IBM is making another bold move in artificial intelligence, snapping up Seek AI for an undisclosed sum in a bid to supercharge the way businesses tap into their mountains of data.
Seek AI, founded by Sarah Nagy in New York just three years ago, has developed a platform that lets people ask questions about company data using the sort of language they’d use in conversation, no technical background required.
The company’s technology translates these questions into complex queries that churn through databases and return analysis and summaries, all powered by artificial intelligence.
Seek won the backing of investors like Battery Ventures and Conviction Partners, pulling in about ten million dollars before getting scooped up.
Once the acquisition is finalized, Seek plans to relocate its headquarters to One Madison, the brand new Manhattan office that houses Watsonx AI Labs, bringing the team right into the heart of IBM’s innovation hub.
Sarah Nagy shared on LinkedIn that this move will ramp up both the platform’s reach and the team’s size, promising to drive forward solutions that meet the pressing demands of IBM’s business clients.
Watsonx AI Labs Target Next-Level Innovation
IBM announced Watsonx AI Labs as its latest accelerator in New York, aiming to become a gathering place for engineering talent to work side by side on real world artificial intelligence applications.
Ritika Gunnar, IBM’s general manager for Data and AI, said that planting Watsonx AI Labs in Manhattan opens doors to a diverse range of technology talent and fresh ideas that have long shaped innovation in the city.
The lab’s blueprint revolves around bringing together IBM researchers, outside engineers, and local academic partners to spark collaborations that result in new enterprise products.
Successful startups at the accelerator will get a shot at investment from IBM’s venture capital arm, as well as access to its five hundred million dollar fund dedicated to enterprise artificial intelligence.
The timing for IBM could not be better, as the company’s most recent earnings easily beat analyst expectations, fueled in part by surging demand for artificial intelligence layered into enterprise software.
By bringing Seek AI aboard, IBM gives its Watsonx toolkit a shot in the arm, giving clients smarter ways to dig into data across industries.
The hope now is that this collaborative approach at Watsonx AI Labs will attract a new crowd of developers and entrepreneurs eager to shape the next era of corporate artificial intelligence.
