Baidu CEO Robin Li Cautions Against Overinvestment in Large Language Models in China

Baidu, Inc BIDU CEO Robin Li warned against China's desperate chase to develop large language models in China could lead to a waste of resources. 

Firms need to focus on developing practical applications, Reuters cites Li at an industry forum in Shenzhen.

Also Read: Is Nvidia Benefiting From US Sanctions On China?

Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in 2022, generative AI has gained significant traction in China. 

There's a trend in China of industries and companies investing in hardware, chips, and computing centers to develop their large-scale AI models. It also got another boost from the U.S.'s embargo on AI chips for China.

However, Li points out that while large language models are foundational, like operating systems, constantly creating new foundational models is a substantial waste of resources. 

Despite many large models in China, Li notes that relatively few AI applications are still developed from these models.

As of October, China released 238 large language models, up from just 79 in June, Li cited a third-party report.

In August, Baidu opened its large language model, Ernie, for public use. In October, Baidu showcased the newest version of its generative AI model, Ernie 4.0.

Price Action: BIDU shares traded higher by 2.70% at $112.50 premarket on the last check Wednesday.