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US-blacklisted Chinese AI firm Megvii cleared for US$500 million Hong Kong IPO

  • Beijing-based Megvii is expected to file its updated listing information soon with the Hong Kong stock exchange
  • The company raised US$750 million in May last year, which put its valuation at more than US$4 billion

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Yin Qi, co-founder and chief executive of Beijing-based artificial intelligence company Megvii. Photo: Simon Song
Reuters

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company Megvii’s plans for a US$500 million Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) are back on track after its application was cleared by the city’s stock exchange, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.

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Megvii, which was put on the US trade blacklist in October, was asked to provide more information in November when the company faced the Hong Kong stock exchange listing committee to seek the go-ahead for the transaction.

Beijing-based Megvii, which is known for its facial recognition platform Face++, is aiming to be the first Chinese AI firm to go public.

The plan comes after the Trump administration placed Megvii, along with seven other Chinese firms, on the US trade blacklist for their alleged involvement in human rights violations related to Beijing’s treatment of Muslim minority populations in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The company said at the time it “strongly objected” to the blacklisting.

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Megvii is expected to file its updated listing information soon with the Hong Kong exchange, according to sources who declined to be named because the information has not been made public.

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