Booz Allen Invests In Latent AI, A Leading Adaptive AI Company

Booz Allen Hamilton recently announced a strategic investment in Latent AI, Inc., a fast developing company with an award-winning suite of software solutions for adaptive artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) at the edge.

The capacity to deploy and run AI/ML models at the tactical edge is key for establishing situational awareness, especially for defence organisations, and AI is becoming an increasingly important component of mission accomplishment. Latent AI solutions simplify and expedite typical AI workflows, from model training and optimization to improving AI model deployment, resulting in more resilient, efficient, and agile Internet of Things (IoT) applications that boost user acceptance and mission effect.

“The National Defense Strategy asks for a more innovative, resilient military to sustain the United States' competitive advantage, and the ability to gather, analyse, and act on data is at the heart of that national security mission,” said Steve Escaravage, senior vice president of Booz Allen. “Defense organisations require optimised, scalable AI and data compression at the tactical edge to properly use an interconnected and information-advantaged force. Booz Allen's investment in Latent AI will enable our clients to apply ML models on small form factor chip-sets and into highly sought-after end user devices, increasing AI adoption and ROI.”

The Latent AI Efficient Inference PlatformTM (LEIP) is a modular, fully integrated edge AI development platform that optimises tactical edge device computing, energy usage, and memory allocation without needing changes to existing model infrastructures or edge system designs. Regardless of framework, operating system, architecture, or hardware, LEIP enables rapid, highly scalable, and adaptive AI application development at the tactical edge.

“This investment strengthens both Latent AI and Booz Allen's ability to meet clients' evolving needs, particularly in deploying algorithms to the edge to prevail in the future digital battlefield,” said Brian MacCarthy, Booz Allen vice president and founder of the firm's Tech Scouting group headquartered in San Francisco since 2015. “Booz Allen, which sits at the confluence of technology and mission, can assist dual-use emerging tech businesses in connecting the most innovative, sophisticated solutions to the government's crucial mission requirements.”

Latent AI was co-founded in 2018 as an early-stage venture spinout of SRI International and is backed by Future Ventures, Autotech Ventures, Perot Jain, and other notable investors. The company has been selected the 2020 Startup of the Year by IoT World and has been recognised on CB Insights' AI 100.

“We started Latent AI because we recognised an opportunity to assist developers and businesses shift to the edge more efficiently—and we have only scratched the surface of what is possible,” said Jags Kandasamy, co-founder and CEO of Latent AI. “Both Latent AI and Booz Allen are committed to assisting enterprises in achieving much more with their AI systems, and we are thrilled to have Booz Allen as an investor and partner as we lead the way forward to a smarter edge.”

As one of the largest federal government providers of AI services, Booz Allen already provides some of the most advanced AI, ML, and data architecture technologies, services, and strategies through its work with the Joint AI Center, Army Futures Command, and U.S. Air Force Air Combat Command, among others.

About Booze Allen Hamilton
For over a century, military, government, and industry leaders have relied on Booz Allen Hamilton to solve their most difficult issues. We help firms evolve as a consulting firm with professionals in analytics, digital, engineering, and cyber. We are a significant partner on some of the most innovative programmes for governments around the world, and we are trusted by the most sensitive agencies. We collaborate with clients, utilising a mission-first approach to select the best strategy and technology to help them accomplish their vision. With its global headquarters in McLean, Virginia, our company employs over 27,700 people worldwide and had revenue of $7.9 billion for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021.

About Latent AI
Latent AI is an early-stage venture spinout of SRI Ventures, supported by Fortune 500 clients and well-funded by industry-leading investors. The LEIPTM platform from Latent AI provides adaptive AI at the edge by optimising computation, energy, and memory without requiring changes to existing AI/ML infrastructure and frameworks.