Deep Learning Tech Firm Syntiant Raises $35M In Series C

Voice-focused deep learning tech firm Syntiant has notched $35 million in a Series C funding round. Applied Ventures, LLC and M12, the venture fund of Microsoft, headed up in the financing, according to a Tuesday (August 4) announcement from Syntiant.

Alpha Edison, Miramar Digital Ventures and Atlantic Bridge Capital also came on board as new investors in Syntiant.

Syntiant CEO Kurt Busch said in the announcement, “It is a tremendous honor to know that some of the world’s leading tech investors are supporting our growth stage, as we deliver our deep learning voice solution to customers across the globe.”

Syntiant, which is based in Irvine, California, allows for tailored voice experiences throughout different products and scenarios, such as wake words and speaker identification. Its neural decision processors (NDPs) have become a part of the design of a broad array of devices powered by batteries like smart speakers, notebooks, headphones and smartphones.

M12 Managing Director Samir Kumar said in the announcement, “Syntiant’s class-leading power performance is making an ambient fabric of neural network-powered intelligence at the tiny edge a reality.”

According to Syntiant, the market for speech and voice recognition is anticipated to arrive at $26.8 billion by 2025, citing a Meticulous Research report. The company brings together hardware with information input and the deep learning education of its parallel neural network.

Voice technology has received a large boost from COVID-19 as consumers migrate to make eCommerce purchases and steer clear of touching items in public places out of worry of contracting the virus.

Tom Taylor, senior vice president of Amazon’s Alexa unit, recently told GeekWire, “We’ve seen a huge increase in the use of voice in the home. People do build relationships with Alexa.”

The adoption of voice technology was already on the move prior to the pandemic. Voice assistants are now appearing in hotel rooms and quick-service restaurants (QSRs), and they also allow for grocery shopping.