SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Baidu Inc. (9988.HK), a leader in Chinese search, said on Wednesday that it would establish a $1 billion (145 million) venture capital fund to support start-ups specialising in content produced by artificial intelligence technologies.

The business also announced that it will hold a contest for programmers to create software based on the ERNIE large language model (LLM) or incorporate the model into already existing products.

Following the spectacular success of ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot published by Microsoft-backed (MSFT.O) OpenAI, Chinese tech firms have hurried to build their own LLMs.

According to a research released this week, about 80 Chinese firms have introduced their own LLMs since 2020, with this year’s launches marginally outpacing those in the US.

Ernie Bot, Baidu’s own AI-driven LLM, was debuted in March. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), a global leader in e-commerce, was one of the other Chinese businesses that swiftly followed.

China announced drafted restrictions on the use of generative AI in April in response to the rise in LLMs.

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