AI startup raises US$230m from investors

AI startup 4Paradigm has raised US$230 million in its latest round of financing, valuing the company at around US$2 billion, the Beijing-based company said on Wednesday.

New investors include IT giants Cisco and Lenovo, which will help the firm to build its AI-based enterprise-level service ecosystem, the company said.

Sequoia Capital remains the company’s largest external shareholder.

Since it was founded in 2014, 4Paradigm has gained clients in a wide variety of industries, from finance, retail and health care to manufacturing, energy, media and the Internet.

Chinese firms occupied the top two positions in the list of top venture capital funded emerging tech companies in the Asia-Pacific region in 2019, according to researcher GlobalData.

Tenglong Holding raised US$3.7 billion, the highest VC funding among all companies last year, followed by Beijing Kuaishou Technology. The two Chinese companies collectively raised US$6.7 billion, according to GlobalData. 

During the COVID-19 outbreak, 4Paradigm has been at the forefront with its AI-powered applications. They include precision screening for prevention and control, a real-time scenario analysis system and an infection contact sourcing system.