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One of Britain's most promising AI start-ups valued at $100m funding by China's Tencent

Chinese technology giant Tencent has invested in a Cambridge-based AI company - REUTERS
Chinese technology giant Tencent has invested in a Cambridge-based AI company - REUTERS

One of Britain's most promising artificial intelligence startups, Prowler.io, has been valued at $100m (£78.4m) after a funding round led by Chinese technology giant Tencent.

The startup, which was founded in 2016 by mathematicians and engineers from Cambridge University, has developed AI to help businesses make decisions about everything from financial portfolios to managing supply chains.

The company has received $24 million in a bumper round from a roster of investors including multinational publishing company Pearson, venture capital firms Amadeus Capital Partners and Passion Capital, and investment consulting firm RB Capital.

It said that this investment will be used to support its recent product expansion and growth, as well as its foray into finance, logistics and education.

Dr Ling Ge, chief European representative at Tencent, said that the UK is a global leader in AI and is "increasingly becoming a focus" for companies looking to invest in the sector.

"Prowler.io’s data-efficient approach and focus on human-machine teaming really set it apart. We are looking forward to Prowler.io applying its AI decision platform to a broadening range of customers, potentially including some of Tencent’s affiliate companies," he said.

Earlier this month, Tencent exceeded analyst expectations in its latest financial results, with net income soared 17pc to $4bn (£3.1bn) in the first three months of the year.

This investment comes amid concerns that promising European startups are handing over technology in exchange for access to the world's second largest economy.

The European Union's Chamber of Commerce in China said on Monday that 20pc of members reported being compelled to transfer technology for market access, up from 10pc two years ago.

Last year, the EU stepped up the scope of its World Trade Organisation action against Chinese measures on forced technology transfers.

At the time, Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said: "We cannot tolerate that EU companies have to give away valuable technology as a price to pay for investing in China."