**WE ALL KNOW GOOGLE, AMAZON, AND APPLE. **But who has heard of Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent? These Chinese tech companies — often affectionately abbreviated to **BAT **— have become an indispensable part of every day life in China. Most westerners are ignorant to the incredible advancements Chinese companies have made over the last two decades, even as we’ve reached the point where some of these companies are actually worldwide innovation leaders in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data_. _High time to introduce the three Chinese Big Techs to the West!
Top view on Shenzhen, home to Tencent headquarters — Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash
The right ingredients
There are a three major ingredients that together create the perfect climate for China’s homegrown Tech Trio: Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent (BAT).
The first is the tremendous size of China’s domestic market. With access to roughly 1.4 billion Chinese consumers, BAT serves the biggest consumer market in the world.
The second ingredient is China’s sturdy protection of their internal market. Two of the most notable examples are the complete ban of Facebook and Google in 2009 and 2010, but you can find an extensive list of high-profile websites that are blocked on Wikipedia. Without western competition, Chinese firms can fully focus on innovation and fulfilling Chinese consumers’ demands.
The third reason why Chinese tech companies are thriving is its government’s clear and ambitious vision on Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is set to revolutionise all aspects of our lives — China understands that. Both the Chinese government and Chinese businesses, as well as Chinese consumers embrace and welcome AI with conviction, because there’s a strong believe that AI is China’s way up. Right now, we’re already witnessing how BAT and other Chinese tech companies are taking the lead into a new digital world.
China is a big country, inhabited my many Chinese — Famous quote by former French statesman Charles de Gaulle
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