Eric Schmidt says China is now just 6 months behind the U.S. in AI
In an interview from the Rapid Response podcast series recorded at Masters of Scale Summit 2026, Schmidt discusses the accelerating AI competition between the U.S. and China. He explains that the technological gap has substantially narrowed due to recent developments, particularly declining software costs. Schmidt also addresses the open-source debate affecting Silicon Valley and explores potential paths to prevent the competition from becoming entirely zero-sum, though he acknowledges current political conditions make this challenging.
Key points
- AI capability gap between U.S. and China has narrowed to approximately six months, down from an earlier two-year estimate
- Cost of software development is cited as a major factor enabling faster Chinese advancement
- Open-source technology and geopolitical tensions are central concerns for the industry moving forward
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