(Yicai Global) Feb. 24 -- Chinese education providers, including NetEase’s unit Youdao and TAL Education Group, are working on integrating ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence in their hardware.

Gaming giant NetEase’s Youdao widened its research and development expenses by 5 percent in the fourth quarter of last year to CNY180 million (USD26 million) from a year ago, mainly due to higher investments in smart hardware, the Hangzhou-based firm said in its earnings report published yesterday.

Youdao has been committed to innovation based on transformers for years, Chief Executive Zhou Feng said. The company has joined hands with chipmaker Rockchip Electronics to make the neural network that tracks sequential data to understand context run more efficiently, he added.

In addition to NetEase, Beijing-based TAL Education announced recently that its brands will use a ChatGPT-like technology to upgrade its products such as machines aimed at boosting the learning experience.

Transformer models can detect trends, answer questions, and make recommendations, which explains their popularity among students. Textbook publisher Astro-Century Education and Technology has adopted the latest transformer technologies to review essays, it said on Feb. 5.

Voice recognition software designer Iflytek started researching large-scale generative pre-trained transformers in December, it said on Feb. 16. The company is planning to launch its first related product on May 6, it added.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi