Isreal-based tech startup Iguazio scores $24M to accelerate growth and expand global penetration of its data science platform

The demand for AI applications is on the rise. According to Gartner, AI augmentation alone will create $2.9 trillion of business value in 2021. However, there are still many challenges in deploying AI solutions in an effective and scalable way. An estimated 87% of data science models which have shown great promise in the lab never make it to production. This is due to the challenges of transforming a great AI model, which is functional in lab conditions, to a fully operational AI application that can deliver business impact at scale and in real time.

Enter Iguazio, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based tech startup and a provider of a data science platform that accelerates the development and deployment of AI applications, enabling data scientists to focus on delivering better, more accurate and more powerful solutions instead of spending most of their time on infrastructure. Iguazio solves this problem and brings data science to life for enterprises worldwide.

Today, Iguazio announced it has closed $24 million of funding to accelerate growth and expand the reach of its data science platform to new global markets. The round was led by INCapital Ventures, with participation from existing and new investors, including Pitango, Verizon Ventures, Magma Venture Partners, Samsung SDS, Kensington Capital Partners, Plaza Ventures and Silverton Capital Ventures.

Iguazio was founded in 2014 by Asaf Somekh, Orit Nissan-Messing, Yaron Haviv, and Yaron Segev. The startup provides a data science platform to automate machine learning pipelines. The Iguazio Data Science Platform enables enterprises to develop, deploy and manage AI applications at scale. With Iguazio, companies can run AI projects in real time, deploy them anywhere; multi-cloud, on-prem or edge, and bring to life their most ambitious data-driven strategies.

The Iguazio data science platform helps data scientists create real-time AI applications while working within the familiar machine learning stack they know and love. The platform has been deployed by enterprises spanning a variety of verticals, including financial services and telecommunications. It is being used for a multitude of real-time use cases, such as self-healing networks, ride-hailing optimization, logistics optimization, and real-time recommendations. By way of example, Iguazio announced today that Payoneer, the global digital payment platform, has deployed the platform to predict and prevent fraud with real-time machine learning.

“Iguazio’s unique technology facilitates the data science creation process from start to finish, enabling enterprises to deploy AI applications that create real business impact,” said Tom Kennedy, Chairman of Kensington Capital Partners. “With the opportunities we are seeing for machine learning technology and the global success stories emerging from this high-tech nation, Iguazio represents a great first investment for Kensington in an Israeli company.”

“This is a pivotal time for AI. Our platform helps data scientists push the limits of their real-time AI applications and see their impact in real business environments,” said Asaf Somekh, co-founder and CEO of Iguazio. “With support from INCapital, Kensington Capital Partners, and our other investors, we are ready to expand our international team and reach our ambitious goals.”