ChatGPT-led artificial intelligence (AI) storm has become a new outlet, with Baidu, JD.COM, Tencent and other big companies scrambling for layout, Internet tycoons swarming in, and entrepreneurs eager to move. As OpenAI announced the API of ChatGPT model to the world, the market was completely ignited.
A month ago, Wang Huiwen, a billionaire and former co-founder of Meituan, started ChatGPT’s business with a "Hero Post". He invested 50 million US dollars to recruit wise men, and the slogan "Building China’s OpenAI" attracted countless attention as soon as it went out. Later, former Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan and former JD.COM Group Senior Vice President Zhou Bowen came out one after another. This wave of AI entrepreneurship has started in a mighty way.
Wang Shao, who is currently doing full-stack development, has long been keenly aware of the new entrepreneurial trend blown by ChatGPT. Since December last year, he has built his own application based on ChatGPT model. A few years ago, he worked in JD.COM, Jinshan and other big Internet companies.
Beside Wang Shao, like him, there are not a few entrepreneurs who feel this wave of technology. "Everyone’s response is very enthusiastic. In many communities, entrepreneurs are integrating the ChatGPT)API into their existing products, including bookkeeping and note-taking, or using the API to make new products. " In an interview with national business daily, he described it this way.
Abroad, entrepreneurs are also aiming at this new trend. Even silicon valley venture capitalists who are in the cold winter of science and technology have poured money into this frontier field. According to market analysis firm PitchBook Data Inc, global venture capital invested $1.3 billion in start-ups developing generative AI software through 78 transactions last year.
Entrepreneurs aim at "out of the box"
Wang Shao is one of the early entrepreneurs who entered the ChatGPT wave. HerAI, which he is developing, is a voice dialogue robot, in which many quick creation tools have been developed based on ChatGPT model, such as short video script, summary, weekly report generation, foreign language learning, cooking, programming and other functions.
He told reporters that HerAI was inspired by the famous movie Her. In this film, the hero Theodore and the artificial intelligence system OS1 have experienced a strange love.
Image source: HerAI
"At present, some users may not be very good at communicating with AI, so we have made these out-of-the-box tools." He said. "Based on the current ChatGPT model, plus some other fine-tuning training can achieve better results."
In foreign countries, the direction that entrepreneurs aim at is similar to that of Wang Shao. Bret Greenstein, a partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers, said (foreign entrepreneurs)Most discussions focus on the "out-of-the-box" characteristics of generative AI.Anyone can access a system for public use directly through the Internet.
Recently, the opening of the ChatGPT model API has ignited the enthusiasm of many developers, especially the news that OpenAI has reduced the cost by 90%. In Wang Shao’s words, "this is a very big change", because for developers, the initial investment in making applications based on this model is mainly the cost of accessing the API.
"OpenAI wants to be an inclusive company for the whole world. Its goal is very big, and the price of the model may drop later. The current price is basically 1000 Chinese characters, and the cost is about 3 cents. At present, such income should cover the cost. " He said.
Every reporter noticed that since ChatGPT became popular all over the world, batches of AIGC companies have sprung up like mushrooms after rain, and many previously established AIGC startups have begun to enter the eyes of investors.
Image source: screenshot of public information
Vertical direction should be used as the main track.
Domestically, venture capital opportunities related to ChatGPT include developing large-scale language models of ChatGPT, which are being done by major Internet companies such as Baidu, JD.COM, Tencent and Alibaba.
Before developing his own AI application, Wang Shao also worked in several Internet giants such as JD.COM, Jinshan and Qunar. Wang Shao told every reporter,In addition to directly studying similar models, big manufacturers also have business applications based on such models.In his view, big manufacturers have their own advantages in making models similar to ChatGPT in China.
"ChatGPT can be regarded as a platform for content text output, and each country has different requirements for its own content security policy. If it is a language model, it has advantages from the domestic point of view. In addition, the model can also be particularly optimized for the Chinese environment. "
butFor the vast majority of entrepreneurs, Wang Shao believes that vertical application based on ChatGPT model is a more feasible direction.
"Most (entrepreneurs) are based on the ChatGPT model, making their own applications, fine-tuning them, and then combining them with products in their own industries, such as education, finance, insurance, and intelligent customer service." Wang Shao told every reporter.
Based on the foreign situation, Bret Greenstein also believes that if the enterprise data is used to fine-tune the basic language recognition model of such tools, countless enterprise software applications can be established.
In Wang Shao’s view, only companies with financial and technical confidence can develop their own models, and it may be difficult for startups to seize this opportunity. "If you make a (large language) model, it is only possible for head companies, such as Baidu and Ali, or companies that can continue to get large investments, because it burns money." He explained.
In fact, before the publication of ChatGPT, domestic AI startups based on the big model field have emerged one after another. Some startups have previously accessed the APIs of other language models (such as Curie, etc.) to explore the establishment of their own ecology. When ChatGPT has become a hot spot of global capital chasing, at this time, how to choose such startups will become a difficult problem?
Wang Shao believes that for these startups, embracing the new model or continuing to develop on the existing ecology may exist at the same time.
"ChatGPT is a general model. For some professional knowledge of specific industries, such as more professional grammar checking or virtual oral English teachers, it is still necessary to train separately. (These startups) can combine the original model with the ChatGPT model, and the functions that can’t be done can be handed over to ChatGPT, and the original functions can continue to be used. " He told reporters.
Subdivide the field to find opportunities
When Baidu, JD.COM, Tencent, Alibaba and other big companies entered the market, the entrepreneurial tide also swept through. How can entrepreneurs survive in the cracks without being squeezed out of the track by big companies? Wang Shao believes that the answer is obvious, and segmentation is the key.
"Large companies generally start with general-purpose products. At the beginning, they will not pay special attention to a certain sub-industry." He said. "(doing) entrepreneurial projects, you can cut in from a certain segment. When you achieve the ultimate in this subdivision, your accumulation of user needs is not easy to be directly copied. Then it will be more competitive to expand into other fields. "
"Because in essence, ChatGPT is a general model and is not good at certain fields. Many entrepreneurs have to specialize in a certain field and can only combine other AI models or fine-tune the model. " Wang Shao told reporters.
The reporter noted that in addition to HerAI, the first batch of entrepreneurs accessing ChatGPT API in China have begun to exert their efforts in various fields, such as cooking, education, shopping and so on.
Image source: RecipesAI
In Wang Shao’s imagination, he also intends to continue to explore in the segmentation field, for example, he plans to integrate more third-party AI services. HerAI has been online for several months. Judging from the user feedback he obtained, "the most appeal may be not limited to the output of words, but to directly generate PPT, tables and even videos."
ChatGPT’s east wind has indeed brought many opportunities, but to truly gain a foothold and play its own world, Wang Shao bluntly said that there are still great challenges, both technically and financially.
"Like I said,It is a great challenge to embed the third-party AI service directly into the conversational chat, which needs constant exploration and verification. In addition, there is a great demand for manpower and funds."He said.
national business daily
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