Alibaba, Huawei Launches Their Own AI Products

Jack Ma, founder, Alibaba

Two leading Chinese tech giants, Alibaba and Huawei have announced the launching of their Artificial intelligence (AI) products including an AI image generator and an AI model upgrade.

This was disclosed by the weekend while showcasing the new products, including an artificial intelligence image generator and an AI model upgrade as Chinese companies jostle for position in the global AI race.

Alibaba Cloud, an Alibaba subsidiary, presented at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai an image generator named Tongyi Wanxiang that will initially be available to enterprise customers in beta form.

Also on Friday, Huawei demonstrated the third iteration of its Panggu AI model at the start of its three-day annual developer conference in Dongguan.

Jack Ma, founder, Alibaba
Jack Ma, founder, Alibaba

Chinese tech companies are aggressively developing AI products after ChatGPT ignited a generative AI boom

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Alibaba’s image generator will compete with Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E, US-based rivals that have gained a large following worldwide. 

Alibaba Cloud emerged from a massive overhaul announced in March that split the Chinese tech major into six units. In April, it launched a ChatGPT-like text generator, Tongyi Qianwen.

In addition to the Tongyi Wanxiang image generator, which roughly translates as “truth from tens of thousands of pictures”, presented on Friday, Alibaba Cloud has also rolled out ModelScopeGPT, an AI tool for developers.

Different approach

Huawei said its AI takes a different approach from many AI applications. Rather than focusing on generating content, its Pangu 3.0 model would mostly serve industrial uses, it said.

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The Shenzhen-based company said its model aims to ensure more efficient safety inspections for freight train carriages, AI assistance for local government services and more accurate weather predictions. 

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry