Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Denver news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Des Moines news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Tampa Bay news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Charlotte news in your inbox
Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Two-thirds of global AI investment today goes to China, ballooning the value of China’s AI market by 67% from 2016 to 2017 and threatening to rob the U.S. of its tenuous AI lead, according to a new study from China’s Tsinghua University.
Why it matters: The U.S. and China are jockeying to be an AI superpower, as private investors and governments pour money into research in both countries. The U.S. has a serious talent edge over China for now, but China’s funding advantage keeps it in the running, as top universities like Tsinghua turn out high-quality researchers.
The big picture: The U.S. still has a solid talent advantage. According to the study, which was reported on in the South China Morning Post:
- China’s AI talent pool made up just under 9% of the global total, compared to nearly the 14% of AI talent that’s in the U.S.
- When it comes to high-level talent — the best of the best — the gap is even wider: China has one-fifth the top talent that the U.S. has.
- The U.S. and Japan trail China in number of AI patents, and China leads in the quantity of research papers produced and the number of times they’re cited.