Why it Sucks to Work in AI in China + Open Source with Kevin Xu

Kevin Xu of and I did a liveshow on substack! We chat about why working in Chinese AI looks so much tougher than building in the West: less compute, lower upside, more political constraints, and a much weaker market for enterprise software. We also get into Kevin Xu's definitive history of open source in China ( and talk why open source has become one of the few real paths Chinese AI companies have to win users abroad, even as the business model at home remains brutal. Also: the Qwen shakeup at Alibaba, what it says about the limits of China’s AI lab ecosystem, and why Chinese firms may still beat the West in areas like AI shopping and commerce. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Why it Sucks to Work in AI in China + Open Source with Kevin Xu is an episode from ChinaTalk by Jordan Schneider.

This episode is 50:34 long.

This episode was published on Mar 12, 2026.

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