China-based video technology developer Video++ has secured RMB349m ($55.6m) in a funding round co-led by e-commerce group Alibaba and facial recognition company Megvii, China Money Network reported yesterday.
Yunfeng Capital, the private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba’s executive chairman Jack Ma, also participated in the round, as did investment fund Toutoushidao Capital and the Chinese government-owned State Development and Investment Corporation.
Founded in 2014 and also known as Jilian Technology, Video++ uses artificial intelligence technology to automatically recognise and tag content in videos, including products, people and body language. The data is then used to generate targeted advertising.
The company has partnerships in place with a range of domestic video streaming platforms, such as Youku and Mango TV. It claims to have reached profitability, though further details could not be ascertained.
Video++ has not revealed what it intends to do with the funding or whether it will enter into strategic partnerships with Alibaba or Megvii.
The company reportedly secured tens of millions of renminbi (RMB10m = $1.6m) in July 2015 from unnamed investors at a valuation of $96.6m, after raising an undisclosed amount of angel funding in January the same year.