An AI startup called Flower Labs has been valued at $100 million following a new investment round. The startup’s open-source software enables AI models to be trained “at the edge,” without the need for data to be pooled in a single location. This method, known as “federated learning,” allows for the preservation of privacy and security as data is not transferred to a central server. The $20 million funding round is being led by venture capital firm Felicis Ventures. Flower Labs plans to use the funding to expand awareness of federated learning, grow its user base, and add staff. The startup has already gained traction with companies such as Accenture, Orange, and Siemens. Federated learning has applications in industries such as healthcare, financial services, and defense, where organizations may be limited in their ability to share sensitive data but still need to collaborate on AI model training.
Flower Labs was founded by co-founders Daniel Beutel, Taner Topal, and Nicholas Lane. The company was established in March 2023 to maintain the Flower framework and develop and sell tools to facilitate the deployment of federated learning using the framework. The framework has been used for over 1,100 projects and has garnered interest from 3,100 developers. Flower Labs aims to tap into untapped data by enabling Federated learning to unlock encrypted and private data. This could allow for the training of very large AI models using processing power on individual devices, expanding access to AI computing and overcoming issues related to limited availability and high costs of GPUs.
Federated learning, which allows AI models to be trained locally without transferring data to a central server, has gained interest in industries such as healthcare, financial services, and defense. The technology preserves the privacy and security of data and allows organizations to collaborate on AI model training while abiding by regulations and restrictions on data sharing. Flower Labs, an AI startup that specializes in federated learning, has recently been valued at $100 million in a new funding round led by venture capital firm Felicis Ventures. The startup plans to use the funding to expand awareness of federated learning, grow its user base, and add staff.
