Face-recognition startup ‘raises $100m’
Megvii Inc, a Chinese developer of facial-recognition technology, has raised at least $100 million from investors, including Foxconn Technology Group and CCB International Holdings Ltd, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The owner of Face++ is still i n talks with other investors for more funding, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private.
Megvii confirmed it’s raising funds while declining to comment on t he specific amount. It plans to work with investors to improve facial recognition technology, especially in the financial i ndustry, smart cities and robotics, the company said i n an emailed statement.
Megvii provides face-scanning systems to Ant Financial, which operates the dominant payments service on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s online shopping platforms. The e-commerce oper- ator and internet companies from Facebook Inc to Google Inc and Baidu Inc are embracing biometric technologies and artificial intelligence to improve security and smooth e-commerce.
Beijing-based Megvii also has attracted funding from Qiming Venture Partners and Sinovation Ventures, the incubator founded by Google’s former China head. The company is working with Ant Financial on a system allowing users to set up bank accounts online through facial scans, provid- ed it receives approval.
Investors i n the latest round i nclude t hose t hat participated in previous funding, the people said. regulatory