Beijing Kunlun plans US AI startup
Updated: 2016-03-16 11:51
By Gao Yuan in Beijing(China Daily USA)
|
|||||||||
Internet game developer Beijing Kunlun Tech Co said its Hong Kong subsidiary has set up an artificial intelligence venture in the United States.
The announcement came on March 10 as Google Inc's AI supercomputer AlphaGo extended its lead over a South Korean Go master in a widely watched human brain versus machine showdown in Seoul.
The new company, Kunlun AI, will be based in Palo Alto, California.
The startup will develop advertising, voice-recognition and information-security technologies, Beijing Kunlun said in a statement.
Its Hong Kong subsidiary will make a $3 million investment to take a 15 percent stake in Kunlun AI, with the rest going to a number of unidentified investors, the statement added.
Hours after the announcement, AlphaGo beat Go champion Lee Se-dol again in the second faceoff of a 5-game competition.
Following its regulatory filing, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued the company a notice, seeking further clarifications on the US investment, including details on other investors and impact on its listed firm's financial performance.
It is not the first time Kunlun is investing in the AI sector. Earlier it acquired a 20 percent stake in the US robotics startup Woobo Inc for $800,000.
Liu Jiang, an analyst with Changjiang Securities Co, said: "Woobo is on the verge of introducing its hardware products and its robots can serve as a platform for Kunlun's AI technologies."
Liu said he believes the AI sector will be one of the key areas for the Chinese company to invest in.
Kuang Shi, an analyst with Bank of China International, said the focus of Kunlun will be overseas expansion.
"Kunlun's strategy is based on international expansion. The biggest reason for investors to buy shares in Kunlun is the company's overseas potential," said Kuang.
The company has been active in overseas acquisition in the past few months. In February, Kunlun, Qihoo 360 Technology Co and a number of Chinese firms offered to buy the Norwegian Web-browser developer Opera Software for $1.2 billion in cash.
In January, Kunlun purchased a 60 percent stake in homosexual dating application Grindr for $93 million. In June 2015, the company bought a 20 percent stake in the United Kingdom-based mortgage lender LendInvest Ltd for $34 million.
Zhou Yahui, chairman of Kunlun, has said he is looking to generate $1 billion in net profit by 2020 using Opera, social networking apps, financial services and the online video and gaming businesses.
gaoyuan@chinadaily.com.cn
(China Daily USA 03/16/2016 page2)
- Putin says Russians to start withdrawing from Syria, as peace talks resume
- Merkel says Sunday's state elections 'make her party think'
- Canberra's Balloon Spectacular festival kicks off
- Germanwings crash caused deliberately by mentally ill copilot: BEA
- Second car bomb in a month kills 34 in Turkish capital, Ankara
- German voters batter Merkel over migrant policy
- Infographics: All you need to know about Premier's press conference
- Now and then photos of Shanghai Jiaotong University
- Post-90s quits his job to make traditional paper umbrellas
- In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products
- Armless farmer builds new hands for himself, others
- The world in photos: March 7 - March 13
- China's booming IT industry helps drones fly high
- This 'mermaid' left broadcasting for a watery world
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Anti-graft campaign targets poverty relief |
Cherry blossom signal arrival of spring |
In pictures: Destroying fake and shoddy products |
China's southernmost city to plant 500,000 trees |
Cavers make rare finds in Guangxi expedition |
Cutting hair for Longtaitou Festival |
Today's Top News
What ends Jeb Bush's White House hopes
Investigation for Nicolas's campaign
Will US-ASEAN meeting be good for region?
Accentuate the positive in Sino-US relations
Dangerous games on peninsula will have no winner
National Art Museum showing 400 puppets in new exhibition
Finest Chinese porcelains expected to fetch over $28 million
Monkey portraits by Chinese ink painting masters
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |