- AI productivity apps are revolutionizing the way we work. China is no different. But in China, under the influence of regulatory restrictions, combined with a strong government push for AI development, very different players are exploring the future of how we work and learn.
- While outside of China ChatGPT, Claude, Otter.ai, Gamma and many other applications are changing people’s (working) lives, in China the same trend is being driven by players like Moonshot AI’s KimiChat, Baidu’s Ernie Bot, iFLYTEK’s Spark, Alibaba’s Tongyi Qwen, or by the Tsinghua-rooted start-up Zhipu AI.
- Broadly speaking, Chinese GenAI productivity applications are not much different from comparable applications from U.S. or European companies. But they benefit from certain advantages: the abundance of training data in China and the openness of Chinese users to try new apps and digital products – combined with fierce competition from other strong Chinese players, a large pool of AI talent, and significant political support, but protected from international competition by regulatory restrictions.
- The way we work in the near future could be decided in China. All these advantages might be a perfect breeding ground for the next wave of Chinese tech companies to go global. China’s AI players are ambitious, and the political agenda is clear: By 2030, China wants to become a global leader in AI.
- From a European perspective, this raises many questions that European business and policy-makers should be prepared to answer: Is Europe ready for strong Chinese competition in GenAI in its home market(s)? And how can European companies take advantage of Chinese GenAI applications by using or learning from them?
Sinolytics is a research-based business consultancy entirely focused on China. It advises European companies on their strategic orientation and specific business activities in the People’s Republic.