Design and manufacturing services provider Wistron Corporation led a $17m series B round for Taiwan-based enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) technology provider iKala on Tuesday through its Wistron Digital Technology subsidiary.
The round was also backed by investment management group Hotung Investment Holdings and venture capital firm Pacific Venture Partners.
Founded in 2011, iKala initially focused on live online karaoke and broadcasting activities but has pivoted to helping enterprises beef up their AI capabilities to bolster marketing and attract more customers.
The series B funding will go to product development and company growth across Southeast and East Asian markets such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Hotung Venture Capital and Pacific Venture Partners had supplied $10m in series A-plus funding for iKala in January 2019.
Cherubic Ventures had invested $350,000 in the company in 2014 before joining online game developer Gamania Digital Entertainment to provide $1.3m in 2015 at a $13m valuation, part of a $3.3m pre-series A round closed the same year.