This high level of spending has sparked debate in China about whether AI firms are prioritising marketable products over fundamental research, potentially widening the technology gap with the US. The companies themselves have not published their advertising spending and AppGrowing's figures are estimates.
Key takeaways:
- Chinese AI companies, including start-ups and tech giants, spent over 500 million yuan (US$70.2 million) on advertising in the third quarter alone, according to marketing analytics firm AppGrowing.
- The data used to estimate this spending comes from public earnings reports and third-party marketing metrics, but the companies themselves have not published their advertising spending.
- The two biggest ad spenders were ByteDance and Moonshot AI, spending 200 million yuan and 150 million yuan respectively on AI products in the third quarter.
- This high level of spending has sparked debate in China, with concerns that prioritising marketable products over fundamental research could widen the technology gap with the US.