AI leveraged in growing number of industries

Artificial Intelligence technologies have been "landing" in various industries, with more application scenes and patent applications in Shanghai and throughout China, researchers said.

AI has been leveraged in vertical industries like finance, steel, shipbuilding, health care and energy. Related firms showed the latest AI applications and plans during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2021, which was held in Shanghai last week, said researchers from International Data Corp (IDC). 

Data analysis and management, cloud computing, open-source community, auto machine learning and autonomous driving are hot sectors for AI applications, said IDC, which published a special report at WAIC 2021.

Overseas firms are still at the top of AI patent applications, including giants like Samsung, IBM, Intel and Apple, which ranked the 10th with 17,800 AI patent applications. Top Chinese firms for AI patents include Tencent with 16,700 applications and Huawei with 16,100, according to PatSnap, a patent data and analytics service provider.

In Shanghai, the total AI patent application volume has reached 42,000, with rapid growth in the past five years. The top AI patent applicants in the city are Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Shanghai United Imaging, according to PatSnap.

In the Yangtze River Delta region including Shanghai, firms have unique advantages on AI technology and patents in medical and autonomous driving, analysts said.