Cloud computing and software as a service company ServiceNow has announced that it will be acquiring Montreal-based startup Element AI, said ZDNet. This move is part of the company’s goal to grow its artificial intelligence technologies for its Now Platform.
ServiceNow seeks to use Element AI’s technology to create a global AI Innovation Hub in Canada. It also seeks to onboard talents that can help it establish its technology to focus on the Now Platform, an artificial intelligence solution for enterprises.
The company will use the startup’s technology to “to work smarter and faster, streamline business decisions, and unlock new levels of productivity.”
Element AI is a software provider that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to create IT services and solutions for enterprises. Its main clientele is organizations that are not considered to be under the tech industry.
This company was founded by machine learning pioneers such as Yoshua Bengio. It is funded by tech giants including Microsoft, Nvidia, Tencent, and Intel.
No financial details have been provided as of yet, according to ZDNet and Tech Crunch. However, Tech Crunch has sources who revealed that the acquisition for Element AI was $500 million. The company was valued at $600 to $700 million in September 2019.
If the reports are true, the report noted that this would be the biggest acquisition by ServiceNow. However, it would be a significant devaluation on the part of Element AI.
A ServiceNow spokesperson confirmed that it is making a full acquisition. It will also retain most of the startup’s talent such as artificial intelligence developers and practitioners including co-founder and CEO JF Gagne and co-founder Bengio as a technical supervisor.
ServiceNow’s Chief AI Officer Vijay Narayanan remarked, “With Element Ai’s powerful capabilities and world-class talent, ServiceNow will empower employees and customers to focus on areas where only humans excel – creative thinking, customer interactions, and 08unpredictable work.” Narayanan added that this will be a “smarter way to workflow.”
Meanwhile, Tech Crunch noted that the concept supported by Element AI “was always a very ambitious concept for a startup.” Bengio, who won the 2018 Turing Award, along with notable co-founders, aimed to build artificial intelligence services for businesses that are not tech firms.
This seeks to allow non-tech firms to use technology to grow and remain competitive. Moreover, technology continues to be a significant factor in the development and progress of almost all companies and industries.
