We believe this transaction will, when it closes, provide Fusemachines with the financial flexibility it needs to fulfill its growth and expansion goals which we hope will bolster investment returns in our strategies by gaining exposure by Fusemachines going public.
Deep Frontier Markets Impact
While Fusemachines is based in New York, it’s a Nepalese story.
The company was founded by Dr. Sameer Maskey PhD, a native of Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2013. Previously, he was an AI researcher at the IBM Watson Research Center. He has authored more than 20 academic papers and is responsible for more than 10 patents or patents pending.
He currently teaches AI as an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University and through Fusemachines, he runs a six-month AI Fellowship program that prepares enrollees for AI career opportunities worldwide. Many of the 800-plus individuals who have completed the program are in Nepal and have since been hired by Fusemachines. The company also has employees in India, Latin America, and North America.
Other individuals who have completed the Fellows program have come from Rwanda, Burkina Faso, the Dominican Republic, and other Latin American countries, as well as the U.S.
The company defines its social mission as Democratizing AI, or making it accessible to everyone while expanding the education and career opportunities for individuals worldwide.
The success of Dr. Maskey and his commitment to elevating the lives of individuals in his homeland and other far-flung countries is commendable and aligns with the principles of our firm. We believe character matters in Emerging Markets and we invest in people as much as we scrutinize financial ratios and performance.
This is exactly the type of company we want to back in our strategies.
2