Baichuan Intelligence: The AI Tiger Focused on Math and Healthcare

Intro

Our readers are relentless :) Nearly 40% voted for an article about a GenAI unicorn this Thanksgiving weekend, and I’m grateful for the enthusiasm. Today, we’re diving into the story of Baichuan Intelligence (百川智能) – one of China's most innovative companies, valued at $2.8 billion.

Led by Wang Xiaochuan, who believes we’ve moved from the information era to the intelligence era – and that mathematics, as the ultimate truth, will guide humanity into a symbiotic future – Baichuan isn’t focused on building large models simply for their size. Instead, the company blends long-term strategy with practical innovation, developing "super models" and "super applications." With a portfolio of 12 large models, including the open-source Baichuan-7B and proprietary Baichuan 4, this Beijing-based startup is reshaping AI applications across healthcare, education, and finance.

However, investors remain cautious: Wang’s unconventional approach challenges norms, sparking debates about its sustainability in an intensely competitive market.

What sets Baichuan apart in China’s crowded AI landscape? What drives the vision of math prodigy Wang Xiaochuan, and what does this vision mean for the future of Baichuan – and for its investors? Let’s explore.

In today’s episode:

• How it all started

• Founders?

• Zhipu AI and Moonshot vs. Baichuan Intelligence: How It’s All Connected to Tsinghua University

• Why slowing down? And what’s Baichuan strategy then?

• Financial situation

• A nod to Alibaba (since everyone is talking about their model Qwen recently)

• Baichuan’s models, research, and apps/Timeline

• Shifting paradigms in AI development

• Baichuan-Omni: Tech Spec

• But how does Baichuan make money?

• AGI and the symbiotic future

• Conclusion

• Bonus: Resources

How it all started

Two years ago, on November 30, 2022, the release of ChatGPT changed the world forever. For Wang Xiaochuan, it marked a personal "before and after" moment. That day, he felt a mix of emotions: awe at the United States' technological lead, a sense of urgency to catch up, and a spark of excitement to begin something transformative. Questions about strategy, resources, and talent started forming in his mind.

Wang’s pivot to AI came after stepping down as CEO of Sogou in 2021 following its acquisition by Tencent. Financially secure, he initially ventured into medicine and life sciences. But the rise of large AI models inspired him to merge these interests into a singular mission: using AI to tackle systemic challenges like the global shortage of skilled doctors.

This vision wasn’t about incremental changes – it was about rethinking how AI could address underserved needs, starting with healthcare.

In February 2023, he posted on Weibo:

He was already “pregnant” with Baichuan.

Founders?

It’s a bit of a puzzle who exactly the co-founders of Baichuan are. Officially, the website names only Wang Xiaochuan as the founder, and that’s the story it’s sticking to. But LinkedIn throws a twist into the mix, listing Ke Jiao as a co-founder since April 2023 – a Tsinghua graduate with a modest 31 connections but an official-sounding title. Meanwhile, various media sources claim that in March 2023, Wang announced the launch of Baichuan Intelligence with Ru Liyun, his long-time ally from the Sogou days, as a co-founder.

Oddly, Ru’s LinkedIn points to another venture they co-founded in 2022, Wuji Zhikang (The phrase 五季智康 can be translated as "Five Seasons Wisdom and Health" or "Five Seasons Intelligence and Wellness) focusing on healthcare and AI. So, what exactly they co-founded together?

In reality, it’s less about separate companies and more about a multi-layered strategy. Wuji Zhikang, founded in 2022, laid the groundwork with its focus on health consulting and AI software. Baichuan Intelligence expanded on this in 2023, with a stronger emphasis on AI application software and model development.

It seems all these ventures are part of the same ecosystem, unified under Wang Xiaochuan’s ambition to build a "Chinese OpenAI" and create an "AI Doctor" that bridges cutting-edge AI with transformative healthcare applications.

Zhipu AI and Moonshot vs. Baichuan Intelligence: How It’s All Connected to Tsinghua University

To understand the Chinese AI Tigers and their potential for success, one must first recognize their deep connection to Tsinghua University. All the founders share a common thread: they studied at Tsinghua. Some are now professors there, and all operate within walking distance of the campus.

The key difference among them lies in speed: Zhipu AI was founded in 2019, while both Moonshot and Baichuan Intelligence emerged in March 2023. But Moonshot is led by Yang Zhilin, a young AI researcher celebrated for his groundbreaking work. Baichuan, in contrast, is helmed by Wang Xiaochuan, once hailed as a prodigy and even called a genius in his youth. However, Wang’s career followed a different path – he spent 20 years building Sogou, a search engine that, despite being acquired by Tencent, never achieved tech giant status. According to some Chinese media, because of that his mother considers him a disappointment.

At Tsinghua, where excellence is the norm, Wang’s pace seems slow. Progress there is relentless: “If you have 5 minutes of free time and don’t make any progress, you’ll start to feel depressed.” Tackling the hardest problems with unwavering focus is a hallmark of the “Tsinghua team” driving the development of large-scale models. First, Baichuan achieved a notable speed of development, releasing 12 large models in one year, but then it slowed down.

Why slowing down? And what’s Baichuan strategy then?