China’s core artificial intelligence (AI) industry is projected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan (around 170 billion U.S. dollars) by 2025, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a research body under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Speaking at a recent industry forum in Beijing, CAICT said AI has reached a pivotal turning point, accelerating its transition from technical innovation to driving real-world productivity.

The institute highlighted substantial upgrades in large AI models this year, with language understanding and multi-modal capabilities improving by 30% and 50%, respectively.

The embodied intelligence sector, which combines AI with robotics, has also expanded rapidly, attracting over 40 billion yuan in financing and involving more than 350 companies across the industrial chain, the forum noted.