Chinese Billionaire Expresses Doubt Over China’s Ability to Create Breakthrough Tech
Xia Zuoquan, a billionaire investor and co-founder of BYD, the world’s largest electric vehicle maker, has expressed uncertainty about China’s ability to produce technological breakthroughs similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the near future.
While Xia’s early investment in BYD has brought him enormous success, he believes that China lacks fundamental research and a mature capital market necessary for major technological advancements.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Xia stated, I don’t think China can all of a sudden produce ChatGPT-level applications or technologies. He emphasized the dependence on foundational algorithms, chips, and industrial software and hardware, which are predominantly American.
Xia currently runs his own technology investment firm called Zhengxuan Investment, which focuses on hi-tech fields such as advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, new energy, and semiconductors. Despite this, Xia’s firm remains cautious about investing in Chinese start-ups working on large language models (LLMs) similar to ChatGPT.
According to Xia, Chinese start-ups in the generative AI race face challenges due to the underdeveloped capital market in China. Many investment institutions and government-backed funds are hesitant to invest significant amounts or wait an extended period of time for these companies to succeed. Xia believes that fundamentally innovative AI technologies may struggle to emerge from China in the short term.
This perspective is shared by Zhou Hongyi, the founder and chairman of Chinese cybersecurity firm 360 Security Technology. Zhou has advised government bodies and enterprises to approach LLMs with caution due to their current unreliability.
Despite these concerns, China’s AI market continues to attract attention and financial support. A report by Zhidongxi, an AI-focused research firm in China, indicated that the largest number of start-ups in the generative AI industry received funding in the first half of the year, with 22 out of 51 start-ups being based in China.
Prominent figures, including venture capitalist Lee Kai-fu, also see the potential in LLMs. Lee recently launched his new venture, Lingyi Wanwu, which aims to develop its own LLM. He believes that China must not miss this historical opportunity but acknowledges the risks associated with relying solely on open-source models built by foreign companies.
While Xia’s doubts about China’s ability to create breakthrough tech raise concerns, China’s AI market remains active and continues to attract investors and developers. The country’s underdeveloped capital market and reliance on foreign technology pose challenges, but with growing investment and interest in the field, the landscape may evolve in the future.
