Facebook buying speech-recognition software startup Wit.ai

San Francisco

FACEBOOK is acquiring Wit.ai, a developer of speech-recognition software, as the social-networking service seeks to expand its artificial-intelligence technology. The 18-month-old startup's tools power hundreds of applications to detect spoken words. Facebook didn't disclose terms of the purchase, which Wit.ai announced on its blog on Monday. Wit.ai raised US$3 million in October from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Ignition Partners, SV Angel, New Enterprise Associates, A-Grade, Eric Hahn, Alven Capital and TenOneTen.

Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg stepped up investment and research into artificial intelligence last year. The company is aiming to better understand the content and sentiment of its users' posts, including photo, video and audio.