Megvii

The company was founded in Beijing with Megvii standing for "mega vision."{{cite news |date=September 9, 2017 |title=Ever better and cheaper, face-recognition technology is spreading |url=http://www.startribune.com/the-first-billion-dollar-startup-in-facial-recognition-has-emerged-and-it-s-in-china/444050653/ |url-access=subscription |access-date=August 28, 2019 |newspaper=The Economist}} It was started by Yin Qi and two college friends.{{Cite book |last1=Bachulska |first1=Alicja |url=https://ecfr.eu/publication/idea-of-china/ |title=The Idea of China: Chinese Thinkers on Power, Progress, and People |last2=Leonard |first2=Mark |last3=Oertel |first3=Janka |date=2 July 2024 |publisher=European Council on Foreign Relations |isbn=978-1-916682-42-9 |location=Berlin, Germany |pages= |format=EPUB |access-date=22 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240717120845/https://ecfr.eu/publication/idea-of-china/ |archive-date=17 July 2024 |url-status=live}}{{Rp|page=101}}

The company's core product, Face++, launched in 2012 as the first online facial recognition platform in China.{{cite news |last=Feifel |first=Fan |date=January 12, 2017 |title=Megvii gives a digital meaning to face-reading |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/tech/2017-01/12/content_27931630.htm |work=China Daily|access-date= August 28, 2019}} In 2015 Megvii created Brain++, a deep-learning engine to help train its algorithms.

Backed by GGV Capital,{{Cite news |last=Griffith |first=Erin |date=2024-02-21 |title=Silicon Valley Venture Capitalists Are Breaking Up With China |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/21/technology/silicon-valley-vc-china.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Megvii raised $100 million in 2016, $460 million in 2017{{cite news |last=Jacob |first=Harrison |date=July 8, 2018 |title=Inside the creepy and impressive startup funded by the Chinese government that is developing AI that can recognize anyone, anywhere |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/china-facial-recognition-tech-company-megvii-faceplusplus-2018-5 |work=Business Insider|access-date= August 28, 2019}} and $750 million in May 2019.{{cite news|last=Liao|first=Rita|date=May 8, 2019|title=Alibaba-backed facial recognition startup Megvii raises $750 million|work=TechCrunch|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/08/megvii-750-million/|access-date=August 28, 2019}}

In 2017, Megvii marketed authentication and computational photography functions to smart phone companies and mobile application developers, then smart logistics. Megvii's AI-empowered products include personal IoT, city IoT and supply chain IoT.[http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=211441&fc=1 (Chen, Avery) "AI unicorn plans HK$3.9b stock sale ", The Standard, September 9, 2019.]{{cite news |last=Bergen |first=Mark |date=May 24, 2019 |title=Trump's Latest China Target Includes a Rising Star in AI |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-24/trump-s-latest-china-target-includes-a-rising-star-in-ai |work=Bloomberg|access-date= August 28, 2019}} In 2017 and 2018, Megvii beat Google, Facebook, and Microsoft in tests of image recognition at the International Conference on Computer Vision.{{cite news |last=Yang |first=Yuan |date=November 1, 2017 |title=China pours millions into facial recognition start-up Face++ |url=https://www.ft.com/content/4d008d46-bed2-11e7-b8a3-38a6e068f464 |work=Financial Times|access-date= August 28, 2019}}

By June 2019, Megvii had 2,349 employees,{{Cite web|title=Risks Mount for Chinese AI Firm as It Heads for IPO|url=https://www.caixinglobal.com/2019-08-29/risks-mount-for-chinese-ai-firm-as-it-heads-for-ipo-101456610.html|access-date=2021-09-25|website=Caixin|language=en}} and was valued at over $4 billion, as the "world’s biggest provider of third-party authentication software", with 339 corporate clients in 112 cities in China. The Chinese government employs Megvii software.

In May 2019, Human Rights Watch reported finding Face++ code in the Integrated Joint Operations Platform (IJOP), a police surveillance app used to collect data on, and track the Uyghur community in Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch released a correction to its report in June 2019 stating that Megvii did not appear to have collaborated on IJOP, and that the Face++ code in the app was inoperable.

In March 2020, Megvii announced that it would make its deep learning framework MegEngine open-source.{{cite news|title=Megvii makes deep learning AI framework open-source as China moves to reduce reliance on US platforms|work=SCMP|url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/start-ups/article/3077023/megvii-makes-deep-learning-ai-framework-open-source-china-moves|access-date=Mar 26, 2020}}

As of 2024, Megvii operates the world's largest computer vision research institute.{{Rp|page=101}}

{{See also|United States sanctions against China|Military-civil fusion}}

Megvii was sanctioned by the US government, and placed on the United States Bureau of Industry and Security's Entity List on October 9, 2019, due to the use of its technology for human rights abuses against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-09|title=Addition of Certain Entities to the Entity List|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/09/2019-22210/addition-of-certain-entities-to-the-entity-list|access-date=2020-01-03|website=Federal Register}} In December 2021, the United States Department of the Treasury prohibited all U.S. investment in Megvii, accusing the company of complicity in aiding the persecution of Uyghurs in China.{{Cite news|last1=Alper|first1=Alexandra|last2=Psaledakis|first2=Daphne|date=2021-12-17|title=U.S. curbs Chinese drone maker DJI, other firms it accuses of aiding rights abuses|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-adds-more-chinese-firms-restricted-entity-list-commerce-2021-12-16/|access-date=2021-12-17}} In January 2024, the United States Department of Defense named Megvii on its list of "Chinese Military Companies Operating in the United States."{{Cite news |date=February 1, 2024 |title=Pentagon calls out Chinese companies it says are helping Beijing's military |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/pentagon-adds-companies-chinese-military-list-us-official-says-2024-01-31/ |access-date=February 1, 2024 |work=Reuters}}

Following US sanctions, GGV Capital announced its intention to divest from Megvii.

In 2022, Megvii laid off workers in multiple departments as a response to U.S. sanctions and ongoing tensions between the United States and China.{{Cite web |date=2022-10-25 |title=Chinese AI giant Megvii said to implement fresh round of lay-offs |url=https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3197224/us-blacklisted-chinese-ai-giant-megvii-said-carry-out-fresh-lay-offs-amid-escalating-tech-war |access-date=2024-03-27 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

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Category:Chinese brands

Category:Chinese companies established in 2011

Category:Chinese entities subject to U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctions

Category:Companies based in Beijing

Category:Data mining and machine learning software

Category:Facial recognition software

Category:Software companies of China

Category:Mass surveillance in China