High Capacity

Tom Wang, Head of APAC Ecosystems at Hugging Face and open-source AI advocate. He surveys the new wave of Chinese models and how open source shaped their rise. He explains why autonomous AI agents matter, dives into OpenClaw’s token and safety risks, and touches on multimodal, robotics progress, hardware constraints, and how communities sustain innovation.

Kevin Xu, founder of Interconnected Capital and former head of global expansion strategy at GitHub, guides a fast-moving tour of China’s open source evolution. He traces grassroots roots to corporate and government adoption. He highlights the DeepSeek moment, the OpenClaw frenzy, and why Chinese firms deploy hosted open tools so quickly.

Afra Wang, writer and researcher of China’s tech culture and host of the Cyberpunk podcast, traces four generations of Chinese founders and their engineering-first mentality. She contrasts Silicon Valley posturing with a product-and-execution focus. The conversation covers subsidy wars, gaokao-driven metrics, a canon of tech texts, and why hardware and industrial thinking claim prestige in China.

Lei Xing, China EV and autonomous driving expert and former editor‑in‑chief of China Automotive Review, breaks down China's robotaxi landscape. He discusses smart driving versus true autonomy. He compares LiDAR and vision approaches. He explains city rollout differences, Huawei's role, chip and AI trends, and where robotaxis and delivery bots are headed next.

Grace Shao, China AI and tech analyst and founder of the AI Proem newsletter, walks through China’s distinct AI plays. She discusses rapid agent experimentation, Alibaba’s ecosystem-driven shopping agents, ByteDance’s Doubao and AI-native phones, shifts in startup strategies, Singapore as a regional gateway, and hardware and wearables trends. Short, sharp tours of where China’s AI scene is heading.

Tu Le, the Founder of Sino Auto Insights and an expert in China's automotive landscape, shares his insights on the booming EV industry. He highlights unique features in Chinese EVs, like karaoke and battery swapping, and discusses advanced intelligent driving technologies rolling out across brands such as Xpeng and NIO. Tu dives into Geely's ambitious plans for the U.S. market and the competitive landscape among major Chinese automakers. He also explores the future of hybrids and the rise of robotaxis, emphasizing how these trends are reshaping global mobility.

Georg Stieler, Asia Managing Director at Stieler, shares his extensive experience in China's robotics sector, showcasing the shift from Western automation expertise to a robust domestic market. He discusses how China's robotics firms are taking the lead in the EV space, using the pandemic as a catalyst for growth. Stieler highlights the rise of collaborative robots and the role of vision-language-action models in advancing physical AI. He also touches on the geopolitical implications of these developments and anticipates a shakeout in the industry by 2026.