Chinese AI player Yitu raises another $100m

Founded in 2012 by a computer vision and AI specialist from the University of California and a former engineer with Alibaba Group’s Aliyun computing unit, the company focuses on computer vision, natural language understanding, knowledge reasoning, intelligent hardware, and robotics, primarily for application in the security, financial, transportation, and healthcare sectors.

It has four core product areas: facial recognition-based intelligent security systems; traffic management platforms; human-computer interfaces that use vision and speech; and smart imaging platforms that assist doctors in their diagnoses by screening medical images and cross-referencing the findings with patients’ medical records.

Several domestic banks use Yitu’s visual recognition technology for client authentication and this is reflected in the company’s investor base. CIAM is an affiliate of China Industrial Bank, while the international arms of Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPDB) both took part in the extended Series C round.

That round also featured Gaocheng Capital, a growth investment fund affiliated to Hillhouse Capital. Hillhouse itself led Yitu’s initial Series C round of RMB380 million ($55 million) in May 2017. The company received angel funding from ZhenFund in 2013. Sequoia Capital China and Gaorong Capital provided the Series A in 2014, while Yunfeng Capital led the Series B in 2016. All four investors re-upped in the Series C.

ZhenFund said in a statement that Yitu has built the world’s largest portrait recognition technology platform and has established itself as the leading provider of AI security services in China. The company’s solutions are used by nearly 100 banks and internet finance companies, and in 2016 it launched the world’s first face-finding ATM. Yitu also works with 100 domestic hospitals and recently released the first intelligent disease database for lung cancer.

Various Chinese AI developers have received PE and VC funding. The most prominent is SenseTime, which closed its Series C-plus round at $620 million in May, achieving a valuation of more than $4.5 billion. Megvii Technology, best known for its Face++ facial recognition technology, has also received substantial backing, raising $460 million in Series C funding last November.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Technology
• China
• Growth capital
• Hillhouse Capital Management
• ICBC