Break even in the first year, ship 30 million audio AI chips, and Polus secures tens of millions in financing | Exclusive report by Yingke

Author: Ou Xue

Editor: Peng Xiaoqiu

Yingke has learned that Shenzhen Polos Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Polos") recently completed tens of millions of yuan in Series A financing, which was exclusively invested by Hanlian Semiconductor Industry Fund (hereinafter referred to as "Hanlian Fund") as a strategic investment. This round of financing will accelerate Polos' R & D and innovation in intelligent voice enhancement and intelligent voice interaction technologies, and promote the market penetration of its products in more fields.

Founded in 2018, Polos' R & D team comes from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and industrial institutions, with years of experience in algorithms and integrated circuits. Currently, Polos provides domestic audio chips and solutions with high performance and cost - effectiveness to users through a product system centered on technologies such as the audio AI chip with a tri - core heterogeneous architecture of MCU + DSP + NPU, acoustic signal processing algorithms, neural network noise reduction algorithms, and full - duplex call algorithms. Its products are widely used in various industry intelligent terminals, IPCs, AIPCs, AI toys, portable sound reinforcement devices, intercom equipment and other AI hardware, effectively shortening the AI engineering chain and reducing the application threshold and development difficulty of AI technology.

As an important perception technology, intelligent audio processing is widely used in various intelligent hardware and industry scenarios such as smart home, smart finance, smart cars, smart education, smart medical care, and smart terminals. In the era of large models, voice interaction is deeply integrated with AI and has become one of the most core interaction methods for AI hardware. New - generation intelligent hardware also puts forward higher requirements for SoC processing capabilities, algorithms such as AI noise reduction and voice enhancement, and software - hardware collaborative optimization.

As the front - end acoustic entrance and back - end broadcasting exit of large models, new market opportunities for voice technology are constantly emerging. According to a report by WiseGuyReports, the global intelligent audio SoC market size reached $30.4 billion in 2024 and is expected to soar to $82.6 billion in 2032. Behind the compound annual growth rate of 13.33% is the extreme pursuit of SoC processing capabilities, AI noise reduction and voice enhancement algorithms by intelligent hardware.

Wei Xiangcheng, the founder and CEO of Polos, told Yingke that the company's core competitiveness lies in: first, the edge intelligence ability of end - side audio processing, which can miniaturize algorithms on a tiny chip while ensuring high restoration; second, the integration of traditional acoustic signal processing and neural network noise reduction technologies; third, providing a full - link audio processing solution from the sound - pickup end to the playback end.

In addition, "We are now working hard to build a fourth barrier, which is the ability to combine the end - side and the cloud - side, to further improve the flexibility and scalability of our products," said Wei Xiangcheng.

Yingke has learned that Polos' chip architecture mainly consists of three major parts. In the DSP part, an algorithm framework based on signal processing is constructed, including modules such as blind source separation, echo cancellation, and audio encoding and decoding; in the NPU part, an algorithm model based on AI chips is built, including acoustic models, language models, and noise reduction models; in the MCU part, the driving and application parts based on algorithms are constructed to form a complete user solution. Currently, Polos is one of the very few domestic enterprises with full - stack AI audio processing technology, with a cumulative shipment of 30 million chips.

Polos PNC chip / Image source: the enterprise

In 2018, Polos achieved break - even in its first year of establishment. Wei Xiangcheng revealed that in 2024, the company's revenue and profit maintained a growth rate of about 50% annually.

"Next, we will continue to focus on three categories: AI tools, health, and education," Wei Xiangcheng told Yingke. He believes that these fields have great development potential in the future, and hopes to develop products that can solve users' actual problems and provide real value, rather than just making something that is merely decorative.

Wei Xiangcheng further said that for AI tool - type products, the company focuses on products such as IPCs, live - streaming microphones, and recording products, and provides audio processing technology support to empower the end - side and platform - side. In the health field, on the one hand, the company is researching and developing dedicated chips for hearing aids for the elderly; on the other hand, it is developing chip products related to sports around the concept of "preventing diseases before they occur", which are widely used in cycling and skiing products. In the education field, the company focuses on researching and developing products for children, such as educational and entertaining products, sleep - related peripheral products, and intelligent hardware such as learning tablets and dictionary pens.

Wei Xiangcheng said that the company's short - term goals mainly focus on two aspects. One is to rapidly promote the R & D and marketization of hearing aid chip products, so that ordinary people can use products that are clear and comfortable to listen to. The other is to combine hardware with platforms, launch intelligent hardware products based on large models, and quickly introduce them to the market. Wei Xiangcheng said: "We will focus on investing resources in these two directions to achieve the company's strategic layout and business growth."

Views of the investor:

Hanlian Fund said: We have long - term attention and firm confidence in the broad market space of domestic audio technology under the wave of large models and new - generation AI hardware. Polos has excellent technical capabilities, innovation capabilities, and market potential. Joining hands with Polos is an important part of Hanlian Industry Fund's layout in the AI and semiconductor fields. We look forward to the close cooperation between Polos and the enterprises in our ecosystem in the future, jointly promoting the innovation and development of intelligent audio processing and interaction technologies, providing high - quality technical solutions for more industries, and contributing to industrial upgrading.