FAST NEWS: SoftBank cuts SenseTime holding for seventh time in past year

The latest: Japan’s Softbank Group (9984.T) disclosed it sold 32.08 million shares of China’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) company SenseTime Group Inc. (0020.HK) at an average price of HK$0.9314 per share on Feb. 28, according to a new Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing.

Looking up: After the reduction, Softbank still holds 8.96% of SenseTime’s shares, maintaining its position as the company’s second largest shareholder.

Take Note: Softbank has reduced its SenseTime stake by more than 330 million shares through seven share sales over the last year, dropping its holdings from 15.51% to 8.96%.

Digging Deeper: Of China’s top four AI companies, SenseTime is distinguished from its three biggest rivals by its prowess in computer vision artificial intelligence (AI) and its “AI-as-a-Service” to government and enterprise customers for applications like smart cities, surveillance and autonomous driving. Listed in December 2021, the company has been unprofitable since its inception in 2014 due to huge R&D expenses. Last December, its founder and executive director Tang Xiao’ou passed away at the age of 55 after failing to receive treatment for an illness.

Market Reaction: SenseTime’s shares rose on Wednesday morning and were up 2.4% to HK$0.85 by the midday break. It now trades at the lower end of its 52-week range.

Translation by A. Au

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