CTC Capital has led an $58m series E round for AISpeech, a natural language processing technology developer already backed by TusPark Ventures.
AISpeech, a China-based speech recognition technology developer backed by Tsinghua University-affiliated TusPark Ventures, has received RMB410m ($58m) in a series E round led by venture capital firm CTC Capital, China Money Network reported on Tuesday.
BAIC Capital, an investment arm of carmaker BAIC Group, and Goldstone Investment, the private equity arm of investment bank Citic Securities, filled out the round.
Founded in 2007, AISpeech has developed natural language processing products that include speech recognition, voice-print identification and speech synthesis tools. Its technology consists of software and hardware, with applications in areas such as smart homes and industrial robotics.
The company is expected to use the capital to expand offerings for consumers and enterprise clients. The report noted it was on track to turn a profit this year and that it intends to eventually launch an initial public offering.
TusPark Ventures, the investment arm of Tsinghua University Science Park, co-led an eight-figure renminbi (RMB10m = $1.6m) round for the company in 2012.
AISpeech received $30m in series C funding from unnamed investors in 2016, following a $15m series B round backed by DCM Ventures in 2014.
Contract manufacturer Foxconn and fabless semiconductor producer MediaTek participated in a $75.7m series D round for AISpeech in 2018 that was co-led by Oriza Holdings and China Minsheng and which included the municipal government-formed Shenzhen Venture Capital.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
