Chinese face recognition firms get millions of dollars

With the use of AI, the technology can recognise and track those wanted by the authorities by seeking a match from a database of photographs

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A ‘smart departure’ self-service machine scans a woman’s face to authenticate her identity using face recognition technology, during a demonstration by the Immigration Department at Hong Kong Airport in Hong Kong, China. (Photo: Reuters)

Sijia Jiang | Reuters Hong Kong

Last Updated : Nov 13 2017 | 11:33 PM IST

Buoyed by China’s plans to build a ubiquitous CCTV surveillance network, Chinese and some foreign investors are pouring money into start-up technology firms that specialise in facial recognition software.

At stake for firms such as SenseTime Group, Face++ and DeepGlint, is a multi-billion dollar global public and private market for facial recognition technology that can quickly identify individuals by measuring major elements of their faces, such as the distance between the eyes and the curve of the cheekbones.

With the use of artificial intelligence (AI) the technology can recognise and track those wanted by the authorities by seeking a match from a