Huawei to bolster AI applications

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd is aiming to have one million developers and partners in its artificial intelligence system in three years, as part of its broader effort to bolster the application of the cutting-edge technology in a wide range of sectors.

The Chinese tech heavyweight announced on Wednesday that it is working with German auto maker Audi AG on high-level autonomous driving innovation.

Xu Wenwei, director of the board and chief strategy marketing officer of Huawei, said industry applications will be the key to AI's success over the next decade.

"Defining use scenarios is the starting point for AI application, but applying industry insight is crucial to finding the breakthrough point. A well-established ecosystem or platform must have both an industry alliance and a business alliance," Xu said.

Huawei forecast that the global AI industry will reach $380 billion by 2025, and 90 percent of the market will come from industry applications.

"We will partner with universities, industry associations and others to nurture talents and offer capital support," Xu said on the sidelines of the ongoing Huawei Connect conference in Shanghai.

According to him, technological superiority will be the key for Huawei to build such an open ecosystem. Also, growing the market together is more important than fighting for a market share.

Xu's comments resonate with the company's overall AI strategies including boosting research and development, and developing an open ecosystem as well as using the technology to drive operational efficiency.

As an example of deeply integrating AI with other sectors, Huawei announced on Thursday that it will cooperate with Audi in intelligent-connected vehicles, with its mobile data center being integrated into the Audi Q7 as a showcase prototype.

Saad Metz, executive vice-president of Audi China R&D, said: "We evaluate a joint development of highly automated driving functions and future oriented vehicle-to-infrastructure communications. We are looking forward to intensifying the partnership with Huawei in the future, because we are convinced that closer cooperation between our two companies will substantially benefit both sides."

Xiang Ligang, CEO of telecoms industry website Cctime, said though Huawei does not have the experience of Google Inc in building an open platform, it has the capability to make AI easy to use, which is the key to turning the hype surrounding AI into reality.