Confidence in China’s AI sector has grown following strong market debuts by so‑called “AI tiger” startups MiniMax and Zhipu AI and as Beijing accelerates approvals for AI and semiconductor companies in a bid to strengthen domestic alternatives to US technology.
Yao Shunyu, a former senior researcher at OpenAI, said there is a “high likelihood” that a Chinese company could become the world’s leading AI firm within the next three to five years. However, he warned that limitations in chipmaking technology remain the most significant technical challenge.
“Currently, we have a significant advantage in electricity and infrastructure,” Yao said at an AI conference in Beijing. “The main bottlenecks are production capacity, including lithography machines, and the software ecosystem.”
However, China’s more constrained resources have pushed researchers to find alternative approaches, developing large AI models that can operate on smaller, lower-cost hardware, while Chinese entrepreneurs are increasingly willing to pursue high‑risk ventures traditionally associated with Silicon Valley.
This combination of technical ingenuity and greater appetite for risk could help China accelerate progress in AI.