China approves 40 AI models for public use in six months, neck and neck with U.S.

China has approved more than 40 artificial intelligence (AI) models for public use in the first six months since authorities began the approval process, according to Chinese media reports, as the country strives to catch up with the United States in AI development.

Chinese regulators last week approved a total of 14 large language models (LLMs) for public use, according to the Chinese government-backed Securities Times. This is the fourth batch of approvals granted by China, which includes Xiaomi Corp., 4Paradigm and 01.AI.

Last August, Beijing began requiring tech companies to obtain regulatory approval before opening their law master’s degrees to the public. It highlights China’s efforts to develop AI technology while keeping it under its own purview and control.

Beijing approved the first batch of AI models in August, shortly after the approval process was completed. Baidu, Alibaba and ByteDance were among the first companies in China to receive approval.

Chinese regulators subsequently approved two more batches in November and December and another this month. While the government has not revealed the specific list of approved companies available for public inspection, the Securities Times said on Sunday that more than 40 AI models have been approved.

Since OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT became popular around the world in 2022, Chinese companies have been rushing to develop artificial intelligence products.

According to brokerage CLSA, China had 130 law masters at the time, accounting for 40% of the global total and trailing only the United States‘ 50% share.

Baidu’s chief technology officer said in December that one of China’s leading ChatGPT-like chatbots, Baidu’s Ernie Bot, already has more than 100 million users.

(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from Yonhap News Agency – Reuters)