Amid competition in the artificial intelligence (AI) wearable market, China is rapidly growing its presence and evaluation.
CNBC reported on Wednesday that the AI wearable market in China is already booming. According to reports, more than 70 Chinese companies are responding immediately after Meta released its smart glasses in 2023 and sold millions of them. Among them, products from Inmo and Rokid are sold in the global market, while Xiaomi and Alibaba are only distributed in China but are equipped with AI technologies of the two companies.
Some observers say that China will be able to gain an upper hand in the high-tech competition with the U.S. based on its hardware technology. Lee Kaifu, CEO of China’s AI startup “01.AI,” stressed that China’s strength comes from its “fundamental roots as a manufacturing country.” “Currently, competition is taking place in software, AI models, agents, and applications,” he said. “However, the stage of competition will soon shift to devices.”
Chinese companies are launching a variety of AI devices, including smart glasses, which are considered the next generation devices to replace smartphones. Alibaba’s business messenger platform “DingTok” released an AI device this year that records, summarizes and analyzes presentations up to 8 meters away from large conference rooms. A Chinese start-up has introduced an AI-based translation device that helps parents with poor English education to educate their children.
Experts predict that the spread of such devices will contribute to promoting technology introduction and increasing Chinese consumers’ acceptance of AI technology. There are also observations that it will create an environment favorable for companies to accumulate vast amounts of data.
However, some point out that the superiority of the hardware sector does not guarantee victory in the AI competition. It is a diagnosis that personal information protection concerns may be China’s weakness.
JENNIFER KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
