China launches AI alliances to counter US chip curbs
China's artificial intelligence industry is significantly increasing efforts to lessen its dependence on foreign technologies, having launched two major industry partnerships at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, which wrapped up on Monday.The first group, titled the Model-Chip Ecosystem Innovation Alliance, unites developers of large language models and AI chip manufacturers, including Huawei, Biren, Moore Threads, and Enflame—all of which have been affected by U.S. sanctions. Zhao Lidong, CEO of Enflame, stated that the alliance aims to establish a comprehensive innovation chain that extends from chip design to the deployment of AI models. The initiative was led by StepFun, a rising developer of large language models.
The second group, the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce AI Committee, intends to speed up the adoption of AI within conventional industries. Participants include SenseTime, StepFun, MiniMax, Metax, and Iluvatar CoreX—all exploring new advancements in AI while navigating U.S. technology limitations.
During the WAIC conference, numerous new products were announced. Huawei’s CloudMatrix 384 system, which includes 384 of its latest Ascend 910C chips, garnered considerable interest. Research from SemiAnalysis, based in the U.S., indicates that this system outperforms Nvidia’s leading GB200 NVL72 in several key aspects, due to Huawei’s ability to offset individual chip limitations through sophisticated system-level engineering.
Other exhibitors presented comparable technologies. Metax introduced an AI supernode containing 128 C550 chips tailored for data center uses, while Tencent launched its open-source Hunyuan3D World Model 1.0, designed for generating 3D environments based on text or image inputs.
Baidu showcased its cutting-edge "digital human" livestreamers that can replicate authentic human behavior using a mere 10 minutes of video. In addition, Alibaba unveiled Quark AI Glasses, which will be powered by its Qwen model and are set to debut in China by the end of 2025, featuring navigation and Alipay functionalities through voice commands and visual recognition.
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