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Headquartered in Tel Aviv [1] Cortica utilizes unsupervised learning methods to recognize and analyze digital images and video. [2] [3] The technology developed by the Cortica team is based on research of the function of the human brain. [4] [5]
Cortica was founded in 2007 by Igal Raichelgauz, Karina Odinaev and Yehoshua Zeevi.[ citation needed ] Together, the founders developed the company’s core technology while at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. By combining discoveries in neuroscience with developments in computer programming, the team created technology that possesses the ability to interpret large amounts of visual data with increased accuracy. [6] This technology, called Image2Text, is based on the founders’ work in digitally replicating cortical neural networks’ ability to identify complex patterns within massive quantities of ambiguous and noisy data. [7]
Cortica’s offerings have application in the automotive industry, [8] media industries, [9] as well as the smart city and medical industries. [10] Industry experts suggest that the self-driving automotive industry alone will be worth upwards of $7 trillion [11] while each connected car is expected to generate 4,000 GB of data per day. [12] Beyond that, industry analysts expect the proliferation of surveillance cameras to continue leading to an expected 2,500 Petabytes of data being generated daily by new surveillance cameras. [13] Cortica operates in these high scale industries. [14]
The company currently employs professionals from many domains including AI researchers as well as veterans of intelligence units within the Israeli Defense Forces. [15]
In 2006, Founders Raichelgauz, Odinaev, and Zeevi shared their findings with the 28th IEEE EMBS Annual International Conference in New York in a paper titled, “Natural Signal Classification by Neural Cliques and Phase-Locked Attractors”. [16]
That same year, the team also published “Cliques in Neural Ensembles as Perception Carriers" [17]
CB Insights recently identified Cortica as the number one patent holder among AI companies. [18]
Cortica is researching to develop a machine-learning driving system which can identify objects and pedestrians. Connecting to it, Elon Musk has been rumored to partner with Cortica for his electric car company, Tesla. [19] However, Tesla denies it stating that Musk did not discuss a collaboration with artificial intelligence firm Cortica. [20]
Cortica raised $7 million in its Series A funding round, announced in August 2012. Investors included Horizons Ventures (the investment firm of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing), and Ynon Kreiz, the former chairman and CEO of the Endemol Group. [21] [22]
In May 2013, it was announced that Cortica had raised $1.5 million from Russian firm Mail.ru Group. [23] [24] It later transpired that this was a part of Cortica's Series B funding round for $6.4 million, announced in June 2013. The round was led by Horizons Ventures, with participation from the Russian firm Mail.ru Group and other angel investors. [25] [26] In its fourth funding round, Cortica has raised $20 million, bringing the total investments to $38 million. [27] According to a report from The Israeli lead Daily economic newspaper, TheMarker, the fourth round was led by a strategic Chinese investor who will probably help the company expand into the Asian market. [28]
GigaOm listed Cortica as one of the top deep learning startups in a November 2013 article surveying the field, along with AlchemyAPI, Ersatz, and Semantria. [29]
Business Insider ranked Cortica as one of the coolest tech companies in Israel. [30]
CB Insights has identified Cortica as the top patent holding AI company. [31]
In 2017 several leading automotive media outlets covered the launch of Cortica's automotive business unit [32] [33] [34] [35] [36]
Massimiliano Versace is the co-founder and the CEO of Neurala Inc, a Boston-based company building Artificial Intelligence emulating brain function in software and used in automating the process of visual inspection in manufacturing. He is also the founding Director of the Boston University Neuromorphics Lab. Massimiliano Versace is a Fulbright scholar and holds two PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Trieste, Italy and Cognitive and Neural Systems from Boston University, USA. He obtained his BSc from the University of Trieste, Italy.
Blumberg Capital is an early-stage venture capital firm that partners with entrepreneurs to innovate and build technology companies. The firm specializes in leading Seed and Series A rounds collaborating with angel investors, other venture capital firms and strategic partners. Blumberg Capital is headquartered in San Francisco with team members in Tel Aviv, Miami, and New York. Blumberg Capital was founded in 1991 by David J. Blumberg. The firm's investments typically range from $500,000 to $5-million with additional amounts reserved for follow-on funding.
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AlchemyAPI was a software company in the field of machine learning. Its technology employed deep learning for various applications in natural language processing, such as semantic text analysis and sentiment analysis, as well as computer vision. AlchemyAPI offered both traditionally-licensed software products as well API access under a Software as a service model. After acquisition by IBM in 2015, the products were integrated into the Watson line of products and the brand name eventually disappeared.
Brainly is an education company based in Kraków, Poland, with headquarters in New York City. It is an AI-powered homework help platform targeting students and parents. As of November 2020, Brainly reported having 15 million daily active users, making it the world's most popular education app. In 2024, FlexOS reported Brainly as the #1 Generative AI Tool in the education category and the #6 Generative AI Tool overall. Also in 2024, Andreessen Horowitz reported Brainly as #6 in the Top 50 Gen AI Mobile Apps by monthly active users.
OpenAI is an American artificial intelligence (AI) research organization founded in December 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its mission is to develop "safe and beneficial" artificial general intelligence (AGI), which it defines as "highly autonomous systems that outperform humans at most economically valuable work". As a leading organization in the ongoing AI boom, OpenAI is known for the GPT family of large language models, the DALL-E series of text-to-image models, and a text-to-video model named Sora. Its release of ChatGPT in November 2022 has been credited with catalyzing widespread interest in generative AI.
Playground Global is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in deep tech and assists startups with software, hardware, machine learning, marketing, talent and design. The company was founded in 2015 by Andy Rubin, Peter Barrett, Matt Hershenson and Bruce Leak. Playground offers startups support with engineering, distribution, manufacturing and financing in exchange for equity.
Ynon Kreiz is an Israeli-American businessman and current chairman and CEO of Mattel. He served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Kids Europe from 1997–2002, Chairman and CEO of television and digital production company Endemol from 2008 to 2011, and as chairman, CEO and president of web video network Maker Studios, Inc. from 2012 to 2016.
Image2Text technology was created by Cortica, an Israel-based startup whose technology simulates the performance of the human cortex so that computers recognize images with a high degree of accuracy. Image2Text is the result of 10 years in research and development and is protected by more than 50 patents.
Argo AI LLC was an autonomous driving technology company headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was co-founded in 2016 by Bryan Salesky and Peter Rander, veterans of the Google and Uber automated driving programs. Argo AI was an independent company that built software, hardware, maps, and cloud-support infrastructure to power self-driving vehicles. Argo was mostly backed by Ford Motor Co. (2017) and the Volkswagen Group (2020). At its peak, the company was valued at $7 billion.
Qualcomm Ventures is the investment arm of Qualcomm Incorporated. Founded in 2000, Qualcomm Ventures is a corporate venture capital fund with 140+ active portfolio companies. Investing in startups targeting the wireless ecosystem, the group focuses on investments in the sectors of automotive, data center and enterprise, digital health, Internet of Things (IoT), and mobile.
Viola Group, established in 2000, is an Israeli private equity investment group with over $5 billion under management. Viola Group is focused on funding Israeli technology-based companies.
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Pieter Abbeel is a professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences, Director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab, and co-director of the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the co-founder of Covariant, a venture-funded start-up that aims to teach robots new, complex skills, and co-founder of Gradescope, an online grading system that has been implemented in over 500 universities across the USA. He is best known for his cutting-edge research in robotics and machine learning, particularly in deep reinforcement learning. In 2021, he joined AIX Ventures as an Investment Partner. AIX Ventures is a venture capital fund that invests in artificial intelligence startups.
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