China-based text recognition technology provider DataGrand has secured RMB580m ($91.1m) in a series C round featuring insurance provider Sunshine Insurance and Legend Star, a subsidiary of conglomerate Legend Holdings, DealStreetAsia reported yesterday.
China Merchants Securities, GF Securities, Citic Securities, Xiang He Capital, Advantech Capital, Hundreds Capital and Z Capital filled out the participants in the round.
Founded in 2015, DataGrand has developed software which uses artificial intelligence, natural language processing, optical character recognition and robotic process automation to provide text automation functions such as document review, intelligent recommendation and intelligent search for business clients.
The company raised $38m in a mid-2020 series B-plus round led by Shenzhen Capital Group and backed by SAIF Partners, Mount Morning Capital, Z Capital and CBC Capital.
Mount Morning Capital had previously led DataGrand’s $23m series B round in 2018 with backing from Legend Star, Eastern Bell Capital and Oriza Holding’s Oriza Prior subsidiary. Its earlier investors include Haier Capital, a subsidiary of appliance manufacturer Haier, as well as F&G Capital and ZhenFund.
The market for optical character recognition, which is boosted by advances in artificial intelligence technology and facing higher demand across many text-heavy industries such as the financial and legal sectors is expected to reach $26.3bn globally by 2028.
