China is looking to challenge the U.S. in artificial intelligence. China’s tech giants have launched their own AI models.
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Global attention around generative artificial intelligence has been focused on big U.S. companies like OpenAI, Alphabet‘s Google and Meta.
But some of China’s giants, from Alibaba to Tencent, have launched their own AI models over the past 18 months, looking to capitalize on the hype around the technology.
Generative AI includes applications like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has the ability to generate text, images and even video based on user prompts. These applications are powered by large AI models which are trained on huge amounts of data, such as Google’s Gemini.
Chinese technology firms have had to tread carefully in releasing their technology as Beijing has strict requirements for AI models and their uses.
CNBC runs through the big Chinese AI models developed by the country’s biggest tech firms.
Baidu: ERNIE
Baidu, one of China’s biggest internet companies, was among the first in the country to launch generative AI applications. Its model powers Ernie Bot, an AI chatbot designed to rival OpenAI’s ChatGPT and which the Chinese company says has 300 million users.
Before the “Turbo” version of the model, Baidu said that its latest version — Ernie 4.0 — has capabilities on par with OpenAI’s GPT-4. The foundational model can understand and reason, according to Baidu.
Like other companies, Baidu is selling the ability to use its AI model via its cloud computing division.
Alibaba: Tongyi Qianwen
Alibaba launched its set of foundational models, Tongyi Qianwen, last year. Often shortened to Qwen, Alibaba has developed various versions that can carry out different tasks. For example, one model is focused on creating content or solving math problems. Another can understand audio-based inputs and give text-based outputs.
Some versions of its Qwen models are open-sourced, meaning they can be openly downloaded, with some limitations, and used by developers.
Alibaba said in May its Qwen models have been deployed by over 90,000 enterprise users.
Companies can access Hunyuan’s capabilities via Tencent’s cloud computing business. Tencent has said Hunyuan has strong Chinese language processing abilities and “advanced” logical reasoning. The model can support functions including image creation and text recognition.
Tencent has positioned the model as one that can be used by companies in industries from gaming to social media and e-commerce.
Tencent runs China’s biggest messaging app, WeChat. The company this year launched an AI chatbot based on its Hunyuan model. The AI assistant, known as Yuanbao, can pull information and content from WeChat, as Tencent looks to differentiate its offering from rivals.
Huawei: Pangu
Huawei has taken a slightly different approach to rivals with its Pangu AI models. It has created a number of AI models aimed at customers in specific industries including government, finance, manufacturing, mining, and meteorology.
For example, Huawei said its Pangu Meteorology Model can predict the trajectory of a typhoon over 10 days in around 10 seconds, rather than the four-to-five hours it took previously.
These models, sold through the firm’s cloud computing business, can also support generative features such as the ability to generate code and virtual human avatars.
ByteDance: Doubao
TikTok owner ByteDance launched an AI model this year, marking a late entrance into the race against competitors like Baidu and Alibaba.
ByteDance, however, brought out its AI model at a price much cheaper than the other companies.
The Doubao model has the ability to generate voices as well as generate code for developers, among other capabilities.
Perplexity AI on Wednesday launched a new artificial intelligence-powered web browser called Comet in the startup’s latest effort to compete in the consumer internet market against companies like Google and Microsoft.
Comet will allow users to connect with enterprise applications like Slack and ask complex questions via voice and text, according to a brief demo video Perplexity released on Wednesday.
The browser is available to Perplexity Max subscribers, and the company said invite-only access will roll out to a waitlist over the summer. Perplexity Max costs users $200 per month.
“We built Comet to let the internet do what it has been begging to do: to amplify our intelligence,” Perplexity wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.
Perplexity is best known for its AI-powered search engine that gives users simple answers to questions and links out to the original source material on the web. After the company was accused of plagiarizing content from media outlets, it launched a revenue-sharing model with publishers last year.
In May, Perplexity was in late-stage talks to raise $500 million at a $14 billion valuation, a source familiar confirmed to CNBC. The startup was also approached by Meta earlier this year about a potential acquisition, but the companies did not finalize a deal.
“We will continue to launch new features and functionality for Comet, improve experiences based on your feedback, and focus relentlessly–as we always have–on building accurate and trustworthy AI that fuels human curiosity,” Perplexity said Wednesday.
A worker sorts packages on Amazon Prime Day in New York on July 8, 2025.
Klaus Galiano | Bloomberg | Getty Images
U.S. online sales jumped 9.9% year over year to $7.9 billion on Tuesday, the kickoff of Amazon‘s Prime Day megasale, according to Adobe Analytics.
At that level, it marks the “single biggest e-commerce day so far this year,” Adobe said. It also eclipsed total online spending during Thanksgiving last year, when sales on the holiday reached $6.1 billion.
Amazon’s Prime Day bargain blitz began on Tuesday and lasts through Friday. The event, first launched in 2015 as a way to hook new Prime members, has pushed other retailers to launch counterprogramming.
Home and outdoor goods showed signs of strong demand during the first day of Amazon’s discount event, said Kashif Zafar, CEO of Xnurta, an advertising platform that serves more than 20,000 online businesses.
Read more CNBC Amazon coverage
Other historically well-performing categories such as beauty and household essentials saw softer demand early on, but could see demand pick up as Prime Day continues, he added.
“Early Prime Day numbers might look soft compared to last year’s surge, but it’s too early to call the event a miss,” Zafar said in an email. “With four days instead of two, we’re seeing a different rhythm, consumers are spreading out their purchases.”
Adobe expects online sales to reach $23.8 billion across all retailers during the 96-hour event, a level that’s “equivalent to two Black Fridays.”
U.S. online shoppers spent $14.2 billion during the 48-hour Prime Day event last year, according to Adobe.
This year’s Prime Day is landing at an uncertain time for retailers and consumers as they grapple with the fallout of President Donald Trump‘s unpredictable tariff policies.
U.S. consumer confidence worsened in June after improving in May as Americans remained concerned about the tariffs’ effect on the economy and prices, according to the Conference Board.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said last month the company hasn’t seen prices “appreciably go up” on its site as a result of tariffs.
Some third-party sellers previously told CNBC they were considering raising or had already raised the price of some of their products manufactured in China as the cost of tariffs became burdensome.
Top executives from tech, media and finance gathered in Sun Valley, Idaho, for Allen & Co.’s annual conference this week, an event that is often referred to as “summer camp for billionaires.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Disney CEO Bob Iger and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were all pictured entering the lodge.
Wednesday’s agenda includes interviews with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IAC Chairman Barry Diller, sources told CNBC’s Julia Boorstin.
When he arrived on Tuesday, Altman said he is not concerned about the artificial intelligence talent war and that he would talk to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg this week.
Scroll down to see the tech and media moguls arriving at the exclusive event.
Apple CEO Tim Cook
Tim Cook arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David Grogan | CNBC
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and Disney CEO Bob Iger
Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, and Bob Iger (R), CEO of Walt Disney Co., attend the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
TV host Gayle King
Gayle King attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
GM CEO Mary Barra
Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Spanx founder Sara Blakely
Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Walmart CEO Doug McMillon
Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Entertainment executive Casey Wasserman
Casey Wasserman, CEO of Wasserman Media Group, arrives for the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC owner John Henry
John Henry attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
OpenAI Chair Bret Taylor
Bret Taylor, chairman of the board of directors of OpenAI, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Home Depot co-founder Ken Langone
Ken Langone attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.
David A. Grogan | CNBC
Billionaire investor Stanley Druckenmiller
Stanley Druckenmiller attends the annual Allen and Co. Sun Valley Media and Technology Conference at the Sun Valley Resort in Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 8, 2025.