Taiwanese AI Startup Pulls In $23M As Sign Of Nation’s New Tech Landscape
Taiwan-based B2B AI insights company Appier has closed a $23 million Series B round, bringing its total funding to $30 million = another example of Taiwan’s growing soft-tech landscape. Investors include UOB Venture Management, Sequoia India, JAFCO Asia, TransLink Capital and MediaTek Ventures. Founded in 2012 by a former Google AI scientist, the startup reports revenue growth of 600 percent since it raised its Series A from Sequoia in June 2014.
Appier uses AI technology to provide insights to a current roster of more than 500 advertisers about their consumers’ behavior across devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets. In the post-mobile, cross-screen Internet era, the company’s vision is to help businesses solve challenging analytical problems.
Appier has more than 100 employees across 11 cities, including Singapore, Hong Kong and New Delhi. In continuing with its Google ties, the company has recently hired Caroline Hsu, Google’s former head of communications for Taiwan and Hong Kong, as CMO. Aiming to double in size by the end of 2016, the new funds will be used to expand to more Asian markets and grow the team, especially AI scientists and systems engineers.