Google invests $65 million in China partner for Android Wear

Mobvoi is a Chinese start-up that makes mobile voice-search apps and smartwatch software, reports Tech in Asia

Google isn’t done with China yet. Despite all its services being blocked in the country, Google today revealed it has invested around $65 million into Mobvoi, a Chinese start-up that makes mobile voice-search apps and smartwatch software.
 

Mobvoi’s series C funding was confirmed to TechCrunch, though the deal size is an estimation based on the start-up revealing it has so far raised $75 million since it started up.
 

Google and Mobvoi already have a budding friendship after the search engine giant picked the start-up in September as its Chinese partner for Android Wear, Google’s smartwatch OS. That coincided with Motorola bringing a tweaked version of Android Wear to China to launch its Moto 360 watch.
 

 

The news comes months after Tech in Asia spotted Google pitching its Android app store to Chinese developers, suggesting that Google wants to re-enter the consumer side of the China business by relaunching a China-specific version of Play Store.

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This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here.