Stanford: China ‘effectively’ closes AI model performance gap to US

AI productivity gains are often seen in sectors that cut entry-level jobs.

The US is no longer leading the AI model race, says the latest Stanford AI Index report, which finds that the performance gap between Chinese and American models has “effectively closed”.

The AI Index is an initiative at the Stanford University Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence. In its eighth edition last year, it found that even though Chinese AI models were fast catching up in performance, the US was still placed as the clear leader in the race. That, however, has changed.

Since early 2025, several Chinese models have challenged their American counterparts, with China’s DeepSeek-R1 marking the first large instance last February. Models from Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Zhipu and MiniMax have since continuously ranked high in leaderboards.

The US, however, continues to be AI’s biggest backer, still producing more “top-tier” AI models and high-impact patents, while China is leading the game in volume, industrial robot installations, citations and patent output.