Shares of Chinese AI giant SenseTime fall to historic low after founder's death

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The share price of Chinese artificial intelligence company SenseTime plummeted 18.25 per cent to an all-time low after news of its founder's death.

Here's What We Know

Hong Kong-listed SenseTime shares fell to HK$1.03 ($0.13) on Monday, the lowest level in the company's history. Since the beginning of the year, the value of the company's securities has fallen by about 50 per cent.

SenseTime founder and artificial intelligence scientist Tang Xiao passed away on 15 December. The company did not disclose the cause of his death.

"It is with a very heavy heart that we announce the sad news that our beloved founder, Tang Xiao’ou ... succumbed to an illness and left us forever at 11:45pm on December 15, 2023" SenseTime said in a post on its official WeChat account.

Tang founded SenseTime in 2014. The company went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2021.

He has also served as director of Pujiang Lab, director of Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Lab and professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, according to the company.

In its Saturday statement, the company called Tang "an outstanding representative in the field of artificial intelligence in China" and described him as "knowledgeable, pragmatic and innovative."

Flashback

SenseTime develops artificial intelligence software platforms and technologies, including AI-assisted content creation and facial recognition. The company entered the global race to develop generative AI amid the popularity of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

However, in 2019, SenseTime was blacklisted by the US. US authorities accused the company of abetting human rights abuses in Xinjiang, which restricted its co-operation with US businesses.

Source: CNBC