Former Meituan Co-Founder Ventures into AI, Aims to Create China's OpenAI Equivalent, Potential Impact on Electronic Component Industry

Wang Huiwen, the former co-founder of China’s largest food delivery platform Meituan, announced to enter the field of artificial intelligence and build China’s version of OpenAl, with a ChatGPT-Style chatbot, JW Insights learned. 

He established Beijing Guangnianzhiwai Technology, invested $50 million into the new company, and took a 25% stake. The new company is now valued at $200 million. Wang also revealed several top VCs planned to invest $2.3 billion in the next round of financing.

The top VCs Wang Huiwen mentioned include Source Code Capital and ZhenFund. Currently, no company has signed a formal investment document with Wang Huiwen’s new company, and the company’s valuation in the second financing round has not yet been determined, according to media outlet Waves.

Wang Huiwen’s bet on AI technology comes at a time when tech companies in China rush into the market to create China’s answer to ChatGPT. The chatbot launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI has become the fastest-growing app in history. It is a cutting-edge language processing AI model which can generate human-like texts includes answering questions. Microsoft announced an additional multi-billion-dollar investment in OpenAI last month, deepening its ties to the startup behind ChatGPT.

It is difficult to say with certainty how the efforts of the former co-founder of Meituan to create an AI company in China will affect electronic component companies. However, it is possible that there could be some indirect effects.

If the new AI company is successful in its goals and is able to attract investment and talent, it could potentially drive demand for certain types of electronic components that are used in the development of AI systems. This could include components like processors, memory chips, sensors, and other devices that are used in machine learning, natural language processing, and other AI applications.

On the other hand, it is also possible that the new AI company could compete with existing companies in the electronic component space. For example, if the new company develops its own specialized processors or other components, it could potentially reduce the demand for similar components from other companies.