Earlier this year, Time magazine named the "Architects of AI" as its Person of the Year, highlighting an often overlooked approach from China: making AI affordable and focused on industrial applications for the masses.
Instead of pouring resources into a capital-intensive race for all-purpose AGI, Chinese tech leaders are zeroing in on practical solutions that boost efficiency and bridge the digital divide. Baidu CEO Robin Li stresses that while core models will consolidate, the real opportunity lies in a vast application layer spanning manufacturing, logistics and beyond.
Six homegrown AI unicorns—StepFun, Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI, MiniMax, 01.AI and Baichuan—are at the forefront of this shift. MiniMax, for instance, offers high-quality large language model services at a fraction of typical costs, empowering developers and small-to-medium enterprises around the world to deploy AI without breaking the bank.
On the hardware front, startups like AgiBot are tackling urgent challenges such as labor shortages in aging societies. Their humanoid robots retail for under $20,000 thanks to streamlined supply chains, offering an accessible entry point for businesses of all sizes. Meanwhile, XPeng’s CEO He Xiaopeng is championing embodied intelligence, creating new roles focused on robotics management and maintenance.
Chinese firms have also proven resilient under export controls. Huawei’s domestically developed chips are outperforming rival hardware, ensuring that partner economies in the Global South continue to innovate. On the software side, DeepSeek has released free, open-weight models that developers can download and customize, lowering the barrier to advanced AI functions.
By prioritizing low-cost, scalable hardware and software, China is crafting a blueprint for AI equity. This pragmatic strategy could reshape how the world harnesses artificial intelligence—ensuring it becomes a universal tool for global prosperity rather than a privilege for the few.
Reference(s):
Beyond Silicon Valley: China's architects of AI for Global South
cgtn.com
