Managed Workforce Leader for AI Will Use Capital to Advance Its Mission of Providing Meaningful Work for One Million People
READING, England–CloudFactory, a global leader in managed workforce solutions for artificial intelligence (AI), today announced it has secured $65 million in growth equity funding. FTV Capital led the investment, with participation from Weatherford Capital. The investment marks an exciting milestone in CloudFactory’s mission of providing meaningful work for one million people as the company seeks to scale operations while continuing to deliver high-quality data work for its global customers.
“As AI technology continues to grow rapidly, the need for high-quality data to feed complex AI systems is crucial,” said Alex Mason, FTV Capital partner. “CloudFactory is poised for tremendous growth across many industry verticals where executives are clamoring for data labeling capabilities that meet superior quality standards and are consistently delivered. We are excited to partner with CloudFactory’s proven management team who have the unique vision and exemplary execution skills to achieve their business goals and successfully fulfill their mission.”
AI and machine learning continue to advance, yet many AI disruptors lack the ability to process and label the voluminous amount of data required to feed complex AI and machine learning algorithms. CloudFactory’s WorkStreams combine people and technology to deliver high-quality data to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, from resource-strapped startups to large enterprises.
To perform this work, CloudFactory employs a tech-forward, managed workforce that provides workers in the developing world with opportunities to connect to the digital economy while empowering them as leaders in their families and communities. Delivery centers in Nepal and Kenya have become anchors within their communities that drive economic and social impact. The workforce has been trained on and uses over 100 different annotation tools – including proprietary tools and those available through CloudFactory’s partnerships with technology providers such as Hivemind, Onepanel, Deepen and Dataloop – in a way that results in the highest quality data delivered for a wide variety of uses.
With this growth equity investment, CloudFactory plans to invest in three core areas:
- Workforce development, education and training: Improved growth and educational opportunities for employees to rise as leaders in their communities, reach their potential and grow their skill sets to aid in career advancement
- Global market awareness and business development: Strategic investments in sales and marketing to create broader awareness for CloudFactory’s workforce solutions in the global marketplace
- Technology advancement: New technologies and expanded capabilities in existing systems to provide greater automation, increase collaboration and improve efficiency for CloudFactory’s workforce and customers as the business continues to scale
“The future of AI and machine learning innovation will be driven by people, and we believe our focus on people has been the biggest contributor to our growth,” said Mark Sears, CloudFactory founder and CEO. “A company can have the best tools, but people are the critical factor in determining the quality of data feeding these algorithms. By valuing our workforce above all else they become more engaged in their work and, using the best tools, deliver the highest quality data for our customers.”
As part of the transaction, FTV Capital partner Alex Mason and principal Abhay Puskoor and Weatherford Capital partner Sam Weatherford will join the CloudFactory board of directors.
To learn more about CloudFactory’s advanced workforce solutions for AI, visit CloudFactory.com.
About CloudFactory
CloudFactory is a global leader in combining people and technology to provide a workforce in the cloud for machine learning and core business data processing. Our managed teams have experience with 150+ AI projects and can process data with high accuracy using virtually any tool. As an impact sourcing service provider (ISSP), CloudFactory creates economic and leadership opportunities for talented people in developing nations. Trusted by 130+ companies, we annotate data for 11 of the world’s top autonomous vehicle companies and process millions of tasks a day for innovators including Microsoft, Drive.ai, Ibotta and nuTonomy. We’re on four continents, with offices in the U.K., U.S., Nepal and Kenya.
About FTV Capital
FTV Capital is a growth equity investment firm that has raised over $2.7 billion to invest in high-growth companies offering a range of innovative solutions in three sectors: enterprise technology & services, financial services and payments & transaction processing. FTV’s experienced team leverages its domain expertise and proven track record in each of these sectors to help motivated management teams accelerate growth. FTV also provides companies with access to its Global Partner Network®, a group of the world’s leading enterprises and executives who have helped FTV portfolio companies for two decades. Founded in 1998, FTV Capital has invested in over 100 portfolio companies. Notable exits include: CardConnect (acquired by First Data in 2017), Financial Engines (IPO in 2010), Globant (IPO in 2014), MarketShare (acquired by Neustar in 2015), MedSynergies (acquired by Optum/UnitedHealthcare in 2014), Mu Sigma (sold to shareholders 2012), PowerShares (acquired by Invesco in 2006), Trustwave (acquired by Singapore Telecom in 2015), WePay (acquired by JP Morgan Chase in 2017) and WorldFirst (acquired by Ant Financial in 2019). FTV has offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information, visit ftvcapital.com.
Contacts
Mark Van Hook
LARGEMOUTH COMMUNICATIONS
mark@largemouthpr.com
Alexa Ottenstein
PROSEK PARTNERS FOR FTV CAPITAL
646-818-9051
pro-ftvcapital@prosek.com
