ZHENGZHOU -- AI-related industries in Central China's Henan province have enjoyed a strong growth momentum, with a scale now exceeding 30 billion yuan ($4.5 billion), according to local authorities.

The AI industry is among the six major strategic emerging industries Henan has been cultivating, with a number of outstanding enterprises and research institutions springing up, said the provincial department of industry and information technology.

These organizations boast a number of key technologies in the areas of autonomous driving, intelligent sensors, image and audio recognition, as well as robotics for firefighting and patrol inspection. AI has also been used to create application scenarios including those for intelligent transportation, medical care, education, tourism and finance, the department said.

Henan has made plans to integrate the AI industry and the real economy, and to level up the AI industrial chain. The province expects to expand its core AI and related industries to 70 billion yuan by 2022.