Alibaba Leads $600m Round for Facial Recognition Firm

Facial recognition technology developer SenseTime has received $600m in a Series C round of funding, led by Chinese eCommerce company Alibaba.

SenseTime is headquartered in Beijing and Hong Kong, with offices in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Kyoto and Tokyo. The firm's multifunctional technology, based on AI and big data analysis, is used for facial recognition, image recognition, and intelligent video analytics.

The new funding, which adds to last July's $410m Series B round, was supported by Singapore's sovereign wealth fund Temasek and Chinese retailer Suning and is expected to be used to open up new business opportunities and expand SenseTime's AI platform. Company CEO and co-founder Li Xu said that the investment will accelerate the development of a global footprint with both domestic and overseas partners.

In a statement, Alibaba Vice Chairman and co-founder Joe Tsai (pictured) said of SenseTime's achievements: 'We are especially impressed by the firm's R&D capabilities in deep learning and visual computing. Our business at Alibaba is already seeing tangible benefits from our investments in AI, and we are committed to further investment. Our strategic partnership with SenseTime will spark more innovation and create value for society'.

Web site: www.sensetime.com .