China AI Ecosystem Emerges

Chinese AI companies have established two industry alliances to foster a domestic ecosystem, reducing reliance on foreign technology. This move comes amid US export restrictions on advanced Nvidia chipsets. The announcements coincided with the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.

The "Model-Chip Ecosystem Innovation Alliance" unites Chinese developers of large language models (LLMs) and AI chip manufacturers, including Huawei, Biren, Moore Threads, and Enflame. StepFun, an LLM developer, introduced the alliance. The Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce AI Committee aims to integrate AI tech and industrial transformation, with members like SenseTime, StepFun, MiniMax, Metax, and Iluvatar CoreX. Huawei's CloudMatrix 384, featuring 384 of its 910C chips, outperformed Nvidia's GB200 NVL72 on specific metrics.

Other showcased products included Baidu's next-gen "digital human" tech for virtual livestreamers, cloning voices and mannerisms from brief footage. Alibaba unveiled Quark AI Glasses, powered by its Qwen AI model, enabling navigation via its map service and Alipay transactions using voice commands.