(Yicai Global) Dec. 11 -- The venture capital unit under Chinese search giant Baidu Inc. [NASDAQ:BIDU] plans to team up with the Rain Fund of Funds to set up a CNY2-billion (USD303-million) specialist fund for artificial intelligence in Guangzhou Development District in Guangdong province.

The pair will use the fund to set up a venture center, global technology transfer area and an industrial demonstration area, Liu Wei, chief executive of Baidu Ventures, told Southern Metropolis Daily. The account will cover the advanced manufacturing industry group in the Pearl River Delta and put money into outstanding AI technology, intelligent machine platforms and startups in nationwide to form a portfolio of more than 100 projects while uniting leading firms in the sector, he added.

China plans to make artificial intelligence a major driver of economic expansion over the next three years under a development plan issued by the State Council, its cabinet. The strategy also hopes to raise industry output to more than CNY400 billion by 2025.

The fund will be the country's largest in the AI sector and the first Baidu Ventures has set up outside Beijing.