OpenAI is planning to block access to technology used to build AI products in China and other countries, according to a Chinese state-owned newspaper on Tuesday (25 June).
ChatGPT is not available in mainland China but many startups in the country have been able to access OpenAI’s application programming interface (API) platform to create their own applications.
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Chinese users of the API platform have reportedly received emails since Monday (24 June) notifying them that they are in a “region that OpenAI does not currently support”.
The email added that additional measures to block API traffic from some regions would be starting on 9 July.
Since the US Commerce Department issued rules in 2022 which clamped down on the export of certain advanced chips (including those with military or AI applications) to Chinese companies, China has had an uphill battle to stay ahead of the curve with AI development.
However, despite the restrictions, China has seen some breakthroughs which could point to the country succeeding with domestic advancements.
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By GlobalDataLast year, Baidu claimed its ChatGPT rival had outperformed OpenAI’s AI chatbot in a series of tests.
The previous edition of its Ernie AI model, Ernie 3.5, exceeded “ChatGPT in comprehensive ability scores”, according to the company.
In March, it was reported that Apple had held initial talks with Baidu about using the company’s GenAI in its devices in China.
China’s AI is lagging behind the US
The US continues to steam ahead in the value of its AI deals, according to GlobalData’s deal database.
In 2023, the value of US AI deals totalled $50bn, growing considerably from 2022 which saw deals total $33bn.
The value of AI deals in China totalled just $7.9bn in 2023, remaining practically unchanged from 2022 which saw deals total $7.4bn.
GlobalData forecasts that the overall AI market will be worth $909bn by 2030, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35% between 2022 and 2030.
In the GenAI space, revenues are expected to grow from $1.8bn in 2022 to $33bn in 2027 at a CAGR of 80%.
