Singapore-based AI startup Sentient.io today announced that it has raised an undisclosed Series B funding round by Real Tech Fund, a fund managed by Japan-based Real Tech Holdings, making it the third company that the fund has invested in.
The funding will be used to scale its platform and business into the Asia Pacific markets, with a particular focus on fulfilling demands for digital transformation from Japanese corporations.
“Real Tech Holdings understands that building AI applications require a high level of expertise and a long period to master the technology. We believe that our collaboration with them will accelerate innovative solutions and bring these to the market at a quicker pace. This will also help to fulfil our vision of benefiting humanity with augmented intelligence,” said Christopher Yeo, Founder and CEO of Sentient.io, in a press statement.
With this funding round, Sentient.io has raised a total of more than US$6 million in funding since its inception in May 2017.
The company is also in advance talks with another potential investor for the funding round.
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Previously, the company has raised Series A funding round from A*ccelerate Technologies, the commercialising and venture arm of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR); BEENEXT; Digital Garage Group; and ABC Dream Ventures, the corporate venture capital firm of Asahi Broadcasting Group Holdings Corporation.
Sentient.io builds an AI and data platform of over 60 functions that software developers can “assemble like Lego blocks”, as the company described it. This aims to empower developers to pick from its pre-trained AI microservices to create AI-powered smart applications, and for big data owners such as government or multinational companies to generate new values for their data assets.
This funding round was raised with the background of the market size for voice and image recognition which is expected to reach US$98.8 billion by 2025.
“Sentient.io has developed an easy-to-use platform and UI/UX that allows pre-trained microservices to be integrated into business applications via
API, and is particularly popular in Southeast Asia,” says Daiki Kumamoto, Global Fund Leader and Growth Manager of Real Tech Holdings.
“One particular popular technology has algorithms that can process and hone in on voice activities from training data in order to recognise the unique English accent of Southeast Asia countries such as ‘Singlish’ in Singapore. As a strategic partner and investor, we will support Sentient.io’s entry into the Japanese market and will continue to accelerate collaboration with Japanese companies,” he continued.
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