Volkswagen is doubling down on China and AI in one fell swoop after the automaker announced a $180 million investment in Chinese startup Mobvoi to bring..
Volkswagen is doubling down on China and AI in one fell swoop after the automaker announced a $180 million investment in Chinese startup Mobvoi to bring smart technology into its cars.
Unlike a regular capital raise, VW’s money is going into a joint-venture that will “develop and apply AI technologies to automotive industry” rather than Mobvoi itself, the companies said in a statement. VW and Mobvoi will retain 50-50 ownership of the venture.
Beijing-based Mobvoi is a five-year-old startup specializing artificial intelligence, and in particular voice recognition and natural language processing tech. Prior to today, Mobvoi had raised $75 million from investors, including an undisclosed Series C round from Google in 2015.
