Accenture Penetrates the AI Market in China; Invests in Malong Technologies

Accenture and Malong Technologies Formed a Strategic Alliance to Explore the Scope of AI. This Partnership Guarantees Technological Extensions for Accenture in the Areas of Computer Vision and Product Recognition. 

Accenture announced that it had made a micro-level investment in a Chinese AI start-up firm, Malong Technologies. Working out of Shenzhen, China, the company has been recognized as an AI pioneer and an innovation champion.

The partnership will accelerate Accenture’s capabilities in the areas of product recognition and computer vision. The partnership also satisfies Accenture’s business expansion plans.

Malong’s flagship product, ProductAI, helps machines see physical objects like that in humans. Retailers can, using this technology, enable faster checkouts for their customers. Consumers too, can now, click product pictures via their Smartphones and shop.

Read More: Oracle Retail Recognized as a Leader in Point of Service in Independent Research Report

ProductAI is also capable of –

• Detecting defects in manufacturing equipment
• Improving security at public transport hubs by scanning baggage
• Reading medical scans to help doctors in taking critical decisions rather easily

The partnership will develop go-to-market and joint industry solutions. Malong has designated Accenture to be its preferred System Integrator and Consulting Partner. This collaboration will help Accenture reach new heights in the sphere of computer vision.

Read More: The Promise and Potential of AI for the Insurance Industry

This will provide industries that work in object identification, end-to-end service, and solutions.

China is at the forefront of –

• AI funding
• AI startups
• AI-related patents

This is Accenture’s first investment in the Chinese market.

Read More: Interview with David Sikora, Chief Executive Officer at ALTR

Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer at Accenture, said, “AI has been making incredible strides in advancing computer vision, as is clearly demonstrated in what Malong Technologies is now able to offer to organizations. Our alliance and investment in them ensure that Accenture and our Applied Intelligence practice will stay ahead of the curve when it comes to offering clients innovation through AI and intelligent technologies, across industries and countries.”

Wei Zhu, chairman of Accenture Greater China, said, “China is fast becoming a global hub for innovation, particularly in the field of AI. With Malong Technologies, we have gained a partner that adds significant value to our Applied Intelligence portfolio and underscores our goal of becoming a key enabler for AI innovation in Asia and beyond.”

Read More: Insurtech: the new AI disruption is hitting insurance

Dr. Dinglong Huang, CEO of Malong Technologies, said, “Our award-winning scientific research in deep learning and computer vision has allowed us to develop an accurate, affordable, and secure cloud-based cognitive service that can deliver significant impact across many business use cases. Gaining Accenture as an investor and alliance partner will allow us to jointly bring our services to top-tier companies worldwide.”

Malong’s superior deep learning algorithms can work on larger datasets. This algorithm is supervised on a weekly basis and can achieve human-level accuracy. Malong won the Webvision 2017 challenge at the CVPR Vision Conference because it achieved 94.78 percent recognition level.

Malong is recognized in Gartner’s 2018 cool vendor report. It is also the only Chinese company in the world that is listed in World Economic Forum’s 2018 Pioneer list.

Read More: Interview with Akemi Tsunagawa, Founder and CEO, Bespoke Inc