US-based conversational intelligence technology developer SoundHound secured $75m in funding yesterday from investors including subsidiaries of electronics manufacturer Samsung, graphics technology provider Nvidia and human resources provider Recruit Holdings.
Samsung Catalyst Fund, Nvidia GPU Ventures and RSI Fund I were joined by insurer Sompo Japan Nipponkoa and financial services firm Nomura Holdings, as well as SharesPost, MKann, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Global Catalyst Partners, Walden Venture Capital and TransLink Capital.
SoundHound is developing technology based on its Houndify artificial intelligence platform, which enables connected products to convert sounds into actionable processes.
One of Houndify’s central features is what its parent company calls Collective AI, a system that enables developers to collaborate in a conversational intelligence environment that includes data from online platforms such as Yelp, Uber and Expedia.
The round brought SoundHound’s overall funding to $115m in total. It has not revealed details of its earlier rounds but the company said Global Catalyst, Walden VC and TransLink participated in the round as existing backers.
Jeff Herbst, Nvidia’s vice-president of business development, said: “AI and deep learning are fueling all areas of our business, allowing customers to tackle previously unsolvable computing problems.
“Combining Houndify’s Collective AI technology with Nvidia’s deep learning platform enables an exceptional solution to understanding complex natural conversation that scales rapidly and seamlessly into new products and applications.”
Shankar Chandran, head of Samsung Catalyst Fund, added: “We believe the best innovations occur when ideas are shared through open ecosystems and collaboration.
“That is at the heart of what the team at SoundHound is building with their vision of Collective AI, which provides the tools and platform for developers to build more intelligent solutions easily and rapidly.”