Zhen Zhang and Adam Y. Liu
To many, the meteoric rise of DeepSeek is a “Sputnik moment.” Despite its modest scale and resources, the Hangzhou-based AI startup has come a long way, surmounting tech barriers, export controls, and trade restrictions. Chinese media and tech insiders have hailed its emergence as a “historic moment” for China’s innovation model.
Much of the discussion thus far has centered on the company’s founders and team members, and on whether U.S. semiconductor restrictions have failed to curb China’s AI ambitions. However, these narratives generally miss a bigger question: who actually incubated DeepSeek and other Chinese AI startups?
We know that Beijing’s state-led industrial mobilization has played a pivotal role in shaping such transformative industries as solar power and electric vehicles. Through early-stage subsidies, tax incentives, and large-scale infrastructure projects – hallmarks of China’s industrial policies – Beijing catalyzed market growth and spurred technological innovation.
Yet, China’s tech startups have followed a distinct development path – one shaped by local governments, who have tried to build localized incubation ecosystems. High-quality innovation does not require many winners, and inefficiency needn’t mean failure: a single outlier, such as DeepSeek, can be enough to trigger an AI tsunami.
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