Chinese AI Startup Megvii Wraps Up Its Biggest Financing Yet at USD750 Million
Liao Shumin
DATE:  May 09 2019
/ SOURCE:  yicai
Chinese AI Startup Megvii Wraps Up Its Biggest Financing Yet at USD750 Million Chinese AI Startup Megvii Wraps Up Its Biggest Financing Yet at USD750 Million

(Yicai Global) May 9 -- Megvii Technology, a Chinese facial recognition startup, has raised USD750 million, the biggest sum so far on its journey toward an initial public offering.

Megvii, also known as Face++, finished its D round of financing, led by Bank of China Group Investment, a private equity arm of the state-owned lender, the Beijing-based firm posted on its WeChat account yesterday. 

The funding lifts Megvii's valuation to a bit over USD4 billion ahead of its plan to go public in Hong Kong this year, Reuters reported yesterday, citing two sources familiar with the matter. 

Other investors in this round included Macquarie Group, ICBC Asset Management Global and a unit of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world.  

Founded in 2011, Megvii counts Ant Financial Services Group and Apple's supplier Foxconn Technology Group as its investors due to its previous USD460 million funding round in 2017 that broke the global record in the sector at that time.

Megvii has more than 2,000 employees and it has opened research centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, as well as one abroad in Seattle.

Editor: Emmi Laine

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Keywords:   Megvii,Facial Recognition,IPO