Geopolitics of AI

AI development is concentrated in a handful of countries, with the United States and China far ahead of everyone else. Export controls, infrastructure investments, and geopolitics all shape who can build and deploy the most advanced systems. Epoch tracks which countries are leading in AI research and model development, how compute capacity breaks down geographically, and what this means for the global balance of AI capabilities.

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AI chip imports
Updated Nov. 3, 2026
AI chip imports

Our open database of AI chip imports, using global customs and domestic production data to estimate the geographic distribution of AI chips.

Introducing the AI Chip Imports explorer
Update
Oct. 27, 2026
Introducing the AI Chip Imports explorer

Our explorer uses customs records to estimate national shares. Since 2022, 72% of AI compute has ended up in the US and about 10% in China, including chips China makes itself.

By Lucio Melito and Isabel Juniewicz

China is more exposed to semiconductor supply-chain disruptions than the US
Report
Oct. 6, 2026
China is more exposed to semiconductor supply-chain disruptions than the US

China is 2.7× as exposed to semiconductor supply shocks as the US, Epoch AI estimates. Epoch traces chips through input-output tables to model the impact of a Taiwan shock and decoupling.

By Daniel Carey

How do Chinese AI companies make money?
Report
Oct. 6, 2026
How do Chinese AI companies make money?

China's six leading AI firms earn about 10% of OpenAI and Anthropic's combined AI revenue. Epoch AI examines their five revenue streams: consumer apps, model access, enterprise and government solutions, licensing fees, and indirect monetization through cloud and advertising.

By Cheryl Wu and Anson Ho

Will Huawei catch up to Nvidia by 2030?
Report
Updated Sep. 24, 2026
Will Huawei catch up to Nvidia by 2030?

Huawei plans major gains in AI chip performance by 2030, but US export controls cap its most important scaling levers. Epoch AI estimates Huawei will produce less than 4% as much AI compute as Nvidia in 2026, a share that could be around 1% by 2028 without access to foreign memory.

By Venkat Somala

Trade data is consistent with more than $3 billion of chips smuggled into China via Malaysia
Data Insight
Sep. 17, 2026
Trade data is consistent with more than $3 billion of chips smuggled into China via Malaysia

Epoch AI's analysis of trade data finds a pattern consistent with $3B worth of chips smuggled to China via Malaysia. China recorded $3.8B of server imports from Malaysia in 2024–25; Malaysia recorded only $0.6B of exports.

By Isabel Juniewicz

Diversion and resale: estimating compute smuggling to China
Report
Apr. 29, 2026
Diversion and resale: estimating compute smuggling to China

We estimate that between 290,000 and 1.6 million H100-equivalents (H100e) were smuggled to China through 2025. Our median estimate of 660,000 H100e would be roughly a third of China's total compute.

By Isabel Juniewicz

Five hyperscalers now own over two-thirds of global AI compute
Data Insight
Apr. 14, 2026
Five hyperscalers now own over two-thirds of global AI compute

Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle collectively hold an estimated 71% of the world's cumulative AI compute as of Q4 2025, up from 63% in Q1 2024.

By Luke Emberson, Josh You, and Venkat Somala

What does the war in Iran mean for AI?
Newsletter
Apr. 10, 2026
What does the war in Iran mean for AI?

A prolonged Hormuz crisis probably won't derail the compute buildout, but it could slow data center expansion and disrupt Gulf investment flows into AI.

By Josh You

Keeping up with the GPTs
Newsletter
Apr. 7, 2026
Keeping up with the GPTs

Can Chinese and open model companies compete with the frontier through e.g. distillation and talent?

By Anson Ho