Neurala announced closure of a $14-million deal for Series A funding toward its Neurala Brain software used in deep-learning neural networks. The capital was raised to accelerate servicing to Neurala’s growing customer base and to develop more ways to integrate the software into more applications like autonomous cars, drones, interactive toys, and smart products that need to use deep learning to identify features in their environment.
The investment is led by Pelion Venture Partners, with participation from Sherpa Capital, Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, 360 Capital Partners, Draper Associates Investments, SK Ventures, and Idinvest Partners through its Electranova Capital II Fund and in partnership with Ecomobility Ventures. Both 360 Capital Partners and Draper Associates also provided seed funding.
Neurala’s Brains for Bots is a software development kit (SDK) that is supposed to be easy for developers to integrate in their hardware's deep learning neural networks. The deep learning software works with local processing units, including industry-standard NVIDIA, ARM, and Intel processors. Because it does not require connectivity with a server or wireless network, it can be useful for mobile applications such as autonomous vehicles that may not always have access to fast networks. The local processing is also expected to boost security measures against 3rd parties. The software can also be programmed to work with a variety of sensors.
The company uses a bio-inspired brain system for its Neurala Brain, learning objects and concepts by analyzing various examples introduced and programmed by the user. The Brains for Bots software development kit includes C++ APIs, sample code, and documentation. It is also compatible with Android and iOS for mobile applications. The company currently works with Motorola Solutions on video, image, and audio analytics for public safety, and its software kit has been used in drones from Teal Drones and Parrot.
