BEIJING is taking steps to influence the artificial intelligence market by financing start-ups as its own tech giants hog AI-training computing resources already squeezed by US chip restrictions, reports London's Financial Times.
At least 17 city governments, including the largest, Shanghai, have pledged to provide 'computing vouchers' to subsidise AI start-ups facing rising data centre costs as supplies of crucial chips become more scarce.
The vouchers will be typically worth the equivalent of between US$140,000 and $280,000, according to official announcements.
They can be used for time in AI data centres to train and run the companies' large language models (LLMs) that understand and generate natural language, and other content, to perform a wide array of tasks.
Industry insiders said the move to help AI start-ups pay for computing costs comes after internet companies with cloud computing services cancelled contracts, as stricter US controls prompted them to 'hog the GPUs [graphics processing units] for themselves,' according to one AI founder.
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At least 17 city governments, including the largest, Shanghai, have pledged to provide 'computing vouchers' to subsidise AI start-ups facing rising data centre costs as supplies of crucial chips become more scarce.
The vouchers will be typically worth the equivalent of between US$140,000 and $280,000, according to official announcements.
They can be used for time in AI data centres to train and run the companies' large language models (LLMs) that understand and generate natural language, and other content, to perform a wide array of tasks.
Industry insiders said the move to help AI start-ups pay for computing costs comes after internet companies with cloud computing services cancelled contracts, as stricter US controls prompted them to 'hog the GPUs [graphics processing units] for themselves,' according to one AI founder.
SeaNews Turkey
