Fast context for a fast-moving field
China AI is moving the frontier. Here's who to know.
$169B
Active indie value
$18B+
Known funding
$5.5B+
Disclosed ARR
60
Researchers
10
Active labs
The labs are influential, the people are under-covered, and the story moves quickly. This field guide helps you learn the who, what, where, and why in minutes: key researchers, lab lineups, model bets, money flows, and talent moves.
Teams to Know
11 labs
DeepSeek
Cost-Curve Rebels
1 / 11
Open reasoning models; cost discipline; efficient training.
Active frontier lab
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60 ranked profiles
People rankings
Who to remember, where they sit, and what they are known for. Index Power is a playful, data-informed signal for quick comparison.
Showing 1-10 of 60
| Known For | Breakdown | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DeepSeek | DeepSeek (founder & CEO, 2023-present) | 34 | ||
| 2 | Kimi | Moonshot AI / Kimi (founder & CEO, 2023-present) | 33 | ||
| 3 | Zhipu | Founded Tsinghua KEG Lab (2001) | 31 | ||
| 4 | Xiaomi | Xiaomi MiMo-V2 (Mar 2026) | 30 | ||
| 5 | Zhipu | Zhipu AI (co-founder & controlling shareholder, 2019-present) | 30 | ||
| 6 | DeepSeek | Head of Post-Training, DeepSeek | 30 | ||
| 7 | StepFun | StepFun co-founder & CTO | 29 | ||
| 8 | Qwen | Alibaba Cloud CTO | 29 | ||
| 9 | MiniMax | MiniMax (founder, chairman, CEO & CTO, 2021-present) | 28 | ||
| 10 | Tencent | ReAct framework (co-author) | 28 |
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