(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- Chinese artificial intelligence firm Beijing SenseTime Technology recently secured a USD1 billion investment from Japanese SoftBank's Shanghai affiliate SoftBank China Venture Capital, lifting its valuation to around USD6 billion, tech media outlet Sina Technology reported.

Users of the four-year-old AI startup's facial recognition technology include Sina Weibo  and smartphone maker Oppo Electronics.  

The report disclosed no further details of the funding deal. SenseTime has completed eight financing rounds since 2014, raising a total of over USD2 billion, public information shows.

It received an aggregate of USD1.2 billion from Alibaba Group Holding in Hangzhou, Singaporean sovereign fund Temasek Holdings and the US Tiger Management's Tiger Fund in April and May, valuing the company at USD4.5 billion at that time.

Editor: Ben Armour