May 09, 2019 (China Knowledge) - Chinese artifical intelligence firm Megvii has managed to raise USD 750 million in its latest funding round at a valuation of over USD 4 billion.

The funding round was led by Bank of China Group Investment which invested USD 200 million. Other investors in this latest fundraising include Macquarie Group, ICBC Asset Management and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

The funding round also comes just prior to a planned Hong Kong IPO later this year with the company having enlisted Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan to work on its listing.

The funds raised will be used to strengthen the company’s technological capabilities in deep learning, accelerate commercialization of its AI solution as well as recruitment and global expansion.

Currently, investors are piling into the Chinese artificial intelligence sector as Beijing continues to place a high priority on the sector which is increasingly becoming key to many other industries. Last year, investments into the AI sector totaled USD 2.1 billion over 88 deals, more than 4 times the amount invested in the last two years.

Other investors in Megvii include Alibaba which plans to use Megvii’s technology for Alipay transactions using facial recognition and Foxconn Technology.

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