IDG Ventures, a corporate venturing affiliate of media and data company International Data Group, has led a $13m series A round for a US-based intelligent voice technology developer Expect Labs.
The round was co-led with financial services provider USAA and featured corporate venturing units Intel Capital, Samsung Ventures, Telefónica Digital and Liberty Global Ventures, as well as investment platform Westcott and venture firms Fenox Ventures and Quest Venture Partners, as new investors.
The round also included Expect’s seed investors: internet company Google, which invested through subsidiary Google Ventures, Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and KPG Ventures.
Expect raised $2.4m in 2012, and In-Q-Tel, the venture fund representing the US’s intelligence community, is also a backer.
The cash will support the growth of MindMeld, the cloud-based developer platform built by Expect to help companies create voice interface for apps and devices.
Alex Rosen, managing director of IDG Ventures, said: “The team behind MindMeld has developed some powerful core technology which promises to be an essential ingredient as the $50bn annual voice-search market emerges in the coming decade.
“We look forward to working with them to help usher in this revolution in voice-driven applications.”