$133 Million Investment in AI Software

Artificial intelligence technology company Beyond Limits has raised $113 million in a Series C funding round, with another $20 million committed. Leading the investment in the Glendale company was Group 42, a cloud computing company in Abu Dhabi, and BP Ventures, the corporate investment arm of global oil company BP plc in London.The money will go toward expanding Beyond Limits’ business in the U.S. and abroad, including the launch of Beyond Limits Asia. The funding will also go into accelerating the company’s cognitive AI app development and software-as-a-service product portfolio. Chief Executive AJ Abdallat, who helped start the company in 2014, said there is demand across the globe for systems that go beyond the limits of conventional AI.“Our cognitive software has the ability to understand situations and place problems in real-world contexts as well as to learn over time,” Abdallat said in a statement. “We’re excited to help more customers by applying our unique and powerful AI approach to solve some of the toughest problems facing industries and the world today.”Beyond Limits is commercializing AI software developed by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada-Flintridge. The software is used in deep space missions, including on the Mars rovers. The company has an exclusive license from the California Institute of Technology, which manages JPL, for the AI software that is primarily used in the energy, health care, finance and logistics industries.Its products are a blend of technologies that, when applied to large data sets, parses through them in a way that is very similar to the human brain, but much more efficient, according to the company. Martin Edelman, general counsel for Group 42, said the firm looked forward to working with Beyond Limits and exploring the many capabilities of its technology.“We believe Beyond Limits’ unique AI will bring new levels of efficiency to high-impact sectors and help drive future economic growth,” Edelman said in a statement. Morag Watson, senior vice president of digital science and engineering at BP, said the company’s venture arm was set up to identify and invest in high-potential technology companies that can help reimagine the global energy system. “With this additional investment, we believe that Beyond Limits’ Cognitive AI could help create a more intelligent and sustainable future for the energy sector and indeed across industry as a whole,” Watson said in a statement.