Next level: why China’s game makers are quietly bankrolling generative AI

The new year kicked off with the blockbuster public market debuts of two Chinese artificial intelligence high-flyers – Zhipu AI and MiniMax – making them the world’s first publicly listed large language model (LLM) start-ups.The listings put them ahead of US rivals including Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Amazon.com-supported Anthropic, which have yet to reach public markets.Both Chinese companies have been backed by heavyweight investors, including state-linked funds and big tech groups such as Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.Less visibly but just as significantly, however, some of China’s dedicated gaming companies have also been bankrolling the rise of the country’s top AI developers.These include miHoYo, the maker of Genshin Impact – one of the most successful mobile games ever produced by a Chinese developer – and 37 Interactive Entertainment, a prolific backer of China’s AI ambitions.MiHoYo was an early investor in MiniMax, while 37 Interactive, also known as 37wan, has taken stakes in Zhipu, Moonshot AI and Baichuan. The four firms are widely dubbed China’s “four AI tigers”.