Science & Tech · AI · 4 hrs ago
Kai-Fu Lee says China’s AI firms are focused on profit, not winning a race
Kai-Fu Lee says Chinese AI firms focus on making money, not simply on being first to achieve artificial general intelligence.
Lee is an AI entrepreneur and former president of Google China, and he discussed the industry in an interview.
U.S. limits on exports of advanced chips have encouraged Chinese developers to build models with fewer resources.
Lee estimates that some Chinese open-weight models are now six to 12 months behind leading U.S. models.
He says the growth of open-weight AI is driven mainly by competition between companies, rather than a coordinated government effort to beat the United States.
Lee also argues that Chinese firms are naturally more careful about spending, while U.S. companies invest heavily in computing power and data centers.
The debate matters because Chinese AI models are catching up despite limits on their access to advanced chips.
Kai-Fu Lee said Chinese AI companies are primarily focused on making money, not winning the AI race or being first to achieve artificial general intelligence.
He said Chinese developers’ move toward open-weight models was driven by market competition rather than an organized government effort.
Lee estimated that some Chinese open-weight models are six to 12 months behind those of leading U.S. AI companies.
He said U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips have encouraged Chinese firms to build competitive models with fewer resources.
Lee also argued that Chinese companies are naturally more frugal because they have different priorities from U.S. firms.
- Who
- Kai-Fu Lee, an AI entrepreneur and former president of Google China.
- What
- Lee said Chinese AI firms focus on making money rather than winning the AI race.
- When
- The interview was published during the week of November 13, 2026.
- Where
- In a Fortune Daily interview.
- Why
- Lee said Chinese companies are driven by profit and market competition, and have adapted to chip restrictions by building models with fewer resources.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
DeepSeek released a capable AI model that it said was trained using significantly less computing power than its American competitors.
Xi Jinping called for China to develop an independent, controllable, and collaborative artificial intelligence basic software and hardware system.
Investors with government ties participated in more than 140 Chinese AI deals, according to Fortune citing a PitchBook analyst note.
Fortune published its interview with Kai-Fu Lee about misconceptions concerning China’s AI industry.
- Model gap
- Lee estimated some Chinese models were six to 12 months behind leading U.S. models.
- AI deals
- More than 140 Chinese AI deals involving investors with government ties in 2025.
- DeepSeek
- Released a model in early 2025 that it claimed used significantly less computing power than American competitors.
- Interview date
- Fortune published the interview during the week of November 13, 2026.
What people are saying
Chinese companies are born to make money. That’s the primary purpose
It’s not so much to win AGI or win the race.
They just want to serve their investors.