ChatGPT Meet Alibaba's "Tongyi QianWen"

ALIBABA Group Holding Ltd. is inviting users to test the company’s in-house artificial intelligence (AI) tool, the latest attempt from a Chinese tech behemoth to rival OpenAI’s powerful ChatGPT.

Alibaba’s cloud computing unit is offering invitation codes to some corporate customers so they can try out the large language model called “Tongyi Qianwen,” according to an announcement posted on the subsidiary’s official WeChat account Friday.

The name, partly derived from the ancient philosopher Mencius, translates roughly to “Truth from a Thousand Questions.”

Alibaba Cloud’s website for the service is only in Chinese, suggesting it could be used primarily to process queries in the e-commerce giant’s home language.

The free-to-use ChatGPT, a large language model (LLM) application created by Microsoft-backed OpenAI, was released to the public last November and can generate articles and essays on demand in response to user prompts.

A source close to the matter said that Alibaba’s application is an LLM targeted at business users.

Alibaba’s cloud computing division published a teaser Friday, posting a message on social media simply stating: “Hello, my name is Tongyi Qianwen, this is our first time meeting, I welcome your feedback.”

The official website for the chatbot application merely has boxes to enter phone numbers and email addresses to request an invitation but provides no specific details about its exact use.

A formal launch is expected at an Alibaba Cloud event in Beijing on Tuesday. Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group, as well as the head of the company’s cloud division, are scheduled to speak at the event.

OpenAI, the U.S. maker of ChatGPT, kicked off a frenzy of interest in the technology as its services promise to remake businesses from online search and advertising to health care.

Microsoft Corp. is pouring US$10 billion into OpenAI in what’s seen as a bid to challenge Google in its lucrative search operation.

China’s interest over indigenous ChatGPT rivals was ignited by search engine provider Baidu Inc., whose Ernie bot application was launched last month and is open only to trial users at the moment.

Domestic media reported Saturday that Shenzhen-based network gear maker Huawei Technologies is due to stage an event unveiling Pangu, its natural language processing (NLP) AI model.

SenseTime Group Inc., China’s most valuable specialty AI company, is expected to hold an event this week to showcase “cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence software.”

Shares of a number of Chinese AI companies advanced last week following reports of their own AI tools’ release.

ARTICLE FROM: Shenzhen Daily