Chinese AI unicorn SenseTime rallies 30% on new model launch

(HK:) shares rose as much as 36%, and were trading up 28% at HK$0.73 by 22:25 ET (02:25 GMT). The gain dwarfed an over 1% rise in the index.

Sensetime launched the latest version of its generative artificial intelligence model, SenseNova 5.0, at its Tech Day event in Shanghai. The firm said the updated model features improved linguistic, creative and reasoning capabilities, along with improved text-to-image generation.

Senstime also said it was working on text-to-video generation.

The firm, which is partially owned by the Chinese government, is among the fore-runners in China’s AI development efforts. E-commerce giantGroup (NYSE:) also has a stake in the firm. 

Sensetime was among the first AI firms in the world to achieve unicorn status, i.e. a valuation above $1 billion, and had listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 2021. 

But Sensetime was slapped with a slew of U.S. sanctions over the past five years, after reports alleged that the company’s software was being used by the Chinese government in the development of facial recognition software directed against certain minorities in the country. 

A U.S. ban on investment in the company also saw a severe downsizing of its IPO, while sanctions saw it end most of its partnerships with U.S. firms.

Still, Sensetime has maintained and grown its collaboration with Chinese firms. The firm has a tie-up with Haitong Securities to develop AI products for the financial sector.