Guangdong's AI industry reaches US$25 billion as province competes with Beijing, Shanghai
The artificial intelligence (AI) industry in China's southern Guangdong province grew to 180 billion yuan (US$25 billion) in 2023, according to state media, as the country's manufacturing hub plays catch-up with Beijing and Shanghai in the highly competitive space.
Much of the AI output growth is being driving by Shenzhen, the technology hub that borders Hong Kong, which contributed 80 billion yuan, or 44 per cent, of that valuation, according to a report by the state-backed Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, which the Shenzhen government republished on its website on Sunday.
There were about 489,000 AI-related companies in Guangdong last year, including more than 1,200 publicly traded enterprises, according to the report, citing data from the provincial department of industry and information technology.
Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team.
The size of Guangdong's AI industry still lags behind Beijing's and Shanghai's. China's capital and its finance hub have more robust start-up ecosystems. As home to the country's top universities, Beijing has the largest AI industry in the country and the most talent.
Beijing's AI industry output value surpassed 250 billion yuan in 2023, according to official data. The city launched 82 large language models (LLMs) last year, accounting for more than 40 per cent of the country's total and ranking first in the category.
Three of China's so-called AI tigers - Baichuan, Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI and MiniMax AI - are based in Beijing. MiniMax is based in Shanghai.
Shanghai's AI industry output reached nearly 150 billion yuan last year, with a total of 1,100 AI companies, according to government data.
Shenzhen's efforts come amid China's push to establish a raft of regional AI "highlands" across the country, aligning with a call from Chinese President Xi Jinping to leverage AI development to modernise the country's industries.
China's walled-off internet has provided opportunities for domestic AI firms to grow unimpeded by foreign competition. OpenAI's ChatGPT, which kicked off the current AI frenzy around large language models in late 2022, is not available in the country. A number of domestic technology firms now offer alternatives, including Baidu, SenseTime, iFlyTek and Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.
Guangdong is home to much of China's manufacturing capacity, and many of the country's biggest tech firms are headquartered in Shenzhen, including Huawei Technologies, Tencent Holdings and DJI. The provincial government is looking to leverage this position by integrating AI with manufacturing, focusing on advanced intelligent robotics, according to its technology department.
In an industry action plan released in June, Guangdong pledged to build a 300 billion yuan AI industry by next year, and to grow it to 440 billion yuan by 2027. It aims to foster AI industry growth across semiconductors, software development, Chinese language data sets and compute infrastructure to eventually apply these technologies in fields including manufacturing, education and elderly care, according to the plan.
This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2024 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
Copyright (c) 2024. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.