Baidu, SenseTime among first firms to win China AI approval

Baidu CTO Wang Haifeng speaks at the unveiling of Baidu's AI chatbot Ernie Bot at an event in Beijing on March 16, 2023. Tech giant Baidu launched China's first public artificial intelligence chatbot on Aug 31. — AFP

China approved the first batch of generative artificial intelligence services for public rollout, freeing up homegrown technology champions including Baidu Inc and SenseTime Group Inc to openly compete with the likes of OpenAI Inc and Microsoft Corp.

The Cyberspace Administration of China green-lit a handful of firms to move ahead in the field, including fledgling players and major technology names, people familiar with the matter said. Search leader Baidu and SenseTime were among the first to win approval from Beijing’s top Internet watchdog. ByteDance Ltd made its AI chatbot available to the public, but didn’t respond to requests for comment.