Google Acquires Data Science Platform Kaggle
A platform that allows companies and researchers to crowdsource data analysis from data scientists and machine learning enthusiasts has been acquired by Google.
Kaggle, which was founded by former Treasury and Reserve Bank economist Anthony Goldbloom in 2010, will join Google Cloud as part of its goal to “lower the barriers of entry to AI” according to Fei-Fei Li, Google Cloud’s AI and Machine Learning Chief Scientist.
“Kaggle and Google Cloud will foster a thriving community of machine learning developers and data scientists, giving them direct access to the most advanced cloud machine learning environment,” Ms Li said.
Over 800,000 users make up the Kaggle community, with companies ranging from Facebook to NASA turning to the platform to crowdsource data analysis through competitions. Companies then award prize money to the user that produces the best models of the data.
“What Kaggle has contributed to the community is the democratization of data,” Ms Lei told Reuters at the Google Cloud Next conference.
Google and Kaggle did not disclose the price or terms of the deal.