Huawei to go after large scale enterprise AI

Huawei has laid out another plank in its broad AI portfolio with the unveiling of its "industry intelligence" strategy aimed at large scale enterprise models.

Huawei CFO and current rotating chairperson, Sabrina Meng, said AI was at an inflection point where it could now be able to solve industry problems at scale by relying on large models.

Speaking at Huawei's annual enterprise customer event in Shanghai Wednesday, attended by 20,000 people, she said the rapid development of AI had enabled it to move "from workshop-style development to scenario-based customization."

"In the past, different application scenarios required the development of different models," she said.

"Now, by absorbing massive amounts of knowledge, large models can adapt to multiple business scenarios, significantly lowering the threshold for AI development and application and shortening the cycle from technology to application."

Meng said Huawei aimed to make all objects connectable and all applications capable of being modeled.

She said the company would underpin its AI strategy with a “solid computing power base to enable a variety of modes and industries.”

The level of cloud compute capability determined the speed of AI development, Meng said. However, the scarcity and expense of compute capacity in China have become key factors in restricting AI's growth, she said, echoing points made frequently by Chinese tech leaders.

Related:Huawei unveils new large-scale AI model aimed at enterprise

Second choice for the world 

She said Huawei was committed to building a solid cloud computing base in China and building "a second choice for the world" – that is, an alternative to US cloud services. 

She said Huawei and partners would provide a full range of solutions from the center to the edge, including servers, clusters, all-in-one training and cloud services. 

Huawei also released an intelligent industry reference architecture built around an open ecosystem.

This week's launch follows the release of Huawei's internally-developed Pangu AI foundational model in July, targeted at industry and with the ability to integrate seamlessly with specific use cases across verticals.

Meng reminded her audience that ten years ago Huawei had first launched its cloud services and six years ago had declared it would be one of the top five in China. This year it has climbed over Tencent to become China's no. 2 cloud service provider, according to research firm Canalyst.

In the second quarter, the Huawei cloud business grew 14%, ahead of aggregate growth of China's cloud sector of around 5-6%, to win 19% of the market.

Related:Chinese telcos relish their new role at core of digital economy