The number of users of the artificial intelligence robot Ernie from the Chinese company Baidu has exceeded 200 million users, according to official statements from the company’s CEO.
Over a year ago, Baidu launched the Ernie robot, which is similar to the ChatGPT robot, and last August allowed the Chinese government to use it for public use.
The robot is based on the Large Language Model developed by Baidu and carries the same name. The collaboration between Samsung and Honor allowed for the integration of the robot’s artificial intelligence capabilities into some of their mobile devices in China.
Baidu stated at the end of last year that the robot was available to over 26,000 companies monthly.
Baidu managed to develop the artificial intelligence robot and the Large Language Model despite the US sanctions imposed on China. These sanctions prevent Chinese companies from accessing the latest chip technologies developed by US companies for training and running artificial intelligence models, such as Nvidia’s chips.
The CEO of the company, Robin Li, made a recent statement indicating that the artificial intelligence reserve in his company can help enhance Ernie in the next year or two.
Chinese companies face restrictions in developing artificial intelligence technologies compared to competing companies due to US restrictions. This prompted Alibaba’s chairman, Joe Tsai, to state that China is lagging behind the United States by about two years in the field of artificial intelligence development.
It is expected that the artificial intelligence market in China, which includes devices, software, and services, will increase to around $26 billion by 2026, compared to approximately $15 billion in 2023, according to estimates by the British financial group Barclays.
