A emblem of SenseTime is seen throughout 2021 China Content Broadcasting Network Exhibition at China International Exhibition Center on May 29, 2021 in Beijing, China.
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Shares of Chinese synthetic intelligence firm SenseTime plunged as a lot as 18.25% on Monday, falling to an all-time low after information of its founder’s death.
Hong Kong-listed shares of SenseTime dropped to as low as 1.03 Hong Kong {dollars} ($0.13) on Monday – the bottom stage within the agency’s historical past in accordance to LSEG information.
Shares of the AI firm are down about 50% year-to-date.
SenseTime founder and AI scientist Tang Xiao’ou died on Friday on the age of 55 after succumbing to an sickness, the company said in a statement on Saturday. SenseTime didn’t reveal the trigger of his death.
“It is with a really heavy coronary heart that we announce the unhappy information that our beloved founder, Tang Xiao’ou … succumbed to an sickness and left us ceaselessly at 11:45pm on December 15, 2023,” stated SenseTime in a publish on its official WeChat account.
“Our deepest sympathies to Professor Tang’s household at this unhappy time! Professor Tang’s knowledge, enthusiasm and limitless exploration of science will at all times encourage us to keep true to our unique aspirations and forge forward,” the corporate stated on social media.
SenseTime develops AI software program platforms and applied sciences, together with AI-enabled content material era and facial recognition. The firm joined the worldwide race to develop generative AI since OpenAI’s ChatGPT exploded in recognition after its launch in November 2022.
However, the corporate was placed on a U.S. commerce black listing in 2019, which restricts American companies from doing enterprise with it. The U.S. alleged that SenseTime is linked to human rights violations in China’s Xinjiang region.
Tang based SenseTime in 2014 and the corporate was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2021. He additionally held the positions of director of Pujiang Laboratory, director of Shanghai AI Lab, and a professor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in accordance to the corporate.
The firm in its Saturday assertion hailed Tang as “an excellent consultant within the area of AI in China,” and referred to him as “educated, pragmatic and modern.”