China AI player Mobvoi files for Hong Kong IPO
Mobvoi, which claims to be China’s largest revenue-generating artificial intelligence (AI) company focusing on content generation, has filed for a Hong Kong IPO.
SIG China is the largest external shareholder with a 17% stake, followed by Google and Sequoia Capital China with 13.26% and 10.92% respectively. Shenzhen-listed acoustic components maker GoerTek holds 10%, according to a prospectus.
The company has completed seven funding rounds, amounting to USD 232.6m. It was valued at USD 5.1m on closing the first tranche of the Series A in 2013. The valuation had grown to USD 756.7m by the time of the Series D extension in 2019.
Google's participation in a Series C round in 2015 - recorded by AVCJ Research as being USD 75m - was its first direct investment in China since ending its local search engine service in the country over censorship concerns.
Founded in 2012 by Google scientist Zhifei Li, Mobvoi focuses on voice recognition and interaction technology and has launched a set of smart devices that integrates software and hardware. The company is best known for smartwatches under the brand TicWatch. It has sold more than 1m smart devices since 2020, including watches, headphones, and smart speakers.
The business has recently expanded into enterprise services, providing pre-installed automotive voice interaction solutions. The offering is said to have been used by more than 2m vehicles since 2020.
Volkswagen announced plans to invest USD 180m in Mobvoi in 2017 and establish a joint venture to explore AI-related smart transportation applications. Mobvoi sold its interest in the JV to Volkswagen China in 2021. The company also repurchased shares in itself held by Volkswagen.
AI-generated content (AIGC) is Mobvoi's latest focus area, with progress including the development of a large language model between 2020 and 2023. There are also three content-generating solutions, including an AI voiceover assistant called Moyin Workshop, whose overseas version is known as Dupdub.
Other projects include an AI writing assistant, Mozhuan Writing, and a one-stop AI video generation and virtual live streaming solution, Weta365. Mobvoi claimed to have attracted over 6m registered users for its AIGC solutions since 2020.
Revenue grew from CNY 264.5m (USD 37.2m) in 2020 to CNY 397.9m in 2021, and CNY 500m in 2022. A net profit was CNY 90m in 2020 turned to a net loss of CNY 181m in 2021, which widened to CNY 685m in 2022.
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