May 16 (NBD) -- Chinese voice recognition technology company iFLYTEK plans to raise around 3.6 billion yuan (564.8 million U.S. dollars) through a private placement to speed up artificial intelligence (AI) development, according to a filing released on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange Monday.

The funds will be used to develop the next-generation cognitive technology, AI speech open platform, and smart service robots and application scenarios, and to upgrade sales and service system and improve the company's cash flow.

According to a report on AI released by ASKCI Consulting, China's AI market is expected to reach 23.82 billion yuan (3.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2018, a year-on-year increase of 56.6 percent.

Against such background, technology giants both at home and abroad are ramping up efforts to develop AI technology. Foreign players are represented by Google, Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon and Intel, while domestic players are represented by BAT (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) and iFLYTEK.

Industry insiders say that BAT have expanded to the voice recognition sector since 2015. With constant influx of capital, the gap between them is narrowing. Although BAT are late comers, they enjoy greater traffic, more application scenarios, and more abundant capital than iFLYTEK.

Deng Zhidong, a professor with Department of Computer Science and Technology of Tsinghua University, told NBD that tech giants should speed up the penetration into industries while developing AI, and then update data, performance, and products in specific scenarios. Big data collecting, filtering, labeling and assessment are essential in all links of the AI industry chain, which requires the input of 80 percent of human resources and capital.

In addition to expanding application scenarios, independant R&D remains to be improved. Industry insiders said no substantial breakthrough has been made in the AI field in China. Basic theories and core algorithm are from developed countries. High-end chips, operating systems and other important products are dominated by foreign technical giants. Now it's the time to make some changes.

Email: tanyuhan@nbd.com.cn