Baidu founder Robin Li argues that China’s AI industry is shifting from an unhealthy pyramid to an inverted one. Compute matters, but it shouldn’t dominate the narrative. His message on stage was blunt: chips can make money, but applications should make ten times more. The

Industrial cluster is the magic behind China's industrial success. China has 2 major innovative clusters: Pearl River & Yangtze River delta where supply chain, design, machines, molds, packaging, assembly, logistics & testing are all within a small radius. China has culture of

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We looked into the trend of companies building on Chinese AI models. Besides closing on U.S. rivals on various benchmarks, Chinese models are also winning over customers as geopolitical and cybersecurity concerns take a backseat to factors like cost, efficiency, and ease of use.

New meta-analysis of IQ and violence found that, compared to nonviolent controls, violent persons averaged about 28-point lower IQs. That's a pretty sizable gap!

💥Stunning rise of China’s soft power revealed in a massive poll (by the Economist) of 32,000 people in 32 countries. People were asked if they prefer China or the US to be the world’s superpower. 🔹33% said China, compared to 46% for USA 🔹However, among young people (18-24),

The US government formally seized patent rights from two European countries—Germany and Italy—during WWII. Then the Technical Industrial Intelligence Committee (TIIC), a post-war program under the Department of Commerce, actively sent missions to Europe (especially Germany) to

Chris Bakke Andrej Karpathy explains Elon Musk’s unique management style: "Elon keeps teams small, highly technical, and removes low performers very quickly. pushes for intensity, avoids useless meetings, and stays deeply connected with engineers."

A humanoid robot just walked 106km from Suzhou to Shanghai. It set a world record. But here's what really matters. The robot could only walk at night. Between 10pm and 6am. Why? Safety concerns. Unclear road rights. No charging infrastructure along the way. It can recognize red

In 2012, China’s semiconductor industry was weak & underfunded. A person outside the government wrote a policy memo calling for a national semiconductor fund. That memo reached the head of the NDRC and led to China’s 2014 chip fund. Fascinating interview: manifold1.com/episodes/jian-…

If you want to understand why India has failed to industrialize, read this interview with Ha-Joon Chang in Frontline. Chang points out that India’s business and finance elites don't want industrialization — and that they need to be repressed for industrialization to occur.

The West to China right now: “Please import more and export less. Except don’t import anything that helps you innovate. And keep exporting cheap stuff that we need. Actually, could you just trade in a way that preserves our ego, our industries, and our dominance?”

What’s one thing almost no one mentions when discussing China’s secret to innovation and production? A low return on capital. That’s it. That’s the trick. Bankers do poorly.

China’s complete dominance of the solar sector and its experience with cadmium telluride is what helped it catch up in this specific medical equipment (photon counting CT scanner). We are probably going to see lots of other spillover effects in China in different industries.

Every time I came to Singapore 🇸🇬, my second-favorite country in the world, I’d get one of these stapled to my passport: WARNING DEATH FOR DRUG TRAFFICKERS UNDER SINGAPORE LAW

Europe seems decided to spend quite a bit of political time (and a tiny bit of money) on rare earths. Meanwhile, it's largely sidestepping the debate about the (very expensive) commodity that's truly killing its manufacturing industrial base: electricity.

I lived with a Chinese EV for a few weeks to see if the hype is real. The car costs $42K, and turns out it feels like $75K+ EASILY One of the most impressive things I've ever reviewed: youtu.be/Mb6H7trzMfI - A+ software and features. Feels like what would happen if Apple

Pakistan: Power cuts and tariff hikes pushed its 250m people to accelerate solar adoption >Solar share in generation above China's, from a standing start 4 years ago >World's third-largest panel importer today >Solar generation will for 1st time exceed power demand on the

🇨🇳 Chinese tourism is 95% domestic: this means most of the tourists you see in China are not foreigners but just other Chinese Even if we'd visit the most tourist places in China, we'd see maybe 1 Westerner (if we're lucky) vs. 10,000 Chinese Which honestly makes it a more fun

Because: (1) it's actually ~57% today (2025) (2) it was ~81% in 2011 (3) at the current trajectory it is headed to sub-20% over the next decade China has found a way to grow its economy without incremental emissions, which have plateaued. This may not be especially titilating