At IBM, David Ferrucci led the Watson AI project.

David Ferrucci, the AI scientist behind IBM Watson, has secured nearly $60 million in funding for his New York-based AI startup, Elemental Cognition. The company, founded in 2015, sold $59.95 million in equity to 17 investors and plans to raise an additional $5.75 million.

Elemental Cognition aims to develop AI systems that prioritize thoughtful responses and offers products like Cogent and Cora, chatbots designed for various industries including finance and travel planning. (CNBC)

Ferrucci, known for leading IBM Watson’s team to victory on “Jeopardy!” and later working on AI research at Bridgewater Associates, confirmed the financing and highlighted the focus on reliable reasoning and transparency.

The company’s approach combines large language models with an AI-powered reasoning engine, in a “hybrid” approach, setting it apart from competitors like OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

According to its LinkedIn page, Elemental Cognition “provides a revolutionary Generative AI platform with superior natural language understanding that powers expert problem-solving intelligence and research & discovery applications.”

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