AI Supremacy: A Battle to Lead the AI Race, Which Country Wins?

For as long as we can remember, power struggles among countries have been very much present. Whether it’s the nuclear arms race that happened in the 1940s, the space race that took place in the 1960s, or the technological race that started in the late 20th century, there has always been a race of some sort as countries want to lead the next era of humanity.

Right now, the race revolves around Artificial intelligence, and this technology is said to be the future of mankind. In just a few years, AI has hit a market size of over $100 billion, and according to researchers like Statista and Fortune Business Insights, the market is expected to surpass the $1 trillion mark by 2030.

So, countries would like to have the lion’s share of this market and lead the race. However, it’s easier said than done, and several countries are pooling resources and expertise to come out ahead. 

United States

The US is a heavyweight when it comes to the AI race for several reasons. For starters, it’s the country with the highest investment in AI, pumping over $300 billion into the industry. The US leads in the number of AI startups, venture capital funding, and cutting-edge research in AI fields like autonomous systems and natural language processing.

In California, Silicon Valley is home to some of the biggest tech companies in the world, like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Meta, which have invested heavily in AI. A report by Tech Monitor shows that the US will be the biggest market for AI software, tools, and systems by 2026. 

Some notable companies leading AI adoption in the country are Open AI, Tesla, and Nvidia. To show you how big the AI wave is, Nvidia had an astronomical rise in its market capitalization, from $1.1 trillion to over $3 trillion in 12 months. 

China

A close rival to the US in the artificial intelligence race is China. The country is ambitious in its goal of becoming the global leader in AI by 2030 and has set up an Artificial Intelligence Development Plan. By that year, the AI market is expected to reach over $100 billion growing at a compound annual growth rate of 18%.

Tech companies heavily investing in AI in the country include Huawei, Tencent, and Baidu. The latter is China’s largest internet search engine company and its AI model is called Ernie, similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. 

However, one thing that China is big on that the US is currently struggling with is AI regulation. The Chinese government released laws and rules governing generative AI sometime in 2023, pushing for generative AI to be used in line with the “core values of socialism”. 

United Kingdom

The Harvard Business Review’s Top Ranked AI Nations (TRAIN) index puts the UK in third place regarding AI adoption, making the country the leader in the AI race in Europe. Not only is the country big on venture capital funding and AI startups, but the UK government greatly supports AI initiatives and there’s a lot of academic activity in the field.

One of the well-known exports from the UK is DeepMind, an AI research lab based in London, acquired by Google in 2014 for about $500 million. The company, now called Google Deepmind, has brought innovations in machine learning, engineering, and computer science. 

It’s not just DeepMind, there are other recognized AI companies in the country, like Darktrace, a cybersecurity company leveraging the power of AI to offer companies solutions against cyber risks. There’s also Octopus Energy, a renewable energy company that quickly adopted AI to optimize its operations. Other notable AI companies include Babylon, PeakAI, and Wayve.

Canada

Canada is a big player in the artificial intelligence race and it’s known as the birthplace of deep learning, thanks to pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton. Top AI talents like Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, Yann LeCun, and Alex Krizhevsky have put Canada on the map regarding AI innovation. The team leads AI research in respected institutions like Vector Institute and MILA.

So far, the country has invested over $8 billion in artificial intelligence and government support for AI startups and institutions is one of the best in the world. Canada, along with France, leads the Global Partnership on AI (GPAI) to encourage democratic countries to collaborate on AI governance.

Besides the top talents and government goodwill, Canada is a favorite technological hub because of its openness to newcomers, highly skilled workforce, and great access to global markets. The country also has diverse access to various industries where AI is applied such as health, manufacturing, finance, retail, and gaming.

A good example is Element AI, a Canadian-based video game company that uses artificial intelligence to craft engaging and immersive games. Online casinos in the country also use AI to personalize gaming experiences and make them more interactive. Whether it’s a customer support chatbot or a recommendation about your favorite slot game, Canadian online casinos are taking gaming to the next level with AI.

Who Takes the Lead?

At the moment, the US seems to lead the AI race seeing how vibrant the industry is in the country. OpenAI’s ChatGPT reflects this after reaching over 100 million active users just two months after launching. However, it’s right to say that we are still in the early stages of artificial intelligence and more is yet to come which can easily change the outcome.