A London-based startup that provides software to help companies speed up AI training has raised $7.5 million in funding.
AgileRL has created a platform called Arena that engineers and data scientists can drop their AI models into, run simulations, fine-tune them before deployment, and monitor them while they are running.
The startup, cofounded by Param Kumar and Nicholas Ustaran-Anderegg in 2023, focuses on reinforcement learning, or RL, an AI training technique in which systems learn by trying actions and improving based on the feedback they receive.
Reinforcement learning has roots dating back to the 1950s, but at AI labs, it is experiencing a renaissance of sorts.
Kumar, AgileRL’s CEO, told Business Insider that after ChatGPT launched in late 2022, companies “moved their budgets from working on RL” to focus on transformers, the technology underpinning large language models. Where transformers learn patterns from large datasets all at once, RL learns one step at a time. Now, he says more companies are realizing that transformers can only get them so far.
“We realized early on that transformers are great, but they’re these large statistical models,” Kumar said. “The reality is you will need to layer on RL on top of that, because there’s only so much you can infer from the data.”
Kumar gave the example of a robotic arm being tasked with moving a ball from one table to another. He said that the movement can be broken down into many smaller tasks — such as grasping the ball, lifting the arm, and moving the joint — and that AgileRL’s platform allows engineers to set parameters to improve at those specific tasks.
The startup says it can speed up AI development for companies because the training tools are all in one place and off the shelf, versus setting up an AI lab from scratch.
AgileRL offers a free tier, which provides users with access to a limited amount of training credits. Paid tiers are available for businesses and professionals, along with custom licenses for larger enterprises.
The company says its platform has been downloaded more than 300,000 times, and it has been used by companies including Airbus, IBM, and JPMorgan.
AgileRL’s seed funding round was led by Fusion Fund, with participation from Flying Fish, Octopus Ventures, Entrepreneur First, and Counterview Capital.
The startup said it plans to use the capital to open an office in San Francisco and hire more than a dozen people in engineering and go-to-market roles.
Here’s an exclusive look at the 12-page pitch deck AgileRL used to raise $7.5 million.
