Twenty Billion Neurons

Twenty Billion Neurons (TwentyBN) is a German Canadianstartup in the region, artificial intelligence founded in 2015 by CEO Roland Memisevich. By July 2021, the company employs less than 20 employees. The startup raised about $10 million in venture capital from M12, a fund. Microsoft

History

Qualcomm bought TwentyBN

In mid-July 2021, Qualcomm announced the purchase of a sensor developer to train artificial intelligence for working with Twenty Billion Neurons videos. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Roland Memishevich, founder of Twenty Billion Neurons, was one of the leaders of the MILA Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Montreal. After the deal, he will join Qualcomm along with the rest of the startup team.

Qualcomm acquired TwentyBN

For commercial markets, TwentyBN works on computer vision and AI avatars that interact with customers in real time. It was originally aimed at retailers. The company also released a mobile application called Fitness Ally, in which an avatar with computer vision and artificial intelligence observes, trains and motivates people using physical activity on a smartphone.

In addition to commercial avatars, TwentyBN released two large-scale sets of video data and basic code for academic research, and also granted a license for technology and data to research laboratories and corporations.

Qualcomm declined to comment on its plans for TwentyBN products. The research team is expected to continue to be primarily based in Toronto.

The perception of AI has changed radically, and applications based on it will continue to influence the world and our experience in ways that we could never have imagined. That's why Qualcomm Technologies is investing so much in creating AI-based mobile platforms, and why we will continue to be a leader in developing applications that involve deeper understanding, personalization and problem solving based on artificial intelligence, Qualcomm notes.[1]

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