Published: 9:00am, 1 Sep 2025Updated: 9:01am, 1 Sep 2025
Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) powerhouse SenseTime is on a fast track to turn a profit thanks to its strategy of spinning off noncore operations as well as support from Beijing, CEO Xu Li said.
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In an interview with the Post on Friday, Xu said SenseTime’s 1+X strategy, where “1” refers to its core AI business and “X” encompasses other ventures, is paying off as the company’s first-half adjusted loss narrowed by 50 per cent from a year earlier.
“The speed of narrowing losses will only accelerate in the second half of this year,” Xu said, adding that if the company took more operations off the balance sheet, “we would be profitable immediately”.
He also said “the speed of loss reduction in the second half will not be low”.
The company had four key “X” businesses at the end of June: smart auto, healthcare, robotics and retail, and SenseTime plans to make them into independent business entities by encouraging the company’s executives to become “re co-founders”, Xu said.
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He said the changes, which were put into implementation last year, have inspired the company’s employees.
“Previously SenseTime had to lead them to move forward, now they can lead SenseTime to move forward,” Xu said. “They are put in control of promising businesses…and they can go to the market to find external investors.”