Chinese AI firm iFlyTek eyes Europe expansion as US trade war heats up
BARCELONA, March 6 (Reuters) - Chinese artificial intelligence firm iFlyTek (002230.SZ), opens new tab is planning to expand its European business as trade tensions rise between the United States and China, Vice President Vincent Zhan said.
"The U.S. and China trade war has some impact for us," Zhan said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, adding that North America is the company's largest market outside China in terms of demand.
Zhan said iFlyTek was aiming to diversify its supply chain to reduce any impact from tariffs while working to expand its business.
U.S. President Donald Trump this week announced 20% tariffs on several Chinese electronics categories untouched by prior duties, including smart phones, laptops, video game consoles, smart watches and speakers and Bluetooth devices.
Trump's predecessor, Joe Biden, imposed new tariffs on Chinese computer chips last year.
iFlyTek, with a market capitalisation of 123 billion Chinese yuan ($16.97 billion) based on LSEG data, currently sells in France and Hungary, where it already has an office. It also plans to open an office in Paris this year or next, Zhan said.
"For next year, we have a plan to expand to more countries in Europe, such as Spain and Italy," he added without elaborating.
Hefei-based iFlyTek, best known for its voice recognition technology, officially launched a new tablet in Barcelona that transcribes conversations.
"This shows that iFlyTek attaches great importance to the European market," a company spokesperson said.
Zhan said iFlyTek was considering additional European countries, choosing where to expand based on where it has partners.
iFlyTek was placed on a U.S. trade blacklist in 2019, barring the company from buying components from U.S. companies, such as Nvidia's AI chips, without Washington's approval. It has used chips made by Huawei to develop its own AI models and has also integrated models from start-up sensation DeepSeek.
"It is a challenge for us, but in the last two years, a lot of Chinese companies have started manufacturing AI chips," Zhan said.
($1 = 7.2468 Chinese yuan renminbi)
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