China approves over 40 AI models for public use in past six months

Phancy

29/01/2024 04:09

By Josh Ye
       HONG KONG, Jan 29 (Reuters) - China has approved more
than 40 artificial intelligence (AI) models for public use in
the first six months since authorities began the govin AI
development, according to Chinese media. 
    Chinese regulators granted approvals to a total of 14 large
language models (LLM) for public use last week, Chinese
state-backed Securities Times reported. It marks the fourth
batch of approvals China has granted, which counts Xiaomi Corp
 1810.HK , 4Paradigm  6682.HK  and 01.AI among the recipients.
    Beijing started requiring tech companies to obtain approval
from regulators to open their LLMs to the public last August. It
underscored China's approach towards developing AI technology
while striving to keep it under its purview and control.
    Beijing approved its first batch of AI models in August
shortly after the approval process was adopted. Baidu  9888.HK ,
Alibaba  9988.HK  and ByteDance were among China's first
companies to receive approvals. 
    Chinese regulators then granted two more batches of
approvals in November and December before another batch was
given the greenlight this month. While the government has not
disclosed the exact list of approved companies available for
public checks, Securities Times said on Sunday more than 40 AI
models have been approved.
    Chinese companies have been rushing to develop AI products
ever since OpenAI's chatbot ChatGPT took the world by storm in
2022. 
    At the time, China had 130 LLMs, accounting for 40% of the
global total and just behind the United States' 50% share,
according to brokerage CLSA.
    One of China's leading ChatGPT-like chatbots, Baidu's Ernie
Bot, has garnered more than 100 million users, according to the
company's CTO in December. 
   

 (Reporting by Josh Ye; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
 ((Josh.Ye@thomsonreuters.com;))