Chinese AI startup Malong Technologies selected as WEF Technology Pioneer

Malong Technologies, a Shenzhen-based AI product recognition startup, has been selected among hundreds of candidates as one of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2018 Technology Pioneers. The full list can be viewed here.

The Technology Pioneer community is comprised of early-stage startups from all over the world that take part in the design, development, and deployment of innovative technologies. This year, Malong Technologies is the only Chinese startup selected to be on the esteemed list. Of the 61 selected companies, 28 come from the US, eight from Israel, and five from the UK.

“At Malong, we are convinced that the enormous potential benefits of artificial intelligence can and must be shared by all communities around the world. The World Economic Forum will help us engage at a much deeper level with other stakeholders across all facets of society. We look forward to getting started,” said Dinglong Huang, co-founder and CEO of Malong Technologies in a press release.

Founded in 2014, Malong Technologies focuses on developing deep learning and computer vision technology with a mission to help transform enterprises using AI. The company’s flagship solution ProductAI enables machines to “see” products like a human can—without the need for barcodes. The technology is said to be capable of conducting visual searches through 100 million product catalogs within a second, matching items from the physical world with their digital counterparts.

The technology could be used in wide range of applications across different sectors like fashion, textiles, stock photography and retail. Earlier this month, Malong Technologies signed a cooperation agreement with Chinese smartphone maker Huawei to jointly launch a product recognition AI-enabled new retail solution.

The startup has received numerous awards and has gained recognition from NVIDIA and Microsoft Ventures, eBay, Tsinghua University, and other big names