Music recognition app maker SoundHound has raised US$75 million (A$99 million) to help take on companies such as Amazon and Google.The 12-year-old outfit is betting that, as more
everyday devices get connected to the Internet, using speech to control and
direct them will become the dominant form of interaction. The fresh capital
will help SoundHound add more customers using its speech AI platform, Houndify,
at a faster rate and help expand operations to Asia and Europe.

Investors in this round of fundraising included Samsung’s Catalyst Fund and
graphics chip-maker Nvidia, both of which build hardware technology integral to
artificial intelligence and already work with SoundHound.

Research firm Pitchbook estimates SoundHound’s valuation to be around $800
million.