HEFEI, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm iFLYTEK Co. Ltd. posted a sharp rise in net profit in the first three quarters of this year amid a boost in development of the AI industry.

The company raked in a net profit of 554 million yuan (about 82.67 million U.S. dollars) in the said period, a rise of 48.36 percent year on year, with revenue up 10.82 percent to 7.28 billion yuan, iFLYTEK said in its quarterly fiscal report.

In the third quarter, the company's net profit and revenue surged 60.79 percent and 25.16 percent year on year to 296 million yuan and 2.94 billion yuan respectively.

After recording a loss due to the impact of COVID-19 in the first quarter of 2020, the company bounced back in the second and third quarters as production resumed and many AI-driven businesses were launched, iFLYTEK said.