China-based speech recognition technology developer AISpeech has received RMB410m ($57.8m) in a series E round featuring BAIC Capital, an investment arm of carmaker BAIC Group, China Money Network reported on Tuesday.
Venture capital firm CTC Capital led the round, which also included Goldstone Investment, the private equity arm of investment bank Citic Securities.
Founded in 2007, AISpeech has developed natural language processing products that include speech recognition, voice-print identification and speech synthesis tools. Its technology consists of software and hardware, with applications in areas such as smart homes and industrial robotics.
The company is expected to use the capital to expand offerings for consumers and enterprise clients. The report noted it was on track to turn a profit this year and that it intends to eventually launch an initial public offering.
Contract manufacturer Foxconn and fabless semiconductor producer MediaTek participated in a $75.7m series D round for AISpeech in mid-2018 that was co-led by Oriza Holdings and China Minsheng and which included the municipal government-formed Shenzhen Venture Capital.
AISpeech had already received $30m in series C funding from unnamed investors in 2016, following a $15m series B round backed by DCM Ventures in 2014.
Legend Star, a subsidiary of conglomerate Legend Holdings, and Tsinghua University’s TusPark Ventures had contributed to an eight-figure renminbi (RMB10m = $1.6m) round for the company in 2012.
