China’s AI industry gets the most funding, but lags the US in key talent, says Tsinghua

China’s artificial intelligence industry has attracted the most funding, accounting for 60 per cent of all global investment from 2013 to the first quarter of 2018, but still lags behind the US in terms of AI talent, according to a new study.

By the end of 2017, China had amassed an AI talent pool of 18,232 people, accounting for 8.9 per cent of the world’s total talent and well behind the 13.9 per cent share held by the US. The top 10 countries accounted for 60 per cent of AI talent.

The report also said the country’s shortage of high-level AI talent – those who produce research of high quality – with China only having one-fifth the number of the US in this category, according to a report released on Friday by Tsinghua University, China’s top research university.

In terms of AI research, China ranks first in the quantity and citation of research papers, and holds the most AI patents, edging out the US and Japan, the report said.

China’s AI market was worth 23.74 billion (US$3.55 billion) yuan in 2017, up 67 per cent from the year before, with computer vision, voice, and natural language processing accounting for most the market. The report estimated China’s AI market will grow 75 per cent in 2018.

China has not been shy about its ambitions for AI dominance, with the State Council releasing a road map in July 2017 with a goal of creating a domestic industry worth 1 trillion yuan and becoming a global AI powerhouse by 2030. Last November, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology identified internet giants Baidu, Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings – collectively known as BAT – and voice intelligence specialist iFlyTek, as the first group of “national champions” to spur development of next generation AI technologies that are vital to everything from voice activated digital assistants to self-driving cars.