1. World's highest valuation AI company! Shang Tang Technology completed C+ round of financing with a valuation of US$4.5 billion
Micronet Collection May 31 Report
Today, Shangtang Technology SenseTime announced the completion of C+ round financing of 620 million U.S. dollars. Up to now, Shang Tang Technology has raised more than US$1.6 billion in U.S. dollars, with a valuation of more than US$4.5 billion. It continues to maintain the largest amount of global financing and the highest valuation of artificial intelligence. Unicorn status.
This round of financing was participated by a number of domestic and foreign investment institutions and strategic partners. The joint lead investors include Hopu Investment, Yinhu Investment, Tiger Fund, Fidelity International, Shenzhen Innovation Investment Group, Bank of China Group Investment Co., Ltd., Shanghai Trade Zone Fund, All-Star Investment Fund, etc., Qualcomm Venture Capital, Poly Capital, Shimao Group, etc. participated as strategic investors.
According to official data of Shangtang Technology, Shang Tang Technology's business revenue has maintained a 400 percent year-on-year growth for three consecutive years, quickly combined with the scene, 2018 main business contract revenue increased by more than 10 times compared to the same period last year. With many AI startup companies are still burning money In phases, Shang Tang Technology has achieved full profitability in 2017 and achieved rapid landing in smart cities, smartphones, Internet entertainment, automotive, finance, retail and other industries.
In the past month or so, Shangtang Technology has signed contracts with Shanghai Shentong Subway, the largest metro company in China, to establish a traffic scene for on-site traffic. It signed a contract with Chengdu to launch the regional headquarters of the “One Belt and One Road” regional headquarters to expand the western market. The Hong Kong Science and Technology Park was established jointly with Alibaba Group and Hong Kong Science Park. The artificial intelligence laboratory became the first project to respond to the call of the central government to support the construction of the Hong Kong International Science and Innovation Center. It signed strategic cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to jointly advance AI academic research breakthroughs; it was jointly released with East China Normal University and others. The world's first artificial intelligence high school textbooks, and signed with the Tsinghua University Middle School, Shanghai Jiaotong University Secondary 40 major domestic high school, set up artificial intelligence courses, promote the landing of AI in the education industry.
According to statistics, Shang Tang Technology was established in 2014 and is headquartered in Beijing. After more than three years of development, Shang Tang Technology has established cooperation with more than 400 well-known universities, enterprises and institutions at home and abroad, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Hong Kong. Chinese University, Qualcomm, Nvidia, Honda, China Mobile, UnionPay, Wanda, Suning, HNA, Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Weibo, HKUST, Central Network Information Office, etc., covers security, smart phones, interactive entertainment , Automotive, finance, retail, robotics and many other industries provide solutions based on face recognition, image recognition, text recognition, medical image recognition, video analysis, driverless technology.
After 80 years, Xu Li is the founder, CEO, and CEO of Shangtang. He is also a computer vision scientist. In 2010, Xu Li studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and worked as a pioneer in the deep learning of the visual field—Professor Tang Xiaoou, and led by him. The brothers and sisters of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s multimedia laboratory are closely connected and began to study deep learning. This is also the first Chinese team to engage in deep learning in the academic community. Between 2011 and 2013, at the top two academic conferences in the world of computer vision in the CVPR and ICCV, 29 Of the articles involving deep learning, 14 were from the laboratory. The team became the backbone of the later Shang Tang.
2. Li Ka-shing's first investment in AI chips! AI's new energy company won 18 million US dollars A1 round of financing
Kneron, a start-up focused on terminal man-intelligence solutions, today announced that it has completed a $18 million A1 round of funding led by Li Ka-shing’s Victoria Harbour Investment. Victoria Harbour Investment has always participated in innovative and disruptive global Early investments in technology projects, including DeepMind, Siri, Improbable, and VIV.
Kneron's core technology is to develop a high-efficiency, low-power neural network unit (NPU) that transfers artificial intelligence from the cloud to terminal equipment for real-time identification and judgment analysis, and to expand the application of artificial intelligence. Unlimited possibilities at different levels. Kenneth founder and CEO Liu Juncheng stated: 'We are very honored to have Mr. Li Ka-shing's support and are confident of becoming the next company to lead the industry in innovation and change.'
Liu Juncheng revealed that it will launch a revolutionary 3D artificial intelligence solution in the second half of the year: 'Kneron provides industry-leading technology, including a complete terminal artificial intelligence solution, artificial intelligence integrating video and speech, and the introduction of revolutionary 3D labor in the second half of the year. Smart Solutions. The new funds will be used to accelerate product development and, through cooperation with strategic partners, deepen vertical industry applications, including smart homes, smart security, and smartphones.
The most important feature of off-line artificial intelligence is security, high-speed, and the key to the popularization of artificial intelligence applications. Jonathan Tam of Victoria Harbor Investment stated: 'Kneron's breakthrough lies in the seamless integration of hardware and software. We believe that Kneron will continue to develop its terminal labor in the future. Intelligent technology and deepening applications, bring AI to everyone's life.
The founder of Kneron Liu Juncheng told Xinzhi that this financing will be mainly used to expand the layout of the Asia-Pacific region. Kneron's current team members have a group of overseas Tsinghua electronics department members who will form the backbone of Kneron Greater China. Team leaders have With more than 20 years of work experience, there are also leading pilots of VP ranks of international companies such as former Qualcomm and Huawei.
Liu Juncheng is a UCLA Ph.D. who has participated in R&D projects of NASA JPL, IARPA, and Bell Labs. He also worked at Samsung R&D Center and Qualcomm.
Liu Juncheng stated that Kneron's core competitiveness lies in the integration of hardware and software, with its ultra-low power consumption NPU (lowest power consumption below 100mw) and its lossless compression technology. Liu Juncheng said: 'Using our restructuring technology ( (patents have been patented), most multi-dimensional matrix techniques can be made with a less-dimensioned, more streamlined architecture. For example, a 5×5 convolution can be achieved by stacking two 3×3 filters with low-dimensional operations, 7×7 convolution You can stack three.'
Kneron has mass-produced AI chips and is mainly used in mobile phones, security, and smart homes. Kneron is one of the few companies in the world with AI chips NPU in 2017 and has achieved significant revenue. Recently, Kneron and mobile phone chip supply chain The key producers, together with the main accelerator chip in the specific scene of the mobile phone.
Specifically, Kneron NPU IP is a dedicated artificial intelligence processor designed for terminal equipment. The terminal equipment can run ResNet, YOLO and other deep learning networks in offline environment. Kneron NPU is a complete terminal artificial intelligence hardware solution. , including hardware IP, Compiler, and model compression. It can support various mainstream Convolutional Neur al Networks (CNN) models, such as Resnet-18, Resnet-34, Vgg16, GoogleNet, and Lenet, as well as supporting mainstream deep learning frameworks, including Caffe, Keras, and TensorFlow.
The Kneron NPU IP consumes 100mw (milliwatts) and the ultra-low power version of the KDP 300 (the main mobile 3D face recognition application) is even less than 5mw. The full range of products have a performance of 1.5 TOPS/W or more per watt. Using a number of exclusive technologies, it is possible to achieve the requirements of low power consumption and high computational power. In the architecture design, the convolution kernel partitions the large convolution kernel convolution operation block into a convolution kernel decomposition (Filter decomposition) technique. Multiple small convolutional operation blocks are respectively operated, and then combined with Reconfigurable Convolution Acceleration technology, the operation results of multiple small convolutional operation blocks are merged to accelerate the overall computing performance. By Kneron Advanced compression technology can compress unoptimized models by tens of times. Multi-level caching can reduce the CPU resources and data transfer, further improving overall operational efficiency.
In addition, Kneron NPU IP can be combined with Kneron image recognition software to provide real-time identification analysis, fast response, not only more stable, but also to meet the security and privacy requirements. Because the hardware and software can be tightly integrated, the overall scheme is smaller and the power consumption is lower. To assist in the rapid development of products.
Liu Juncheng said: 'To perform artificial intelligence operations on the terminal equipment while meeting power consumption and performance requirements is the primary consideration. The Kneron NPU IP has achieved such a goal and brought revolutionary development to the terminal artificial intelligence. Kneron has been launched since 2016. After the company's first artificial intelligence processor NPU IP dedicated to terminal equipment, it continuously improved its design and specifications, and optimized for different industrial applications.
Liu Juncheng stated that Kneron focuses on immediate revenue applications, mainly smart security, smart homes and mobile phones. The 3D artificial intelligence solution to be launched in the second half of this year will focus on high-precision identification, such as Face ID applications on mobile phones. 3D manual The specific applications of the smart program include face-to-face payment for mobile phones, face-to-face payment for new retails, high-precision smart door locks for replacement of keys on smart cars, gesture recognition for human-computer interaction, and high-precision quality control for industrial Internet of Things.
Kneron focused on the terminal AI chip from its inception. When asked whether there is any plan for the development of cloud AI chips in the future, Liu Juncheng told Xinzhi that the cloud chips can be technically implemented, but it needs commercial opportunities. Kneron team The DNA has always been in the terminal, and with the large number of cloud companies in the world, their ecological layout is also relatively complete. It is unrealistic for small companies to go directly to the PK ecology of large companies. However, there are many applications on the terminal, and new players also have a foothold. Opportunity.
Kneron's customers include international manufacturers of mobile phone supply chain chips, first-tier manufacturers in the field of home appliances, etc. The ultra-low-power NPU is not only successful in tapeout, but also a series of NPU AI chip products have achieved large-scale production and created millions. Dollar income.
3.Chip Venture Godfather Chen Liwu: 30 years to cast an empire
Speaking of investment in the semiconductor field, there is such a company that has to mention - Walden International.
From 1993 onwards, Walden International has helped China's semiconductor start-up companies to successfully launch a large number of venture capital investments in China over the past 20 years, including SMIC, Geco Micro, and Zhaoyi Innovation. The leading companies in the industry have indirectly promoted and shaped the territory of the entire Chinese semiconductor industry. Their investment focus is almost unrivalled.
How is Walden International to create the next miracle of semiconductor investment? Walters International founder and chairman Chen Liwu - born in Malaysia, he has shown a strong mathematical talent since childhood, and studied for a master degree in nuclear energy at the age of 19 at MIT. The "Wen Qing" - how is it step by step to establish Walden International Investment Empire? This article will be announced for you one by one.
Walton International founder and chairman Chen Liwu focuses on global semiconductor industry investment for 30 years
In January 1992, Deng Gong sat on the rolling train and began his trip to the south. In less than two months, the old man visited Wuchang in succession, Shenzhen, Shanghai. In other places, they also delivered important speeches. Shortly afterwards, the southern tour whirlwind began to sweep across China. Everywhere there was a 'Spring story', and a wave of reform and opening up was flourishing.
Walden International, the young venture capital agency founded in 1987 in San Francisco, USA, also began its investment in China under this wave.
According to Chen Liwu, founder and chairman of Walden International, in 1993, Walden International came to China mainland with the recommendation of the Ministry of Finance and the State Science and Technology Commission and became one of the first international venture capital funds to enter China. There is also the novel foreign concept of 'VC'. This 59-year-old Chen Liwu is still active in the venture capital stage as the chairman of Walden International. This person's experience is also quite legendary, but we will wait and say.
In 1994, with the support of the World Bank, Walden International established the first Walden China Fund and began to invest in China. Since then, China Land continued to set up offices in Beijing and Shanghai. The first batch of investment companies are mostly state-owned. The most widely known is the famous washing machine brand - Little Swan.
With the dual support of funds and policies, Little Swan introduced a full set of technology from Japan’s Matsushita Corporation, which allowed the trouble-free operation of the washing machine to reach the leading domestic level. In the early 1990s, Little Swan took the lead in integrating into the market economy and launched the 'satisfied Little Swan'. The famous slogan.
In the following 20 years or more, Walden actively participated in China's emerging technology entrepreneurial market, and its investment projects exceeded 60, involving more than billions of renminbi, many of whom are well-known companies: Sina, Skyworth, Dajiang, and the United States Mission, Dangdang, Mindray, Eagle Holdings... At present, Walden International Investment aims to focus on communications, semiconductors, software and biochemistry, and 90% select early projects.
However, the real magical aspect of Walden is that it has been making unremitting research and investment in the chip and semiconductor industries since its establishment more than 30 years ago. In the past 30 years, Walden International has focused on investing in the global semiconductor industry and is currently global The number of semiconductor companies that have invested has reached 100. Around the year of 2002, with the rise of the semiconductor sector in Asian markets, Walden focused on the assault chip field and invested in companies including China Resources Shanghua, Ankai Technology, Zhixin Technology, and SMIC. At present, Walden Light has invested more than 30 semiconductor companies in mainland China, and its investment in every segment of the semiconductor industry: chip design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, equipment, and downstream system applications... in the semiconductor field , Walden International's investment focus is almost unrivalled.
It is this persistent commitment that has allowed Walden International to establish a strong prestige in the field of semiconductor investment, and has also allowed Walden's 'investment glory chart' to appear on the SMIC, Geko Micro, and Zhao Yi Innovation. Chen Semiconductor and other bright list.
Junior talent: 19-year-old MIT nuclear engineering master, 28-year-old founded Walden International
Walden International has achieved today's results, and its founder and chairman Chen Liwu can claim to be the chief executive of the company. In the past 30 years, under the leadership of Chen Liwu, Walden International's business has expanded rapidly worldwide. The projects currently involved in the United States have been spread across the United States. , China, Japan, Israel, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, India, the Philippines, and other countries, the number of VC funds participating in the management has climbed from US$3 million at the time of its inception to US$2 billion, which has increased by more than 600 times.
At the same time, Chen Liwu’s personal experience is also very legendary. Chen Liwu’s English name is Lip- Bu Tan, born on November 12, 1959 in Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, and lived with his parents in Xinjiabo since childhood. (Wikipedia shows Chen Li The birthday of Wu was January 1, 1960. Chen Liwu showed his amazing talent in mathematics from his childhood. At the age of 16, he entered the Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and completed his undergraduate degree in three years. Majoring in physical.
At that time, I thought that the energy issue was (the world's) most important issue. Under the auspices of 'Go West, Young People', I came to the United States at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Projects. ('Go West, young people Go west, young man.' John Bl Soule from 1851 to encourage American youth to participate in the development of the West, after the "New York Forum" newspaper founder Horace Gerry Horace Greele is well-known for frequent references.)
In this way, in 1978, Chen Liwu, a 19-year-old genius teenager, sailed across the sea to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on the East Coast of the United States to start studying nuclear energy projects.
However, at 4:00 am on March 28th, 1979, just one day after Chen Liwu entered school, a sharp whistle alarm sounded across the sky over Pennsylvania, USA. At that time, it was built on the Sanshui Island nuclear power station in Susquehanna. The second group of reactors was melted. This accident was called Three Mile Island- 2 and eventually became the worst nuclear power plant accident in the history of the United States. It belongs to the fifth grade of nuclear accidents (nuclear accidents). A total of 7 levels, the higher the level, the greater the damage.)
Although the accident did not result in large-scale casualties, the Sanri Island nuclear accident exposed the danger of nuclear energy. As a result, the nuclear energy industry was affected and the opportunities for the industry were greatly reduced.
At that time, the 22-year-old Chen Liwu had been a chief engineer at EDS Nuclear at a young age, but after earning a master's degree in nuclear engineering at MIT, he finally made a decision - to the University of the San Francisco on the west coast of the United States. And studying for an MBA in Business Administration.
The style of the West Coast of the United States is completely different from that of the East Coast. In this land of watering the Silicon Valley and Hollywood culture, Chen Liwu sees even more colorful possibilities. In San Francisco, Chen Liwu not only tried energy-to-investment companies in succession. In various positions, he also briefly served as vice president of old British music distributor/piano producer Chappell.
After six years of experience, in 1987, Chen Liwu, who was just 28 years old, formally established Walden International in San Francisco. He has a start-up management fund of US$3 million and is focused on early stage technology investment.
Although it is a standard scientific science tyrant, Chen Liwu still has the blood of 'Wen Qing' in his bones. 'Waddeng International' is named by Chen Liwu in the book Walden Walden by Henry David Thoreau. Chen Liwu once said that his goal is the same as that of Thoreau's “contrarian trend, and not just follow the trend Contrarian, rather than just following the trend'.
For the next 30 years, in addition to serving as chairman of Walden International, Chen Liwu has also served as the CEO of the internationally renowned Cadence Electronics Design Electronics (EDA) company since 2009; In the company's investment cycle, Chen Liwu will also enter the board of directors of the investee company as usual, such as Sina, SMIC, Aquantia, etc.
According to Chen Liwu’s previous interview, he only needed 4 hours to sleep every day. He usually used 35% to 40% of the time to supervise the previous projects, 40% of the time to find new projects, and the remaining 20% of the time Corporate Affairs.
Make Venture Capital Successful in China
Although it is a venture capital organization originating in the United States, Walden International has become very popular in Asia, and many of them are flourishing in the Chinese market.
In fact, investing in China is not easy. First, 'risk investing' is originally a foreign concept. It is easy to encounter the problem of orange Huaibei from the other side of the ocean. Chen Liwu stated that there are several challenges in investing in China. One is to withdraw. Strategy; Second, the scalability of the management team, many management teams do not have mature experience; Third, the financial credit, the relationship is also very important, and some relations are related to laws and regulations.
However, besides his own from Asia, Chen Liwu has also been engaged in investment work in Asia for the past 20 years. He has extensive experience in cross-border investment projects from China, India, Japan, and Singapore. A keen understanding of the cutting-edge technology allows Chen Liwu to take charge.
Walden International has a general investment period of 10 years, with 90% selecting early projects, of which the first four years are investment periods, and the last six years are payback periods. The average time to enter the investee company’s board of directors is 8 years; at each company’s The amount of investment is usually between 2 million and 10 million US dollars.
The peak and climax of the semiconductor industry; Expect more AI chip companies to emerge
In general, semiconductors are not a matter of 'paying money'. Especially in the light of the short-term high valuation of Internet companies, semiconductor companies are even more gloomy. As a heavy asset, Technology, a labor-intensive industry, a semiconductor company often takes 9 to 10 years to get a return - this speed is simply not the 'Internet'.
It is precisely because of these three "heavyties" that not only has China's semiconductor industry developed slowly over the past few decades, but also it has made global venture capital institutions less willing to invest in the semiconductor industry in recent years, and young graduates around the world are not Willing to enter the semiconductor company. Especially driven by the global Internet wave, young people are more willing to gather in the Internet, social media, mobile platforms and other fast-money fields.
Chen Liwu once sighed: 'A lot of semiconductor venture capitalists are old and retired. Young people are looking for quick jobs. The semiconductor industry is too difficult. They do not like the hard work.'
However, in recent years, with the upsurge of AI chips and the impetus of the ZTE event, the entire society has begun to focus on the chip and semiconductor industries. Capital and talent have begun to gradually take over. The Chinese government has now focused on the semiconductor industry. To develop industries, the first phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Fund (Large Fund) launched in 2014 amounted to as much as RMB 140 billion, and the second phase of the target amount raised and raised in 2018 was as high as RMB 200 billion. At the recently completed Central Government Conference At the top, semiconductor was the first place in the five-year plan.
In terms of chip design, microprocessors, and packaging, China has achieved some successes. However, in the areas of memory, chip OEM, or design software like Cadence, the Chinese market is currently lagging behind by more than one or two generations.
Regarding the recently normalized AI chips, Chen Liwu said that he expects more AI chip/AI accelerator startup companies to emerge. There were 120 Wi-Fi startups on the market during the peak period, and there are less than 50 AIs on the market. Chip company.
Conclusion: Looking up at the stars, down to earth
Objectively speaking, China has achieved certain achievements in terms of chip design, microprocessors, and packaging. However, in the fields of memory, chip OEM, or design software such as Cadence, the Chinese market is currently lagging behind by more than one or two. generation.
Walden International's 30 years of deep plowing in the semiconductor industry, and Tao Liman may bring some reference for the Chinese semiconductor industry. Semiconductor technology as the underlying technology, as the 'core brain' of all electronic products, from some In terms of meaning, it is the root of the normal operation of modern society. As a typical high-tech industry, in addition to constantly breaking new ground in technology, practitioners do need the spirit of 'shelving the bench for ten years' and continue to invest in it. Finally gain something.
4. Home appliance giants embark on a 'core' journey: Great for resistance and long
At present, home appliance companies have stepped into the crossroads of transformation and upgrading. High-end, smart, and fashion are all directions that household appliance companies need to make efforts. In this new round of diversified development trends, the chip has become a home appliance business layout. Focus.
First there were the incoming chip industries of Changhong, TCL, Haier and Midea in the early years, followed by the recent Konka, Gree and so on. In addition, more and more black power companies and white power giants entered the chip field.
In terms of products and industry itself, 'core building' is obviously not an easy task, but a 'protracted war' that requires a lot of manpower, material resources, endurance, and funds. In the view of Nail Technology, the home appliance giant 'makes core' Although it is obstructive and long, it has great potential.
Home appliance giants embark on the 'core' journey
The emphasis on the chip business by home appliance companies seems to have risen to an unprecedented level. Nail Technology noted that on May 21, Konka Group announced the establishment of a new environmental protection technology division at its 38th anniversary celebration and transformation upgrade strategy conference. Semiconductor Technology Division, this is the first time Konka announced its entry into the semiconductor industry.
In addition to setting up a business division, Konka also clearly stated its semiconductor development goals: Within 5-10 years, it has become one of the top semiconductor companies in the world and is committed to becoming the top 10 semiconductor companies in China with annual revenue of over 10 billion yuan.
In addition, it is understood that Konka Group vice president, head of Semiconductor Technology Division Li Hongyi said that Konka will focus on the future of memory chips, IoT chips and other fields.
Coincidentally, recently announced 'to enter the' semiconductor industry, there are white power giant Gree. Last month, Gree announced in its 2017 annual report that the company's retained funds will be used for production base construction, smart factory upgrades, and smart equipment, smart appliances Technology development and marketing of new industries such as integrated circuits.
In a recent interview with the media, Gree Electric Chairman Dong Mingzhu also said: 'Even if the investment is 50 billion, Gree must also succeed in the research of the chip'.
In just over a month, the two large home appliances giants clearly revealed their ambitions for 'making core'. In fact, according to nail technology, more home appliance giants have already embarked on a 'core' journey. Such as Changhong The Institute of Acoustics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly released China's first compound intelligent voice chip, which was subsequently applied to Changhong’s terminal products such as TVs, air conditioners, kitchens, and small household appliances; TCL Investment Chips Corporation introduced Ziguang as a strategic investor and established a merger and acquisition fund. Midea Signs a Strategic Cooperation Agreement to Jointly Build 'America's Semiconductor (SMIC)'s Joint Lab'; Skyworth released an OLED TV with its own R&D AI quality chip at the CES Show earlier this year. New products......
It is not difficult to find that more and more home appliance companies are flooding into the chip field, and gradually increase the strategic position of the chips within their own business. So, what is the future for home appliance companies to develop their own chips?
Road resistance and long
Undoubtedly, it is a good thing for home appliance companies to increase their efforts in chip self-development. However, it is not easy to truly realize the dream of the chip. From past experience, chips are long-term accumulation, huge input industries, and their technology research and development have high precision. Sharp, long-term characteristics. As Zhou Bin, the president of Konka Group, puts it, 'semiconductors are not one-sided, not fast, but protracted.'
Take Huawei, which has achieved good results in the field of mobile phone chips, for example, its R&D accumulation time has been more than ten years, and the investment has been huge. According to Nail Technology, as early as 2005, Huawei developed a baseband, and in 2009, The mobile phone chip K9 launched last year was eventually defeated for various reasons. The subsequent K3V2 experienced game compatibility issues and fever problems. Until 2014, the Unicorn 920 launched by Huawei was considered to be truly complete and relatively competitive in the market. SOC.
Let's take a look at Huawei’s R&D investment. According to China’s 2017 annual report released earlier, Huawei’s net profit for 2017 was 47.5 billion yuan, while R&D expenditure was as high as 89.7 billion yuan, which is almost twice the net profit. In fact, according to It is understood that Huawei's annual investment in R&D since 2013 has exceeded net profit. In the last ten years, Huawei's cumulative R&D expenditure has exceeded 394 billion yuan.
As a result, the technical difficulties and high costs of chip R&D are self-evident. For home appliance companies, they will inevitably encounter difficulties in chip R&D, production, and landing.