Latest news with #RuiMa
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AI experts warn that China is miles ahead of the US in electricity generation — lack of supply and infrastructure threatens the US's long-term AI plans
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A U.S. analyst of Chinese technology said that the country has already solved its energy problem — at least in terms of power for its AI infrastructure. Rui Ma, founder of Tech Buzz China, posted on X that the country's massive investments in advanced hydropower and nuclear technologies meant that its 'electricity supply is secure and inexpensive.' This is in contrast to the U.S., where many AI data centers are disrupting its electricity grid and supply, resulting in a lack of supply and price increases for every user. Both Washington and Beijing are currently in an AI race, with the two powers vying for the lead in this technology. Because of this, the two rivals are diving into a massive build-out of AI data centers that require massive amounts of electricity to run. In the U.S., it has come to the point that tech giants are building their own power plants — with Elon Musk importing one to power his data centers and companies, like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, Nvidia, and more investing in the research and development of nuclear reactors. However, it seems that this is not a problem for China. According to Fortune, the East Asian country has an 80% to 100% power reserve, allowing it to absorb the massive demand brought about by the hundreds of data centers it built in recent years. More than that, it's also continually expanding its output, with one expert telling the publication that it 'adds more electricity demand than the entire annual consumption of Germany, every single year.' Some argue that the power is delivered by heavily polluting coal plants, but China is also investing massively in renewable energy projects. Nevertheless, if the power demand outstrips supply, it can easily reactivate coal plants to cover the shortfall. In fact, the new data centers are welcomed, as they help stimulate demand in a market that has an excess of power production. Nevertheless, electricity oversupply doesn't seem to be an immediate concern, as most of China's power plants are state-owned. Beijing also plans its energy production well in advance, allowing it to prepare for prospective demand, like the AI data center boom. This still does not address the elephant in the room, though: the fact that many Chinese data centers sit idle or underutilized. Beijing is developing a network to create a marketplace that will sell surplus capacity, but it is still facing challenges, especially with latency and different ecosystems. On the other hand, the U.S. faces major hurdles with its electricity supply. Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg said that power constraints will limit AI growth, and that new power plants aren't being built fast enough to satisfy AI's insatiable demand. If the U.S. does not address this issue sooner, it risks lagging behind China even if it has more powerful and efficient hardware. That's because the latter can just throw tons of power to gain the upper hand in the AI race through sheer brute force, similar to how Huawei's CloudMatrix cluster beats the performance of Nvidia's GB200. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
AI experts return from China stunned: The U.S. grid is so weak, the race may already be over
'Everywhere we went, people treated energy availability as a given,' Rui Ma wrote on X after returning from a recent tour of China's AI hubs. For American AI researchers, that's almost unimaginable. In the U.S., surging AI demand is colliding with a fragile power grid, the kind of extreme bottleneck that Goldman Sachs warns could severely choke the industry's growth. In China, Ma continued, it's considered a 'solved problem.' Ma, a renowned expert in Chinese technology and founder of the media company Tech Buzz China, took her team on the road to get a firsthand look at the country's AI advancements. She told Fortune that while she isn't an energy expert, she attended enough meetings and talked to enough insiders to come away with a conclusion that should send chills down the spine of Silicon Valley: in China, building enough power for data centers is no longer up for debate. 'This is a stark contrast to the U.S., where AI growth is increasingly tied to debates over data center power consumption and grid limitations,' she wrote on X. The stakes are difficult to overstate. Data center building is the foundation of AI advancement, and spending on new centers now displaces consumer spending in terms of impact to U.S. GDP—that's concerning since consumer spending is generally two-thirds of the pie. McKinsey projects that between 2025 and 2030, companies worldwide will need to invest $6.7 trillion into new data center capacity to keep up with AI's strain. In a recent research note, Stifel Nicolaus warned of a looming correction to the S&P 500, since it forecasts this data-center capex boom to be a one-off build-out of infrastructure, while consumer spending is clearly on the wane. However, the clear limiting factor to the U.S.'s data center infrastructure development, according to a Deloitte industry survey, is stress on the power grid. Cities' power grids are so weak that some companies are just building their own power plants rather than relying on existing grids. The public is growing increasingly frustrated over increasing energy bills – in Ohio, the electricity bill for a typical household has increased at least $15 this summer from the data centers – while energy companies prepare for a sea-change of surging demand. Goldman Sachs frames the crisis simply: 'AI's insatiable power demand is outpacing the grid's decade-long development cycles, creating a critical bottleneck.' Meanwhile, David Fishman, a Chinese electricity expert who has spent years tracking their energy development, told Fortune that in China, electricity isn't even a question. On average, China adds more electricity demand than the entire annual consumption of Germany, every single year. Whole rural provinces are blanketed in rooftop solar, with one province matching the entirety of India's electricity supply. 'U.S. policymakers should be hoping China stays a competitor and not an aggressor,' Fishman said. 'Because right now they can't compete effectively on the energy infrastructure front.' China has an oversupply of electricty China's quiet electricity dominance, Fishman explained, is the result of decades of deliberate overbuilding and investment in every layer of the power sector, from generation to transmission to next-generation nuclear. The country's reserve margin has never dipped below 80%–100% nationwide, meaning it has consistently maintained at least twice the capacity it needs, Fishman said. They have so much available space that instead of seeing AI data centers as a threat to grid stability, China treats them as a convenient way to 'soak up oversupply,' he added. That level of cushion is unthinkable in the United States, where regional grids typically operate with a 15% reserve margin and sometimes less, particularly during extreme weather, Fishman said. In places like California or Texas, officials often issue warnings about red-flag conditions when demand is projected to strain the system. This leaves little room to absorb the rapid load increases AI infrastructure requires, Fishman ntoed. The gap in readiness is stark: while the U.S. is already experiencing political and economic fights over whether the grid can keep up, China is operating from a position of abundance. Even if AI demand in China grows so quickly renewable projects can't keep pace, Fishman said, the country can tap idle coal plants to bridge the gap while building more sustainable sources. 'It's not preferable,' he admitted, 'but it's doable.' By contrast, the U.S. would have to scramble to bring on new generation capacity, often facing years-long permitting delays, local opposition, and fragmented market rules, he said. Structural governance differences Underpinning the hardware advantage is a difference in governance. In China, energy planning is coordinated by long-term, technocratic policy that defines the market's rules before investments are made, Fishman said. This model ensures infrastructure buildout happens in anticipation of demand, not in reaction to it. 'They're set up to hit grand slams,' Fishman noted. 'The U.S., at best, can get on base.' In the U.S., large-scale infrastructure projects depend heavily on private investment, but most investors expect a return within three to five years: far too short for power projects that can take a decade to build and pay off.'Capital is really biased toward shorter-term returns,' he said, noting Silicon Valley has funneled billions into 'the nth iteration of software-as-a-service' while energy projects fight for funding. In China, by contrast, the state directs money toward strategic sectors in advance of demand, accepting not every project will succeed but ensuring the capacity is in place when it's needed. Without public financing to de-risk long-term bets, he argued, the U.S. political and economic system is simply not set up to build the grid of the future. Cultural attitudes reinforce this approach. In China, renewables are framed as a cornerstone of the economy because they make sense economically and strategically, not because they carry moral weight. Coal use isn't cast as a sign of villainy, as it would be among some circles in the U.S. – it's simply seen as outdated. This pragmatic framing, Fishman argued, allows policymakers to focus on efficiency and results rather than political battles. For Fishman, the takeaway is blunt. Without a dramatic shift in how the U.S. builds and funds its energy infrastructure, China's lead will only widen.'The gap in capability is only going to continue to become more obvious — and grow in the coming years,' he said. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After the space race, China wants to win in humanoid robots
STORY: On the outskirts of Shanghai, dozens of humanoid robots are hard at work - steaming shirts, getting dressed, making sandwiches - for up to 17 hours a day. But this isn't a factory floor… yet. It's a data lab run by Chinese startup AgiBot – and it's part of China's race to lead the global humanoid revolution and transform the way we live, work and play. Yao Maoqing is a partner at the company. :: Yao Maoqing, President of AgiBot 'We want to use general purpose robots to create unlimited productivity. Just imagine that one day in our own robot factory, our robots are assembling themselves.' Chinese humanoids are already performing increasingly complex feats like somersaults and running a half-marathon. President Xi Jinping recently inspected Agibot's products at a lab in Shanghai. And his visit highlights Beijing's long-term strategy – using humanoids to counter U.S. tariffs, an aging population and slowing economic growth. For the first time, Reuters is reporting details about how China's technological advances are allowing already impressive hardware to be paired with the software needed to make these robots economically viable. Here, the prowess of homegrown artificial intelligence platforms like DeepSeek is being combined with abundant government support. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen people - from robot makers and investors to analysts and users - who say the breakthroughs are moving robots from spectacle to solution. And could revolutionize China's manufacturing supremacy as it competes with the U.S. The Chinese government plans to build its edge by focusing on data training and the sophistication of its AI models. And authorities are handing out generous subsidies or free office space for humanoid firms. Over $20 billion has been allocated to the sector over the past year. The government is also a key buyer, according to a Reuters review of tender documents. State procurement of humanoid robots and related tech jumped to 214 million yuan in 2024 from 4.7 million the year before. The Chinese government didn't respond to questions about its role in supporting the development of humanoid robots. There has also been an explosion of new firms in the sector. In 2024 alone, 31 Chinese companies unveiled 36 competing humanoid models. U.S. companies presented eight – according to Morgan Stanley. The nation's clearest advantage though is its domination of humanoid hardware. Up to 90% of robot parts can be made locally – so Chinese firms can scale quickly. Current units can cost around $35,000 but three manufacturers told Reuters they predict costs to halve, perhaps within a year. Rui Ma is a tech analyst. :: Rui Ma, China tech analyst "The way the Chinese government looks at it is that human robotics can be the next EV industry where by investing in the entire manufacturing supply chain, you can come up with a product that is better, cheaper and globally exportable from China." But the rise of humanoids has sparked concerns for the current workforce. One expert warned up to 70% of China's manufacturing jobs could be at risk… And that could lead to a steep decline in social security contributions. The chairman of domestic AI firm iFlytek has suggested creating an unemployment insurance program for workers replaced by robots. While one industry professional told Reuters that its prototypes were targeting the boring, repetitive or dangerous jobs that humans don't want to do. Beijing though sees the technology as key to plugging labor shortages in areas such as elderly care. Demand is only increasing as China's 1.4 billion population ages.
