INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
SenseTime may be best known as the world highest-valued AI company — having raised $620 million at a valuation of over $4.5 billion —
but it is also an investor, too
The Chinese firm this week leda 1.36 billion RMB ($199 million) Series D funding round for Moviebook, a Beijing-based startup that develops
technology to support online video services.
Moviebook previously raised a 500 million RMB Series C in 2017, worth around $75 million.SB
China Venture Capital (SBCVC) also took part in this new round alongsideQianhai Wutong, PAC Partners, Oriental Pearl, and Lang Sheng
Investment.
With the investment, SenseTime said it also inked a partnership with Moviebook which will see the two companies collaborate on a
range of AI technologies, includingaugmented reality, with a view to increasing the use of AI in the entertainment industry.
The object
detection and tracking technology developed by SenseTime Group Ltd
is displayed on a screen at the Artificial Intelligence Exhibition Conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, April 4, 2018
The AI Expo will run through April 6
Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
In a statement in Chinese, SenseTime co-founder Xu Bing said the companies plan to use the vast amounts
of video data from broadcasting, TV and internet streams to help unlock commercial opportunities in the future
He also stressed the potential to bring AI and new technologies to the entertainment industry.
This isn''t SenseTime first strategic
investment, but it is likely to be its most significant to date
The company has previously backed startups that include51VR,Helian Health andSuning Sports, the spinout from retail giant Suning.
SenseTime
itself has raised over $1.6 billion from investors, which include Alibaba, Tiger Global, Qualcomm, IDG Capital, Temasek and Silver Lake
