Chinese Government Approves Public Launch of AI Chatbots from Four Tech Companies, Intensifying AI Competition with the U.S.
Sep/06/2023
Four leading Chinese tech firms, including Baidu and SenseTime, have publicly launched their AI chatbots following government approval, signaling China's intent to compete more aggressively in the AI sector with the United States. The shares of Baidu and SenseTime saw a notable increase after the announcement. Unlike other countries, China mandates security assessments and government clearance before AI products can be rolled out to the mass market. A total of 11 companies, including TikTok owner ByteDance and Tencent Holdings, have received government approval for their AI initiatives, while Alibaba is awaiting official launch clearance. Analysts suggest that early approval gives these companies an advantage in optimizing their products and speculate that the sector may soon consolidate, favoring firms with robust data and technology capabilities. The map of China below shows the approximate proportion of Chinese regions and major cities that dominate Chinese trademark publications related to artificial intelligence and machine learning.
