(Bloomberg) -- ServiceNow Inc. will buy Canadian startup Element AI Inc. as the software maker embarks on its fourth acquisition this year to boost the artificial intelligence capabilities of its applications.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2021, the Santa Clara, California-based company said Monday in a statement, without disclosing the terms of the deal. Element AI, based in Montreal, has reportedly raised more than $250 million in funding since its 2016 founding.

With the tie-up, ServiceNow is aiming to add an upstart that can bring technology innovations to its platform rather than using deals to bolster revenue. The company, now led by former SAP SE Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott, has an ambitious goal to reach $10 billion in sales by an unspecified time frame.

ServiceNow made a bet that the best route to growth is ensuring that its tools to help companies organize their personnel, customer service and IT operations, work seamlessly together rather than being tacked on. Monday’s deal highlights the importance of automating some tasks for clients and bringing experienced AI engineers to ServiceNow.

Earlier this year, the software maker announced it purchased Loom Systems, Passage AI and Sweagle to assist its AI ambitions.

Jean-Francois Gagné, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Element AI, said his company’s purpose has always been to transform how businesses use AI and help people work smarter.

“ServiceNow is the clear partner for us to apply our talent and technology to the most significant challenges facing the enterprise today,” he said in the statement.

ServiceNow will establish an AI Innovation Hub in Canada with the acquisition, to intensify its focus on the technology.

ServiceNow’s stock has jumped about 87% this year, more than twice the gain in the S&P 500 Information Technology Index, aided by steady revenue growth despite the pandemic-fueled recession.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.