TECH - Sam Altman's OpenAI And Amazon-Backed Anthropic Face Serious Competition From These Chinese Startups Backed By Alibaba Xiaomi And More | Benzinga
Four Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups have achieved ‘unicorn’ status, with valuations exceeding $1 billion. The companies, namely Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI, MiniMax, and 01.ai, are now set to compete with U.S. giants like Microsoft-backed (NASDAQ:MSFT) OpenAI and Amazon-backed (NASDAQ:AMZN) Anthropic.
What Happened: These four AI start-ups have seen their valuations surge in the past three months, the Financial Times reported on Friday. They have received significant backing from mostly domestic investors and are aggressively recruiting top-tier talent to develop popular AI products.
Zhipu AI, a start-up born out of Beijing’s Tsinghua University, has become China’s largest AI start-up in terms of employee count. The company, which now boasts a valuation of $2.5 billion, has received support from major firms like Alibaba Cloud, Tencent, and Xiaomi.
Moonshot AI, founded by a former student of a Zhipu founder, was valued at $2.5 billion in a $1 billion investment round announced in February. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), Meituan, and Monolith Management are among Moonshot’s backers.
01.ai, established by AI ...