Aibee is an AI solution developer company and its name infers "AI to B(Business)". Aibee has received series of shocking amount funding as being a newborn startup. What makes it being appealing to VCs and enables it being valued at such an astonishing number.
Nov 27, 2018 /EqualOcean/ - The AI solution developer company, Aibee(爱笔), announced its completed series A funding of USD 60 million, which was led by Red Star Macalline and Sequoia Capital China and followed by LCIG(Lenonvo Capital and Incubator Group), Zhongli Hecai Capital, K2VC, C Ventures and so on. Meanwhile, Aibee announced that ZHU Shenghuo(朱胜火) officially joined Aibee. Zhu Shenghuo was the former principal of Alibaba DAMO Academy Decision Intelligence Laboratory and now is the co-partner of Aibee in charge of machine learning.
In January 2018, Aibee closed its angel round funding in amount of CNY 150 million (USD 21.59 million) and made the highest funding record of Chinese AI startups. Just four months later, Aibee announced its series Pre-A funding from K11 founder ZHENG Zhigang(郑志刚)’s strategic investment with nearly CNY 100 million(USD 14 million). Today’s series A funding is only half year away from Pre-A funding.
For a starup founded a year ago, Aibee has raised more than USD 100 million from VC and investors. The frequency and amount of funding are listed on top of all AI companies. At a winter time of capital market and the cooling down AI investment, Aibee is out of question the pearl on the crown of its industry. How could Aibee be so popular among VCs and investors? The answer is absolutely intriguing.
USD 100 million took only a year. Why Aibee?
When asked such questions, the managing director of Sequoia Capital China, WANG Kai(王恺) said, “Aibee is the first AI starup claiming to provide integral AI solution development. We have confidence in the trend of AI solution service in traditional industries. Along with deepened understanding of AI, the time of ToB’s AI application’s landing could be expected optimistically, and this is the hidden potentials and chance for Aibee.”
Indeed, AI’s ToB process is full of challenges. Most companies are in strong demand of gamut AI service like visual, voice etc. These companies purchase the customized SDK(software development kit) from visual and voice AI providers, but later they find that their own IT staffs are not capable to connect those service with their own products and there is no integrated tech service provider in the market. Considering the demand gap, Aibee’s role and duty is to fill the gap. Understanding the reluctance and demands of users, Aibee closes the service ring by providing integral service from visual effect, voice recognition, natural language understanding, big data analysis, robot and other AI techs, combining algorithms, tech, product and service. While fastening the commercialization of AI tech, Aibee could help the vertical industry with efficiency elevation and productivity.
Besides pushing the commercialization steps of AI, Aibee also heavily focuses on human resources and AI R&D. Within a year, Aibee team expanded to 100 people and headquartered in both Beijing and Silicon Valley. Beyond, Aibee planned to set up two R&D centers in Seattle and Boston to attract experts and bring its business to the next level.
--Author: FU YingWei; write to YingWei at YingWei@EqualOcean.com