Taiwan-based AI firm Appier raises $80 million

Taiwan-based artificial intelligence (AI) start-up Appier said on Tuesday that it has raised $80 million in its latest round of funding, a series D round, from investors including TGVest Capital and Hopu Investments.

That brings the total amount raised by Appier to $162 million, the company said, adding that other investors in the round were Temasek Holding's Pavilion Capital, Insignia Venture Partners, JAFCO Investment and UMC Capital.

Founded in 2012, the company has also received funding from Sequoia Capital, Softbank Group Corp and messaging app Line, making it one of the few Taiwan-based firms to receive substantial investment from global funds. Appier's platform helps companies use artificial intelligence to make marketing decisions

Although Taiwan is a vital part of the global technology supply chain for hardware manufacturing, the island has seen limited fundraising go into tech entrepreneurship.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)