China's AI Sector Received Over 110 Billion Yuan in Funding in the First Quarter, with Skyrocketing Investment in Domestic Large Models

May 24 — The artificial intelligence venture capital market in China has experienced a notable upswing recently, according to a report from CCTV Finance. This month alone, domestic large-scale AI models including Dark Side of the Moon and Step Sky secured more than 30 billion yuan in funding. Embodied intelligence has also become a key focus for investors, with firms like Wevity Dynamics and Lu Ming Robotics raising billions of yuan within a single week. Venture capital figures show China recorded nearly 600 artificial intelligence investment deals in the first quarter, totaling over 110 billion yuan — a year-over-year surge of 185.4%. After securing funding, most Chinese AI startups are allocating their capital to three primary areas. First is research and development: top large model companies plan to invest tens of billions in R&D by 2025, a sum that far outpaces their current revenue. Second is computing power, with GPU purchases and cloud service rentals making up 30 to 50% of total financing for these firms. Third is attracting top global talent and teams. Increased R&D spending is accelerating technological iteration. By 2026, large model enterprises in China have generally shortened their iteration cycles to less than three months, significantly reducing the cost of AI inference and driving deeper progress in commercialization efforts. (CCTV Finance)