Thursday, July 10, 2025

Hefei powers China's AI ambitions


(China Daily) Hefei, the capital of Anhui province, is solidifying its position as a major force in China's booming artificial intelligence industry. Home to over 1,000 AI companies, the city generated more than 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion) in AI-related revenue in 2024.  

Leading firms like iFLYTEK and HiDream.ai exemplify this dynamic ecosystem.  

Founded in 1999, iFLYTEK is a pioneer in core AI technologies like speech recognition, computer vision, and natural language processing. Its latest innovation, the Dual-Screen Translator 2.0, launched in April, supports 85 languages.

The translator was selected as the official translation device for the Canton Fair and the 15th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition. It facilitates crucial communication in global trade.  

"iFLYTEK is committed to boosting productivity and creating a better world with AI," said Dong Bin, deputy general manager of the brand marketing center at iFLYTEK, when interviewed about the company's mission on July 2.

HiDream.ai, established in March 2023, has rapidly ascended to global prominence. Its commercial video generation model competes directly with OpenAI's Sora, placing its multimodality tech in the world's top tier.  

Serving over 20 million users and 40,000 businesses globally, it's frequently hailed as one of the most anticipated AI companies. In April, its image generative foundation model, HiDream-I1, topped the Artificial Analysis benchmark within 24 hours, making it the first Chinese generative AI model to do so.

Mei Tao, founder and CEO of HiDream.ai, credited Hefei's supportive environment in a roundtable meeting on July 2: "The city's excellent business climate, investment opportunities, and talent pool are vital to our rapid growth."  

Looking ahead, Hefei aims to forge new AI development paths. The city will focus on scientific research, industrial manufacturing, and future industries to create high-value, replicable solutions and establish more exemplary "Hefei models" for the sector.

Source: By Zhu Lixin in Hefei | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2025-07-03 17:26

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