High Capacity – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, I speak with Georg Stieler, Asia Managing Director and Head of Robotics and Automation at Stieler, a global technology consulting firm. He’s a leading expert on robotics in China with over a decade of experience based in Shanghai.

Key takeaways:

• Know-how for robotics applications is now flowing from China to the West. Previously, Western and Japanese firms brought automation expertise to China. But now this flow of knowledge has flipped, especially EVs and batteries.
• China’s robotics market is also flipping. Made in China 2025 was a huge market opportunity for foreign robotics firms. But now they’re being challenged by Chinese players who are moving into global markets.
• Chinese robotics firms won in newer and simpler segments first like “cobots” (collaborative robots) and mobile robots, then moved up the industry ladder. The pandemic gave Chinese firms an opportunity to gain market share.
• The EV and electronics industries caused a step-change in the pace of production. Chinese manufacturers have accelerated development cycles, driving an acceleration in the global auto industry.
• Humanoid robots are part of China’s push into “physical AI.” China has an edge in robotics supply chains. A crucial factor will be the development of vision-language-action (VLA) models that power the “brains” of robots.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to Georg Stieler

00:43 Background working on robotics in China

04:52 Changes in China's robotics and industrial automation

09:08 The shift to EVs and industrial robotics

14:49 Which areas of robotics is China making progress in?

17:34 How the pandemic changed China's industrial robotics

21:15 Key players in China's industrial automation industry

27:18 The rise of China's humanoid robots

35:39 VLA models and training data

38:46 China's robotics supply chains: brain vs. body

43:17 Geopolitics and robotics supply chains

45:25 Future trends in Chinese robotics and industrial automation

49:19 The importance of systems integrators

53:57 Learn more about Georg Stieler's work

Follow Georg Stieler on Twitter / X and LinkedIn

Georg Stieler’s recent publications:

• The Robot Report: China experiences physical AI surge — and how the U.S. should respond
• The Robot Report: iREX 2025: From programmed to perceptive
• The Robot Report: CIIF 2024 shows major robotics trends in China

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Follow Kyle Chan on Twitter / X

A deep dive into China's robotaxi and autonomous driving industry. What are the big trends? Who are the major players? LiDAR vs. camera-only? How good are Chinese robotaxis? Where are they going next? I'm joined by China EV and AV expert Lei Xing in this episode of the High Capacity podcast.

00:00 Intro to Lei Xing

01:06 Smart driving vs. autonomous driving

06:37 Chinese government policy for autonomous vehicles

13:44 What's it like to ride a Chinese robotaxi?

19:29 China's different robotaxi strategies

29:30 Huawei as a major player

35:11 AI and autonomous driving in China

41:25 Semiconductor chips and smart driving

47:21 Shifting geopolitical landscape

53:40 Commercial trucking and delivery robots

Follow Lei Xing:

• Twitter / X

• LinkedIn

• YouTube

• China EVs & More podcast

For transcripts and more episodes, check out the High Capacity newsletter.

China's top AI players like Alibaba, ByteDance, and Moonshot are pursuing different strategies. China AI expert Grace Shao joins me on the High Capacity podcast to talk about the most important trends in China's AI landscape: agentic AI, ecosystem integration, raising capital, and navigating geopolitics.

00:00 Intro to Grace Shao

03:51 Agentic AI in China

17:42 The popularity of ByteDance's Doubao app

23:11 China's AI tigers

28:42 Shifts in China's AI strategy

34:32 Meta's acquisition of Manus

40:43 Singapore as a geopolitical gateway for AI

50:12 Future trends in China's AI industry

Links:

• AI Proem newsletter
• Differentiated Understanding podcast
• High Capacity newsletter

Chinese EVs are transforming the global auto industry. Tu Le, founder and Managing Director of Sino Auto Insights, joins me on the High Capacity podcast to talk about what's happening with Chinese EVs: technology and features, global expansion, new approaches to manufacturing, hybrids, and robotaxis.00:00 Introduction to Tu Le00:56 Cool Technology in Chinese EVs05:16 Chinese EVs at CES in Las Vegas07:18 Geely's Ambitious Plans for the US Market09:50 Who are the Major Chinese EV Players?17:07 Are EVs like Consumer Electronics?25:16 Manufacturing Changes in the Auto Industry29:05 Overcapacity and Chinese EVs31:43 Overcapacity and Global Implications37:33 Partnering with Chinese EV Makers44:12 The Future of Hybrids and the EV Transition50:18 The Rise of Robotaxis and Autonomous Driving

Links:

• Sino Auto Insights
• SAI Newsletter
• China EVs & More podcast
• At the Wheel podcast

Subscribe to the High Capacity podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.

Read the High Capacity newsletter

Follow Kyle Chan on Twitter / X

Tom Wang, Hugging Face's head of APAC ecosystem, joins me to talk about the latest wave of Chinese AI models, how China's AI open source ecosystem works, the rise of AI agents and OpenClaw in China, and more.Links:- Tom Wang on Twitter / X- Tom Wang on Hugging FaceFor transcripts and more, check out the High Capacity newsletter

From DeepSeek to Kimi, China's open-source AI models have gotten all the attention. But open source has a much longer history in China, according to Kevin Xu, former head of global expansion strategy at GitHub. Kevin takes us on a journey through China's open source evolution, from its grassroots beginnings to its central role today in China's AI strategy. We also get into the current OpenClaw craze in China and why Chinese tech firms seem to be jumping in faster than their American peers.

00:00 Intro to Kevin Xu

04:21 Early days of Chinese open source

16:11 1024 Programmers' Day and 996.ICU

27:33 Huawei enters the game

41:57 DeepSeek moment

51:17 China's OpenClaw frenzy

56:40 Will China keep doing open-source?

Links:

• Chinese Open Source: A Definitive History
• Kevin Xu's Interconnected newsletter
• Interconnected Capital
• Kevin Xu on Twitter / X

For transcripts and more, check out the High Capacity newsletter

What's China's tech culture really like? Are there billionaire tech founders? Are they worshipped like they are in the US? What inspires Chinese tech entrepreneurs?

00:00 Intro to Afra Wang

00:33 What is Chinese tech culture?

09:04 China's 4 tech generations

20:25 China's tech founders and the government

25:42 China's tech canon

44:12 Chinese sci-fi and tech culture

50:43 Chinese ideas of industrial power

Links:

- Concurrent newsletter

- Afra's professional website

- Wired: You've Never Heard of China's Greatest Sci-Fi Novel

- Asterisk: The China Tech Canon

- Afra on Twitter / X

Transcripts and more on the High Capacity newsletter