Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund appoints SenseTime founder to board as it seeks to expand tech investments – South China Morning Post
What happened: Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, has appointed the founder of artificial intelligence (AI) startup Sensetime as a board member to advise on tech investments. Tang Xiao’ou will advise on AI-related matters, marking the first time a foreign national has been appointed to such a position. Meanwhile, Lau Seng Yee, a Malaysian citizen and executive at Tencent, has also been appointed.
Why it’s important: Malaysia has shown increasing interest in Chinese technology, and Sensetime serves as a poster child of China’s tech development. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has previously visited the AI firm’s Beijing headquarters, and taken tours of both Alibaba’s and automaker Geely’s campuses during visits to China. Notably, the 93-year-old leader showed his support for telecommunications giant Huawei, saying that Malaysia would use its equipment “as much as possible” despite the Chinese company finding itself at the center of international scrutiny.