China is gradually shaping up to being a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence, since it has for the first time surpassed the United States in equity funding to AI startups, according to a recent report.

The report, released by US-based venture capital database CB Insights, said AI startups worldwide raised more than $15.2 billion (12.3 billion euros; ￡11 billion) in 2017, up by 141 percent from 2016. China's AI startups accounted for nearly 50 percent of the global funding, up from 11.3 percent of the total in 2016. The US was ranked second with 38 percent.

According to the report, China has also overtaken the US in AI-related patent publications. Chinese patent publications with the keywords "artificial intelligence" in the title and abstract increased from 328 in 2016 to 641 in 2017, compared with 108 and 130 for the US, respectively.

The US still leads in the number of AI startups and total equity deals, but it is gradually losing its global deal share, CB Insights said.

Hao Liyang, an analyst at China Internet Network Information Center, says China is ramping up efforts to increase its AI initiatives as it strives to gain key competitiveness.

"China has made significant progress in technological research and development as well as industrial applications. The rapid development further integrates AI with electronic terminals and is reshaping a wide range of sectors, including home appliances, robotics, healthcare, education, finance and agriculture," Hao says.

Specifically, two key technologies driving China's AI growth are facial recognition and AI chips, and companies are putting huge amounts of investment in the two sectors. The former promotes the government's ambitious national surveillance plans, and the latter directly challenges the US-made chip sector, CB Insights said in the report.

Chinese AI startup Megvii Technology, which reportedly had a unicorn valuation of more than $2 billion last year, has obtained access to 1.3 billion facial data records of Chinese citizens, according to the report. AI chip maker Cambricon Technologies, which raised $100 million from investors last year, is planning to have 1 billion devices using its AI intellectual properties in three years.

Last year, the Chinese government laid out plans to become a world leader in AI by 2030. The plan detailed a three-step roadmap, highlighting China's determination to make breakthroughs in key AI technologies and drive its application in manufacturing.

A report by New York-based consultancy Eurasia Group and Beijing-based Sinovation Ventures said that, while China lags behind the US in top AI talent, a huge army of young talent is amassing.

According to the report, with core advantages in huge data sets and flexibility to employ them in AI applications, China will rise to become an AI innovation center on a par with Silicon Valley.

ouyangshijia@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 03/09/2018 page7)