On Thursday, Chinese state media advised against pursuing local ChatGPT-concept startups, while domestic artificial intelligence (AI) companies asked investors to be cautious after their surging share prices drew authorities' attention.
The Securities Times highlighted many technology concepts that previously fueled stock buying in China, including fifth-generation telecommunications networks (5G), augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and anti-virus apparel, in a front-page editorial.
Though some fiercely pursued proposals have been successful, "many more new ideas haven't been commercialized, or require more time to prove," according to the state-backed publication.
As of Wednesday, Hanwang Technology was up 129%, CloudWalk Technology was up 128%, and TRS Information Technology was up 66%.
Stocks fell on Thursday following the warning from state media, as well as a drop in Alphabet shares that wiped almost $100 billion in market value after the Google parent's ChatGPT rival released incorrect information.
ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI and supported by Microsoft, responds to user queries in an uncanny manner. Because of the hype around the invention, shares of Beijing Haitian Ruisheng Science Technology have risen 217% this year.
Companies developing ChatGPT-like concepts have also raised concerns with authorities when their prices skyrocketed due to considerable interest in generative AI - technology that can produce fresh data and media such as text and images.
In response to authorities' inquiries, 360 Security Technology stated that its self-developed ChatGPT-related technology is still in its early stages and is utilized only internally as a productivity tool.
It is unsure when and how effective ChatGPT-style products will be, so "we advise investors to pay attention to market trading risks, decide rationally, and invest cautiously."
Beijing Haitian Ruisheng Science Technology stated that its ChatGPT-style products and services are not yet profitable and that it has no affiliation with OpenAI.
Though such technology "is on a long-term uptrend, we need to analyze its speed of growth, and effect, in a cool-headed way," according to a filing in response to inquiries from the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
The company said it anticipated a 50% drop in net profit in 2022 and warned investors to be cautious because its valuation is now substantially higher than the industry average.
Among the Chinese firms that have joined the new chatbot race is e-commerce leader Alibaba Group, which stated on Wednesday that it is developing a ChatGPT-style tool, while rival JD.com said it plans to integrate ChatGPT-like technology into some products.
Meanwhile, Baidu's "ERNIE Bot" will launch in March.
