Silicon Valley is leading this wave of AI innovation and entrepreneurship. It is home to 27 unicorn companies related to large models so far. China is closely following, with five new unicorn companies in the AI large model field, namely Zhipu, Baichuan, Moonshot, Minimax and 01.AI. In this innovation cycle led by AI-generated content (AIGC) models, the US and China remain the fastest-moving countries, though noticeable differences are emerging.
In Silicon Valley, the large-model field has formed a relatively complete ecosystem: there are leading startups like OpenAI, as well as strong competitors; application companies based on large models are quickly gaining users and funding; many tool-oriented startups serve large models, with valuations soaring; platform giants are deeply involved—they have their own models, open their ecosystems to startups, and provide funding and acquisition opportunities. In 2023, the total AI funding in the US exceeded $50 billion.
In China, the current wave of technological revolution has had limited impact on investment enthusiasm. According to data from IT Orange, a venture capital data service provider, China’s AI funding steadily increased since 2014, reaching a total of about 441.1 billion yuan in 2021. In 2022, it dropped to 157.9 billion yuan, a decline of 64%. In 2023, despite the hype surrounding large models, the downward trend continued, with annual funding reaching only about 110.1 billion yuan. China’s leading startups focus mainly on foundational large models, while giants like Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan are actively investing, though competition outweighs collaboration.
