They are already the absolute leader in China, which is arguably the largest market for future AI. Liang doesn't have any media exposure because he is an engineer and doesn't want that, if he wants or needs to "stay in news", he can get tons anytime anywhere.

My intuition suggests they will very shortly have state-level resources thrown at them to mean they become a consistent leader. This and Qwen have been huge for China’s prestige and whatever the Chinese for Juche is. Those is unambiguously the next space race, and there’s absolutely no reason China can’t pull ahead of the US here.

why you have thought like this? it's not how it works in China

The Chinese government only supports companies that are in line with industrial policies and are facing difficulties that require assistance. This is because such companies struggle to obtain financing from the society. The aim is to support the entire industry, not a specific company. If a company holds a leading position, it does not need to receive any "resources" from the government; it can acquire sufficient resources from the society.

China 10y bond yield is at <2%, this is a very low financing cost.

> The Chinese government only supports companies that are in line with industrial policies and are facing difficulties that require assistance

So, like, for example, AI companies who are very upfront about not being able to get their hands on as many chips as they'd like?

in this case, it's domestic chip manufacturers are getting support from government

government is not good at smuggling chips without getting attention, better try to contact some dealers in singapore or malaysia

I think you significantly underestimate what a helping hand from a government can do, from subsidising the extra expense of grey market chips, to making shipping containers disappear into the ether, to exerting pressure beyond simply commercial on people in and outside their borders.

hail hydra