China is planning to build a 13.8 billion-yuan ($2.1 billion) research park dedicated to AI development to further its goal of becoming a world leader in the technology by 2030, CNBC reports.

 

The campus is planned for the Beijing suburb of Mentougou, where it will cover just under 55 hectares, and will be completed within five years. It will then house roughly 400 businesses, and produce an expected 50 billion yuan annually from technologies for uses including biometrics, big data, and deep learning. It will be equipped with 5G mobile internet and a super computer, CNBC reports Xinhua as saying.

 

The Zhongguancun Development Group will develop the park, and is seeking partnerships with domestic and foreign universities, research institutes, and large enterprises to establish research hubs within the campus.

 

China set out plans last year to build AI into a 1 trillion-yuan industry, by commercializing uses such as smart city technology. Already, AI is being used in large scale deployments for facial recognition for Chinese law enforcement.

 

Venture capitalist Jim Breyer is quoted by CNBC as likening the rivalry between China and the U.S. for AI leadership to the “space race of the ‘50’s.”

 

As previously reported, Chinese technology giant Alibaba is investing $15 billion in AI research centers, at least half of them outside of the country.