SENSETIME Group Ltd.’s valuation surpassed US$7.5 billion this year after securing investment from backers like SoftBank Group Corp., yet the world’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) startup said it’s in no hurry to go public.

The Chinese startup has been hosting regular roadshows around the world to educate investors on a business that now runs the gamut from facial recognition to robot delivery, chief executive officer Xu Li said.

It’s using the funds raised to drive forays into areas such as semiconductors, spending the past two years developing an artificial intelligence training chip that Xu said may complement industry-leading products from Nvidia Corp.

Backed by e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., SenseTime is the largest of a clutch of Chinese artificial intelligence behemoths.

Xu said SenseTime doesn’t do business directly with the government, doesn’t own nor access customers’ data, and that collaboration with the public sector is focused mainly on developing a code of AI ethics.

“Being a leading company, we should have the responsibility to collaborate with the government and regulator to come up with regulations,” Xu said. He emphasized that SenseTime will never try to access customer information, which belongs to the client.

SenseTime’s stupendous growth helps underscore the remarkable rise of Chinese technology — the company was most recently valued at US$4.5 billion, according to CB Insights. SenseTime’s revenue is still growing at triple-digit percentages, though it remains cash-flow-negative because of the need to invest in new areas such as AI chipmaking. Its silicon is mainly developed in-house but it’s also investing in startups involved in chip development, Xu said.

The AI giant is now shoring up its presence in Southeast Asia via Singapore, Xu said. It plans to triple its staff in Singapore within three years to some 300 people, Xu said. That’s a boost to the island nation, which is positioning itself as a hub for AI research and development.

(SD-Agencies)