A startup with Russian roots Api.ai, a rival of Siri's voice assistant, raised $ 3 million and changed its business model

Api.ai has raised $ 3 million. The round was headed by SAIC Capital , which is owned by the largest Chinese automaker SAIC Motor . Earlier, Intel Capital , Alpine Technology Fund and Motorola Solutions Venture Capital invested in the project. Api.ai helps its customers embed a Siri- like voice interface into their applications.



Thanks to the investment received, the company will be able to provide API to developers absolutely free of charge. Api.ai will change the business model and start working with major automakers, companies from the field of electronics development, in particular, the “Internet of Things”. Now she will provide consulting, support and maintenance, implementation and licensing services.



Part of the funds raised will be invested in the further development of speech recognition methods, recognition of the user's intentions and dialogue with him. In the development of API implemented algorithms for machine learning. Therefore, the speech recognition engine is self-improving in the process.

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The company's founder and CEO Ilya Gelfenbein said that Api.ai interfaces are used by more than 8,500 developers in their applications. In May, this figure did not exceed 5,000. Speaktoit's own application, a voice assistant with artificial intelligence, also brings revenue. Using the Speaktoit application, which is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone, you can give voice commands to record events in the calendar, send SMS messages, emails, as well as open web pages or publish posts on the social network.