Chinese AI Abroad
Chinese AI goes to Southeast Asia — and it starts with infrastructure
In Jakarta and Bangkok, Chinese AI firms compete less on parameters than on data centres, power, and local teams.
As China’s large-model companies turn toward Southeast Asia, they quickly find that winning a local market takes more than a strong model — it takes server rooms, electricity, and teams who speak the local language.
So the first step abroad is often an infrastructure fight: leasing data centres, negotiating power tariffs, hiring local engineers.
In this race, speed and patience matter equally.
Editor's note: An original report by the AI闹 newsroom.