China internet giants, startups rush to jump on ChatGPT bandwagon

U.S. export controls on advanced chips overshadowing Chinese firms in AI race

20230411 Baidu’s CEO and co-founder Robin Li

Baidu CEO and co-founder Robin Li speaks at Ernie Bot's debut on March 16.

DU ZHIHANG, ZHANG ERCHI, QU YUNXU, LIU PEILIN, GU ZHAOWEI and DENISE JIA, Caixin

When Wang Huiwen, co-founder of delivery and services giant Meituan, announced in February a $50 million personal investment to build a Chinese version of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, followed a month later by the acquisition of a machine-learning startup, it signaled that China's artificial intelligence gold rush was well and truly underway.

With the acquisition of Beijing OneFlow Technology, the artificial intelligence startup Lightyear Technology launched by the billionaire who retired from Meituan in 2020, joined a growing list of Chinese tech companies, including both industry giants and nascent ventures, to jump on the chatbot bandwagon.

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