Google , Yahoo Group , Tencent Holdings and others have been called on by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to spearhead the development of new artificial intelligence ( AI ) technologies and create open innovation platforms . Specifically , Baidu will focus on self - driving cars , Alibaba 's cloud computing unit will explore AI solutions for urban life , Tencent will examine computer vision for medical diagnosis and iFlyTek will focus on voice intelligence . While supporters have praised the open - source nature of the initiative , some have questioned the elevation of big firms as " national leaders " , claiming smaller start - ups will be crowded out .
Baidu, Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings and iFlyTek have been called on by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology to spearhead the development of new artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and create open innovation platforms. Specifically, Baidu will focus on self-driving cars, Alibaba's cloud computing unit will explore AI solutions for urban life, Tencent will examine computer vision for medical diagnosis and iFlyTek will focus on voice intelligence. While supporters have underscored the open-source nature of the initiative, some have questioned the elevation of big firms as "national champions", claiming smaller start-ups will be crowded out.