DeepSeek’s game-changing rise, China’s robot boot camps: 7 AI 2025 breakthroughs

From DeepSeek sending shock waves through tech market to China’s robot boot camps, here are some of the major AI developments of the year

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DeepSeek is being touted as China’s secret weapon in the artificial intelligence war with the US. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:00pm, 22 Dec 2025

Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest stories about AI developments in China this year. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing.

1. DeepSeek’s AI breakthrough could alter China’s ‘national fate’ in US tech war

DeepSeek, extolled by some as the “biggest dark horse” in the open-source large language model (LLM) arena, now has a bull’s eye on its back, as the start-up is being touted as China’s secret weapon in the artificial intelligence (AI) war with the US.

2. China is ‘nanoseconds behind’ US in chips, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says

Allowing US companies like Nvidia to compete in China fits the interests of both Beijing and Washington, according to Jensen Huang, the US chipmaker’s founder and CEO, as Chinese players gear up to be Nvidia-free.

3. China aims to leapfrog the US in robotics. Its latest tactic: robot boot camps

Technicians train humanoid robots at a data collection centre run by the robotics company Agibot in Shanghai. Photo: Getty Images

China is going all out to outpace the United States in the race to develop advanced humanoid robots. Its latest strategy: sending its bots to boot camp.

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