Despite half a century's research on AI, building expertise in the technology is still a huge challenge due to the lack of specialists in this sphere. We are all heading towards an era of an AI-powered society. As Andrew Ng, a leading AI Researcher put in an interview with the MIT Technology Review: "AI is the new electricity." Leading tech companies and P2P marketplaces who had foreseen the AI invasion and had started experimenting with ML-field features have already left behind their competitors. Artificial intelligence was previously perceived with skepticism, however, the attitude towards it has changed considerably in the last two years. However, building expertise in AI is still a huge challenge due to the lack of experts in the sector.

Andrew Ng may not be a household name like other tech entrepreneurs, but he's very in-demand among techies both in Silicon Valley and in China. Ng is one of the top experts in machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies in the world – he's taught at Stanford, worked at Google, and most recently was the chief scientist at Chinese tech giant Baidu. People legitimately call him a genius. Now he's got a huge pile of money to invest in companies working in AI, which he calls the "new electricity." His fund, "AI Fund," announced on Monday that it's raised $175 million from some of Silicon Valley's biggest investors, including Sequoia, Greylock Partners, Softbank Group, and NEA.

I am excited to announce the formation of the AI Fund. We have raised $175 million, and will be sequentially initiating new businesses that use AI to improve human life. As we grow these businesses, we also hope to help many of you enter the field of AI, and do the important work of building an AI-powered society. We are grateful to our investors, including NEA, Sequoia, Greylock Partners, the SoftBank Group and others for supporting us. In the early days of electricity, much of the innovation centered around slightly different improvements in lighting.

Andrew Ng may not be a household name like other tech entrepreneurs, but he's very in-demand among techies both in Silicon Valley and in China. Ng is one of the top experts in machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies in the world -- he's taught at Stanford, worked at Google, and most recently was the chief scientist at Chinese tech giant Baidu. People legitimately call him a genius. Now he's got a huge pile of money to invest in companies working in AI, which he calls the "new electricity." His fund, "AI Fund," announced on Monday that it's raised $175 million from some of Silicon Valley's biggest investors, including Sequoia, Greylock Partners, Softbank Group, and NEA.

Unlike tennis balls and musketeers, AI ventures don't typically come in threes. The former AI leader at both Google and Baidu has been on an entrepreneurial spree, making his third major announcement in recent months to launch Landing.ai. The startup will help make large manufacturing companies more efficient by using artificial intelligence, according Ng's blog post today (Dec. He also serves as chairman of Coursera, the online education company he cofounded in 2012. Ng writes that his startup and Foxconn will "jointly develop and deploy AI solutions and training globally."

Lots of people will tell you they're nervous about the changes artificial intelligence will bring to the world, but Andrew Ng is confident it's all for the best. The former AI chief of Baidu and founder of Google Brain is on a mission to build what he calls an "AI-powered society" -- one where smart computers are as integral to businesses as electricity. And to bring about that future, Ng, now an adjunct professor at Stanford, will share what he knows best by teaching. Today, Ng is launching a new course on deep learning on Coursera, the online education site he co-founded. The syllabus will follow his popular machine learning course, which has attracted some 2 million enrollments since its launch in 2011.

Andrew Ng, one of the world's best-known artificial-intelligence experts, is launching an online effort to create millions more AI experts across a range of industries. Ng, an early pioneer in online learning, hopes his new deep-learning course on Coursera will train people to use the most powerful idea to have emerged in AI in recent years. AI experts have become some of the most sought-after and well-paid employees in today's tech economy. Deep learning involves teaching a machine to perform a complex task using large amounts of data along with a large simulated neural network. The technique has typically required deep technical knowledge and expertise to master (see "10 Breakthrough Technologies 2013: Deep Learning").

I have been working on three new AI projects, and am thrilled to announce the first one: deeplearning.ai, These courses will help you master Deep Learning, apply it effectively, and build a career in AI. Just as electricity transformed every major industry starting about 100 years ago, AI is now poised to do the same. Several large tech companies have built AI divisions, and started transforming themselves with AI. But in the next few years, companies of all sizes and across all industries will realize that they too must be part of this AI-powered future.

Andrew Ng, one of the world's best-known artificial-intelligence experts, is launching an online effort to create millions more AI experts across a range of industries. Ng, an early pioneer in online learning, hopes his new deep-learning course on Coursera will train people to use the most powerful idea to have emerged in AI in recent years. AI experts have become some of the most sought-after and well-paid employees in today's tech economy. Deep learning involves teaching a machine to perform a complex task using large amounts of data along with a large simulated neural network. The technique has typically required deep technical knowledge and expertise to master (see "10 Breakthrough Technologies 2013: Deep Learning").