Microsoft makes big AI inroads in China by selling OpenAI models

San Francisco – Microsoft has built a big business selling AI models to Chinese companies despite the growing rivalry between the United States and China over artificial intelligence. Social media and AI giant ByteDance has generally been Microsoft’s biggest AI customer in recent years, largely using OpenAI models, according to people familiar with the matter. The Chinese company is on track to spend more than US$1 billion (S$1.3 billion) a year on Microsoft AI and cloud services, said some of the people. Other Chinese tech firms, such as Ant Group, Meituan and Tencent Holdings are also significant spenders on AI…