SAS announces US$1 billion investment in AI

SAS is investing US$1 billion in AI over the next three years through software innovation, education, expert services and more.

The commitment supposedly builds on SAS' strong foundation in AI which includes advanced analytics, machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision.

Educational programs and expert services will equip business leaders and data scientists for the future of AI, with the technology, skills and support they need to transform their organisations.

SAS CEO Jim Goodnight says, "At SAS, we remain dedicated to our customers and their success, and this investment is another example of that commitment.

"With our innovative capabilities in AI, SAS helps businesses deter damaging fraud, fight disease, better manage risk, provide exemplary service to customers and citizens, and much more."

The US$1 billion investment in AI will focus on three main areas: Research and Development (R-D) innovation where SAS continues to build on the success of its global AI efforts; education initiatives addressing customer needs to better understand and benefit from AI; and expert services to optimize customer return on AI projects.

R-D Innovation

SAS is investing in R-D innovation in all core areas of AI, with a special focus on making it easy for users with different skill levels to benefit – from business experts to data engineers to data scientists.

SAS is embedding AI capabilities into the SAS Platform and solutions for data management, customer intelligence, fraud - security intelligence and risk management, as well as applications for industries including financial services, government, health care, manufacturing and retail.

SAS continues to partner with companies and leading technology providers like Accenture, Cisco, Deloitte, Intel and NVIDIA.

This work supposedly brings the latest advances and practices in AI and machine learning to customers and ensures SAS AI technologies perform optimally in customers' hardware and cloud environments.

IDC AI research director  Dave Schubmehl says, "The reason SAS tops the revenue list for advanced analytics for the last five years is that SAS solutions are built on a foundation of machine learning and deep knowledge of analytics.

"Combining SAS' knowledge and technology with its continued push to innovate in computer vision, NLP and deep learning will drive further adoption of AI across multiple industries.

"And it will help companies interested in AI – whether early in their AI and analytics life cycle or more mature."