Element AI secured $151.4M in Series B Financing Round

Element AI, a global developer of the AI solutions, has secured $151.4 million in the Series B round of financing.

Founded in 2016, Montreal, Canada based Element AI is artificial intelligence startup that delivers AI-enabled softwares to help enterprises make intelligent decisions. Including the latest funding round, Element AI has raised a total of $258.2 Million in four funding rounds, according to CrunchBase.

Some of the new investors which include the CPDQ, McKinsey & Company, QuantumBlack, Gouvernement du Quebec, as well as some of the returning Series A investors including DCVC, BDC Capital, Real Ventures and many other brings the total amount of funding secures so far to $257 Million.

Executive Opinion

CEO, Element AI,  Jean-François (JF) Gagné, said, "Operationalizing AI is currently the industry's toughest challenge, and few companies have been successful at taking proofs-of-concept out of the lab, imbedding them strategically in their operations, and delivering actual business impact. We are proud to be working with our new partners, who understand this challenge well, and to leverage each other's expertise in taking AI solutions to market."

Charles Émond, EVP and Head of Québec Investments and Global Strategic Planning at la Caisse, said, "With this transaction, we are investing capital and expertise alongside partners who are ideally suited to transform Element AI into a company with a commercial focus that anticipates and creates AI products to address clients' needs. This transaction is part of the CDPQ-AI Fund recently created by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec to accelerate the commercialization of artificial intelligence solutions. Through this fund, la Caisse wants to actively contribute to build and strengthen Québec's global presence in artificial intelligence."

Element AI Fund Usages

Element AI plans to use the latest investment to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of solutions that meet the customers’ needs for the operationalization of AI while keeping on continuing to develop the AI products, the announcement notes.

The announcement also noted that McKinsey advanced analytics and AI arm, QuantumBlack opened its first Canadian office at Montreal. In 2015, McKinsey acquired QuantumBlack.

QuantumBlack, on behalf of McKinsey, will guide and lead the collaboration with Element AI, notes the announcement.