Proponents said this localised approach would be a game-changer, promising faster processing, enhanced data privacy and lower operating costs.
Investors are buying in. Beijing-based ModelBest, a prominent player in on-device AI, raised more than 5 billion yuan (US$738 million) this year, according to a WeChat post by investor Shanghai Mejoy Capital.
ModelBest’s latest C+ Series funding round, completed earlier this week, propelled the firm’s valuation to 20 billion yuan, according to the post.
The start-up did not disclose the size of its latest funding round and did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The funding milestone comes amid a flurry of activity in China’s so-called local AI or edge AI sector.
On-device models steal the spotlight as China’s edge AI sector heats up
