This could offer a big boost for Chinese companies.
That’s how many people use the Internet in China, and the data they leave behind could provide a big boost for Chinese companies seeking to design specialized artificial-intelligence chips. Well-financed startups there are racing with established companies such as Intel and Qualcomm to develop these AI chips, which identify patterns in consumer behavior to improve the performances of products ranging from air conditioners to cars. “Past Chinese efforts to dominate the chip industry foundered because of poor technology and political interference,” The Wall Street Journal recently reported, but gobs of government investment and the sheer volume of consumer data available to Chinese firms — with minimal privacy restrictions — may outweigh past disadvantages.
