Chinese artificial intelligence companies face increasing pressure to boost investments as their U.S. counterparts' spending continues to dramatically outpace them. Analysts predict that China's growing demand for AI applications will compel its tech firms to significantly increase their own AI expenditures this year.

Artificial intelligence investments by US tech giants continue to soar, dwarfing those of Chinese AI firms, but China’s rising appetite for AI applications will compel its tech companies to increase their AI spending this year, according to analysts. The largest US tech companies are on track for more than US$700 billion in AI capital expenditures this year, driven in part by rising memory costs and continuously growing demand for AI applications. Google and Microsoft on Thursday both said that....