IBM's Watson will soon answer your 311 calls
This week it was announced that New York City’s 311 call service is getting a major upgrade. In 2018, IBM’s Watson, the notable AI system, will support a customer-management system for the city and is expected to speed up the process of providing answers about city services across the five boroughs. [Crain’s New York]
Pipedrive closes $17M round
Pipedrive, a CRM platform that helps SMBs sell more, announced a $17 million Series B on Wednesday. The round was led by Atomico with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, and Rembrandt Venture Partners. The company said it will use the new capital to develop out its product and technology, grow its partner network and accelerate its global marketing. [TechCrunch]
Craigslist competitor letgo announces $175M round
On Tuesday, online used goods marketplace letgo announced it raised a $175 million Series C funding round. The round was led by Naspers, Accel, Insight Venture Partners, New Enterprise Associates and 14W. The funding will be used to accelerate the company’s U.S. and international growth as well as further develop its artificial intelligence and image recognition capabilities. [Built In NYC]
Lingo Live scores $5.2 million
Lingo Live, an edtech startup that helps students develop communications skills in non-native languages in order to progress professionally, raised a $5.2 million round this week. The financing was led by Owl Ventures and saw participating investments from Entrepreneurs Expansion Fund, Alpine Meridian Ventures and Fresco Capital. The company plans on using the funding to grow its marketplace of language coaches. [TechCrunch]
OrderGroove raises $20M
OrderGroove, a company that helps some of the biggest companies in the world build tools for e-commerce, raised a $20 million Series C this week. The funding comes from National Securities. The company plans on using the capital to expand its business, which includes utilizing bots. [TechCrunch]
