Insurance provider Maif has exited France-based voice technology developer Snips in a $37.5m acquisition by speaker system producer Sonos.
Snips is the creator of a full-stack software platform that can be used to develop custom voice-based digital assistants.
The platform facilitates localised voice processing on devices, meaning products can be made more private as well as more accurate, and tools created through the system are compatible with existing voice-based assistants pm Sonos’s own platform.
The company had raised more than $21m as of a $13m series A round in mid-2017 that was co-led by Maif through its corporate venturing subsidiary, Maif Avenir.
Korelya Capital co-led the series A round, which included BPIfrance and Eniac Ventures. The latter two also took part in a $6.3m seed round in 2015 that also featured 500 Startups, Brent Hoberman and Xavier Neil.
Rand Hindi, Snips’ co-founder and chief executive, said: “I am extremely proud of the team and the work we have accomplished over the last five years. The technology we have created has been validated by one of the leaders in consumer electronics.
“I am thrilled that, joining an international company, Snips will continue its operations in France, helping French technologies succeed at an international level.”
