Artificial intelligence has started gaining momentum - so much so that a Chinese engineer 'married' a robot he created after he was unable to find a human spouse.

Zheng Jiajia is an artificial intelligence expert from the Zhejiang province of Chinainfo-icon. He built the female robot last year and named her 'Yingying'. He married her last week in an informal ceremony attended by his mother and friends.

The robot is able to identify Chinese characters and images and can even say a few simple words, reported the South China Morning Post.

The marriage, though a traditional Chinese ceremony, was not legally binding.

Yingying wore a black dress and her head was covered with a red scarf, a Chinese wedding ritual.

Speaking to local publications, Jiajia said he plans to upgrade the robot so she can talk, move and even do housework.

The 31-year-old once worked for Chinese multinational firm Huawei. However, he left the company in 2014.

He now runs a start-up called Brain of Things in Hangzhou's Dream Town which is an incubator village. His 'wife' is the official spokesperson for his company, reports Mashable.