Beijing's State-Backed AI Computing Platform Aims to Boost China's AI Development

Beijing’s State-Backed AI Computing Platform Aims to Boost China’s AI Development

In a move to bolster China’s artificial intelligence (AI) development, Beijing has launched the Beijing AI Public Computing Platform, also known as the Shangzhuang project. Operated by state-backed Beijing Energy Holding (BEH), the platform aims to address the “acute shortage of computing power” faced by the city’s institutions, research facilities, and small and medium-sized enterprises. This initiative comes at a crucial time as the US tightens its export restrictions on advanced semiconductors, which are vital for training and upscaling AI technologies.

BEH announced that the Shangzhuang platform will offer an impressive 500 petaflops of computing power in its initial phase. To put this into perspective, Frontier, the world’s most powerful supercomputer, has a peak performance of 1,194 petaflops. BEH intends to scale up the platform’s computing power to 1,500 petaflops in its second phase, which is slated to be operational by the first quarter of next year. Moreover, the company expressed its commitment to utilizing green energy to power the platform in the future, although it did not specify a timeline for this transition.

At the unveiling of the Shangzhuang project, BEH announced its collaboration with prominent Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba Cloud and AI start-up Zhipu AI. These partnerships are set to cover various areas such as green energy, public cloud, computing infrastructure, and digital economy development. This collaborative effort aims to facilitate the growth and development of AI in China, positioning the country as a leading player in the industry.

The establishment of the BEH computing platform aligns with the Beijing municipal government’s commitment to provide state-sponsored computing resources to AI firms. The city unveiled a plan in mid-May to consolidate resources and create an innovative ecosystem that strengthens its position in AI development. It also emphasized the importance of collaboration among top-tier public cloud service providers to pool their computing power for use by Beijing-based research facilities and companies. As the home to one-third of the country’s core AI start-ups, Beijing is on a mission to nurture local champions in the technology industry.

China’s accelerated AI initiative and the launch of the Shangzhuang project are part of a broader strategy to develop homegrown alternatives to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. However, the recent export restrictions imposed by the US on advanced semiconductors have imposed challenges on Chinese access to crucial technology. Thus, the BEH platform’s provision of significant computing power is a strategic response to overcome these obstacles and drive AI development in China.

With its strategic partnerships and commitment to green energy, the Beijing AI Public Computing Platform, operated by BEH, sets the stage for China’s ambitions to become a global leader in AI. By addressing the shortage of computing power and fostering collaborations within the industry, this initiative creates a solid foundation for the growth and advancement of AI technologies in the country. As the world waits to witness the next breakthrough in AI, Beijing’s dedication to nurturing local talent and promoting innovation positions China at the forefront of the race towards AI supremacy.