CloudWalk raises over $500 million to support AI and big data technology development

CloudWalk Technology has raised RMB 1 billion (US$140 million) in a Series B+ financing round to support research related to big data, develop and expand AI application platforms, construct research centers, cultivate talent, and fund industrial layouts of AI software and hardware, China Money Network reports. The new funding round brings total investment in CloudWalk to RMB 3.5 billion (US$509 million).

The company announced the from its official WeChat account, and that the participants in the funding round include Chinese state-owned investment institutions China Reform Fund, Atlas Capital Group, SFund International Holdings Limited, Technology Financial Group, Bohai Capital Holding Co. and others. Previous investors including management fund Oriza Holdings, financial service provider Yuexiu Financial Holdings Limited, and billionaire Liu Yiqian also participated.

“The application scenario is the key that leads to the success of an enterprise. The leading technologies can forge successful companies only with applicable scenarios and commercialization,” the company said in a statement. It also said that the company has served more than 1,200 customers in 2018, including China’s four state-owned banks and some 400 others. CloudWalk’s facial recognition system is used by police departments in 29 Chinese provinces, and it is supplying the technology to Zimbabwe’s government in a deal reached earlier this year.

CloudWalk is expected to lead the global market for facial recognition devices as it surpasses $7 billion by 2025, according to a recent report.

The company raised $75 million in Series B funding just under a year ago.

Article Topics

artificial intelligence  |  biometrics  |  China  |  CloudWalk Technology  |  investment