FruitPunch, an Eindhoven, Netherlands-based AI for good community, successfully raised €500,000 in a funding round led by Shamrock Ventures, with participation from LUMO Labs and several angel investors.
The funding will enable FruitPunch AI to enhance its platform's features to support personalized learning journeys and expand into the HR market by hiring strategic roles. Additionally, the company aims to establish sustainable partnerships based on its ongoing pilot programs.
FruitPunch AI currently offers AI engineering power to leading NGOs, impact startups, and research centers, including NXP, Stanford University, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The platform provides a collaborative space for AI engineers to work on AI for Good challenges and enhance their AI skills through partnerships with institutions like Stanford University, the European Space Agency, and WWF.
Companies also utilize the platform to upskill and retain their existing workforce while discovering new, vetted AI talent for real-world projects.
The community members, primarily students, focus on AI for Good projects aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as biodiversity preservation, combating climate change, and improving healthcare and wellbeing.
“We’re thrilled to have Shamrock Ventures & LUMO Labs on board who are mission aligned with us to do maximal good by building an impact business that scales. Now we have the funding and expertise to realise this vision and help companies around the world find, retain & skill the best AI talent,” says Buster Franken, CEO and co-founder of FruitPunch AI.
Company: FruitPunch AI B.V
Raised: $.50K
Round: Unknown
Funding Month: June 2023
Lead Investors: Shamrock Ventures
Additional Investors: LUMO Labs
Company Website: https://www.fruitpunch.ai/
Software Category: Education Platform
About the Company: Founded in 2018 by Buster Franken and Sako Arts, FruitPunch AI is a developer of an education platform intended to teach applied artificial intelligence through crowdsourced challenges. The company's platform offers free AI education, a global community of peers, corporate education, and exposure to real-world experience, enabling learners to avail of advanced training in AI and solve and address real-world problems. FruitPunch AI is on a mission to build a worldwide community of ‘AI for Good’ engineers.
Source: https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/eindhoven-fruitpunch-ai-funding/