SenseTime
SenseTime is a Hong Kong-listed AI software company building a vertically integrated stack from compute infrastructure (SenseCore) to foundation models (SenseNova) to vertical applications (Vision AI, automotive, healthcare, agents), serving enterprise, government, and developer customers across 10+ countries, with FY2025 revenue of RMB 5 billion.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersSha Tin, Hong Kong SAR China
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What SenseTime does
SenseTime is a Hong Kong-listed (HKEX: 00020.HK) AI software company founded in 2014 by Tang Xiao'ou, Xu Li, Wang Xiaogang, and Lin Dahua, generating RMB 5 billion (~USD 724M) in FY2025 revenue with 32.9% year-over-year growth. The company operates a vertically integrated AI stack spanning proprietary compute infrastructure (SenseCore AI Cloud, 40,400+ PetaFLOPS across 7 cities), foundation models (SenseNova series with the NEO-Unify native multimodal architecture), and an application portfolio including SenseFoundry Vision AI, SenseAuto automotive AI, SenseCare medical AI, SenseAvatar digital humans, Seko AI drama/video generation, Office Raccoon and Code Raccoon agents, and SenseMirage text-to-image. It leads IDC's China Vision AI market for ten consecutive years and ranks #1 in China's Native AI Cloud market, with generative AI accounting for 72.4% of group revenue in 2025.
The company's business model combines subscription-based enterprise AI cloud services (MaaS Token Plan covering 16 flagship models), usage-based SenseCore infrastructure access, and direct/quoted enterprise licensing for vertical platforms such as SenseFoundry Enterprise, SenseAuto, and SenseCare. Distribution operates through direct enterprise sales (heavily weighted toward Chinese government, transportation, healthcare, and industrial accounts), a four-tier partner program (national distributors, regional/industry agents, AI hardware transformation partners, and ISV partners), self-serve APIs at sensenova.cn, and the SenseTime MEA joint venture with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund for Middle East expansion. The GTM motion has shifted from government-funded smart-city surveillance toward commercial generative-AI enterprise services.
SenseTime employs 1,001-5,000 staff (two-thirds in R&D), operates offices in China (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou), South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, and serves 20M+ users and enterprises across 10+ countries. Strategic subsidiaries include Sunrise (AI chip spinoff, $431M raised), ACE Robotics (embodied intelligence), and minority investments in SiliconFlow, TuringQ, Dexmal, RoboParty, and RoboScience. The company reached its first positive H2 2025 EBITDA of RMB 376.4M since listing and narrowed its FY2025 net loss by 58.6% to RMB 1.8B.
SenseTime firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- SenseTime
- Legal name
- SenseTime Group Inc.
- Website
- https://sensetime.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- SenseTime is a Hong Kong-listed AI software company building a vertically integrated stack from compute infrastructure (SenseCore) to foundation models (SenseNova) to vertical applications (Vision AI, automotive, healthcare, agents), serving enterprise, government, and developer customers across 10+ countries, with FY2025 revenue of RMB 5 billion.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
SenseTime industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Software Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ), Enterprise Foundation Model Integration & APIs (Connectors, Governance, Deployment) (HDAAACAO), Model Hosting, Serving & Inference Platforms (HDAAACAB), Open-Source Model Ecosystems & Model Marketplaces (HDAAACAM)
Keywords
Where SenseTime is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sha Tin
- HQ country
- Hong Kong SAR China
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices12 records
Markets served
SenseTime business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Generative AI Services: Cloud-based AI model services including API access, model compute, and AI agent applications. Generative AI now accounts for 72.4% of group revenue as of 2025.
- SenseCore AI Cloud: AI infrastructure services providing computing power, model training platforms, and enterprise AI development tools.
- Vision AI Solutions: Enterprise software platforms (SenseFoundry, SenseFoundry Enterprise) for computer vision applications across smart city, enterprise, and vertical industries. IDC reports 10 consecutive years of China Vision AI market leadership.
- Smart Auto: Automotive AI solutions including SenseAuto cabin, ADAS, RoboX, and V2X products for intelligent driving and cockpit applications.
- Healthcare AI: SenseCare medical AI products including diagnostic imaging analysis and healthcare platforms.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | MaaS Token Plan - AI tool suite subscription |
| Subscription | Annual | 全国总代 (National Distributor) |
| Subscription | Annual | Regional/Industry Agent |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
SenseTime product offering
Product offeringCore offering
SenseTime develops and sells AI software spanning foundation models, AI infrastructure, and Vision AI platforms. Its SenseNova foundation model series delivers multimodal generative AI capabilities (LLMs, image, video, code), SenseCore provides AI cloud computing at 40,400+ PetaFLOPS, and SenseFoundry offers Vision AI software for smart cities and enterprises. Generative AI accounted for 72.4% of FY2025 revenue (RMB 5 billion total).
Product overview
SenseTime offers a comprehensive AI software portfolio organized around its SenseNova foundation model series, SenseCore AI infrastructure, and SenseFoundry Vision AI platforms. The SenseNova series provides multimodal AI capabilities spanning large language models (SenseChat), generative AI (SenseMirage, SenseAvatar), video creation (Seko), code generation (Code Raccoon), and enterprise automation (Office Raccoon, FinAgent), all delivered via the proprietary NEO-Unify native multimodal architecture. The SenseCore AI cloud infrastructure powers model training and deployment at 40,400+ PFlops across 7 cities. SenseFoundry and SenseFoundry Enterprise deliver Vision AI for smart city management and enterprise digital transformation, respectively, while the SenseAuto platform provides autonomous driving and in-cabin AI for automotive applications. Additional products include smart healthcare (SenseCare), augmented reality/metaverse (SenseMARS), smart retail (SenseMart GO, SenseGalaxy), consumer AI devices (SenseRobot Chess Robot, Kapi Cam), and remote sensing analytics (SenseEarth). The company holds ISO 27001, ISO 29151, and ISO 27701 certifications, has led China's Vision AI market for 10 consecutive years, and generated RMB 5 billion in 2025 revenue with generative AI accounting for 72.4% of total revenue.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SenseNova: Large language model and multimodal AI foundation model series offering natural language processing, image generation, code generation, and digital human creation
- SenseCore
- SenseFoundry
- SenseAuto (绝影)
- SenseME
- SenseMARS
- SenseCare
- SenseRobot (元萝卜)
- Seko
- Office Raccoon
- Code Raccoon
- SenseAvatar
- SenseChat
- SenseMirage (秒画)
Products and services
- SenseNova Foundation Model System Flagship multimodal AI foundation model platform providing large language models, AI text-to-image generation, 2D/3D digital human creation, and code generation for enterprise and developer use.
- SenseNova U1 Next-generation native multimodal model fully open-sourced under Apache 2.0 license, powered by the proprietary NEO-Unify architecture unifying AI understanding and generation end-to-end.
- SenseNova 6.7 Flash-Lite Next-generation lightweight multimodal agent model designed for real-world AI workflows, reducing token consumption by 60% with millisecond-level feedback for enterprise office automation.
- SenseNova-SI
Quantifiable outcome
- 32.9% YoY revenue growth to RMB 5 billion in 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use SenseTime
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles5 records
SenseTime technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability17 records
Feature5 records
SenseTime partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)coreStrategic MoU for AI computing infrastructure partnership to establish Hong Kong's largest domestic intelligent computing center targeting 40,000+ PetaFLOPS by 2030. First phase expected within 2026 with multiple domestic GPU clusters. Aligns with China's 15th Five-Year Plan and Hong Kong 'AI for All' strategy.
- Sunrise (AI Chip Spinoff)coreAI chip spinoff Sunrise raised ~$420M within 12 months. Spun out of SenseTime, Sunrise designs inference GPUs targeting one cent RMB per million tokens processed with planned S3 chip in 2026.
- King Saud UniversitycoreJoint AI Innovation Centre launched in Riyadh with GPU cluster supporting health, energy, entertainment, logistics, smart cities, environmental monitoring, and space science initiatives.
- CambriconcorePartnership with Cambricon to strengthen China's AI supply chain throughchip-level integration and self-reliance AI venture. Both companies saw stock increases on the news.
- King Abdullah Financial District (Riyadh)coreSenseTime MEA joint venture with Public Investment Fund establishing operations in Riyadh's King Abdullah Financial District for Middle East market expansion.
Scale indicators13 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
SenseTime competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun): Alibaba's cloud unit offering Qwen/Tongyi foundation models and Model Studio platform, directly competing with SenseTime's SenseNova API and ModelStudio offerings in the Chinese enterprise AI cloud market.
- Baidu: China's leading search and cloud AI company with ERNIE foundation models, Apollo autonomous driving, and Baidu Cloud — a broad incumbent whose enterprise AI offerings overlap significantly with SenseTime's SenseNova and SenseCore portfolios.
- iFlytek: Hefei-based AI leader specializing in speech recognition, natural language understanding, and AI education, with overlapping offerings in NLP, voice, and educational AI applications competing with SenseTime's SenseChat and SenseAudio products.
- Tencent: Chinese internet giant whose Hunyuan foundation models and Tencent Cloud compete with SenseTime's SenseNova and SenseCore in the broader Chinese enterprise AI market, particularly for AI-enabled gaming, social, and content applications.
Direct peers
- Megvii Technology (Face++): Beijing-based AI company specializing in computer vision and facial recognition with Face++ platform, directly competing with SenseTime's traditional Vision AI business in smart city, enterprise, and IoT applications across China.
- Zhipu AI: Beijing-based foundation model startup developing GLM series LLMs with multimodal capabilities, directly competing with SenseTime's SenseNova foundation model family for Chinese enterprise AI customers and developer mindshare.
- StepFun (Step AI): Shanghai-based multimodal foundation model startup whose Step series models compete directly with SenseNova in the Chinese enterprise AI market, particularly in image, video, and multimodal capabilities.
- Moonshot AI: Beijing-based AI company behind the Kimi LLM and related foundation models, competing with SenseNova in the Chinese enterprise LLM market with comparable long-context and reasoning capabilities.
- YITU Technology: Shanghai-based AI platform company offering computer vision, healthcare AI, and smart city solutions, directly comparable to SenseTime's SenseFoundry and SenseCare product lines across both enterprise and government segments.
Emerging players
- DeepSeek: Hangzhou-based AI research company whose open-source DeepSeek foundation models have gained rapid adoption, creating competitive pressure on SenseTime's SenseNova pricing and enterprise AI positioning in China.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
SenseTime social profiles
Digital presenceSenseTime compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
SenseTime financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
SenseTime leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
SenseTime subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries3 records
SenseTime funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds11 records
Investors30 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
SenseTime M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments29 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about SenseTime
What does SenseTime do?
SenseTime develops and sells AI software spanning foundation models, AI infrastructure, and Vision AI platforms. Its SenseNova foundation model series delivers multimodal generative AI capabilities (LLMs, image, video, code), SenseCore provides AI cloud computing at 40,400+ PetaFLOPS, and SenseFoundry offers Vision AI software for smart cities and enterprises. Generative AI accounted for 72.4% of FY2025 revenue (RMB 5 billion total).
Is SenseTime a public or private company?
SenseTime is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was SenseTime founded?
SenseTime was founded in 2014. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is SenseTime based?
SenseTime is headquartered in Sha Tin, Hong Kong SAR China, in the Asia region.
How does SenseTime make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Generative AI Services are the primary driver. The others are senseCore AI Cloud, vision AI Solutions, smart Auto and healthcare AI.
Who are SenseTime's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Alibaba Cloud (Aliyun), Baidu, iFlytek and Tencent. Direct peers are Megvii Technology (Face++), Zhipu AI, StepFun (Step AI), Moonshot AI and YITU Technology. DeepSeek is listed as an emerging player.
Does SenseTime have an API?
No public API is recorded for SenseTime.
What industry is SenseTime in?
SenseTime's product category is AI Software Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEANAA, End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management), with a secondary code of HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.