Boeing-backed start-up SparkCognition raises $100 million

By Rebecca Spalding

(Reuters) - SparkCognition Inc, a U.S. start-up that builds artificial intelligence technology for the industrial sectors and counts Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) among its investors, said on Tuesday it raised $100 million in a new private funding round.

Led by Santa Monica, California-based venture capital firm March Capital Partners, the fundraising values SparkCognition at more than $725 million, according to Pitchbook. Singapore state investment company Temasek also invested in the company.

Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) former CEO John Chambers, Dow Chemical Co former CEO Andrew Liveris, and the former president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS) and current Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: ABX) chairman John Thornton were among the investors in the latest round, the company said.

Austin, Texas-based SparkCognition announced last year it would partner with Boeing in a joint venture to create a routing system for self-driving planes using artificial intelligence.

"You hear a lot of about self-driving cars. But why can’t every industrial vehicle drive itself? Why can’t every industrial asset maintain itself? That’s the runway we’re talking about," Amir Husain, SparkCognition’s founder and chief executive officer, said in an interview.

SparkCognition has raised $175 million in funding since 2013.

(Reporting by Rebecca Spalding in New York; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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