The city of Beijing announced a plan in August to develop the virtual human industry, valued at more than 50 billion yuan by 2025. Baidu sells virtual people to various Chinese companies, their orders has doubled since 2021. Many Chinese companies have already developed or purchased products in the virtual people industry. In 2023, 45% of Chinese advertisers have already announced that they could sponsor the performance of a virtual influencer. Focus on this new phenomenon.
The Democratization of Virtual Employees in China
Baidu recently reported that the number of virtual people projects they have worked on has doubled since 2021, their price range extends from $2,800 to $14,300 per year. These virtual collaborators are a combination of animation, sound technology and machine learning that create digitized human beings who can sing or even interact live. The clients of this company are the media, tourist offices and even financial services.
With the technology making progress year by year, manufacturing costs have fallen about 80 percent since last year, said Li Shiyan, who heads virtual people and robotics businesses for Baidu. Now, for 14,300 dollars per year it is possible to buy a virtual person in three dimensions and it only takes 3,000 dollars for a person in two dimensions. The Chinese capital, Beijing, recently announced a plan to develop this industry. Baidu expects the industry to continue growing at 50% per year until 2025.
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Influencers controlled directly by brands
But what are these virtual humans actually used for? According to CNBC, China is betting a lot on how these virtual people can generate content. Chinese brands thus find spokespersons whom they can easily control and are assured that they will never make waves, unlike celebrities who can tarnish their reputation if they find themselves involved in any bad buzz.
According to a survey by Kantar, in China, 36% of consumers have watched a virtual influencer or digital celebrity. For the coming year, 45% of Chinese advertisers said they would consider sponsoring a virtual influencer’s performance or inviting them to join a brand’s event.
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A booming industry in China
As you will have understood, many large Chinese companies are rushing into this market. In China, one of the innovative applications in this field is Bilibili, one of the first to have integrated the concept of virtual person. The company acquired the team behind singer Luo Tinayi, whose image and sound were created entirely using technology. Launched in 2012, Luo Tinayi now has nearly 3 million fans and even performed at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.