AI startup Megvii sees Alibaba join $600mn investment

The Chinese creator of facial recognition system Face, Megvii, is anticipated to be raising at least $600mn from investors such as the Alibaba Group and Boyu Capital, according to Bloomberg. It is believed that Megvii will put forward a substantial amount of the funding towards supporting retail initiatives, as well as utilising technology in unmanned stores. It has been confirmed that the Beijing-based company will close this round of funding within weeks. Megvii, who holds billionaire Jack Ma as an investor, will commence a second round of funding when the first draws to a close. The firm offers face-scanning systems to organisations and rivals with Alibaba-backed startup SenseTime in sectors such as retail, finance and public security that could benefit from the software.