Element AI announces $200 million CAD Series B round BetaKit

Element AI has closed a much-anticipated venture round, raising a $200 million CAD ($151.4 million USD) Series B from the Government of Quebec, pension fund Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), and McKinsey & Company, among others. The $200 million in funding is one of the largest venture capital rounds in Canadian history, and follows a record-breaking year for Canadian tech. New investors included CDPQ, a long-term institutional investor, McKinsey & Company, a global management consulting firm and owner of advanced analytics company QuantumBlack, and Gouvernement du Québec. Existing investors from this round include DCVC (Data Collective), Hanwha Asset Management, BDC Capital, Real Ventures, among many others, the startup said, bringing the total amount raised so far to $340 million CAD ($257 million USD). "Operationalizing AI is currently the industry's toughest challenge, and few companies have been successful at taking proofs-of-concept out of the lab, imbedding them strategically in their operations, and delivering actual business impact," said Element AI CEO Jean-François Gagné. "We are proud to be working with our new partners who understand this challenge well, and to leverage each other's expertise in taking AI solutions to market."