Cortica gets $7M to endow computers with the power of sight

Israeli startup Cortica raised $7 million in a second round of funding. The investment was led by Horizons Ventures, not to be confused with Silicon Valley’s Horizon Ventures. Horizons Ventures (mind the “s”) is owned by the Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing. Venture capitalist Ynon Kreiz also participated in the round.

Cortica’s image recognition technology fuses neuroscience and computer science by giving computers the ability to comprehend visual content on the web in real-time. It was developed at Technion, a premier technology institute in Tel Aviv, by a crack team of neuroscientists, digital media experts, and former military intelligence personnel. The technology functions similarly to the human cortex and can identify patterns, make classifications, and understand James Joyce. Maybe not the last one.

With the money, members of the Cortica team will relocate to the US, with people in New York and Silicon Valley.