Google’s Ex-CEO Says China Trails US by 6 Months in AI Race, but Could Still Win Due to This Strategy: ‘We’re Already Losing’

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Former CEO of Alphabet Inc.‘s Google, Eric Schmidt, said China trails the U.S. in the AI race by roughly six months, but it could still be the winner.

In a podcast called In Good Company, hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management, on Wednesday, Schmidt said, “I don’t know that they will get ahead, but I will tell you that…if they’re six months behind, then we’re already losing because their strategy is that the products are free.”

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Chinese AI models are often free or less expensive, potentially attracting consumers in developing economies that cannot afford costly, closed Western systems, he said. Open-weight models could further accelerate global use.

He credited China’s progress partly to access to advanced chips he said were “not supposed to have” and were “pilfered or smuggled”…