VoiceAI listens closely for pre-series A capital

China-based voice processing technology developer VoiceAI Technologies has closed a pre-series A round of undisclosed size backed by Hong Kong X Technology Fund, an investment vehicle linked to professors from two Hong Kong universities, according to the Hong Kong Economic Journal.
Other investors in the round, which reportedly raised an eight-digit yuan (RMB10m = $1.5m) sum, included computer chipset-focused venture capital fund Brizan Ventures.
Founded in 2016, VoiceAI creates automated voice processing technologies in areas including voiceprint recognition, automatic speech recognition and voice signal processing.
The company works with both domestic and international enterprises and government agencies from industries including finance, insurance, law and electricity.
VoiceAI was co-founded by Kevin Li Yatong, an MBA graduate from Chinese University of Hong Kong. Its overseas clients include Indonesian state pension fund manager Taspen and an unnamed federal housing credit agency in Mexico.
In October 2018, the business joined forces with Hong Kong University of Science Technology’s (HKUST’s) Centre for Artificial Intelligence Research to launch a smart voice research hub. It previously signed a memorandum of understanding with diversified holding company Celestial Asia Securities, though it is unclear whether the deal involved equity commitments.
Hong Kong X Technology Fund generally backs businesses participating in its parent accelerator, Hong Kong X-Tech Startup Platform, which was established to support the local entrepreneurial ecosystem by Zexiang Li from HKUST and Guanhua Chen from University of Hong Kong with Neil Shen, managing partner of Sequoia Capital China.