Privacy-focused platform Neura raises $11m for new development

A platform called Neura that helps users to personalise connected devices while guarding their data will be promoting its new software development kit after raising a $11m Series A. Neura, which can currently be integrated with over 55 devices and software channels, has just held a beta programme with "tens of thousands of users", and expects that number to increase significantly following the launch of its SDK. The core of Neura's is its use of artificial intelligence to recognise and analyse human behaviour and develop "digital identity" for each individual, which can be used to personalise applications, services and devices.

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Neura, an Israeli Internet of Things startup that pulls together data from users’ connected devices, has raised $11 million to expand its “business reach and make the service ubiquitous.” The Series A round was led by AXA Strategic Ventures and Pitango Venture Capital, with participation from Liberty Israel Venture Fund and Lenovo Group.

Founded in 2013, Neura launched in the U.S. out of UpWest Labs, a Silicon Valley-based accelerator specifically for Israeli startups. The following year, Neura announced a $2 million funding round.

Neura’s core raison d’être is to serve up back-end analysis to the Internet of Things industry, and its technology can gather data on individuals from a range of connected devices, including phones, tablets, apps, and more. Neura’s artificial intelligence recognizes and analyzes human behavior and develops what it calls a “digital identity” for each person, insight that can be used to personalize applications, services, and devices.

The global Internet of Things industry is estimated to be worth $11.1 trillion by 2025, according to analysis by McKinsey, and it’s clear, looking at some of the products emerging from big tech companies and emerging startups today, that the world is becoming increasingly connected. At CES in Las Vegas this month, for example, Samsung unveiled a myriad of new products, such as the Family Hub connected cooler, which is a fridge with a 21.5-inch HD touchscreen on the door.

Neura’s back-end technology can be used across any industry, including automotive, healthcare, smart homes, and more. And by analyzing behavior across multiple verticals, the company can garner a more complete picture of consumers’ actions, establishing habits and predicting what they may do next.

Though Neura’s investors consist largely of angels or VC funds, it’s notable that Chinese computing giant Lenovo has elected to participate in this Series A round. “Neura’s technology represents an exciting development within the Internet of Things – a big step towards a world where devices not only connect to each other, but adapt themselves to users and their habits,” said Peter Hortensius, CTO of Lenovo.