Rui Ma(@ruima):I'm pretty picky, but this is a pretty good take by David, who no doubt benefited a lot from his extensive previous employment with DCM, one of the OG and leading cross-border VC firms out there active in both the U.S. and China. A lot of what David says here is true, which is that previous Chinese ecosystem weaknesses, such as the absence of enterprise software, could turn into strengths when it comes to on-prem deployment or remain a weakness when it comes to data connectors and collection. I know this piece is mostly about AI with a very slight touch on robotics, but the mood is very different depending on who you talk to: whether they are in embodied AI, foundational models, renewable energy, biotech, or even BCI companies (where I've spent a little bit of time), etc. But I'd agree that for AI specifically, the model companies are mostly busy fighting each other, and everyone is an exhausted zombie. It is much more relaxed in Silicon Valley, and that's why everyone wants to come here. It's pretty good vibes, man, in comparison. Gotta say.

2026.09.22 00:14

I'm pretty picky, but this is a pretty good take by David, who no doubt benefited a lot from his extensive previous employment with DCM, one of the OG and leading cross-border VC firms out there active in both the U.S. and China. A lot of what David says here is true, which is that previous Chinese ecosystem weaknesses, such as the absence of enterprise software, could turn into strengths when it comes to on-prem deployment or remain a weakness when it comes to data connectors and collection. I know this piece is mostly about AI with a very slight touch on robotics, but the mood is very different depending on who you talk to: whether they are in embodied AI, foundational models, renewable energy, biotech, or even BCI companies (where I've spent a little bit of time), etc. But I'd agree that for AI specifically, the model companies are mostly busy fighting each other, and everyone is an exhausted zombie. It is much more relaxed in Silicon Valley, and that's why everyone wants to come here. It's pretty good vibes, man, in comparison. Gotta say.

David Cheng@Chengdavid923

2026.09.18 14:09

Everyone has a take on China and AI right now. Very few have actually been to China. I spent last week in Beijing and Shanghai meeting most of the major model labs, researchers, VCs, and founders building Chinese AI. This trip meant a lot to me beyond the work. My parents were born and raised in Beijing. I spent my earliest years growing up in my grandparents' Xicheng district apartment. As a child, I wanted to be a diplomat because I thought US–China would be the defining relationship of the next hundred years. I got as far as spending a decade investing across both and then the two halves of my identity stopped being compatible. This was my first trip back since. Below is a write-up of what I found. In short: there is no version of the next decade where Chinese open models don't matter.