Analysis of the Current Development Status of Global AI Enterprises and Future Prospects for the AI Industry
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Currently, hotspot cities such as Shenzhen, Hangzhou, and Chengdu are actively embracing emerging technologies and industries, seizing new opportunities in the digital economy, and striving to become global benchmarks for the digital economy. Ping An Securities believes that Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, as the top three cities in the "China City AI Development Index Top 100," have actively responded to national policies by releasing favorable artificial intelligence policies. The establishment of pilot zones and demonstration areas will leverage their exemplary effects, accelerating domestic AI technological breakthroughs and application deployment.
Recently, Guangdong Province issued the "Implementation Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a National Innovation Hub for General Artificial Intelligence" (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), proposing 22 measures aimed at positioning Guangdong as a national innovation hub for general AI. This year, cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have actively laid out AI industries, leveraging local resource advantages to advance AI development and formulate policies aligned with market and technological innovation trends. As a leading domestic large-scale model developer, 360 Group (601360.SH) has benefited from policy support due to its advantages in core elements such as models, computing power, and application scenarios.
With the global wave of AI large models, China has seen a surge in specialized AI policies. In May this year, Beijing successively released three AI-related documents: the "General AI Industry Innovation Partnership Plan," "Several Measures to Promote General AI Innovation and Development," and the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Globally Influential AI Innovation Hub (2023-2025)." In June, Shenzhen issued the "Action Plan for Accelerating High-Quality AI Development and High-Level Application (2023-2024)," and in November, Shanghai released the "Several Measures to Promote the Innovation and Development of AI Large Models (2023-2025)."
Analysis of the Current Development Status of Global AI Enterprises
Reports show that as of June 2023, there are 36,000 AI enterprises worldwide, with the U.S., China, and the U.K. leading in numbers. The U.S. accounts for 34% of global AI enterprises, China for 16%, and the U.K. for 7%, collectively representing over half of the global total. There are 291 AI unicorn enterprises globally, with the U.S. and China hosting 131 and 108, respectively.
In China, AI enterprises are primarily clustered in Beijing, Guangdong, Shanghai, and Zhejiang, forming a tripartite pattern across the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Greater Bay Area. Among AI unicorns, Beijing leads with 41, followed by Shanghai and Guangdong with 24 and 23, respectively.
Future Prospects for the AI Industry Development Analysis
Looking ahead, the report identifies ten major trends in the development of the artificial intelligence industry—multimodal pre-trained large models becoming standard in AI, the growing scarcity of high-quality data driving leaps in data intelligence, the accelerated realization of ubiquitous intelligent computing paradigms, and the pervasive application of AI-generated content across all scenarios.
Jiang Liqin, Partner in Charge of Client and Business Development at KPMG China, stated that since the breakthroughs in deep learning in 2015, which sparked the initial wave of AI commercialization, to the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022, reigniting large-scale commercial interest in AI, the global AI industry has become increasingly mature and rational while quietly nurturing a new wave of paradigm-shifting opportunities. As one of the global leaders in AI development, China is poised to build a globally competitive AI industrial cluster. Only by deeply understanding and leveraging these industry trends can businesses embrace the new era, achieve new growth, and create new opportunities.
With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, many regions have rolled out favorable policies to support AI development. As leading cities in China's AI industry, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen have recently issued policy documents to bolster AI initiatives.
He Renlong, Chief Expert at the Shanghai Emerging Information and Communication Technology Application Research Institute, noted that the AI policies in these three cities will accelerate the growth of the digital economy, particularly in areas like AIGC. "First-tier cities have significant demand for AIGC, with key industries actively adopting it. However, the high costs of AI computing power remain a challenge. These policy subsidies can help reduce the application costs of AIGC."
Amid rapid advancements in AI, internet technologies, and other fields, the digital economy is thriving. Recently, Beijing hosted the Global Digital Economy Conference, and the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference is set to take place in Shanghai in the coming days. With emerging technologies like the metaverse, Web3.0, AI, and the digital economy gaining momentum, major cities across China are actively embracing the new industrial revolution, striving to seize opportunities in emerging industries and sectors.
According to the IDC Worldwide Artificial Intelligence Spending Guide (2023 V2), global AI IT investment reached $128.8 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $423.6 billion by 2027, with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 26.9%. With recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and the refinement of its applications, companies are increasingly leveraging cutting-edge technologies like AI to adapt to the digital and intelligent market environment, empower new business ventures, and make smarter decisions, thereby fueling diverse and customized AI demands.
Focusing on the Chinese market, IDC predicts that China's AI investment scale is expected to reach $38.1 billion by 2027, accounting for approximately 9% of the global total. In recent years, China's artificial intelligence industry has continuously improved its intelligentization level and moved toward high-quality development. In the short term, there remains growth potential for the domestic AI market in integrating with various industry demands. Looking ahead, against the backdrop of government policy support and accelerated industrial upgrading, AI technology will inevitably merge with enterprise development, becoming part of corporate products, services, and business models - serving as a crucial strategic resource driving Chinese enterprises' leapfrog development.
China's AI computing power market has experienced rapid expansion this year, with AI's vigorous development bringing new empowerment across industries. In terms of market size, China's AI computing power market is projected to reach 66.4 billion yuan in 2023, representing 82.5% year-on-year growth, indicating rapidly increasing demand for AI computing power.
AI industry research reports aim to start from national economic and industrial development strategies, analyze future policy directions and regulatory trends, explore the market potential of AI, and provide comprehensive market analysis through in-depth studies of key segments. These reports vividly depict market changes from multiple perspectives including industrial scale, structure, regional distribution, competition, and profitability levels, clarifying development directions.