Baidu claims 200 million users for Ernie chatbot, in sign that generative AI investments are paying off

Baidu’s artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Ernie Bot has attracted over 200 million users, according to company co-founder and chief executive Robin Li Yanhong, as the race to commercialise AI heats up in China. Ernie Bot reached the milestone just 13 months after its launch, with enterprise client numbers exceeding 85,000, Li said at Baidu’s AI … Read more

Chinese venture capitalist Allen Zhu steers clear of mainland tech firms’ AI large language model frenzy

“I believe in applications and those that can commercialise immediately,” said Zhu, who indicated that he did not invest in any LLM-focused company on the mainland last year. Sample code for an artificial intelligence large language model. Photo: Shutterstock Li pointed out that there were too many LLMs being introduced in mainland China, “but too … Read more

Chinese start-up Moonshot AI raises US$1 billion in funding round led by Alibaba and VC HongShan amid strong interest for OpenAI-type firms

The start-up in October launched smart chatbot Kimi Chat, built on its self-developed Moonshot large language model (LLM), which can process as many as 200,000 Chinese characters in a context window – referring to the swathe of text that an AI model can process during conversation with users. A screenshot of smart chatbot Kimi Chat. … Read more

China approves 14 large language models and enterprise applications, as Beijing favours wider AI adoption across industries

A total of 14 LLMs and enterprise applications were recently given the green light by authorities for commercial use, according to local media reports and company announcements including those from smartphone giant Xiaomi, AI specialist Beijing Fourth Paradigm Technology Co and Beijing-based tech unicorn 01.AI, founded by venture capitalist Lee Kai-fu. This new batch includes … Read more

Baidu’s move to cancel YY Live acquisition amid fierce market competition, tougher regulation a boon to firm’s AI business expansion, analysts say

This move was “not totally unexpected, given investors have been waiting for more details in past years”, Jefferies equity analysts Thomas Chong and Zoey Zong said in a research note on Monday, following Baidu’s announcement. They indicated that China’s internet sector “has been undergoing changes”, which reflects Baidu’s focus on generative AI. “For Baidu, Ernie … Read more