With Kunlun, Baidu joins the ranks of a select few companies that not only offer an AI platform to help enterprises deploy AI-infused solutions but also have their own hardware to maximize AI processing. Built to accommodate the high performance requirements of a wide variety of AI scenarios, Kunlun includes training chip ‘818-300’ and inference chip ‘818-100’. It can be used to provide AI capabilities such as speech and text analytics, natural language processing, and visual recognition,

Rena Bhattacharyya, Technology Analyst at GlobalData, says: “Well-established players such as IBM, Microsoft, Google and Amazon are fine-tuning their AI platforms to make it easier and faster for customers to incorporate a wide range of AI technologies. Although already an ambitious player in China, Baidu had not managed to establish itself as a major force in the AI space until now. The Kunlun chip has the potential to change that.”

Kunlun canbe deployed in the cloud or at the edge, such as in autonomous vehicles, an area in which Chinese companies are allocating sizeable research and development funds. But edge deployments of AI do not stop there. On-device AI is used in mobile phone cameras to improve picture quality, it can provide speech and voice recognition, and it may be used in security systems, drones or robots.

AI at the edge can increase efficiency since at least a portion of the analysis, if not all, can be performed without the need to transport data to and from the cloud. It also offers greater flexibility, because the device can utilize AI even when it is offline, and it can improve the user experience since the device can learn behavior patterns. Some users may prefer it since data stays on the device instead of being transmitted over a network to the cloud.

Bhattacharyya concludes: “Baidu does not market heavily to other regions and will have a tough time competing with the well-established players. Nonetheless, the release of the new chipset underscores the overall momentum behind AI in China, as well as the determination of Chinese players to establish themselves as global leaders in this emerging area.”