Editing by Xin Lanhua

China ranks second on the Tortoise Global AI Index, thanks to the country’s robust infrastructure and the government’s strategic support for AI technology, according to the 2021 report by London-based Tortoise Intelligence.

The report – its 4^th version - also shows the global investment into AI has increased by 115% in 2020, marking the record high for at least two decades despite the Covid-19 pandemic. The total AI investment has surged from $36 billion to $77.5 billion in 2021.

Thirty-one percent of global AI funding went into companies in the transport sector. China is a leader in this area, with just over half of its funding going into transport tech.

In this list, the US earns full marks – 100 out of 100, while China’s score went from 58.2 to 62.9.

The country saw an increase in funding to its AI companies, which have pulled in just under $9 billion so far in 2021, up 20 percent last year. HT Aero, a company developing autonomous flying vehicles, and Momenta, a self-driving car company, attracted the most significant funding rounds.

China is growing in its research field. Tortoise Intelligence attributes this growth to a rapid increase in papers accepted to the IEEE, which sets AI standards and publishes AI-related articles. Statistics show that the number of accepted China-based papers is substantially higher than that of the US-based.

The country is gradually catching up with the US in terms of the strength of its AI ecosystem. And its AI talent pool is developing stronger than ever. A large number of Chinese coders engage and innovate in AI implementation.

Tortoise Media focuses on the underlying issues that drive news to happen. This index list it made ranks nations based on their investment into AI, the strength of a nation’s talent pool, the AI infrastructure, the operating environment, the quality of AI research, development, commercial capacity, and the level of ambition and muscle behind national government strategies.

According to the Tortoise report, the U.S. remains a global leader in AI, while the UK the third, Canada the fourth. Overtaking South Korea, Israel moves up to the fifth position. However, Israel is the No.1 in AI funding per capita, with $325,000 in funding invested in AI-focused companies for every million people. And it also does well in cultivating a good environment for homegrown AI talent.