Potential buyers check out a voice-activated speaker equipped with Unisound's intelligent voice recognition technology at a fair in Beijing in July 2016. (Photo provided to China Daily)
Founded in 2012, the Beijing-based technology startup has obtained several intellectual property rights of intelligent voice recognition technology. It has a complete technology architecture of AI based on machine learning, big data and computing platform.
The company claims that it owns the largest independent third-party voice cloud platform in China which supports more than 100 million devices.
To date, the Beijing-based startup has worked with several leading appliance manufacturers including Gree, Haier, Hisense and TCL and produced millions of smart home devices.
With the help of Unisound, home appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioners can hear and respond accordingly to consumers' voice commands, and then make decisions and necessary adjustments to, say, the indoor temperature.
In healthcare, Unisound is the first provider of medical cloud service in China. Last year, nearly 100 hospitals nationwide tested the service. Doctors could use voice input instead of typing words to save the medical records. The company said the doctors could save nearly 1.5 to 2 hours per day.
Although the exact figures are not available, it is learnt that the company earned tens of millions of yuan in sales revenue last year.
Zhu Zhongliang, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said in January at a big data conference in Chengdu that he is optimistic about the future development of intelligent voice.
"In recent years, the global intelligent voice market grew rapidly. In future, those related intelligent devices will enter every home."
According to data of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, sales of the global intelligent voice market will likely reach an estimated $11.24 billion yuan this year, up 37 percent year-on-year.
