Kai-Fu Lee: The gap in AI technology between China and the U.S. has narrowed to 3 months

Former Google Greater China President, renowned venture capitalist, and founder of 01.AI, Kai-Fu Lee, stated that due to companies like DeepSeek in mainland China finding more efficient ways to utilize chips and apply algorithms, the gap between mainland China's development in artificial intelligence (AI) and that of the United States has narrowed to just 3 months.

According to a report by Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao, Kai-Fu Lee pointed out that the United States has imposed multiple rounds of export technology restrictions on mainland China's tech industry, which the market previously believed would hinder mainland China's AI development. However, DeepSeek's use of more mature process chips and development at lower costs compared to Western peers has shocked the global AI industry.

Kai-Fu Lee believes that it was previously thought that mainland China lagged behind the U.S. in all aspects of AI by 6 to 9 months. However, the gap has now narrowed to just 3 months in some core technologies, and in certain specific areas, mainland China has even taken the lead over the U.S.

Kai-Fu Lee noted that U.S. semiconductor sanctions against mainland China are a "double-edged sword," creating short-term challenges but also forcing mainland companies to innovate to break through restrictions, mentioning that mainland companies are developing their own algorithms.

Additionally, Kai-Fu Lee predicted that with the significant changes in mainland China's AI sector, the market may soon see an oligopoly competition among three major companies: DeepSeek, Alibaba, and ByteDance. He pointed out that the development model of the AI industry is undergoing unprecedented transformation, even causing sleepless nights for the founding team of OpenAI.

Kai-Fu Lee also mentioned that DeepSeek's success proves five things: mainland China is not lagging behind the U.S.; the engineering done in mainland China is better and faster than that done in the U.S.; all research and development in mainland China is world-class, even if slightly behind the U.S.; ultimately, open-source will prevail, as closed-source is difficult to sustain; and it brought mainland China's ChatGPT moment, which, when it debuted, swept across the U.S. and even the globe, creating a unique foundational product that immediately educated the market.

Former Google Greater China President, renowned venture capitalist, and founder of 01.AI, Kai-Fu Lee. (AP)