This visual recognition startup has poached AI talent from Twitter

Clarifai, a startup that creates visual recognition software, has hired four members of Twitter's machine learning team, Cortex, as well as an engineer formerly with Google Brain, the search giant's research group focused on artificial intelligence. Founded in 2013 by computer science PhD Matthew Zeiler after he did an internship with the Google research team, Clarifai licenses customizable software that can automatically organize and filter images. The startup's clients include BuzzFeed, travel site Trivago and consumer-packaged goods giant Unilever. The 40-employee startup (including new hires) has raised $41 million, including $30 million in a Series B round led by Menlo Ventures. The round included contributions from Union Square Ventures, Lux Capital and Qualcomm Ventures.