Meituan has revealed its plans to create its own artificial intelligence model for the first time, following a 20% rise in quarterly revenue. This move positions the Chinese tech giant as part of the growing global trend in AI development.

Meituan, a leading meal delivery service in China, is incorporating AI into its operational processes and various consumer services, including a travel platform and an e-commerce site. The company is working on its own "LongCat" large language model to rival competitors like ByteDance's Doubao and Alibaba's Qwen.

Although Meituan has traditionally relied on data analysis and algorithms for matching merchants with consumers, it has not publicly discussed its AI strategy until now. Founder Wang Xing announced plans to increase investment in AI chips to directly compete with other companies in the field.

Wang emphasized that their AI strategy is focused on an offensive approach rather than defensive, aiming to capitalize on the revolutionary potential of AI. Meituan's strong financial performance, with a 20% revenue increase in the previous quarter and a significant rise in net income, provides a solid foundation for its foray into the AI market.

With a well-established network of users, merchants, and real-world infrastructure, Wang believes that Meituan is well-positioned to integrate AI solutions into physical markets like food delivery. This strategy emphasizes leveraging their existing resources to bring AI technologies to offline environments.