Chinese AI, humanoid robot make Time magazine’s ‘Best Inventions of 2025’ list
New generation of innovators in spotlight as DeepSeek’s advanced reasoning model and Unitree’s affordable humanoid draw acclaim
Over 20 Chinese companies have earned a place on Time magazine’s “Best Inventions of 2025” list, with innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) recognised for the first time alongside advances in robotics and consumer electronics.
This year’s edition – covering 300 innovations across 36 categories, the most ever – marks the first time Chinese advances in AI have been highlighted since the sector was introduced in 2020.
“The abrupt appearance of DeepSeek’s R1 advanced reasoning model at the start of the year was akin to the ‘shot heard ‘round the world’ in AI circles,” according to Time.
Released in January, the high-performance, low-cost model from the Hangzhou-based start-up rivals some of the most advanced in the United States. Its rapid ascent has forced a rethink of China’s position in the global AI race.
Seven innovations from the US and the Netherlands rounded out the AI category, including Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 4 model launched in May, Nvidia’s compact DGX Spark supercomputer, and DocuMine – a document analysis tool developed by Amsterdam-based start-up DataSnipper.
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