SenseTime Co-Founder Xu Bing to Step Down from Board to Lead AI Chip Unit in Strategic Shift

AsianFin -- SenseTime Group announced a major boardroom reshuffle on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival, revealing that co-founder Xu Bing will resign as Executive Director and Board Secretary to take on a more operational role, leading the company's emerging AI chip business.

In a six-page board statement released late Thursday, the Hong Kong-listed artificial intelligence company said Xu will officially step down following its annual general meeting on June 26.

Xu, who helped build SenseTime into one of China's leading AI developers, will instead focus on spearheading strategic growth initiatives across the group's ecosystem, including heading a new, as-yet-unnamed chip subsidiary under the firm's “1+X” business structure.

Xu's departure from the board underscores a shift in SenseTime's leadership structure as it seeks to double down on next-generation computing hardware amid intensifying competition in the AI sector.

The company said the move is part of broader talent realignment efforts aimed at deepening its focus on core and high-growth business lines. Xu has confirmed there is no disagreement with the board and no other matters requiring shareholder attention.

To fill the board vacancy, SenseTime plans to nominate fellow co-founder Yang Fan—currently President of its Grand Device Business Group—and CFO Wang Zheng as new Executive Directors. Shareholders will vote on their appointments at the upcoming AGM.

Xu, a protégé of the late AI pioneer and SenseTime founder Tang Xiao'ou, has been central to the company's corporate development strategy and its global fundraising efforts. He was instrumental in raising over $1 billion from investors between 2017 and 2018, cementing SenseTime's status as one of the world's most valuable AI unicorns. Xu was named one of MIT Technology Review's Innovators Under 35 in 2017 and appeared on Forbes Asia's 30 Under 30 list in 2019.

He currently holds around 3.07% of SenseTime's voting rights across Class A and B shares, worth approximately HK$510 million ($65 million) based on the May 30 closing price of HK$1.40, according to the company's latest annual report. Xu's total compensation rose to RMB 2.69 million ($370,000) in 2024, up from RMB 2.44 million in 2023.

The company also disclosed that Xu will continue to oversee SenseTime Guoxiang Capital and will lead an independent chip subsidiary within the group, though no additional details have been provided.

SenseTime's board also announced the appointment of Hong Kong lawmaker and tech investor Duncan Chiu as an independent non-executive director, effective May 30. Chiu will join the Audit, Corporate Governance, and Nomination Committees. Several internal board committee changes were also disclosed, including new roles for existing directors Lin Yizhong, Xue Lan, and Fan Yuanyuan.

The company's current executive directors include Chairman Xu Li, Wang Xiaogang, Xu Bing, and Lin Dahua. If approved, Yang Fan and Wang Zheng will join the board with three-year terms, though they are not expected to receive separate director fees outside their executive compensation packages.

Yang, who joined SenseTime in 2014 after nearly a decade at Microsoft China, oversees its AI infrastructure arm and has been active in government advisory roles related to AI policy. He holds roughly 0.11% of the company's issued shares.

Wang, a former Silver Lake and General Atlantic investor, became CFO in 2019 and now also manages the firm's Innovation Business Group. He owns about 0.09% of SenseTime's shares.

SenseTime continues to ramp up its generative AI efforts to challenge local and global peers. In April, the company released SenseNova V6, the latest version of its large AI model. The company says the system surpasses GPT-4o in data analysis and ranks top in China for multimodal reasoning, positioning it as a domestic alternative to leading U.S. models.

Despite its advances, SenseTime's shares have remained largely flat in 2025, edging down 0.71% year-to-date. The company closed at a market capitalization of HK$51.81 billion on May 30.

(Note: 1 USD equals about 7.25 yuan)