Chinese face recognition start-up raises $25m
Face++, a Chinese producer of facial recognition software, has raised $25 million from unnamed investors as part of its Series B round.
The latest funding comes on top of the $22 million that Qiming Venture Partners and Innovation Works contributed in November, when the Series B round opened. The company will use its new funds to accelerate the commercialization of its technology, according to Chinese media reports.
Face++ claims its software is being used by over 30,000 developers and several major tech companies, including popular dating site Jiayuan, which allows users to upload photos of people they find attractive and provides matches from its database. The company received a major publicity boost in March, when Alibaba founder Jack Ma used it to demonstrate face-linked mobile payments.
Face++ is currently researching new uses for its recognition technology. The company hopes to find applications for the software to medical analysis, security, and online photo searching.
Founded in 2011 in Beijing, Face++ raised $1.6 million from Lenovo Venture Partners in its 2012 seed round. In the Series A round the following year, Innovation Works committed $10 million.
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