China's investment in AI expected to reach $38.1b in 2027

China's investment in artificial intelligence is forecast to reach $38.1 billion (273.9 billion yuan) in 2027, accounting for 9 percent of the world's total, according to a recent report by market consultancy IDC.

The report writes, in recent years, China has continued to lift its capability in artificial industries. In the short term, there is still room for growth for the development of the domestic artificial intelligence market in terms of integrating with different needs of various industries. In the future, under government support and accelerated industrial upgrade, AI technology will certainly integrate with demands from various industries, and be part of products, services and business modes.

AI hardware will remain the most important destination for market investment over the five-year forecast period, accounting for over 60 percent of investments in the country's AI market. But the investment proportion will shrink regularly and the annual investment growth will slow down over the five-year forecast period.

The AI software market is deemed to have greater potential. Investment growth will be number one among the AI technological markets. The investment in AI software is expected to reach nearly $10 billion, accounting for about 25 percent of China's total AI market investment, up nearly 6 percentage points of that in 2022.