ChatGPT craze sweeps China, tech companies scramble to catch up
Chinese technology companies are trying to catch up with their peers in the global artificial intelligence race as they seek new growth drivers, but they face difficulties securing access to advanced chips and censorship restrictions.
The explosion of ChatGPT has sparked an upsurge in China. After being hit by the coronavirus pandemic and a two-year regulatory overhaul, Chinese tech companies are looking for new sources of growth.
Search engine operator Baidu Inc, 9888.HK, BIDU, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited, 9988.HK, BABA, and social media group Tencent Holdings Ltd (Tencent Holdings Ltd., 0700.HK, TCEHY, referred to as: Tencent) and many other companies have announced investment in the development of their own artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots similar to ChatGPT. A number of other Chinese companies have followed suit, with their shares soaring in recent weeks, prompting state media to warn of a speculative run-up. Currently ChatGPT is not open to the Chinese market.
Chinese companies that invested early in generative AI technology will now be the best hopefuls of building their own version of ChatGPT, according to AI and Chinese tech industry experts. Articles, images, and artwork generated by this technology appear to be the work of humans. Still, many other companies have struggled to keep up with their U.S. counterparts in the latest wave of technological developments and commercial applications.
