This photo taken on Aug. 8, 2024 shows a scene at the 2024 China Operating System Industry Conference in Beijing, capital of China. (2024 China Operating System Industry Conference/Handout via Xinhua)

Chinese company Kylinsoft launched the first AIPC version of its Kylin operating system at the 2024 China Operating System Industry Conference in Beijing on Thursday.

This is the country's first homegrown operating system for personal computers that is integrated with artificial intelligence (AI), bridging a gap in the development of edge-side inference capabilities in China's operating system industry.

The operating system serves as the foundation of a computer, linking upper-level software ecosystems with underlying hardware resources and providing essential support for running AI algorithms, models and applications.

For a long time, global operating systems were primarily developed by European and American companies. China's development of operating systems started relatively late and faced significant pressure to catch up.

However, rapid progress in AI technology is creating new opportunities for Chinese operating systems. Data shows that China's platform software market witnessed swift growth in 2023, with its scale rising 17.4 percent year on year to reach 81.66 billion yuan (about 11.3 billion U.S. dollars), while the growth rate of China's operating system market hit 23.2 percent.

"The growth in the operating system market is largely driven by server operating systems. This is due in part to the increasing demand from industry-wide digital transformation, and in part to the additional demand generated by the expansion of AI servers," said Gao Dan, assistant president with the CCID Consulting Co., Ltd.

A major highlight of the AIPC version of the Kylin operating system is its edge-side inference capability. This feature allows for deep integration of hardware and software, enabling users to run complex AI tasks locally without relying on cloud resources. This advancement not only boosts data processing speed and security but also fundamentally transforms the way users interact with computers.

Zhu Chen, vice general manager of Kylinsoft, said that the advancement in edge-side inference capabilities offers robust support for integrating homegrown operating systems with AI technology. It allows for the development of a highly efficient edge-side intelligent engine within the homegrown operating system, capable of performing large model inference, even offline.

"This enhancement not only safeguards user privacy but also improves the user experience, ultimately boosting productivity and creativity," Zhu added.

The AIPC operating system has a wide range of applications in such areas as transportation, healthcare and education.

In autonomous driving, it can process sensor data in real-time to support decision-making and control systems for self-driving vehicles. In healthcare, it can be used for medical image analysis, genetic research, drug development and other scenarios, providing efficient computing support and intelligent diagnostic services. While in education, it can offer personalized learning resources and tutoring to enhance learning efficiency and outcomes.