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Lightning AI is a company developing Lightning AI studio, a platform for building AI models and applications while integrating machine learning lifecycle tools. The Lightning AI platform is designed to be a fully integrated AI platform for data preparation, model development, distributed training, and AI product development. Headquartered in New York, the company has a remote-first workforce with employees around the globe.
With Lightning AI, developers can perform the following:
- Change GPUs in the same environment
- Code from the cloud or local IDE
- Share files and connect S3 buckets
- Deploy AI apps with Streamlit, React.js, Gradio, and more
Originally called Grid AI, the company was founded in 2019 by William Falcon (CEO) and Luis Capelo the original creators of PyTorch Lightning. Falcon began developing PyTorch Lightning, an open-source deep learning framework, while an undergrad at Columbia University in 2015. He started the company with Capelo while working on his PhD at New York University and Facebook AI Research, to focus full-time on addressing challenges developers face in the field of deep learning.
On October 8, 2020, the company announced it had raised $18.6 million in a series A funding round that closed in the summer of 2020. The round was led by Index Ventures, with participation from Bain Capital Ventures and firstminute.
In April 2021, Luca Antiga joined the company as CTO. In 2022, Lightning AI invested in building an in-house PyTorch team, hiring PyTorch core contributors. The move aimed to enhance open-source collaboration and shape the direction of the two frameworks, side-by-side.
On June 16, 2022, the company rebranded from Grid AI to Lightning AI and announced $40 million in series B funding. The round was led by Coatue with participation from Index Ventures, Bain, the Chainsmokers’ Mantis VC, and First Minute Capital. In 2023, Lightning AI joined the board of the PyTorch Foundation.
