Mobvoi Inc (羽扇智信息), a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company and smart device maker, has selected banks for a Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) that could raise about US$200 million to US$300 million, people familiar with the matter said.
The Beijing-based firm, which last month debuted its own AI large-language model, is working with China International Capital Corp (中國國際金融) and China Merchants Bank International (招銀國際) to prepare for the first-time share sale, the people said.
The IPO could take place as soon as this year, they said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
With the early success of OpenAI Inc’s ubiquitous chatbot, AI companies in China are rushing to roll out their own answers to ChatGPT and seeking more funding to fuel the sector’s growth.
Beijing’s top Internet overseer has published draft guidelines that would mandate a security review of generative AI services such as Mobvoi’s Xulie Houzi (序列猴子) platform, as well as models from Baidu Inc (百度) and SenseTime Group Inc (商湯科技).
Founded in 2012 by a group of former employees of Alphabet Inc’s Google, Mobvoi three years later attracted the US tech giant’s first direct investment in China since it withdrew its search engine from the country in 2010.
Mobvoi is known to consumers as a maker of products including smartwatches and smart speakers.The company’s AI software is used in services including finance, telecommunications and senior care.
Along with a strategic partnership with Alphabet, Mobvoi also drew Volkswagen AG as an investor and partner via a 2017 funding round and the forming of a joint venture. It also counts Sequoia Capital (紅杉資本) and Zhenfund (真格基金) as backers.
Mobvoi has about 700 employees, and has offices in Seattle and Taipei, in addition to its headquarters in Beijing, its Web site shows.
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