Des Moines computer vision technology company raises $20M

A Des Moines company bringing machine learning — and most notably the sense of sight— to computer software raised $20 million this month.

• San Francisco-based venture capital firm, Craft Ventures, led Roboflow's Series A funding.

What they do: Roboflow's technology allows users to "train" computer programs to recognize and identify information, which can help software teams can create better image collections.

Why it matters: Computer vision has the potential to transform multiple industries.

• Pill recognition in pharmaceutical manufacturing, weed and disease detection in agriculture and even raccoon detection in yards are among its current uses.

What's next: The company has 11 employees and recently posted job openings for nine more, co-founder Brad Dwyer told us.

• Upcoming work will make software development a more collaborative process so businesses can easily create specialized computer systems, he said.