Latest news with #speechRecognition
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
From Cambridge to Suzhou: a Chinese AI start-up's journey to unicorn status
In 2007, a Chinese PhD student at the University of Cambridge launched a start-up with a former classmate focused on using speech recognition technology to help foreigners learn Chinese. A year later, Yu Kai and his team returned to China, aiming to draw on the country's vast market and deep talent pool to propel their nascent company's development. Swapping Cambridge for Suzhou – a city in eastern China then more famous for its picturesque gardens and canals than its tech sector – may have seemed like an unconventional choice at the time, but it proved to be an inspired move. Yu's company, AI Speech, is now riding China's artificial intelligence boom as a leader in conversational AI. It has raised hundreds of millions of dollars over several funding rounds, with the Hurun Research Institute recognising the firm as an AI unicorn. Its technology powers voice activation software used by carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BYD, as well as smart home brands Midea and Haier. It also develops AI chips and smart office devices like microphones and speakers. Though the company's funding mostly comes from private investors and its own revenue, China's industrial policies have also played an important role in supporting AI Speech, according to Yu.
Globe and Mail
17 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Should You Forget SoundHound AI and Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Right Now?
SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN), a developer of artificial intelligence (AI)-powered speech and audio recognition tools, has been a polarizing investment ever since its public debut three years ago. The bulls were initially impressed by its rapid growth, expanding customer base, and the disruptive potential of its tools, which could be customized for restaurants, vehicles, consumer electronics, and other markets. Nvidia 's minor investment in the company raised even more green flags. However, a lot of SoundHound's growth was driven by its acquisitions rather than its organic improvements -- and it remained deeply unprofitable. It also faces stiff competition from similar voice recognition platforms, and many investors fled after Nvidia sold its entire stake earlier this year. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect SoundHound's revenue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48%. They also expect its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to turn positive by the final year. That's a promising growth trajectory, but it's still richly valued at 20 times this year's sales, so any bad news could easily sink its stock. Instead of investing in SoundHound AI, it might be smarter to invest in two other AI-oriented stocks that are on firmer ground: Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Micron (NASDAQ: MU). 1. Arista Networks Arista Networks is a top networking hardware and software company. But unlike its larger competitor, Cisco, which locks in its customers with proprietary hardware and software, Arista uses off-the-shelf chips and open-source software that are compatible with a broad range of hardware. It also sells low-latency switches, optimized for hyperscale data center and cloud networks, and its CloudVision platform enables those clients to easily monitor their own cloud deployments. Arista's flexible, modular, and scalable strategy made it a top choice for cloud giants like Meta Platforms and Microsoft. So, while Cisco might be a better one-stop shop for enterprise and campus customers, Arista is a more focused play on the booming cloud and AI infrastructure markets. From 2019 to 2024, Arista's revenue rose at a CAGR of 24%, while its adjusted net income increased at a CAGR of 30%. From 2024 to 2027, analysts expect its revenue and earnings per share (EPS) to grow at a CAGR of 19% and 15%, respectively. That growth should be driven by the soaring need for cloud and AI infrastructure upgrades, its gradual expansion into the enterprise and campus markets to challenge Cisco, and the rising adoption of its integrated security services. Arista's stock isn't cheap at 39 times this year's earnings, but it could still have plenty of room to grow. 2. Micron Micron is one of the world's largest producers of DRAM (dynamic random-access memory) and NAND memory chips. It controls smaller slices of both markets than South Korea's Samsung and SK Hynix, but Micron manufactures slightly denser DRAM chips with its 1-beta process. That technological edge makes it a top choice for performance-oriented cloud and AI companies. Micron is a cyclical company that follows the memory market's boom and bust cycles. Its last bust occurred in 2023, when the PC market lapped its pandemic-driven acceleration, the 5G smartphone upgrade cycle cooled, and more data centers prioritized their purchases of Nvidia's AI-oriented graphics processing units (GPUs) over new memory chips. But from fiscal 2024 (which ended last August) to fiscal 2027, analysts expect Micron's revenue and EPS to grow at a CAGR of 23% and 148%, respectively. The company's growth is accelerating again as the PC and smartphone markets stabilize and more data center customers install solid-state drives (SSDs) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to support the latest cloud and AI applications. That's an impressive growth trajectory for a stock that trades at just 13 times next year's earnings. Micron is likely trading at that lower valuation because it's a cyclical stock. However, it still has plenty of upside potential in this boom cycle as the cloud and AI markets generate fresh tailwinds for its business. Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $704,676!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $950,198!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to175%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025
South China Morning Post
18-06-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Alibaba recruits top Chinese AI scientist Li Xiangang to lead speech-recognition push
Li Xiangang, a leading Chinese scientist in speech recognition, has joined Alibaba Group Holding to spearhead its artificial intelligence (AI) voice team, boosting the tech giant's capabilities in the burgeoning field. Sources familiar with the matter said Li, who holds a PhD in Computer and Information Sciences from Peking University, had taken on a role leading speech AI research at the Hangzhou-based e-commerce giant. He fills a position previously held by Yan Zhijie, who left the company. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. The speech team, part of Alibaba's Tongyi Lab, focuses on multimodal speech and language models. In July 2024, the lab open-sourced two foundational speech models, SenseVoice and CosyVoice. SenseVoice's multilingual speech recognition notably outperformed OpenAI's Whisper by 50 per cent in Chinese and Cantonese, according to Alibaba. Li's move was first reported by Chinese media outlets. Machine-learning models for speech and recognition have broad AI applications, including in chatbots and digital avatars. Photo: Shutterstock Images Machine-learning models for speech and recognition have broad AI applications, including in chatbots and digital avatars. This has led to intense competition among China's Big Tech firms wanting to stake out their positions in the sector. Chinese search giant Baidu, for example, showcased a digital avatar of Luo Yonghao, a prominent Chinese public speaker and entrepreneur, during its AI Day on Tuesday.
National Post
07-05-2025
- Business
- National Post
Microsoft Recommends Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch as the Successor to Nuance PowerMic
Article content VIENNA — Speech Processing Solutions, global leader in professional dictation solutions under the Philips brand, today announced that the Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch has been officially recognized by Microsoft as the recommended successor to the soon-to-be-retired Nuance PowerMic series. Article content Article content As the only microphone recommended by Microsoft for PowerMic replacement, the Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch delivers seamless, plug-and-play compatibility with many Nuance speech recognition solutions. Article content As the only microphone recommended by Microsoft for PowerMic replacement, the Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch delivers seamless, plug-and-play compatibility with many Nuance speech recognition solutions, including Dragon Medical One, Dragon Professional Anywhere, Dragon Legal Anywhere, and some versions of PowerScribe offering medical, legal and business professionals a superior alternative for uninterrupted documentation workflows. Article content With an intuitive button layout mirroring the PowerMic, the Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch offers users a familiar, yet enhanced dictation experience to enable effortless transitions. Already in use by millions of medical, legal and business professionals worldwide, the Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch offers: Article content Compatibility with Dragon Medical One, Dragon Professional Anywhere, Dragon Legal Anywhere, and some versions of PowerScribe, as well as other legacy software such as Dragon NaturallySpeaking, Dragon Medical Practice Edition, and Winscribe Pre-configured Dragon function keys for convenient speech recognition control Studio-quality microphone with noise reduction for unprecedented accuracy in speech recognition Ergonomic design and hygienic housing, ideal for long-shift use and clinical work environments Advanced touch sensor navigation replaces the need to switch to a mouse Article content 'With the PowerMic now being retired in the coming weeks, organizations must move quickly to maintain continuity in documentation,' said Dr. Thomas Brauner, CEO at Speech Processing Solutions. 'The Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch is delivering both familiarity and unprecedented quality in speech recognition accuracy. I am delighted to be able to offer the Philips SpeechMike – the leading and most widely used dictation microphone in the world – to all existing PowerMic users.' Article content The Philips SpeechMike Premium Touch is available now through professional distribution channels. Article content Speech Processing Solutions (SPS) is the global leader in AI-powered dictation and transcription solutions. Active in over 50 countries with more than 4 million users and a network of 1,000+ partners, SPS develops award-winning speech-to-text technologies and devices under the Philips brand. Headquartered in Vienna, Austria, SPS is globally active with offices in Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, the UK, and the US. Article content Article content Article content Article content Article content Contacts Article content Article content Article content
