Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt may have got America-China AI arms race ‘wrong’; calls DeepSeek turning point’

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has admitted that he may have underestimated China’s advancements in the AI arms race, highlighting the rise of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek as a pivotal moment. In a recent op-ed published in The Washington Post, Schmidt emphasized that DeepSeek’s rapid progress marks a “turning point” in the global AI landscape.

Just last year, Schmidt had asserted that the United States was two to three years ahead of China in AI development. However, the emergence of DeepSeek, with its cost-effective and efficient AI models, has challenged this notion.