US cloud AI platform H20.ai raises $100m in Series E round

Cloud-based artificial intelligence (AI) provider H20.ai has secured $100 million in a Series E funding round, valuing the company at $1.7 billion.

H20.ai founder and CEO, Sri Ambati

The round, led by customer Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), saw participation from Pivot Investment Partners, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Crane Venture Partners.

Existing investors Wells Fargo, New York Life and NVIDIA were also involved

The new capital means California-based H20.ai has now raised over $250 million to date.

The firm says the cash will go towards scaling its partnerships and expanding its sales and marketing teams across the globe.

CBA’s chief data and analytics officer, Andrew McMullan, will join the H2O.ai board of directors as part of a strategic partnership.

H20.ai founder and CEO Sri Ambati says his firm’s tech can help make companies into AI “superpowers”.

He adds the deal will “unleash the juggernaut” of AI and will “further democratise AI with trust and freedom.”

CBA CEO, Matt Comyn, says AI has helped Commonwealth Bank process and make decisions based on millions of data points collected every day.

“The investment in and strategic partnership with H2O.ai […] boosts the bank’s ability to offer leading digital propositions and reimagine products and services to customers.”