SenseTime Said to Get About $500 Million Cornerstone Investment

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese artificial intelligence startup SenseTime Group Inc. has secured about $500 million in cornerstone investment ahead of its planned Hong Kong initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.

Nine investors participated in the fundraising, the people said, asking not to be identified as the process is private. Mixed-Ownership Reform Fund, which has pledged $200 million, remains the biggest on the list, they said.

A representative for the company didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

SenseTime’s IPO plan hit a speed bump after a move last week by the U.S. Treasury Department to sanction the company for its alleged role in creating facial-recognition software used in the oppression of Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang autonomous region of Western China. The company has said the accusations are unfounded.

The AI company has said it’s committed to completing its IPO. Bloomberg News reported Thursday that SenseTime is considering reopening orders as soon as Monday and the offering will be roughly the same as planned earlier. The company previously proposed to offer 1.5 billion shares between HK$3.85 and HK$3.99, according to the published prospectus.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.