Alibaba's ModelScope and OSChina's MoArk are vying to become Chinese alternatives to Hugging Face; ModelScope hosts 170K+ open models, while MoArk hosts ~20K (Viola Zhou/Rest of World)
AI model platforms ModelScope and MoArk are competing to serve Chinese-speaking developers behind the Great Firewall.
Beijing's approach to AI management involves striking a delicate balance: on one hand, they aim to prevent domestic internet users from being influenced by foreign sources, while on the other hand, they strive to keep China's top developers connected to global advancements. The blocking of the U.S.-based open-source platform Hugging Face in 2023 created an opportunity for domestic alternatives to emerge.
In 2022, ModelScope, a Hugging Face-like open-model platform, was launched, and it currently hosts over 170,000 models. In 2023, tech company OSChina introduced MoArk, another open-model site, which currently offers around 20,000 models.
Xu Yong, the CEO of OSChina, explained to Rest of World that not everyone can consistently use a VPN (virtual private network), making domestic platforms like MoArk crucial for those who need to access blocked content. Unlike closed models from OpenAI and Anthropic, open models can be downloaded, fine-tuned, and deployed on local hardware. As a result, open models have become a popular choice for developers in China, who also need to access models shared by people outside the country.
Despite having fewer models than Hugging Face, ModelScope and MoArk provide services similar to their U.S. counterpart, such as model testing and customization. They offer free usage along with charges for additional computing power and advanced features. To attract users, ModelScope has organized university hackathons and opened a coworking and event space in Hangzhou for AI entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, MoArk has enlisted a team of engineers to adapt AI models for use with various Chinese chips, aiming to become an integral part of China's AI ecosystem.
The Chinese AI industry currently faces a shortage of computing power due to U.S. restrictions on top AI chips being sold to China. Consequently, several local companies are vying to develop advanced chips. While domestic platforms like ModelScope and MoArk provide faster download speeds, many AI developers in China still prefer using Hugging Face, accessible through a VPN.
Chen Yunfei, an independent AI developer from Kunming, explained that Hugging Face and GitHub remain the go-to resources for open-source platforms, offering a broader variety of tools.
Written by urgent.news from Techmeme's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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