LEE Kai-Fu (李开复)
Founder & CEO, 01.AI; Founder/Chairman, Sinovation Ventures
Why can't China produce a Steve Jobs? I think we should step back and look at this issue. I am not just questioning or challenging China's education; in fact, apart from the United States, I believe any country would have considerable difficulty producing a Jobs, especially in Asia. China is part of Asia, and also part of the world outside the United States.
I think one special aspect of American education is that it allows those who are exceptionally intelligent, even a bit rebellious, to absorb nourishment, grow, follow their hearts, and walk their own path. In fact, Steve Chen is the best example; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a mini Steve Jobs.
The internet itself is open, compatible, and borderless. I think this spirit will be reflected over a longer period of time. Once you engage with the internet, you will gradually understand the benefits of these traits. I think this is a process of 'long division leads to unity,' but that doesn't mean division is a terrible thing. In fact, the different internet conditions in China and the United States have led Tencent to go its own way, and even the United States now has...
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LEE Kai-Fu (李开复) is a globally renowned AI expert, venture capitalist, and author. He is the Founder and CEO of 01.AI, a Chinese generative AI company developing large language models, and the Chairman and CEO of Sinovation Ventures, a leading venture capital firm managing approximately $3 billion.
Previously, Lee served as President of Google China (2005-2009) and held executive positions at Microsoft, SGI, and Apple. At Microsoft, he founded Microsoft Research China (later MSRA), recognized by MIT Technology Review as one of the world's top research institutions.
He earned his B.S. from Columbia University and his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, where he developed one of the first speaker-independent continuous speech recognition systems. He is the author of bestselling books 'AI Superpowers' and 'AI 2041', and was named to TIME's list of 25 most influential AI leaders.
