SenseTime expects ‘massive market demand’ for AI computing services amid metaverse mania, as it reports a loss
- SenseTime plans to increase investments in its AI infrastructure SenseCore
- SenseTime will step up development of its smart auto business, as well as aim to build an industry-leading, metaverse-enabling platform
SenseTime, China’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) firm, expects “massive market demand” for AI computing services amid the rise of the metaverse and autonomous driving, as the company reported a loss in its first earnings release since listing in Hong Kong in December.
SenseTime plans to increase investments in its AI infrastructure SenseCore to further open up its capabilities to the market, as “traditional cloud computing services can no longer effectively meet the demand for AI computing”, the company said in its filing on Friday evening.
The metaverse, already one of 2022’s hot tech trends, typically refers to a shared, immersive 3D virtual space where people can interact and trade their assets, seen by many as the next iteration of the internet.
The company reported a net loss of 17.1 billion yuan (US$2.69 billion) in 2021, wider than the loss of 12.2 billion yuan a year earlier, mainly due to an increase in research and development (R&D) expenses and fair value losses of preferred shares.
R&D expenses increased 47.3 per cent to 3.6 billion yuan last year due to an expansion of the company’s research personnel, which increased by 1,500 to 4,200, representing 70 per cent of the company’s staff. The firm’s adjusted net loss was 1.4 billion yuan in 2021.
The company also reported growth in revenue of 36.4 per cent to 4.7 billion yuan in 2021, due to the growth in its smart city and smart business segments.
“2021 was a major milestone for SenseTime. Our businesses recorded accelerated growth, with a series of breakthroughs in R&D to set a solid foundation for our future development,” said Xu Li, co-founder and chief executive of SenseTime in a statement. “We believe that more world-class technology companies will emerge in China with the country’s push for technological innovations.”