Skymind Raises $3 Million to Bring Its Java Deep Learning Library to the Masses
Skymind, a company focused on building an open-source deep learning library for Java, has successfully secured $3 million in funding. This investment round saw participation from prominent investors such as Tencent, SV Angel, GreatPoint Ventures, Mandra Capital, Hemi Ventures, and Y Combinator. Skymind’s journey began within Y Combinator’s Winter 2016 batch, and they have previously received funding from Joe Montana’s Liquid 2 Ventures and several other influential angel investors.
The company’s co-founder and CEO, Chris Nicholson, was inspired to start Skymind after witnessing the influx of deep learning researchers leaving academia for lucrative positions in large tech companies. This trend highlighted the growing scarcity of skilled AI talent and the need for solutions that enable companies to leverage existing resources for deep learning projects. With Java being the language of choice for 80% of the world’s programmers, Skymind embarked on the development of Deeplearning4j, a library designed to empower Java developers to contribute to AI advancements.
Nicholson likens Skymind to Red Hat, a company renowned for its open-source software offerings that have propelled it to a valuation exceeding $14 billion. He recognizes the increasing pressure on startups to embrace open-source models, as this strategy not only fosters competitiveness but also attracts top engineers. Skymind currently employs 15 individuals, with team members working remotely from Japan, South Korea, and Australia. A significant portion of these engineers have emerged from the Skymind open-source community, where they honed their skills while addressing challenges using the library.
While the company maintains a modest headquarters in San Francisco, its core operations extend beyond a traditional centralized model. Notable clients include Orange SA, a French telecom giant with a market cap of $42 billion, which leverages Skymind and its SKIL (Skymind Intelligence Layer) platform for deep learning projects. SKIL seamlessly bridges the gap between Skymind and existing tools like Hadoop.
Skymind’s appeal extends beyond large corporations, encompassing medium-sized companies in data-intensive industries such as finance and e-commerce. However, it’s worth noting that the company’s offerings are not targeted at the upper echelon of tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Baidu, who have invested heavily in their own proprietary open-source AI technologies. While Google’s TensorFlow, Amazon’s DSSTNE, and Baidu’s Paddle have gained traction in various external applications, they lack Java compatibility, a key differentiator for Skymind.
Skymind’s libraries have witnessed significant adoption, with 22,000 downloads recorded last month, showcasing a robust 17% monthly growth rate. Nicholson envisions future development efforts to include tools that empower data scientists, potentially encompassing packages designed to democratize access to reinforcement learning for existing businesses.
The funding round attracted a diverse range of investors, including Muse’s Matthew Bellamy, Hemi Ventures, JPush’s Chris Lo, Wei Guo, Rising Tide Fund, Ullas Naik’s Streamlined Ventures, Soma Capital, Lookout’s Kevin Mahaffey, GMO Venture Partners, FundersClub, S2 Capital, former Google search head Amit Singhal, and Google News creator Krishna Bharat.
