Cross-border

SenseTime Enters Singapore Through NTU, NSCC and Singtel Partnerships

SenseTime, a Beijing-based industry leader in artificial intelligence (AI), has made a strategic move into Singapore through the signing of memoranda of understanding (MOU) with three leading Singaporean organizations. The organizations are Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), National Supercomputing Centre of Singapore (NSCC), and Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel).

SEE ALSO: Made-In-China Meeting AI unicorn, SenseTime raised $1.2 bln within 2 months

The signing ceremony was held on July 2 at Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), attended by SenseTime founder, professor Xiao’ou Tang, as well as representatives from the partnership organizations.

The signing of the MOU is an strategic move in the company’s global expansion. The partnership covers three different fields including academia, industry and government agencies, which will help to enhance the comprehensive power of SenseTime in the future.

Witnessed by EDB, SenseTime signs MOU with NTU, NSCC and Singtel separately.
Witnessed by EDB, SenseTime signs MOU with NTU, NSCC and Singtel separately. From left: Mr. Hui Shen (SenseTime), Associate Professor Tan Tin Wee (NSCC), Professor Lam Khin Yong (NTU), Mr. Kiren Kumar (EDB), Mr. Bill Chang (Singtel), Professor Xiao’ou Tang, Mr. Peter Ho (NSCC), Mr. Arthur Lang (Singtel), Professor Louis Phee (NTU), Mr. Jeff Shi (SenseTime) and Mr. Martin Huang (SenseTime). Image Source: SenseTime website.

As the world’s most valuable AI unicorn, SenseTime has also long attracted much attention from both domestic and global governments. It has been taken as “a new economic engine” by Chinese government and has been working closely with the government for AI-based solution, especially in the facial recognition surveillance. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited the SenTime’s Beijing office in his last year’s visit of China, which was also the only company he visited during this visit.

According to the report from Pandaily in June 1, SenseTime has raised $1.2 billion within two months, with $600 million in series C round and $620 million in series C+ round respectively. Singaporean state investment firm Temasek Holdings was one of the main investors in the $600 million Alibaba-led series C fundraising in May 2018, another main investor is the Chinese retailer Suning.com.

“The cooperation this time is aim to combine each other’s strengths and customer bases to advance research in AI and develop AI-based technologies to “cater to industrial and institutional needs”, according to the official press announcement.


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