Eight Days in China's AI Scene: From ByteDance to Passport-Based Robots
Mikhail T. (Sh0ny)
6 июля 20261 min read
In short
A report from Shanghai on the state of China’s artificial intelligence market. Meetings with ByteDance, Z.ai, and MiniMax; the shift from NVIDIA to Huawei; and the sale of server graphics cards and humanoid robots in regular markets.
The trip to Shanghai began with a meeting at the airport: one of the people there to greet us turned out to be the owner of a company that provides data to OpenAI, Meta, and Anthropic. This marked the start of an eight-day tour of key players in the Chinese AI market—SiliconFlow, ByteDance, MiniMax, and Z.ai.
ByteDance’s Plans
ByteDance (the developer of TikTok and Seedance) is expected to announce a new release on July 10. According to the author’s observations, this could lead to a reduction in the cost of flagship AI models.
Switching from NVIDIA to Huawei
Z.ai, known for developing the GLM model, is gradually phasing out NVIDIA graphics cards in favor of solutions from Huawei. This reflects a general trend toward technological independence amid export restrictions.
Local Market Characteristics
In Chinese markets, server graphics cards are sold right next to iPhones, highlighting the high demand for specialized hardware. Humanoid robots can be purchased there with just a passport, although in practice, Beijing’s janitors are still handling their tasks more efficiently than automated systems.