Chinese facial recognition technology developer SenseTime Group has raised $620m in a second round of funding.
The Series C+ funding round was led by Fidelity International, Hopu Capital, Silver Lake and Tiger Global. Qualcomm Ventures and other investment firms and strategic investors participated. It brings SenseTime’s total financing to more than $1.6bn and hands it valuation of over $4.5bn.
SenseTime said it will invest further in research and development, and in securing talented researchers after the latest round of funding.
Based in both Hong Kong and Beijing, its develops technology that employs AI to quickly identify and analyse identities using cameras. The solution has been used by Chinese authorities to track and capture suspects in public spaces such as airports and festivals.
Its facial recognition technology, SenseID, provides integrated “Cloud + Client” solutions, including SDK, cloud services and integrated identity authentication terminals. Using functions such as living body detection, card recognition, and facial comparison, SenseID ensures the authenticity of the user’s identity to reduce business risks for financial firms and mobile network operators, as well as reduces human resources expenditures.
It also provides SenseKeeper, a face recognition device for the control of a pedestrian gate. It is mainly used for authentication and intelligent security management in public channels. It can support a variety of authentication methods, such as ID card, intelligent IC card, two-dimensional code and face recognition.
For the last three consecutive years, SenseTime has upheld a year-on-year growth rate of 400% as it has rapidly implemented its technology across industries.
Recently it signed an agreement with Shanghai Shentong Metro Group, the largest subway operator in China, to deploy AI solutions for metro traffic monitoring. It also signed a strategic agreement with the city of Chengdu to establish a regional headquarters, aligning with the Belt and Road initiative to expand and develop the western China market. The company recently joined hands with Alibaba and Hong Kong Science & Technology Park to establish The HK AI Laboratory to help Hong Kong transform into an international center of science and innovation.
In education, SenseTime and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) jointly formed an AI Alliance to advance AI academic research and nurture innovation breakthroughs. SenseTime also created the world’s first AI textbook for secondary schools, which will be deployed in more than 40 domestic high schools across China, among them Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jiaotong University affiliated high schools; the company will also begin the design of AI-driven courses and lab experiments to further promote and realise the technology’s potential in education.
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