ByteDance, Alibaba to Launch New Models in Race for AI Supremacy in China

The two Chinese tech heavyweights are each launching new models around the time of the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, intensifying their rivalry in AI.

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The battle for AI dominance in China is reaching new heights. Tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba Group are both poised to release their next flagship AI models around the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, in what could be the most consequential battle in the country’s tech sector.

ByteDance is preparing to release three new AI models—a large language model, an image generation model and a video model—next month, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. The planned launch comes as the TikTok owner’s fast-growing cloud computing business has used its AI services to challenge Alibaba, whose cloud arm is the biggest in China. But Alibaba isn’t sitting still.