China Offers Virtual Employees for an Annual Cost of $14k

In China, businesses are investing heavily in virtual employees for a variety of purposes, ranging from customer service to the entertainment industry.

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Baidu, a tech company, reported that the number of virtual people projects they have completed for customers has increased by 100% since the previous year. Prices for these projects range from a low of $2,800 to a high of $14,300 annually.

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The combination of animation, sound technology, and machine learning has created digital human beings that can sing and even interact with people in a livestream. These virtual people have been seen more and more in China's online world, although they have been present on the edges of the American internet.
Li Shiyan, the head of Baidu's virtual people and robotics business, noted that financial services companies, local tourism boards, and state media are among the purchasers of virtual people.

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He noted that due to advancements in technology, the cost of a three-dimensional virtual person has decreased by approximately 80% since the previous year, now costing around 100,000 yuan ($14,300) annually. A two-dimensional virtual person is much more affordable, at 20,000 yuan per year. It is anticipated that the virtual person industry will experience a 50% growth rate each year until 2025. China is making a concerted effort to advance the development of virtual people.

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In August, Beijing city declared a plan to expand the virtual people industry to a value of over 50 billion yuan by 2025. The municipal government also requested the creation of one or two “leading virtual people businesses” with an operating revenue of more than 5 billion yuan each. This autumn, the central government ministries unveiled a comprehensive plan to incorporate more virtual reality into broadcasting, manufacturing, and other sectors. Last year, the nation's most recent five-year plan highlighted the need for digitalization of the economy, including virtual and augmented reality.

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From a business standpoint, a lot of attention is being paid to how virtual individuals can create content.
Sirius Wang, chief product officer and head of marketplace Greater China at Kantar, noted that brands in China are searching for new spokespeople in light of the recent negative press surrounding some celebrities and their involvement in tax evasion or personal scandals. A survey conducted by Kantar this fall revealed that 36% of consumers had viewed a virtual influencer or digital celebrity in the past year. Additionally, 21% of those surveyed had seen a virtual person host an event or present the news.

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A recent Kantar report revealed that 45% of advertisers are considering sponsoring a virtual influencer's performance or inviting a virtual person to join their brand's event in the upcoming year. A number of China's major tech firms have been creating products in the virtual humans sector.
The streaming app Bilibili was one of the first to popularize the idea of virtual people.

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Bilibili recently acquired the team responsible for the virtual singer Luo Tianyi, whose image and sound are completely generated by technology. This year, the developers have been working to refine the virtual singer's voice by utilizing an artificial intelligence algorithm.
Since its launch in 2012, Luo Tianyi has gained a large following of nearly 3 million fans. This year, the artist was even featured in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

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Bilibili has seen a dramatic increase in the use of virtual anchors, which are digital representations of people using advanced technology to communicate with their viewers. The company reported that since 2019, 230,000 virtual anchors have begun broadcasting on its platform, with the amount of time spent broadcasting this year increasing by 200% compared to the previous year.

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During its most recent earnings call, Tencent reported that its Tencent Cloud AI Digital Humans are providing chatbot services to industries such as finance and tourism for automated customer service. Additionally, the company's Next Studios has created a virtual singer and a virtual sign language interpreter.
Even smaller businesses are beginning to enter the market.

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Well-Link Technologies, a startup company, revealed this year that they have created a new model of a virtual person in collaboration with Haixi Media. This is not the first time the company has achieved success in the gaming industry, as their cloud rendering tech support for Chinese video game developer miHoYo has already proven to be a success.