Clarifai Raises $30 Million to Innovate Artificial Intelligence for Everyone

Clarifai has raised $30 million. The Series B round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from existing investors including Union Square Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures.

Clarifai, which uses machine learning to understand images and videos, has now raised a total of more than $41 million to date. The New York company says the funding will be used to expand its engineering and research teams and innovate artificial intelligence through new product releases.

“Clarifai was built upon the belief that everyone should have the power to use artificial intelligence, regardless of their budget, infrastructure or skill level, in order to improve their products and our quality of life,” said Clarifai CEO Matt Zeiler. “This new funding enables us to supercharge our innovation and continue our mission to create an AI platform that makes powerful AI tools available to the masses.”

“We’re at the beginning of a long, exciting, and impactful era of innovation using AI,” said Matt Murphy, Managing Director at Menlo Ventures. “Matt and his team are uniquely positioned to deliver on this vision and Menlo Ventures is thrilled to be backing them.”

This funding news comes on the heels of Clarifai’s latest product releases: Custom Training and Visual Search. Custom Training puts the power to train artificial intelligence into everyone’s hands, allowing anyone to “teach” Clarifai’s visual recognition API new concepts regardless of their technical ability. Visual Search allows users to organize, access, or recommend their images or products by visual similarity or keyword, enabling businesses to better connect their users with what they’re looking for.

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