In a recent major event, Shenzhen, located in southern Guangdong province, hosted an artificial intelligence (AI) competition. This event was a part of the city’s effort to identify and support the most promising AI startups in the country, showcasing its commitment to the rapidly growing AI sector.
Konvery Data wins top prize
The competition, which took place on Tuesday, saw over 100 projects compete for the top prize. Organised by Shenzhen’s Internet Information Office, the Baoan District Government of Shenzhen Municipality, and NetEase Media, the AI Startup Competition crowned Konvery Data the winner. This company, founded in February last year, specialises in AI data labelling and automation services for autonomous driving. They use AI to improve the efficiency of data labelling, which is crucial in developing machine learning models. The emergence of generative AI services, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and its Chinese counterparts, has skyrocketed the demand for data and related technology. For their achievement, the Beijing-based startup will receive a reward package, including cash, government, and industry support, amounting to approximately 1 million yuan (US$141,014).
Other notable participants and Shenzhen’s AI initiative
Three companies shared the second prize: Shenzhen’s i-Nav, WeShop from Hangzhou, and Beijing’s Ele AI. i-Nav offers an optical fibre navigation positioning system for vehicles, WeShop uses AI to generate product display images, and Ele AI assists merchants in designing product packages with their AI tools. The competition also recognised six other AI startups with the third prize and ten more companies with an innovation award.
This competition targeted early-stage startups laying the groundwork for the new AI era and those developing applications using AI-generated content (AIGC) technology. Shenzhen’s initiative to boost AI development includes increasing the city’s computing resources, which are essential for AI systems such as large language models (LLMs). Like the technology behind ChatGPT, LLMs are advanced algorithms capable of various complex tasks based on massive data sets. The city’s effort to coordinate the deployment and use of these resources is a response to the urgency of AI development in China, especially under the constraints of US trade sanctions.