China’s next AI shock isn’t another DeepSeek-style model. It’s hardware.
After DeepSeek proved China could compete under constraints, that approach is moving from software to chips, power, and infrastructure. Instead of chasing the most advanced GPUs, China is scaling what it controls: domestic chips that are good enough, cheap power, and systems designed to work together.
This is less about building a Chinese Nvidia and more about building an alternative AI stack and pushing it into markets that want AI now, not perfect performance.
In this episode:
Why chip limits didn’t stop China—they shaped its strategy
How the DeepSeek playbook is moving from models to machines
The rise of China’s AI hardware challengers
Why energy, scale, and brute force matter more than chip specs
What this means for Nvidia, Washington, and the global AI race
Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:23 China’s chip champions
7:34 Brute force
10:32 China’s trojan horse
12:13 Full interview with Naveen Rao
Anchor: Deirdre Bosa
Produced by: Jasmine Wu
Additional Production: Laura Batchelor, Drew Troast, Jeff Kopp
Edited by: Evan Lee Miller
Senior Director of Video: Jeniece Pettitt
Animation: Christina Locopo
Additional Footage: Getty Images
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China’s Next DeepSeek Moment Is In AI Hardware
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