China's Ping An joins $72m round for US AI player
China’s Ping An Insurance has co-led a $72.5 million Series D round alongside Goldman Sachs for US artificial intelligence (AI) developer H2O with a view to expanding its Asian operations.
“Businesses around the world grapple with the challenge of applying machine learning in what are often resource constrained situations,” Donald Lacey, a managing director of the Ping An Global Voyager Fund, said in a statement. “We've been deeply impressed with the combination of technical sophistication and ease of use present in all of H2O.ai's offerings, and we look forward to helping expand the H2O.ai footprint in China and across Asia.”
HZO focuses on AI applications for the financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, retail, pharmaceutical, marketing, and autonomous driving industries. The company claims its autonomous driving platform has tripled its customer base since it raised a $40 million Series C in 2017. Clients include Booking.com, Capital One, Comcast, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Hitachi, PwC, Tokio Marine, Wells Fargo, Franklin Templeton, and Walgreens.
The company has raised $147 million to date, with the latest round also including participation from Nexus Venture Partners, Wells Fargo, and Nvidia Corporation. In addition to an Asian expansion, the fresh capital is expected to advance marketing efforts globally, as well as the development of new technologies aimed at simplifying AI for business applications. "AI in the enterprise is a reality that H2O.ai is driving,” said Jishnu Bhattacharjee, a managing director at Nexus.
Ping An’s $1 billion Global Voyager Fund was set up in 2017 with a focus on healthcare and financial technologies. The vehicle, which is managed from Hong Kong, aims to bring new technologies, platforms and business models to Ping An's businesses in China and internationally. Portfolio companies will have access to the insurer's customer base and professional network, including some 6,000 branches and digital distribution channels in mainland China.
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