Speaktoit, developer of human-computer interaction technologies based on natural language conversations and creator of the Assistant, today announced it closed a $2.6 million Series B growth investment round from Motorola Solutions Venture Capital, Intel Capital, Alpine Technology Fund, and Plug and Play Ventures. The round comes as Speaktoit expands its Natural Language Understanding platform, moves its corporate headquarters to Palo Alto, and ramps up its engineering team at the 30+ person company.

Speaktoit continues to grow the user base of its flagship Assistant application for Android, iOS, Windows and Google Chrome. The app, which can be interconnected across all platforms, has more than 12 million registered users. Assistant is now available in nine languages, is the highest grossing lifestyle app for Android in the United States, and has consistently been evaluated as the top-rated virtual assistant available.

Speaktoit is also actively partnering with automotive, smart home, smart TV, wearable technology, and robotics companies to add voice interaction capabilities to their apps and devices. By embedding cross-platform, voice-activated and predictive assistance, newly connected devices in the Internet of Things era will be able to contextually understand users in their natural language for a more meaningful, seamless experience.

'We believe that 'intelligent companions' will become more important in the vertical markets we serve,' said Reese Schroeder, managing director for Motorola Solutions Venture Capital. 'Since many of our customers are using their fingers and eyes for other tasks, voice has become a more important user interface to access critical information rapidly. The solution provided by Speaktoit can help that interface to really 'understand' the user request in the proper context and generate meaningful replies.'

'We're in the midst of an exciting time for human-gadget interaction technology,' said Ilya Gelfenbeyn, CEO, Speaktoit. 'As the Internet of Things helps people reimagine what's possible with the objects around us, we're continuing to expand how users interact with their connected devices and gadgets. Our investors share our vision of the connected future, and we're excited to work with them to ensure natural language understanding becomes a seamless, instinctive and helpful part of our daily lives.'

About Speaktoit
Speaktoit is a developer of human-computer interaction technologies based on natural language conversations. Its first product is the Speaktoit Assistant for mobile phones and tablets, which answers questions in natural language, performs tasks and efficiently connects users to popular web services.

About Motorola Solutions Venture Capital
Motorola Solutions Venture Capital is the strategic equity investment arm of Motorola Solutions. Its diversified portfolio is focused on 'new-idea' companies and opportunities that complement Motorola Solutions' business strategy. Motorola Solutions Venture Capital invests at all stages in developing companies to accelerate access to new technologies, new markets and new talent. For more information, visit www.motorolasolutions.com/ventures.

About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel's global investment and M&A organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups and companies worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, mobility, consumer Internet, digital media and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$11 billion in over 1,339 companies in 54 countries. In that timeframe, 206 portfolio companies have gone public on various exchanges around the world and 344 were acquired or participated in a merger. In 2013, Intel Capital invested US$333 million in 146 investments with approximately 49 percent of funds invested outside North America. For more information on Intel Capital and its differentiated advantages, visit www.intelcapital.com or follow @Intelcapital.

About Alpine Technology Fund
Alpine Technology Fund is the strategic investment arm of Alpine Electronics. The investments are all equity based, focusing on innovative technology companies in software and services.

Alpine Electronics is an automotive electronics manufacturer that provides consumers and leading auto makers with audio, video, navigation and driver assistance products. The company specializes in system integration solutions with innovative vehicle entertainment and information technologies.