PeopleofSuperintelligence

Lab leader

Xu Li

Also known as 徐立, Li Xu

As of October 2026, Xu Li is executive chairman and chief executive of SenseTime, an artificial intelligence company he co-founded in October 2014. A doctorate in computer science at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, completed in 2010, focused on computer vision and computational imaging. The L0 Smoothing algorithm drew the most citations in ACM Transactions on Graphics from 2011 to 2015, and he won a best paper award at the Non-Photorealistic Rendering and Animation conference in 2012. From August 2013 to March 2015, he worked as a research scientist at Lenovo Group. In 2018 Ernst & Young named him the technology category winner of its Entrepreneur of the Year China program.

Now at
Sensetime
Works
244

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026. Citations and h-index are hidden because this OpenAlex record may be incomplete or mix in other authors.

Photo of Xu Li

Timeline

  1. 2010

    A PhD in computer vision

    At the Chinese University of Hong Kong, he completes a PhD in computer science and engineering in 2010, focusing on computer vision and computational imaging.

  2. 2011–2015

    The L0 Smoothing algorithm

    His L0 Smoothing algorithm draws the most citations in ACM Transactions on Graphics from 2011 to 2015.

  3. 2012

    A best paper award at NPAR

    He wins the Best Paper Award at the Non-Photorealistic Rendering and Animation conference in 2012.

  4. August 2013–March 2015

    Research scientist at Lenovo

    Between August 2013 and March 2015, he works as a research scientist at Lenovo Group.

  5. October 2014

    Co-founding SenseTime

    In October 2014 he co-founds SenseTime, an artificial intelligence company, with Tang Xiao'ou and others.

  6. 2018

    Entrepreneur of the Year China

    In 2018 Ernst & Young names him the technology category winner of its Entrepreneur of the Year China program.

  7. August 2021

    Executive director of SenseTime

    He is re-designated as an executive director of SenseTime in August 2021, after his appointment as a director in December 2015.

  8. As of October 2026

    Chairman and CEO of SenseTime

    He is co-founder, executive chairman and chief executive officer of SenseTime.

Sources and credits

Photo: cs.sjtu.edu.cn; 徐立-上海交通大学计算机学院（网络空间安全学院、密码学院）; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: cs.sjtu.edu.cn. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Corporate Governance - SenseTime sensetime.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Xu Li (computer scientist) - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. SenseTime - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. SenseTime Group Reports Record High Revenue of Over RMB 5 billion in 2025; Second Half EBITDA Turns Positive sensetime.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. SenseTime Group Reports Record High Revenue of Over RMB 5 billion in 2025; Second Half EBITDA Turns Positive | Malay Mail malaymail.com. Checked 14 October 2026.