Contextual AI, a company specialising in tools that boost the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) models, has closed an $80m Series A funding round.
The funding round led by previous investors such as Greycroft and Bain Capital Ventures, alongside Lightspeed, Lip-Bu Tan, Conviction/Sarah Guo, and Recall Capital.
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New investors including Bezos Expeditions, NVentures (NVIDIA), HSBC Ventures, and Snowflake Ventures also contributed to the round.
According to Reuters, Douwe Kiela, the CEO of Contextual AI, formerly led a team at Meta that developed a method called retrieval augmented generation (RAG).
RAG improves AI models by integrating curated data, resulting in more precise and current outputs.
US-based Contextual AI emphasises the importance of contextualising language models within a larger framework to deliver effective enterprise solutions.
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By GlobalDataCurrent artificial general intelligence (AGI) efforts often focus on consumer products with generalist capabilities, whereas enterprises have specific needs, the startup said, adding that in enterprise settings, specialised solutions are generally more effective than one-size-fits-all AGI.
Contextual AI has developed contextual language models (CLMs) using its RAG 2.0 technique.
These CLMs form the backbone of the Contextual AI platform, offering applications that are claimed to be more accurate and well-grounded compared to basic RAG implementations.
The company intends to use fresh capital to scale its operations, accelerate go-to-market strategy, and respond to the growing enterprise demand for AI solutions.
Contextual AI is currently working selectively with companies in the finance, technology, and media sectors, with HSBC and Qualcomm among its clients.
Greycroft partner Marcie Vu said: “We are thrilled to deepen our partnership with Contextual AI and founders Douwe and Amanpreet to seize a generational market opportunity.
“When Greycroft invested in their seed financing, we foresaw the potential of RAG technology to revolutionise AI in the enterprise. CEO Douwe Kiela, who pioneered RAG at Meta in 2020, and his team have since garnered recognition from customers and top talent for their unparalleled expertise.”
