale Capital also contributed to the round, bringing the company’s total funding to $100 million.

Strategic Funding and Market Maturity

“We were able to operate efficiently and achieve significant revenue growth before seeking additional funding,” Zeiler explained to TechCrunch.

He highlighted the opportune moment for raising capital, driven by the need for a strong team to manage enterprise sales.

Initially, Clarifai focused on smaller businesses and individual users, but now it is securing contracts with Fortune 500 companies as the market matures.

The Value of Unstructured Data

Clarifai defines “unstructured data” as information that humans process easily, but computers struggle with – such as images, videos, and text.

Enterprises are increasingly recognizing the substantial value of this data, with up to 95% of a company’s data being unstructured, presenting “a significant opportunity” for Clarifai.

Partnership with Snowflake

Recognizing the growing enterprise demand, Clarifai pursued the Series C funding and established a partnership with Snowflake.

This integration connects Clarifai with Snowflake’s recently launched support for unstructured data.

“Snowflake has built a $100 billion business on structured data and is now expanding into unstructured data,” Zeiler noted.

“Customers utilizing Snowflake for data storage can unlock its potential with AI from Clarifai.”

Revenue Growth and Expansion Plans

Over the past year, Clarifai more than doubled its revenue and surpassed 130,000 users.

The Series C funding will enable Clarifai to expand its team of 100 employees, with plans to double its workforce by next year.

Investments will also be directed towards sales, marketing, and international expansion, including potential offices in Australia, India, and Turkey.

The company will continue to develop its Edge AI product, which has already secured its first commercial client.

Board Addition and Investor Perspective

Andrew Schoen, partner at NEA, has joined Clarifai’s board of directors as part of the investment.

Schoen had previously considered Clarifai too early for investment, as the initial focus in AI was on structured data.

“The AI landscape has evolved, and companies are now facing the challenge of leveraging their vast amounts of unstructured data,” he stated.

Democratizing AI and Machine Learning

Schoen believes Clarifai is simplifying and making AI and machine learning accessible to a wider audience.

The company’s early focus on unstructured data has positioned it as a leader in this emerging field.

He also highlighted the company’s recent revenue growth and positive business trajectory.

“Clarifai has transitioned from pushing the market to having companies actively seeking its solutions,” Schoen concluded.