China-based computer vision technology developer SmartMore has received an eight-figure dollar amount in a pre-series A round featuring Lenovo Capital, the corporate venturing vehicle for electronic device producer Lenovo.
Venture capital group IDG Capital led the round, which also included VC fund ZhenFund. It came after the startup raised millions of renminbi (RMB1m = $145,000) in a January 2020 angel round featuring IDG Capital, according to 36Kr.
SmartMore is developing artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing technology intended to help digitise and automate traditional industries such as manufacturing, security and media.
The company was founded in December 2019 by Jia Jiaya, a tenured professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong who was also head of internet company Tencent’s AI-focused research and development group, Youtu Lab, until recently.
The funding will go to talent recruitment, market expansion and the development of AI tech-based smart manufacturing and ultra-high-definition video systems. SmartMore has a presence in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen, and its headcount is expected to exceed 200 people this year.
Lenovo Capital president Zhiqiang ‘George’ He said: “As a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund focused on innovative technology, Lenovo Capital firmly believes core areas such as AI will play a key role in industry upgrading efforts, ushering in considerable growth opportunities in various verticals.
“As professor Jia and his team’s leading tech capabilities and their deep dive into the ecosystem trends are in line with our own, we are very pleased to see SmartMore has had a breakthrough in AI core algorithms.
“Going forward, we will leverage the advantages of CVC, providing the company with Lenovo’s global resources in order to co-create solutions and explore new industries.” (Translated from Chinese by Global Corporate Venturing.)
