The AI Cold War That Will Redefine Everything By Josh Chin and Raffaele Huang
China’s leaders were anxious and frustrated. The world’s most promising new technology was being dominated by OpenAI, Google and other American companies. The U.S. still has a clear lead, producing the most powerful AI models. China can’t match it in advanced chips and has no answer for the financial firepower of private American investors, who funded AI startups to the tune of $104 billion in the first half of 2025, and are gearing up for more. But it has a massive population of capable engineers, lower costs and a state-led development model that often moves faster than the U.S., all of which Beijing is working to harness to tip the contest in its direction. The U.S. still has a clear lead, producing the most powerful AI models. China can’t match it in advanced chips and has no answer for the financial firepower of private American investors, who funded AI startups to the tune of $104 billion in the first half of 2025, and are gearing up for more. But it has a massive population of capable engineers, lower costs and a state-led development model that often moves faster than the U.S., all of which Beijing is working to harness to tip the contest in its direction. Both countries are driven as much by fear as by hope of progress and believe market share for their companies across the world is up for grabs—and with it, the potential to influence large swaths of the global population. The AI Cold War That Will Redefine Everything – WSJ