Qualcomm beefs up artificial intelligence team with purchase of Twenty Billion Neurons

Qualcomm said Monday that it recently acquired the assets of Twenty Billion Neurons, a Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence/computer vision startup that develops avatars that can see and interact with people in a human-like way. The San Diego mobile technology company declined to say how much it paid for TwentyBN, which has locations in Berlin and Toronto. But it is likely a relatively small deal. Qualcomm said the company has under 20 employees. It raised about $10 million in venture capital from M12 -- Microsoft's venture capital fund-- and others since it was founded in 2015 by Chief Executive Roland Memisevic. Memisevic was the co-head of MILA, a well-respected AI research institute in Montreal.