Alibaba Weighs Joining Megvii's $500 Million Round, Sources Say
- Owner of Face++ is said to seek closing this round this month
- Megvii is said to seek fundraising from Chinese PE backers
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Megvii, the owner of facial recognition technology company Face++, is in discussions with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and other investors as it seeks to raise at least $500 million of new funding, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Beijing-based company, which already counts Alibaba as a backer, is talking with Chinese private equity investors and is considering a valuation between $3.5 billion to $4 billion, the people said, asking not to be named because the matter is private. The financing, which the company hopes to close in December, would give Megvii ammunition to compete with local rival SenseTime Group Ltd., the people said.