If it seems like everyone is rushing to develop an alternative to ChatGPT, you're not wrong. Chinese online commerce heavyweight Alibaba has confirmed to CNBC that it's working on its equivalent to OpenAI's hit AI chatbot. The company isn't detailing features or offering a release schedule, but says it has been developing generative AI since 2017 and is in the middle of internal testing. The reveal comes as multiple tech giants have introduced rivals to or spinoffs of ChatGPT this week. Google unveiled Bard, while China's Baidu said it was testing "Ernie Bot." Microsoft, meanwhile, launched a redesigned Bing that uses a "much more powerful" language model built with OpenAI's help.

The Chinese creator of facial recognition system Face, Megvii, is anticipated to be raising at least $600mn from investors such as the Alibaba Group and Boyu Capital, according to Bloomberg. It is believed that Megvii will put forward a substantial amount of the funding towards supporting retail initiatives, as well as utilising technology in unmanned stores. It has been confirmed that the Beijing-based company will close this round of funding within weeks. Megvii, who holds billionaire Jack Ma as an investor, will commence a second round of funding when the first draws to a close. The firm offers face-scanning systems to organisations and rivals with Alibaba-backed startup SenseTime in sectors such as retail, finance and public security that could benefit from the software.