The ascendancy of the first-to-market economy has ushered in unprecedented opportunities for the progression of edge AI hardware. As a vital engine for unleashing consumption potential and igniting market vitality, this economy encourages enterprises to introduce innovative products and services. Edge AI technology stands out as one of the most promising and innovative fields today. Driven by the first-to-market economy, edge AI hardware is poised for explosive growth, profoundly transforming our way of life.

In the latter half of this year, the concept of 'first-to-market' has gained momentum. The "Decision" of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee outlined systematic arrangements for "building a unified national market" and specifically mentioned "actively promoting the first-to-market economy." Since then, policies from both the Central Economic Work Conference and the Ministry of Commerce have also highlighted this economy, positioning it as a crucial component of national strategy.

The phenomenon of the first-to-market economy has been gaining traction in China. As a pivotal engine for tapping consumption potential and stimulating market vitality, it has begun to steer consumption trends and bolster economic growth. The term 'first-to-market' implies introducing novel concepts before others, encompassing activities such as launching new products, business models, services, and technologies. Beyond this, the first-to-market economy emphasizes that the innovativeness and leadership of first-to-market products must align with consumption upgrade trends and high-quality development requirements.

The first-to-market economy is transforming the consumer landscape. What propels this popular concept? How does the extension of the first-to-market economy into the technology sector influence various sub-sectors?

The innovative core of the first-to-market economy fuels high-quality development in targeted markets.

Originating from the first-store economy in the consumer sector, the first-to-market economy has evolved into a concept encompassing the introduction of new products, business models, services, and technologies. This year, China explicitly stated the need to actively promote the first-to-market economy, a strategy grounded not in fleeting trends but in a profound analysis of the current domestic economic environment.

Currently, the domestic economy faces the challenge of sluggish consumption growth. National Bureau of Statistics data for November presents a mixed picture. While industrial added value above a designated size met expectations, total retail sales of consumer goods and fixed asset investment data both declined, indicating challenges in consumption and investment, and the need to further stimulate the domestic demand market.

Expanding domestic demand is paramount. In the context of promoting consumption upgrades, expanding effective investment, and injecting new impetus into economic growth, the first-to-market economy has been emphasized and promoted. By introducing new products, services, and activities to stimulate consumer purchasing desire, it achieves the goal of expanding domestic demand and infusing new vitality into the economy.

The first-to-market economy's competitiveness in driving enterprises to innovate in products, technologies, and models stems from its innovative core. By enhancing innovation capabilities in new technologies, services, and business models, it propels industry-wide innovation and upgrading. Launching more innovative consumer products swiftly attracts target consumers, stimulates consumption potential, and expands consumer demand.

Taking the consumer electronics market as an example, the industry has languished over the past two years due to multiple factors, including weakened global consumer demand, lack of motivation for replacing electronics, and extended replacement cycles. Shipments of major consumer electronics, such as mobile phones and PCs, have declined for multiple consecutive quarters. However, since this year, terminal demand has started to recover from its nadir, partly attributed to the support of AI and edge AI innovative technologies. The rapid integration of AI technology with terminal products fosters innovation in consumer electronics. Innovative products like AI Phones and AI PCs have sparked new market demand, driven industrial chain development, and bolstered the domestic demand market.

New technology in the first-to-market economy

The new products, business models, services, and technologies in the first-to-market economy are intrinsically linked to the word 'new,' emphasizing that this innovative economy encompasses various cutting-edge technological elements across all facets.

New products in the first-to-market economy

Among the most representative innovations in consumer electronics are edge AI products—AI Phones and AI PCs. After a two-year trough, PC products began to recover this year, supported by AI PCs. Major brands like Lenovo, Honor, Huawei, Microsoft, and Apple have launched AI-infused PC products. PC terminals integrated with NPU and AI models are evolving into AI Agents. According to Canalys data, AI PC shipments will reach 51 million units in 2024 and 154 million units in 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 42% from 2024 to 2028.

Mobile phone manufacturers are also embracing AI, with the integration of large AI models becoming increasingly prevalent. The IDC report forecasts global shipments of the new generation of AI phones to reach 170 million units in 2024, accounting for approximately 15% of overall smartphone shipments. With improved chip performance and rapid iteration of edge large models, new-generation AI phones will offer more diverse functionalities and see their market share surge, reaching 150 million units by 2027 with over 50% market share.

Beyond mobile phones and PCs, the innovative essence of the first-to-market economy has spurred numerous breakthroughs in other product domains. For instance, smart home devices, integrating sensors and AI technology, perceive more environmental information and offer a more intelligent, personalized user experience based on autonomous environmental understanding, driving innovation across the entire home appliance industry. According to the latest IDC report, "Top Ten Insights into China's Smart Home Market in 2025," China's smart home market shipments are projected to reach 281 million units next year, up 7.8% year-on-year. The report notes that leading smart home manufacturers are accelerating the deployment of large models in the home vertical to provide more precise in-home services.

In the wearable device market, novel smart wearables continuously emerge. Smartwatches and glasses, among others, offer users a more immersive interactive experience and diverse health monitoring services through enhanced sensing and processing capabilities. Meanwhile, the fusion of new smart wearables with AI models is poised to become the core hardware and interactive gateway in the era of edge AI. A research report by Global Market Insights Inc. projects the wearable AI market size to reach $180 billion by 2025.

Furthermore, as a significant technological branch of the first-to-market economy, numerous innovative robotic products have debuted this year. The deployment of humanoid robots across industries like manufacturing, healthcare, education, and retail underscores the first-to-market economy's immense potential in fostering innovation across these sectors.

These innovative products not only provide unprecedented experiences and convenience to consumers but also give a robust impetus to the upgrading and transformation of related industrial chains.

New technology in the first-to-market economy

Undoubtedly, among the myriad innovative products in the first-to-market economy, AI technology, particularly edge AI, stands out most frequently and garners the most attention. This year can be deemed the inaugural year of edge AI development, with edge AI technology introduced for innovation across various links, from chips to system development to terminal devices. A plethora of new AI smart terminal products have hit the market, fueling the first-to-market economy boom.

Concurrently, continuous innovation and iteration in AI technologies like deep learning and natural language processing, albeit not necessarily implemented on the edge, continue to offer intelligent solutions for diverse industries, driving industrial upgrading and transformation.

Of course, besides AI-related technologies, many others, such as sensor technology, radio frequency wireless communication technology, and motor control technology, are also constantly innovating, contributing to the first-to-market economy. For instance, the popular flexible sensor technology this year enables sensors to be soft, bendable, and stretchable, fitting various irregular surfaces and aligning with emerging wearable devices and robotic terminal products for more precise data collection.

New radio frequency wireless communication technologies, including Wi-Fi 7 and millimeter-wave high-frequency wireless technology, are also propelling communications industry upgrades. These technologies not only enhance data transmission rates, reduce latency, but also bolster network connection stability, ensuring smoother communication for various smart terminals.

Supported by numerous innovative technologies, first-to-market innovative products captivate consumers' attention not just due to these technologies' cutting-edge nature but also their efficiency and convenience in resolving practical issues.

New services and business models in the first-to-market economy

Leveraging cloud computing and big data, intelligent customer service and data analysis services are becoming comprehensive. Driven by the first-to-market economy's new products and technologies, numerous emerging service models have permeated daily life. In the cultural and entertainment realm, services like virtual reality concerts and online interactive theaters have been introduced, offering novel cultural and entertainment experiences. The education and training sector has launched customized intelligent education platforms and tutoring systems for more flexible and efficient learning. The healthcare sector has introduced telemedicine services and intelligent health monitoring systems for more convenient and holistic health management.

New technologies and products have also spawned new service industries. New industry ecosystems, like unmanned retail and digital retail, are emerging. Digitization cannot be divorced from physical devices and technical infrastructure. The first-to-market economy's new terminal products provide the essential equipment for digital retail, while advanced technologies like AI further accelerate the industry's digital transformation.

The first-to-market economy boosts the rapid development of edge AI hardware

Deeply intertwined with innovative concepts, the first-to-market economy aims to foster product/service innovation, industrial upgrading, and domestic market expansion, infusing new impetus into economic growth. The rise of edge AI has significantly propelled the first-to-market economy. Especially on the hardware front, edge AI hardware terminals can directly stimulate consumer demand with their innovative, advanced features, bringing substantial intelligent changes to daily life.

Driven by the first-to-market economy, edge AI hardware will undoubtedly continue its rapid advancement in the new year. We can foresee edge AI hardware making breakthroughs in the following areas in the future:

Chip technology: With process technology continually advancing, edge AI chip performance will markedly improve. New architectures, such as neural network processors (NPU) and neuromorphic computing chips, are expected to bring revolutionary breakthroughs, providing edge devices with more robust AI computing power.

Sensor technology: The integrated application of multi-modal sensors will become standard for edge AI hardware. Advanced visual, auditory, and tactile sensors can gather more comprehensive and precise environmental information, enabling devices to possess human-like perception capabilities and adapt to more complex and diverse application scenarios.

Human-computer interaction: Edge AI will introduce more natural and intelligent human-computer interaction methods. Advances in speech recognition, gesture recognition, eye tracking, and other technologies will smoothen and enhance human-computer interaction. The application of cutting-edge technologies like brain-computer interfaces could realize the ultimate interactive experience of "mind reading".

System architecture: Edge AI systems will evolve from application-level intelligence to system-level intelligence. Fundamental software platforms, including operating systems, development frameworks, and toolchains, will be deeply integrated with AI capabilities for full-stack edge device optimization, unleashing edge AI's full potential.

Thanks to these technological advancements, future edge AI hardware will be ubiquitous, featuring significant performance enhancements and a qualitative leap in user experience.

Undoubtedly, the consumer market will remain the primary focus. This year, edge AI hardware has emerged as a key area of competition among major manufacturers. From AI PCs to AI phones and wearable devices, to smart meters, smart door locks, and AI home control platforms, the integration of edge AI technology has equipped these products with capabilities such as face recognition, speech recognition, behavior analysis, image and text generation, and natural interaction, significantly enhancing their value proposition.

However, from the perspective of application and integration, the products released thus far can only be regarded as the initial amalgamation of edge AI and terminals. They merely possess AI capabilities at the application level. To achieve a fundamental transformation from traditional terminals to AI terminals, a deeper system-level integration of AI is required. This transformation will necessitate a shift in the operating logic of terminals, enabling autonomous intelligence. This process is bound to take time.

Additionally, as edge AI technology advances and the costs of software and hardware decrease, we observe an increasing number of small and medium-sized enterprises venturing into this domain, invigorating the industrial chain. This dynamic is conducive to the broader adoption and application of edge AI hardware, promising a more diverse array of edge AI products for the consumer market in the future.

The trajectory of AI in the automotive and robotics sectors mirrors this trend. Currently, these sectors primarily deploy edge models or utilize intelligent hardware with limited edge computing capabilities. Looking ahead, they aim to construct a multimodal, native world model incorporating multiple sensors, bridging the physical and digital realms. This evolution will result in embodied intelligence that aligns with human needs and optimizes in tandem with various application scenarios.

Final Thoughts

The concept of a first-mover economy has accelerated the growth of edge AI hardware, outlining a vision for the profound integration of AI into everyday life. While it is true that the integration of AI technological innovations into products is a time-consuming process, edge AI hardware is undergoing unprecedented iteration and implementation speeds. Innovative technological products invariably capture public attention, heralding a future where AI is increasingly intertwined with our daily lives.