image credit: SenseTime

Transitioning from being an academic project to increasing its current value to $4.5 billion in just four years, China-based SenseTime , the world’s most valuable artificial intelligence (AI) company, has hundreds of partners including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Qualcomm, Honda, Alibaba, Weibo, and more. They use proprietary artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to increase their success. Thanks to the core technologies, products, and services offered by SenseTime, it is hard to believe that it is such a young company.

SenseTime was founded in October 2014 by Tang Xiao’ou, a professor at the Department of Information Engineering of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), computer scientist Xu Li, and other co-founders. Tang is also the founder of the CUHK Multimedia Laboratory, which was the only Asian representative to make it into Nvidia’s list of the Top 10 Leading Artificial Intelligence Laboratories of 2016.

The artificial intelligence and deep learning technologies they have developed are involved in various sectors, from healthcare to finance, online entertainment to education, retail to security, smart cities to smartphones, and more. It is the largest algorithm provider and the fifth-largest artificial intelligence platform in China. Along with other technology giants, SenseTime is working with the Chinese government on the Made in China 2025 project for the country’s technological independence and economic freedom.

One reason for China’s success in artificial intelligence, machine learning, artificial neural networks, and deep learning lies in its massive population of 1.4 billion. The data obtained is highly critical for the development of artificial intelligence and connected technologies. I estimate that China, which evaluates its potential and opportunities well, is one step ahead of the US in the field of artificial intelligence. In this context, I would also like to remind you that the answer to what the next big thing is and what awaits us in the future sometimes lies in following the money.