China unveils AI-driven investment firm

China has set up an artificial intelligence-focused investment company to boost the strategically key industry, with a registered capital of 60.06 billion yuan (HK$63.89 billion) from its third state chip fund and a state-owned asset manager.

The firm, which was approved on January 17, was named National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund Partnership Enterprise, according to information platform Qichacha.

The investment company is controlled by the third phase of the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, known as Big Fund, and a private equity management firm under a Shanghai state-asset manager.

The AI-focused company is eligible for activities, including equity investment, investment management and asset management, according to the platform.

In May last year, China set up Big Fund phase three with a registered capital of 344 billion yuan, after hundreds of billions of funds poured into the sector with the goal of developing the country’s own semiconductor industry amid the Sino-US tension.

China’s AI giant Baidu (9888) posted a 2.7 percent rise in Hong Kong today, outperforming the market gauge’s 1.75 percent. Other tech leaders Tencent (0700) and Alibaba (9988) jumped 2.6 percent and 4.7 percent, respectively.

THEMIS QI