SoftBank Group Corp. is leading a $93 million (about ¥10.4 billion) investment in a startup that simplifies for companies the use of machine learning or deep learning applications at scale.
Petuum Inc., based in Pittsburgh, makes artificial intelligence software that can be used by a variety of industries. For instance, Petuum's software systems for health care use electronic medical records to provide potential disease diagnosis and treatment recommendations. The startup also makes an operating system that allows customers to use artificial intelligence applications on hardware, including data centers.
The investment from a SoftBank subsidiary will be used to expand Petuum's team and further develop its operating system for specific industries, including manufacturing and health care, the company said Tuesday in a statement.