The boom in artificial intelligence (AI) brings prospects to China’s household electrics and appliances, according to Ge Fengliang, deputy director of China Household Electric Appliances Research Institute.

There was explosive development in the concept of the "smart home" after Google acquired the home automation startup Nest for $3.2 billion in 2014.

In the years since, China’s household appliance companies such as Media, Haier, and Changhong, have played an important role in promoting the introduction of AI into the household appliance industry, as well as within China’s telecommunications and Internet enterprises.

It’s become a trend to include information technologies, such as AI, the Internet of Things, and big data, to household appliances, said Tan Mingzhou from Beijing Yuanwang Thinktank Technology Consulting Co., Ltd.

Tan told Science and Technology Daily that every household would use smart home appliances in the future.

Ping An Securities predicted in a recent research report that smart household appliances will enter into a golden era, with a large number of major companies paying closer attention to smart technologies and more young people in the core consumer groups.

Chinese household appliance companies launched joint research and development on the integration of intelligent devices with technology companies.

For example, Chinese internet giant Tencent and TV producer Changhong started strategic cooperation in 2018, aiming to apply Tencent Dingdang, an intelligent speech platform, to the latest smart television.

Smartphone producer Xiaomi is delving into smart home development with joint efforts of Chinese property developers, including China Resources Land Ltd.

China’s smart household appliances market reached 121 billion yuan ($19 billion) in 2018, and is estimated to hit 180 billion yuan by 2020, according to national market research released in 2018.

The global market for smart household appliances is expected to reach $277 billion by 2020, quoting International Data Corporation (IDC). 

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