For over two years, Western media has pushed the narrative of China tracking the US with AI. And thanks to the waves of Openai, Chatgpt and homemade breakthroughs, the US holds the lead of AI hegemony. But Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang challenged that assumption today.
Speaking on a visit to Capitol Hill with CNBC’s Emily Wilkins, fans were asked if China was behind the US in AI. His reaction?
“China is not behind anyone. China is right behind us.”
His remarks come when Chinese AI companies are making their own headlines. In January, China-based Deepseek overtook app store ChatGpt and sent shockwaves through high-tech stocks. The buzz spiked after CNBC reported that Deepseek’s V3 model surpassed Meta’s Llama 3.1, Openai’s GPT-4O and Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 on third-party benchmarks.
“China is not behind the US for AI,” says Nvidia CEO.
Fans spoke on the packed day of a high-level meeting in Capitol Hill. There, the CEOs of top technology met with lawmakers to discuss AI regulations and trade tensions. AI policies and tariffs dominated the agenda that put pressure on the US to maintain its lead in areas where margins are thinning.
When asked about Huawei (the giant of China’s Flagship Tech), Huang did not underestimate the competition.
“There’s no doubt that Huawei is one of the most frightening tech companies in the world. They’ve made great strides over the past few years,” he said. Huang pointed out all the computing, networking and software strengths that are important to AI.
He also highlighted the size and depth of China’s talent pool. “50% of AI researchers around the world are Chinese,” he said. “This is an industry we have to compete with.”
According to Huang, this is not a race with a finish line. “This is an endless race. There’s no end to a quarter two-minute period. That’s not what I’m saying.”
The background to this conversation is tense. The US is tightening AI chip export restrictions and is directly attacking Nvidia. Meanwhile, China has been stepping up its efforts to catch up – or, as Huang suggests, staying nearby.
Huang is expected to meet with White House officials later today to continue discussions on AI, tariffs and the role that US companies can play in maintaining innovation on land.
For Nvidia, balance is delicate. The company is firmly rooted in the US, but China remains one of the largest markets.
Whether Washington sees fan messages as warnings or as a driving force for action.
Below is a video of Huang’s interview with CNBC.
🚀Want to share the story?
Submit your stories to TechStartUps.com in front of thousands of founders, investors, PE companies, tech executives, decision makers and tech leaders.
Please attract attention
Source link