Chinese technology companies are no longer competing only to build the most capable artificial intelligence model. The cost of each processed request, the speed of deployment in real products and the ability to win paying customers are becoming equally important.
Industry analysts say some Chinese model services can be priced at one tenth to one fifth of comparable international offerings. A low price does not guarantee a sustainable business if the provider cannot cover the underlying computing costs.
Practical applications are spreading through video, enterprise tools, customer service and television production. One platform has reported tens of thousands of users and thousands of projects, suggesting that attention is moving from demonstrations to repeated use.
The crucial measure is therefore the return on every token. The winner may not be the maker of the largest model, but the company that combines sufficient quality, a workable price and a product that people choose to use again.
