China-based facial and image recognition software provider SenseTime has hired Jennifer Xuan Li from internet group Baidu as an investment director.
Li had been a strategic investment director at Baidu’s artificial intelligence group since late 2015, before leaving to take the SenseTime role in June this year.
Prior to her stint at Baidu, Li spent a little over a year as an investment banking analyst at financial services firm Deutsche Bank’s mergers and acquisitions team, having previously worked in analyst roles for UBS and Canaccord Genuity.
SenseTime produces AI-infused image recognition technology and was valued at $4.5bn when it last raised funding, in May 2018. Reports late last month suggested telecommunications group SoftBank may be about to invest $1bn in the company.
News of Li’s appointment comes at a time when SenseTime has slowly been moving into corporate venturing, having invested in mixed reality technology developer 51HiTech, hospital wifi provider Helian, sports broadcaster Suning Sports and advertising software provider Moviebook in recent months.
– Image of Jennifer Xuan Li courtesy of LinkedIn.