(Yicai Global) March 4 -- iFlytek, a Chinese specialist in voice recognition technology, has revealed that it owns a near 1.2 percent share in chipmaker Cambricon Technologies, which is undergoing pre-listing tutoring ahead of an initial public offering on the Shanghai Star Market.

The company is making investments in upstream and downstream companies to enhance the development of artificial intelligence, iFlytek said on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's platform for communication between investors and listed companies.

Founded in March 2016, Cambricon has CNY360 million (USD5.2 million) in registered capital and was worth USD2.5 billion after its B round in 2018. It has raised money from Jack Ma-backed Ali Venture Capital, Lenovo Capital, Suzhou Oriza Holdings, and SDI Venture Capital.

"Cambricon providers Huawei Technologies with intellectual property for AI chips, which is its main revenue generator," National Business Daily cited one analyst as saying. Huawei's Kirin 970 and Kirin 980 chips both use Cambricon's network processing unit, and feature in its smartphones Mate10, P20 and Mate20.

iFlytek brought in more than CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) in operating revenue last year, quadruple its 2015 income, according to a financial document it published on Feb. 29. It was in 2015 that the company decided to plow more money into AI research and building ecosystems involving sectors like education, politics, law and medicine, and the company believes that is the reason for the rising revenue.

Editor: James Boynton