(Yicai Global) July 5 -- Business registrations by artificial intelligence companies climbed 151 percent in China in the first half of this year, according to corporate data platform Qichacha.

Some 153,000 AI-related businesses registered in the six months ended June 30, pushing the total number to 439,000. Registrations reached 172,000 last year, almost quadrupling from 2019.

Guangdong province, China’s largest regional economy, has the most at 64,000, while Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces next to Shanghai rank second and third with 50,000 and 43,000 respectively.

Thirty-seven percent of AI companies have registered capital of more than CNY5 million (USD744,000), while 39 percent have between CNY1 million and CNY5 million. The remainder have less than CNY1 million.

The country’s AI sector raked in USD16 billion through 235 fundraisers in 2020, according to a report released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in April.

Investors began paying more attention to AI technologies last year due to their important role in preventing and controlling Covid-19 and helping work and production get back on track, the report said.

This year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference will be held in Shanghai on July 8 to 10. Since 2018, the WAIC has held three sessions, providing an important platform for international exchange and cooperation for Shanghai to build an AI industry highland.

Editor: Peter Thomas