San Diego's Most Promising AI Startups
Learn which companies are building technical infrastructure and developing tools.
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San Diego-based companies and early-stage startups focused on artificial intelligence (AI) have raised millions over the last few years.
The most recent includes the $120 million funding to SOCi who announced its fundraise to invest heavily in AI marketing tools in March.
While that is a small comparison to OpenAI’s $10 billion investment led by Microsoft, several San Diego founders are building promising AI companies and helping drive new capital, talent, and attention to the region.
Find out which AI startups have raised the most funding.
1. Shield AI
A startup which makes AI software for drones and other autonomous aircraft used by military and other government organizations.
Total funding raised: $573.1 million
Co-founders: Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng
Notable investors: Snowpoint Ventures, Riot Ventures, Disruptive, Homebrew, Point72 Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, Breyer Capital and SVB Capital.
Visit website here.
2. Brain Corp
A startup which makes AI software that powers autonomous floor cleaning and inventory scanning.
Total funding raised: $161 million
Co-founders: Eugene Izhikevich and Allen Gruber
Notable investors: SoftBank, ClearBridge Investments, Satwik Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures.
Visit website here.
3. Gretel AI
A startup that creates data to help train artificial-intelligence programs.
Total funding raised: $67.7 million
Co-founders: Ali Golshan, Alexander Watson, and John Myers
Notable investors: Anthos Capital, Section 32, Greylock, Moonshots Capital
Visit website here.
4. Personal AI
A startup developed a chatbot technology that allows you to collect, recall, and store personal information — forever.
Total funding raised: $8.4 million
Co-founders: Suman Kanuganti, Sharon Zhang, Kristie Kaiser
Notable investors: Differential VC, Supernode Global, Jane Street Capital, GoodFriends, Beni Venture Capital, Village Global, and BBG Ventures.
Visit website here.
5. Yembo
A startup that develops AI-powered camera app that can measure the size and weight of furniture and other items in a room.
Total funding raised: $12.9 million
Co-founders: Siddhartha Mohan and Zach Rattner
Notable investors: Imagen Capital Partners, Watson Foundation, and angel investors.
Visit website here.
6. CommSafe AI
A startup that identifies toxic language in workplace emails and chat apps.
Total funding raised: $4 million
Founder: Ty Smith
Notable investors: TFX Capital,Gaingels, Crosscut, Blu Ventures and angel investors.
Visit website here.
7. ReflexAI
A startup that provides AI-powered training and quality assurance tools for call centers.
Total funding raised: $3.3 million
Co-founders: Sam Dorison and John Callery
Notable investors: Footwork Emerson Collective, Altman Capital, Gaingels and several individual backers.
Visit website here.
8. Ollie AI
A startup that is developing an AI shopping assistant to redefine how consumers shop online.
Total funding raised: Pre-seed
Co-founders: Bill Lennon, Matt Busigin, and Max Fergus
Notable investors: Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, Madrona and Two Sigma Ventures
Visit website here.
8. WowYow
A startup applying advanced computer vision and technology to video.
Total funding raised: Pre-seed
Co-founders: Jarett Boskovich, Adam Boskovich, and Michael Ramirez
Notable investors: Launch Factory and angel investors.
Visit website here.
9. EyePop AI
The startup offers a low-code platform with a streamlined process of analyzing, understanding, and utilizing visual data through artificial intelligence.
Total funding raised: Pre-seed
Co-founders: Andy Ballester, Brad Chisum, and Torsten Schulz
Notable investors: Angel investors.
Visit website here.
*This list was compiled leveraging Crunchbase’s data and independent research. Please note some numbers may be inaccurate and should not be used for investment purposes.
Personal AI has developed a chatbot technology that allows individuals to collect and recall personal information. Do you see this as a step towards greater productivity and efficiency in managing personal data? How might AI continue to reshape personal information management?