China’s AI Explosion: Market Booms with 230 Million Users, New Startups on the Rise

According to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report on Monday, the number of generative AI users in China has skyrocketed to 230 million.

A study released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) reveals that 230 million Chinese were using generative AI by the end of June. This translates to roughly one in six internet users in China engaging with AI products.

Baidu’s Ernie Bot, known as Wenxiaoyan, leads the pack with an 11.5% market share. OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini trail behind at 7% and 3.8%, respectively, though these services aren’t officially accessible within mainland China.

The CNNIC report, citing data from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), indicates that over 309 generative AI products have registered with Chinese internet regulators since November. Beijing accounts for 96 of these, while Shanghai claims 84. More than 190 of these registered services received approval and launched commercially by July this year.

This rapid rise in generative AI adoption highlights the intense competition among Chinese tech companies to close the gap with their U.S. counterparts, driven partly by the global excitement sparked by the 2022 launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

China’s major tech firms have rolled out large language models (LLMs) for enterprise and consumer markets. Additionally, emerging startups—referred to as the “Four AI Tigers”—including Baichuan, Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI, and Minimax—are drawing increasing attention from both users and investors.