SenseTime deal to see construction of the first AI park in Malaysia

Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime is ramping up efforts to expand overseas presence with its latest deal to help build Malaysia's first AI park.

Under the agreement, SenseTime will partner with Malaysian technology company G3 Global Berhad and China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd to build the AI park.

The three sides said in a statement that they will work closely on AI infrastructure, research and development, data management, talent cultivation and business operations, which is expected to inject impetus to Malaysia's efforts in creating an AI ecosystem.

In the meantime, leveraging the AI park project, SenseTime will also join hands with G3 Global to open up market opportunities in Malaysia, exploring how to apply AI technologies in smart cities, public management, smartphones, and automobiles. The two sides will work together to see how to introduce AI into the Malaysian education curriculum.

Tang Xiao'ou, founder of SenseTime, said: "With advanced AI technology and extensive business experience, SenseTime is honored to be part of Malaysia's new journey. We look forward to working together with Malaysian government, academia and business sectors, bringing our technological expertise and experience to Malaysia and building a better world with AI technology."

The partnership among the three sides is part of broader technological cooperation and communication between China and Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad visited SenseTime in Beijing on Friday.

G3 Global said in a statement that the AI park will serve as the main hub for industry players and talents to be trained in AI and machine learning with cutting-edge facilities and physical infrastructure for education, training, research, development and deployment in Malaysia.

Focused on computer vision and deep learning, SenseTime is widely recognized as one of the most promising AI startups in China. In June 2018, the Beijing-based company announced that it had raised $620 million in its Series C plus round of fundraising, which will accelerate its expansion overseas. The funding, led by investment firms such as Fidelity International, Hopu Capital, Silver Lake and Tiger Global, valued the five-year-old company at more than $4.5 billion.

He Qian, an AI expert at the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that computer vision technology is transferring from laboratories to commercial applications at a faster rate than expected, and the partnership in Malaysia shows that SenseTime's proprietary technology is recognized in the international arena.

"Facial recognition is now already widely used to help smartphones shoot better pictures, to simplify security checks at railway stations and airports and to help police to track suspects and spot suspicious behavior in China. Such application scenarios are also of great potential in other countries," He said.