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AI Race: How Chinese Giants Are Surviving Without U.S. Chips

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Chinese tech giants Tencent and Baidu are staying competitive in AI by stockpiling chips, optimizing software, and turning to local semiconductor solutions.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Baidu uses full-stack AI strategy to reduce reliance on restricted U.S. chips.
• Chinese firms optimize software to increase efficiency with fewer chips.
• Homegrown semiconductors are helping China reduce dependence on foreign technology.

Chinese tech giants Tencent and Baidu are finding new ways to stay competitive in artificial intelligence despite tougher U.S. restrictions on advanced chip exports. These companies are adjusting strategies by stockpiling chips, improving software efficiency, and exploring homegrown semiconductors.

Tencent President Martin Lau said that the company maintains a “pretty strong stockpile” of high-end GPUs which were purchased earlier, as reported by CNBC . These chips are crucial for training large AI models. While U.S. companies often expand GPU clusters to boost performance, Lau said Tencent achieves solid results using fewer chips.

“That actually sort of helped us to look at our existing inventory of high-end chips and say, we should have enough high-end chips to continue our training of models for a few more generations going forward,” Lau explained, as reported by CNBC.

For running AI tasks, known as inferencing, Tencent is focusing on software optimization and smaller, less power-hungry models. The company is also turning to chips currently available in China.

“I think there are a lot of ways [in] which we can fulfill the expanding and growing inference needs […] rather than just brute force buying GPUs,” Lau added.

Baidu is leveraging what it calls its “full-stack” AI strategy, combining its cloud systems, AI models, and applications like its ERNIE chatbot.

“Even without access to the most advanced chips, our unique full stack AI capabilities enable us to build strong applications and deliver meaningful value,” said Dou Shen, head of Baidu’s AI cloud unit.

Shen added that Chinese progress in developing domestic AI chips and efficient software is helping offset the U.S. curbs. While China still lags behind U.S. chipmakers, experts like Gartner’s Gaurav Gupta say the country’s push to build its own chip ecosystem is showing notable results.

Image by Charles DeLoye, from Unsplash

Entry-Level Jobs At Risk As AI Takes Over, Says LinkedIn

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

AI is rapidly replacing the kinds of entry-level jobs young workers need, sparking warnings about career starts from LinkedIn’s Aneesh Raman.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• AI is replacing tasks usually done by entry-level workers.
• LinkedIn warns of AI disrupting early career opportunities.
• Office roles are next in line for AI-driven cuts.

Entry-level jobs are disappearing fast, and artificial intelligence may be to blame. LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer Aneesh Raman issued this warning that AI technology is destroying the entry-level positions which serve as the foundation of career advancement.

In a recent New York Times op-ed , Raman compared today’s AI disruption to the loss of manufacturing jobs in the 1980s. Now, he says, “it is our office workers who are staring down the same kind of technological and economic disruption.”

The tasks that used to be performed by junior employees for code debugging and legal team support now rely on artificial intelligence tools. Wall Street firms are currently evaluating deep reductions in their entry-level recruitment process, as noted by Fortune .

Raman argues that the unemployment rate among college graduates continues to increase at a faster pace than it does for other demographic groups.

The biggest shake-up is hitting tech first, but other sectors like finance, food, and travel are likely next. “The erosion of traditional entry-level tasks is expected to play out in fields like finance, travel, food and professional services, too,” Raman warned.

Roman also pointed out to the growing concern that job market inequality could worsen. Without entry-level roles, people without elite connections or privileged backgrounds may find it even harder to get started.

Roman argues that the impact goes beyond individuals, indeed, when major economic shifts hit, entire communities feel the effects. The loss of manufacturing jobs across America’s heartland didn’t just mean lost paychecks, it triggered widespread social and political disruption.

To fix this, he suggests schools teach AI skills across all subjects and businesses train junior workers in more complex tasks.

Jasper.ai CEO Timothy Young agrees that the hiring game is changing: “There is a lot of power in the junior employees, but you can’t leverage them the same way that you would in the past,” as reported by Fortune

While some companies like Duolingo and Klarna have pulled back on AI plans, studies show AI’s real-world impact is slower than expected. “It seems it’s a much smaller and much slower transition,” said University of Chicago professor Anders Humlum, as reported by Fortune.