Beijing-headquartered Megvii, one of China’s two AI startups most favored by investors, has closed its Series D financing round with USD 750 million, according to a statement from the company. This round’s investors include the investment arms of Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, as well as Macquarie Group.
The company, which was founded in 2011, said its new funds will be put toward strengthening its deep learning technology, accelerating the commercialization of its AI-enabled solutions, and pursuing international expansion.
Technology from the company’s facial recognition open platform Face++ is already being used in several popular apps, including Alipay and Didi, according to MIT Technology Review.
“Megvii is a global AI technology leader and innovator with cutting-edge technologies, a scalable business model, and a proven track record of monetization,” said Andrew Downe, Asia regional head of commodities and global markets at Macquarie Group.
Megvii has not disclosed its current valuation, although after its USD 460 million Series C financing, the company was estimated to be valued in the neighborhood of USD 2 billion.
Its major rival Sensetime says on its website that it closed a Series C+ financing round with USD 620 million in May 2018, after which it was valued at above USD 4.5 billion.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com
