China is ahead of its global competitors when it comes to innovative AI “unicorns” driving the technology.
GlobalData research has shown that of the 45 international AI unicorns identified, China has the largest share in the country with 19.
Priya Toppo, Thematic Research Analyst at GlobalData, comments:
“China is a leading player in AI, with a number of established companies such as Baidu, Hikvision, iFlytek, Tencent, and Alibaba.
The country also has a strong AI startup ecosystem, which is evident from the large number of AI unicorns (privately held startup valued at $1bn or more).”
Together, Chinese AI unicorns are valued at $ 43.5 billion.
Beijing has taken regulatory action in recent months, particularly against Chinese companies doing business in and with the United States.
Robotaxi Didi, for example, has been targeted by Chinese authorities following its $ 4.4 billion listings on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Chinese regulators have forced Apple to remove Didi from the App Store, while other app stores operating in China have also been ordered not to serve Didi’s app.
Despite strong measures, the development of Artificial Intelligence in China has remained strong.
Toppa added, Chinese AI companies have faced various regulatory challenges but have become even stronger. The companies are in key topics such as computer vision, deep learning technologies, smart cities and autonomous vehicles well positioned.
SenseTime remains China’s largest artificial intelligence unicorn with a valuation of $12 billion and total funding of $ 2.6 billion to date, followed by CloudWalk’s valuation of $ 3.3 billion and a total funding of $ 500 million so far.
CloudWalk recently led in a facial recognition test conducted by the US government’s National Institute of Standards and Technology. However, CloudWalk also faced serious allegations from US officials who said the company was “complicit in human rights violations and abuses in China’s crackdown campaign, arbitrary detention, forced labor and high-tech surveillance against Uighurs, ethnic Kazakhs and other operatives. of Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. “
Other major Chinese AI unicorns identified in GlobalData’s research include Horizon Robotics with a valuation of $5 billion, Megvii with a valuation of $4 billion, and Yitu Technology with a valuation of $ 2.2billion.
Nicolas Chaillan, a former Pentagon software director, recently resigned in protest after declaring that “in 15 to 20 years the United States will have no chance of competing against China” when it comes to artificial intelligence and cyberwarfare
Chaillan says China is destined to dominate the future of the world and control everything from media narratives to geopolitics.
Part of the problem, Chaillan believes, is the reluctance of U.S. companies like Google to partner with the government on AI because of ethical debates about the technology. In contrast, Chinese companies are required to work with their government and have little regard for ethics.
