Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

What 72hrs in China taught me about the future (AI, EVs, more)


Listen Later

In this episode, I reflect on a whirlwind three-day visit to China - my first in over 20 years. And what I saw was remarkable. The infrastructure puts most of the West to shame. The AI isn't just hype - it's working at serious scale. And the electric vehicles? They're about to steamroll the global auto industry. Here's what really struck me during my whirlwind trip to Beijing and beyond.

In this episode you'll hear:

  • Infrastructure built at speed: Beijing's immaculate airport, 300 km/h rail to Tianjin for £17, and pristine expressways that put US infrastructure to shame.
  • Verticalised AI in action: While Chinese labs trail US frontier models and face compute constraints, they're excelling in verticals - profitable robotaxis in Wuhan, healthcare AI analyzing 5.5 billion medical records, and Squirrel AI's $200m education platform that outperforms China's best human teachers.
  • EV cost leadership is set: Chinese electric vehicles are absolutely remarkable. Years of vicious domestic competition have created incredible innovation and cost discipline that will hit European carmakers like a sledgehammer.
  • The air quality transformation: Beijing at 37°C was clean enough for a morning run, thanks to widespread EV adoption.
  • Scale that defies comprehension: Convention centers 100 times the size of Union Square, cities of 20 million people, and AI platforms serving tens of millions of users.

Our new show

This was originally recorded for “Friday with Azeem Azhar”, a new show that takes place every Friday at 9am PT and 12pm ET. You can tune in through my Substack linked below.

The format is experimental and we’d love your feedback, so feel free to comment or email your thoughts to our team at [email protected].

Azeem’s links:

  • Substack: https://www.exponentialview.co/
  • Website: https://www.azeemazhar.com/
  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/azhar?originalSubdomain=uk
  • Twitter/X: https://x.com/azeem

Timestamps:

(00:00) Surprises at the airport

(01:21) Immense scale

(01:54) 3 areas of interest

(02:37) Chinese infrastructure and engineering

(03:22) ~180mph train, £17 fare

(04:29) Multi-lane expressways built for scale

(05:55) Development of AI in china

(06:09) China leans into vertical AI

(08:12) Apollo robotaxis: unit-cost positive

(09:33) Yidu Tech: 5.5B health records

(10:35) Squirrel AI outperforms top teachers

(14:29) EVs & clean air

(16:14) BYD x Octopus: earn by charging

(18:30) EV boom improves Beijing air

(19:56) Luxury Chinese EV interior

(21:08) Closing thoughts

Production by supermix.io and EPIIPLUS1 Ltd.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Azeem Azhar's Exponential ViewBy Azeem Azhar

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

601 ratings


More shows like Azeem Azhar's Exponential View

View all
HBR IdeaCast by Harvard Business Review

HBR IdeaCast

1,830 Listeners

The McKinsey Podcast by McKinsey & Company

The McKinsey Podcast

381 Listeners

a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,032 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

519 Listeners

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence) by Sam Charrington

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

441 Listeners

Cold Call by HBR Presents / Brian Kenny

Cold Call

194 Listeners

Women at Work by Harvard Business Review

Women at Work

1,402 Listeners

Dear HBR: by Harvard Business Review

Dear HBR:

743 Listeners

After Hours by TED Audio Collective / Youngme Moon, Mihir Desai, & Felix Oberholzer-Gee

After Hours

1,251 Listeners

Dwarkesh Podcast by Dwarkesh Patel

Dwarkesh Podcast

401 Listeners

MIT Technology Review Narrated by MIT Technology Review

MIT Technology Review Narrated

258 Listeners

Me, Myself, and AI by MIT Sloan Management Review and Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Me, Myself, and AI

106 Listeners

Coaching Real Leaders by Harvard Business Review / Muriel Wilkins

Coaching Real Leaders

652 Listeners

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups by Conviction

No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

121 Listeners

Unsupervised Learning by by Redpoint Ventures

Unsupervised Learning

39 Listeners

Possible by Reid Hoffman

Possible

91 Listeners

The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

462 Listeners

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley by BG2Pod

BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley

461 Listeners

AI + a16z by a16z

AI + a16z

29 Listeners