The head of one of China’s biggest Internet companies as well as a veteran of the US tech sector says that there is likely a bubble brewing in the Chinese artificial intelligence market.
In response to a journalist’s query on whether there was a bubble on China’s A.I. start-up scene Zhang Yaqin (张亚勤), Baidu president and former head Chairman of Asia R&D at Microsoft said that “there would be [a bubble,] irrespective of whether it’s venture capital or start-up companies.”
Zhang qualified his comments, however, by observing that “from a long-term perspective, a bubble is normal, and once the bubble bursts, enterprises that possess genuine value will be left behind.”
Zhang made the remarks at the “2018 Sina – Minsheng Investment Davos Leadership Summit” held in Davos, Switzerland, that was scheduled to coincide with this year’s World Economic Forum.
China has high ambitions for its artificial intelligence sector, with the central government recently announcing the launch of a $2.1 billion A.I. research park in Beijing.
