① OpenAI terminated the provision of API services to China, triggering the intensive launch of migration plans by many large domestic model manufacturers; ② OpenAI's move is an opportunity for large domestic AI model companies, but even without this trigger, the domestic big model market is already in the racing phase.
OpenAI stopped providing API services to China, triggering a number of major domestic model makers to launch intensive migration plans.
On the evening of the 25th, CIFA reporters successively$TENCENT (00700.HK)$,$Kunlun Tech (300418.SZ)$We learned that Tencent Hybrid will give away 100 million Tokens to newly migrated enterprise users to provide free migration services; Tiangong launched a developer migration plan to provide 150 million Tokens API call resources. Previously, Silicon-based Mobility, Smart Spectrum AI, MiniMax, Baidu Smart Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and 10,000 Things had also disclosed their respective migration plans.
On June 25, OpenAI announced that it will begin blocking API traffic from unsupported countries and regions on July 9 this year. After that, developers from mainland China, Hong Kong, etc. will not be able to use the OpenAI API to provide services.
Zhang Liang, the director of “Xiaobei Xue AI,” said in an interview with a reporter from the Financial Association that OpenAI's move is an opportunity for major domestic AI model companies. “Generally, when domestic companies develop AI applications, it is basically enough to use the domestic big model API, because the business scenario is not that complicated, and the domestic API is 'good quality and cheap'. The biggest impact of this OpenAI move is likely to be some of the higher-end or more complex domestic business scenarios where GPT-4 or GPT-4 Turbo API capabilities must be used. However, it will also force the domestic AI model to upgrade to meet this part of the business requirements.”
A CIFA reporter recently learned that from now until 24:00 on July 31, 2024, Tencent Cloud will give away 100 million free Tencent mixed yuan model tokens to newly migrated enterprise users, as well as free exclusive migration tools and services. Currently, Tencent Cloud provides multiple models of different versions and sizes for users to choose from, such as Hybrid Pro, Standard, and Lite.
On the Kunlun World Wide Web side, Tiangong Open Platform launched a “one-click moving plan” for OpenAL API users and provided 150 million tokens of API call resources (including 100 million tokens for the Tiangong 2.0 model and 50 million tokens for the Tiangong 3.0 model). At the same time, the Tiangong Open Platform will also provide developers with technical support for Tiangong migration services, including the latest model capability experience (Tiangong 3.0), migration service technical support, filing training and assistance.
According to the Financial Services Association reporter's observation, many large domestic model companies that provide API services responded quickly, and BAT collectively launched their own “moving” plans. Among them, Baidu Smart Cloud claimed that Wenxin's flagship model was free for the first time.
Zhang Liang said, “Overall, the migration plans of large domestic model companies are still targeted. They just cut through the OpenAL API user group. User decisions mainly depend on who can migrate smoothly and meet business needs. At the same time, the cost is very low, and the business is stable.”
It is worth noting that just a month ago, DeepSeek and ByteDance were the first to announce price cuts for big models, and then$BABA-SW (09988.HK)$,$BIDU-SW (09888.HK)$, Tencent,$Iflytek Co.,ltd. (002230.SZ)$Players such as Smart Spectrum AI joined the big model “price war” one after another. A number of industry insiders interviewed by the Financial Services Association said that this “price war” may have spilled over from cloud vendors.
$Youdao (DAO.US)$CEO Zhou Feng said in an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Financial Federation, “Maybe cloud vendors want to attract customers after cutting prices. I don't think this is the first time on the Internet, nor the last time that cloud vendors have made this move.” According to Zhou Feng, the price war is the market behavior of related manufacturers, and it is a way to acquire customers in the cloud business. However, the price reduction is definitely a good thing for the industry. According to its observations, the cost of large models is basically falling at a rate of 50% per year, mainly due to the combined impact of computing power and model improvements.
Zhang Liang also agreed that even without a trigger for OpenAI to cut off the supply of API services, the domestic big model market is already in the racing phase. “The entire industry is currently at a very early stage. Everyone has big models, and they can basically meet business scenarios. Everyone is exploring applications, but there are still relatively few that have actually come out. Overall, they are in a state of 'more supply than demand', which is why there is a wave of price cuts.”
Editor/Jeffrey