US, China ‘disjointed’ on AI, but collaboration is possible: Silicon Valley tech founder

As China and the United States race to develop artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical barriers are shaping how research, talent and capital flow across borders – or not – and how collaboration might emerge amid rising competition.

Speaking in Hong Kong this month, three-time Silicon Valley cybersecurity founder John Whaley painted a picture of an industry that is global yet fragmented, as high stakes push countries to protect sovereign capabilities and data.

When asked about the global AI landscape led by the US and China, Whaley described the two as “largely disjointed” ecosystems.

“There is not any real way where, for example, US enterprise companies will directly spend billions of dollars on something from Chinese companies or vice versa,” he said on the sidelines of Jumpstarter, a start-up display and networking event organised by the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.

The US, Europe and China maintained their spheres of influence and did not necessarily “directly compete”, explained Whaley, whose Inception Studio organises intense retreats for select AI founders to workshop their business ideas and pitch to potential investors.

“On the commercial side, there are geopolitical barriers that prevent them from selling across,” he added. “Collaboration as well. It is not in both directions.”