As AI development expands across China, one Beijing bar owner is trying to build a business around the country’s growing developer community. According to a report by the news agency Reuters, Song De opened AGI Bar last year in Zhongguancun, Beijing’s technology hub, offering developers free access to DeepSeek tokens alongside drinks. The bar has hosted events for AI companies, developers, investors and university students, while Song has also automated several parts of its operations using AI.But the business has yet to turn profitable. “The bar is completely losing money,” Song told Reuters, adding that “the amount of drinks given away is definitely 10 times more than what’s sold.” He now plans to expand the bar’s Beijing location and introduce humanoid robots to serve customers.
Beijing AI bar draws developers and researchers
AGI Bar is located on Inno Way in Zhongguancun, in Beijing’s Haidian district. The area is close to Tsinghua University and Peking University, as well as offices of technology companies including DeepSeek and Microsoft.Song, an independent AI developer in his thirties who runs the bar in his spare time, said people from different AI labs, companies and universities regularly meet at the venue to discuss industry developments. The bar has hosted parties for Chinese AI labs including Z.ai, along with developer seminars, open-source AI symposiums and university research meetups.The bar’s walls feature logos, figurines and merchandise from Chinese AI companies. A large brass gong used by Z.ai when it listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January is displayed outside the entrance.Song told Reuters the location was important because Haidian is home to research institutions, internet companies, venture capital incubators and technology businesses.
DeepSeek tokens offered free to customers
The bar’s signature drink, called AGI, costs 9.9 yuan ($1.50) and is served as a glass of foam. Customers can connect to the bar’s AI agent through WiFi and access free, unlimited DeepSeek tokens for coding. The service runs on two Nvidia DGX Spark computers displayed inside the bar.“We say AI is a future public utility like water, electricity, and the internet. AI should be like WiFi,” Song said.The bar’s registered Chinese name refers to “knowledge distillation”, an AI term describing the transfer of knowledge from larger models to smaller ones. Song also uses the phrase to refer to people exchanging ideas while drinking at the bar.
AI automation and humanoid robots planned
Song has already used an AI agent to automate parts of the bar’s inventory, reservations, utilities and membership systems. He said the lighting, software and hardware at the venue are connected to APIs for AI processing, to reduce manual work on routine operations.He plans to increase the Beijing bar’s floor space this year and use humanoid robots to serve drinks. Song also opened a Shanghai branch in June.Despite the focus on AI and the growing number of developers visiting the venue, the business is operating at a loss. Song said the number of drinks given away is around 10 times the number sold, leaving the bar without a profitable business model so far.