Google-backed Mobvoi to take on Apple watch

Mobvoi Inc, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup backed by Google Inc, is eyeing to take on Apple Inc in the latter's home turf with a smart watch, which enables consumers to order pizzas, hail cabs and make restaurants bookings via voice control.

The Beijing-based firm, which has so far landed $75 million from investors including Google, is bringing Ticwatch 2 to the United States, after its products stood out in China with self-developed voice search technology.

"Unlike rival products which rely on Google's operating system, we have developed software, voice recognition algorithms and hardware all on our own, which gives us full autonomy on development plans and thus ensures rapid upgrades of products," said Li Zhifei, founder and CEO of the four-year-old company.