tech
January 16, 2026
China just 'months' behind U.S. AI models, Google DeepMind CEO says
China's artificial intelligence models may be just "months" behind U.S. and Western capabilities, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind told CNBC.
TL;DR
- Demis Hassabis estimates China's AI models are only months behind U.S. and Western capabilities.
- This assessment contrasts with earlier views suggesting a larger gap.
- Chinese AI labs and tech giants like DeepSeek, Alibaba, and Moonshot AI have released capable models.
- Hassabis questions if China can innovate new AI breakthroughs beyond the current frontier, citing the transformer model as an example of a frontier innovation.
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang previously stated the U.S. is not far ahead in the AI race.
- China faces challenges with access to advanced semiconductors due to U.S. export bans.
- Some analysts predict a divergence in AI capabilities favoring the U.S. due to superior infrastructure.
- Alibaba's Qwen technical lead estimated a less than 20% chance of a Chinese firm surpassing U.S. tech giants in AI within 3-5 years.
- Hassabis attributes the lack of frontier breakthroughs in China to 'mentality' and the difficulty of true scientific innovation rather than just tech restrictions.
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