China’s artificial intelligence models may be only a few months behind developments in the United States and the West, Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google-owned DeepMind, said Friday on a podcast.

Hassabis noted that Chinese AI developers, including DeepSeek and the so-called “AI Six Tigers,” have released several advanced models over the past year, performing on par with U.S. counterparts in major AI benchmark tests.

Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent have also significantly increased investments in AI over the past year, reflecting the country’s growing push in the field.