This article only represents the author's own views.

It’s no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) can do amazing things. But it’s far from guaranteed that the hot technology can do equally amazing things for the growing number of companies jumping on China’s AI bandwagon. With big guns like Baidu (BIDU.US) and Alibaba (BABA.US; 9988.HK) all piling onto the AI train, just how and whether small shops like Xiao-I Corp. (AIXI.US) can stand out in the crowd is a question that even the smartest AI can’t easily answer.

Last Thursday, the recently-listed AI developer unveiled its new Hua Zang Universal Large Language Model Ecosystem tool, seeking to attract any eyeballs it could by labeling its newest product as “ground-breaking.” Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT that power conversational or generative AI are all the rage these days for their vast potential in a wide range of applications. They “learn” by processing huge volumes of data that allows them to mimic human language skills and generate text via chatbots.