Machine learning consultancy joins Capital One

US financial corporation Capital One has announced that it has acquired Notch, a Virginia-based machine learning consultancy. Notch’s team will join Capital One’s Center for Machine Learning  —  an in-house consultancy created in 2016 to drive the delivery of AI-powered products across the business. Notch was cofounded in 2014 by Paul Hurlocker and David Der with the objective to help clients adopt real-time, distributed platforms and machine learning to change the way they leverage their data. Since then, the company has delivered around 70 projects to 34 clients, including Capital One. In a statement, Notch said that the team will be expanding on the work it started over the past year with the bank to harness machine learning in new ways in order to help its customers with their financial lives. Paul Hurlocker, former CEO and co-founder of Notch, has joined Capital One as its Senior Director of Software Engineering. Commenting on the acquisition, he said: “When we began working with the Center for Machine Learning over a year ago, we were impressed by their commitment and progress in the areas our team is passionate about. We found that Capital One operates with the innovative mindset and skills of a top technology firm, but with the scale and expertise of a leading bank. They have created a collaborative environment that caters to the unique needs of developers, and they are guided by the belief that continuing to push deeper into machine learning will help their customers become more financially empowered and create opportunities to interact with them in a more natural, seamless, and accessible way.” Terms of the transition have not been disclosed.