The banking world, and now Goldman Sachs in particular, is getting on board with artificial intelligence. The investment bank has put millions into a US startup which uses machine learning for marketing. The $30m round for New York-based Persado also came from previous investors American Express Ventures and Citi Ventures, as well as Bain Capital Ventures and StarVest Partners. “We are increasingly excited about Persado’s ability to build a thriving business around a truly unique and differentiated technology. It stands out for driving great results for an impressive roster of customers – the world’s most recognisable brands – with unparalleled consistency and effectiveness," said StarVest Partners genereal partner and co-founder Laura Sachar. Persado, a so-called cognitive content company, uses natural language processing and machine learning algorithms to create targeted marketing messages and is used by Vodafone, eBay and Expedia, as well as investors AmEx and Citi. It's a series C funding round for Persado which counts 200 staff in London and San Francisco as well as New York. Goldman Sachs earlier this year invested in London-based data analytics startup Qubit.
Goldman Sachs has led a $40m funding of Persado , the Citi automated copywriting startup with 200 staff across its London , New York and San Francisco offices. New York is known as a “cognitive content company”, which uses machine learning algorithms and natural language processing to craft targeted marketing messages for companies such as AmEx , Citi , Qubit , Expedia and Vodafone . According to Persado executives, the company’s 4000 ad campaigns have already produced an average uplift on conversion rate of 49.5% . The move by Goldman Sachs to invest in Persado follows the bank's move earlier this year to place $40m into London data analytics startup Qubit .