Anamika Dey, editor
Brief news
- Major U.S. companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Google are being challenged by Chinese firms such as Alibaba and Tencent, which are rapidly developing their own AI models to compete in the global market.
- Chinese tech giants have launched various AI models, including Baidu’s Ernie, Alibaba’s Tongyi Qianwen, Tencent’s Hunyuan, Huawei’s Pangu, and ByteDance’s Doubao, each with unique capabilities and applications.
- China’s ambition to lead in AI technology intensifies its rivalry with the U.S., despite facing strict regulations that impact the deployment of these innovations.
Detailed news
The global spotlight has been directed toward prominent U.S. corporations, including OpenAI, Meta, and Alphabet’s Google.
However, over the past 18 months, several of China’s largest corporations, including Alibaba and Tencent, have introduced their own AI models in an effort to capitalize on the technology’s current popularity.
China’s aspirations to become a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) serve as an additional dimension in its technological rivalry with the United States. China has been perceived as behind the United States; however, the competition is intensifying.
Generative AI encompasses applications such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which are capable of producing text, images, and video in response to user directives. These applications are fueled by extensive AI models that are trained on vast quantities of data, such as Google’s Gemini.
Chinese technology companies have been required to exercise caution when publishing their technology due to Beijing’s stringent regulations regarding AI models and their applications.
The most significant AI models developed by the largest technology companies in China are reviewed by CNBC.
Baidu: ERNIE
Baidu, one of the largest internet corporations in China, was among the first to introduce generative AI applications in the country. Ernie Bot, an AI chatbot that was developed to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is powered by its model. According to the Chinese company, the chatbot has a user base of 300 million.
Baidu claimed that its most recent iteration, Ernie 4.0, was equivalent to OpenAI’s GPT-4 prior to the release of the “Turbo” version of the model. The foundational model is capable of comprehending and reasoning, as per Baidu.
The cloud computing division of Baidu, like other organizations, is offering the capacity to utilize its AI model.
Alibaba: Tongyi Qianwen
Tongyi Qianwen, Alibaba’s collection of foundational models, was introduced last year. Frequently abbreviated as Qwen, Alibaba
has created a variety of variants that are capable of performing a variety of duties. For instance, one paradigm is centered on the development of content or the resolution of mathematical problems. Another individual is capable of comprehending audio-based inputs and producing text-based outputs.
Some of its Qwen models are open-sourced, which means that they can be freely downloaded and used by developers, subject to certain restrictions.
In May, Alibaba announced that its Qwen models have been implemented by more than 90,000 enterprise users.
Hunyuan: Tencent
Hunyuan, Tencent’s proprietary foundational paradigm, was introduced last year. Tencent’s cloud computing operation provides companies with access to Hunyuan’s capabilities. Tencent has asserted that Hunyuan possesses “advanced” logical reasoning and robust Chinese language processing abilities. The model has the capacity to facilitate the creation of images and the recognition of text.
Tencent has positioned the model as a versatile solution that can be implemented by organizations in a variety of sectors, including e-commerce, social media, and entertainment.
WeChat, China’s most popular messaging application, is operated by Tencent. Based on its Hunyuan model, the organization implemented an AI chatbot this year. Tencent is endeavoring to distinguish its product from its competitors by enabling its AI assistant, Yuanbao, to extract information and content from WeChat.
Pangu: Huawei
Huawei’s Pangu AI models represent a marginally distinct strategy in comparison to its competitors. It has developed a variety of AI models that are specifically designed for clients in specific industries, such as government, finance, manufacturing, mining, and meteorology.
For instance, Huawei asserted that its Pangu Meteorology Model can forecast the trajectory of a typhoon over a 10-day period in approximately 10 seconds, as opposed to the four-to-five hours that were previously required.
These models, which are sold through the company’s cloud computing division, can also support generative features, including the generation of code and virtual human representations.
Doubao: ByteDance
This year, ByteDance, the proprietor of TikTok, introduced an AI model, indicating a tardy entry into the competition against Alibaba and Baidu.
Nevertheless, ByteDance introduced its AI model at a significantly lower cost than the other companies. Among other capabilities, the Doubao model is capable of generating code for developers and accents.
Source : CNBC News
