A company which specialises in open-source, deep-learning tools for enterprise has launched a spin-off firm in London.
Skymind’s software division has been incorporated as a standalone business, Konduit, in London as it plots global expansion.
Earlier this year Skymind Global Ventures, the venture arm of Skymind which describes itself as the world’s first AI ecosystem builder, launched in London with an $800 million fund to invest in AI start-ups and innovations.
Adam Gibson, the creator of Skymind enterprise software, Konduit and CTO of Skymind, will lead Konduit as its CEO and focus on developing core partnerships and raising new capital, led by SGV.
Konduit offers a suite of open source tools that support machine learning practitioners worldwide in any stage of their workflow.
The company’s mission is to bridge the gap between research and enterprise and get the latest AI innovation into the market as quickly as possible.
Its technology is the underlying artificial intelligence framework used by more than half of Fortune 500 companies to build their AI applications and provides portfolio companies with easy, intuitive access to this platform.
Konduit’s Eclipse Deeplearning4j users and partners include top tier global companies such as IBM, Redhat, Nvidia, Intel, CISCO, Cloudera, NEC and Bosch.
Shawn Tan, CEO of Skymind, said: “Our decision to spin off Konduit comes at a time when demand for AI at the edge and in the hybrid cloud is continuing to rise.
“London remains the best place to set up the firm, thanks to its business friendly policies and proximity to continental Europe as well as its robust political system and access to venture capital and talent.
“London also has the necessary network in place to enable us to build more relationships with partners and to expand our reach beyond Europe to other regions, including Asia and the Americas.”
Konduit’s arrival to the UK also coincides with the upcoming relocation of the Eclipse Foundation’s headquarters to Brussels.
As one of the world’s leading open-source software foundations, the organisation is the steward of the Eclipse IDE, enterprise Java, and the Eclipse MicroProfile, and the heart of a global ecosystem of developers, companies, and public sector entities.
Along with its involvement with the Eclipse Foundation, Konduit’s launch into Europe will help the company establish itself in the region and tap into a rich, open source ecosystem.
Gibson will also continue to serve as a board member of the Eclipse Foundation and actively promote open source technology for commercial software products and services.
Gibson said of Konduit: “We chose the UK because we want to work in a country that is globally minded and aligns with our values as an organisation.
“London is also the world’s cultural capital – with a population that reflects the rich diversity of global society. We are equally impressed with the UK’s progressive attitude towards innovation, which is crucial to the growth of open source development.
“Many of our partners are also based in European countries or hail from the continent, and it therefore makes sense for us to be closer to them and to share in the challenge of promoting the potential of open source to the rest of the world.
“What started out as a research division within Skymind has now transformed into a business that is commercially ready to take on the world.
“We look forward to Konduit’s next phase of growth and to use our expertise to harness the power of AI and to create a better and more inclusive world for everyone.”