Weatherford Capital, a leading family-owned private investment firm, today announced it has completed an investment in CloudFactory, a global leader in managed workforce solutions for artificial intelligence (AI) companies. Growth equity investment firm, FTV Capital, led the funding round.
CloudFactory’s WorkStreams combine people and technology to deliver high-quality data to meet the needs of AI and machine learning businesses of all sizes, from resource-strapped startups to large enterprises. CloudFactory employs a tech-forward, managed workforce that provides workers in the developing world with opportunities to connect to the digital economy while empowering them as leaders in their families and communities. The company’s delivery centers in Nepal and Kenya have become anchors within their communities that drive economic and social impact. The workforce has been trained on and uses over 100 different annotation tools – including proprietary tools and those available through CloudFactory’s partnerships with technology providers – in a way that results in the highest quality data delivered for a wide variety of uses. CloudFactory is headquartered in Reading, UK, with an additional office in the U.S.
“We are very pleased to complete this investment in CloudFactory, a true leader in AI data processing and in connecting people in the developing world with digital-age work,” said Sam Weatherford, Partner, Weatherford Capital, who will join the CloudFactory Board of Directors. “CloudFactory’s mission of empowering individuals to fight poverty and change their communities is well aligned with Weatherford’s focus on serving great leaders as they build healthy company cultures. We look forward to being long-term, value-added partners, leveraging our international investing experience to help CloudFactory pursue additional transformational growth in markets around the world.”
“As a purpose-driven company, it is ideal to find growth investors who care deeply about people and who pursue meaningful relationships,” said Mark Sears, CloudFactory Founder and CEO. “Weatherford Capital is a strong partner who understands the strategic nature of our business, from the technology to the development of leaders to the global nature of CloudFactory. We are grateful for their support of our mission and look forward to working with them to help shape our future growth.”
About Weatherford Capital
Weatherford Capital is a family-owned private investment firm founded in 2015. Our team has over 30 years of investment experience conducting over 60 transactions across the globe. In partnership with family offices, we make direct private equity, real estate, and venture investments with people who share our commitment to excellence, integrity, faith, family, and community. For more information, please visit www.weatherfordcapital.com.
About CloudFactory
CloudFactory is a global leader in combining people and technology to provide a workforce in the cloud for machine learning and core business data processing. Our managed teams have experience with 150+ AI projects and can process data with high accuracy using virtually any tool. As an impact sourcing service provider (ISSP), CloudFactory creates economic and leadership opportunities for talented people in developing nations. Trusted by 130+ companies, we annotate data for 11 of the world’s top autonomous vehicle companies and process millions of tasks a day for innovators including Microsoft, Drive.ai, Ibotta and nuTonomy. We’re on four continents, with offices in the U.K., U.S., Nepal and Kenya. To learn more about CloudFactory’s advanced workforce solutions for AI, visit CloudFactory.com.
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