Top Internet firms adopt Nvidia chips

China's top Internet firms have adopted new artificial intelligence or AI services with Nvidia Corp’s chips, covering e-commerce, cloud gaming and smart driving services, the company said on Thursday.

Nvidia, whose chips are used in graphics, high-performance computing and AI sectors, have won deals in China from firms including Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and Didi Chuxing.

China has set AI development as long-term national strategy in order to help boost economic development and transformation in a more innovation-driven way, according to industry insiders.

With Nvidia’s chips and related ecosystem including software stack and developer community, AI calculations and deep learning capacity will double within a year, said Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO.

Nvidia is cooperating with Alibaba and Baidu to use its chips to run systems that make recommendations to users. It has also announced a cooperation with Tencent to launch cloud game service START. The new service allows users to play top-level games online directly.

Tencent and Nvidia also announced the establishment of a joint lab for AI development in gaming and ray tracing technology, which makes games and videos more vivid through simulation and rendering.

In the AI chip sector, market leader Nvidia faces competitors such as Intel and Huawei from China.

Intel announced on Monday it was buying Israel-based AI firm Habana Labs for US$2 billion, seeking to expand its AI portfolio to bolster its data-center business. Intel expects the AI chip market to exceed US$25 billion by 2024.