Unsupervised Learning with Jacob Effron Ep 78: Jordan Schneider, Host of China Talk, on AI Race, Key Policy Decisions & Unpacking Geopolitical Chip Tension
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Dec 5, 2025 
Jordan Schneider, host of China Talk and an expert on Chinese tech and AI, explores the market-driven dynamics of China's AI landscape, revealing how private capital shapes its growth. He discusses the impact of US export controls on China's computing capabilities and challenges the notion of government control over AI development. With a focus on robotics manufacturing, he highlights China's emerging advantages. Jordan also critiques the Goldilocks strategy, addresses US policies, and assesses Taiwan's geopolitical risks.
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Private Market, Not Central Plan
- China's AI surge after ChatGPT was driven mainly by private capital and market competition rather than central planning.
- The transformer scaling paradigm shocked and mobilized talent and funding across Chinese firms in 2023–24.
State Focused On Hardware Over Software
- The Chinese state has prioritized hardware and indigenization over software historically.
- This explains strong public investment in semiconductors but lighter direct sponsorship of AI labs.
DeepSeek's Hedge-Fund Origin
- DeepSeek began as a hedge-fund founder's pet project who bought lots of NVIDIA chips early.
- That founder shifted from finance models to LLMs and became an exception in China's AI scene.
