The opening ceremony of the Sogou (Hangzhou) research institute is held in the city, capital of Zhejiang province, on Dec 27. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

The Sogou (Hangzhou) Research Institute, a joint venture between Chinese search engine Sogou Inc and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, officially opened in Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area, Xiasha district of Hangzhou on Dec 27.

With a focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-powered language communication, the newly established institute will address the problems of information transmission in dialogues between humans and machines in a bid to improve their efficiency.

Wang Xiaochuan, CEO of Beijing-based Sogou, said that the Hangzhou institute will be the main focus of R&D research of the company in the future and strive to fulfill the mission of "making expression and getting information easier".

Sogou is a top internet company with competitive technical capacity. The teaming up is going to fuel the development of the institute by attracting more talent and quality projects, according a local official.

It is expected that the institute will set up a professional R&D team and apply for more than 300 patents with a total investment of over 450 million yuan ($65.43 million) within five years.

An aerial view of Hangzhou Economic and Technological Development Area, Xiasha district, Zhejiang province [Photo/Hangzhou.com.cn]