Deals

Google Makes First China Investment Since 2010 Pullout

Deal said to value AI startup Mobvoi at $300 million
It marks the latest step in Google's low-key return to China

Google is leading a round of funding for Mobvoi Inc., a company operating a Chinese-language voice-activated search engine.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

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By Shai Oster

October 20, 2015 at 10:03 AM UTC

Updated on

October 20, 2015 at 10:57 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Google Inc. is making its first direct investment in a Chinese startup, an artificial-intelligence developer, since mostly quitting the country in 2010 over censorship concerns.

Google is leading a round of funding for Mobvoi Inc., a company operating a Chinese-language voice-activated search engine. Google used Mobvoi instead of its own blocked service in the Moto 360 smartwatch released in China in June.