Uniphore Software Systems, a Chennai-based firm which makes speech recognition software, is in advanced talks with Cisco Systems executive chairman John Chambers to lead a $3-5 million investment round.
The company is expected to use the funding for further expansion of its business. It will also be spending a significant amount on product development.
Earlier, John Chambers had stated that he would be investing in Indian startups in his personal capacity. He also said that he has already invested in one Indian startup, but refrained from revealing more details.
Uniphore, founded by Umesh Sach dev and Ravi Saraogi, was incubated at IIT-Madras in the year 2008. It provides services including speech analytics, voice biometrics and a virtual assistant to improve human-machine interaction for enterprise customers.
The company has a presence in Singapore and the UAE, and provides services in 14 Indian languages as well as in several international languages including Spanish, Thai, French and Arabic.
It has so far raised more than $15 million in funding from YourNest Angel Fund, IDG Ventures and Kris Gopalakrishnan. The company claims to have an annual recurring revenue of $6-10 million and has worked with more than 70 enterprise clients.
Recently, in a move to strengthen its leadership team, the company appointed former SAP Canada executive Pat Pattabhiraman as senior vice-president, and former Salesforce India executive Ravi Kompella as India business head.