Kai-Fu Lee, a renowned investor and artificial intelligence (AI) technology advocate, apologized after stoking public concerns by appearing to say that China’s largest fintech group may share users’ facial data with business partners.

In a speech Saturday at a tech forum in Beijing, Lee — the chairman and chief executive officer of Sinovation Ventures — related how he facilitated the development of a facial recognition startup called Megvii Technology Ltd. in which Sinovation is an investor.

Lee said his company played a role in helping Megvii to seek early-stage partners including Ant Group Co. Ltd. and selfie app operator Meitu Inc. He said Megvii collected facial data from these partners for industry analysis. In a statement to Caixin commenting on the controversy, Anita Huang, operating partner of Sinovation Ventures said, “Lee’s public remarks were oversimplified and resulted in miscommunication.”

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Contact reporter Mo Yelin (yelinmo@caixin.com)