DOMESTIC artificial intelligence (AI) startup SenseTime Group, valued at more than US$2 billion, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) and aims to open a U.S. research and development center as early as next year, its founder said.

The Hong Kong and Beijing-based deep learning firm founded by Tang Xiao’ou, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, is a leader among Chinese AI startups that are enjoying fast growth amid demand from the government and private sector for their facial recognition technology.

SenseTime provides applications for facial recognition, video analysis and other areas including autonomous driving. The three-year-old firm counts China’s Ministry of Public Security and local heavyweights such as China Mobile, HNA Group and Huawei Technologies as its major clients.

“We are growing very fast, funding is never an issue. We can get as much as we want. Big-name investors are queuing to get in. So for us, we are not in a hurry to IPO. But at the right time, we definitely will,” said Tang.

Hong Kong, the United States and the Chinese mainland will be considered for an initial public offering, he added.

“We don’t have a fixed timetable. It could be next year or the year after, depending on whether it makes business sense,” he said, adding SenseTime was also seeking a finance chief.

Earlier, Reuters reported a latest funding round valued SenseTime at around US$2 billion.

Tang said the company was valued “above” that and an ongoing funding round would last until the end of 2017. But he would not reveal the amount being raised.

SenseTime recently said that it had sealed an investment from U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm as part of a strategic partnership to develop AI-enhanced chips. (SD-Agencies)