Feng Huang Wang·2025-11-14 09:05Core Insights - Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, expressed concerns that many countries may ultimately adopt Chinese AI models due to cost issues, leading to a geopolitical divide where the best models in the U.S. are closed-source while those in China are open-source [2] - Open-source AI models are free and publicly available for anyone to use and share, which may attract governments with less funding compared to Western nations, regardless of the quality of the models [2] - The debate between open-source and closed-source advocates centers on the rapid development and democratization of technology versus the higher security associated with closed-source models [2] Industry Context - Chinese AI models, such as DeepSeek and Alibaba's Tongyi Qwen 3, have gained significant attention this year, raising concerns about the competitive advantage of the U.S. in the AI sector [2] - Schmidt's background includes leading Google through its IPO in 2004 and currently being a founding partner at venture capital firm Innovation Endeavours, with a net worth close to $50 billion according to Bloomberg [3] - Other supporters of open-source models include Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, and Arthur Mensch, CEO of French AI startup Mistral, both advocating for the development of sovereign AI, which refers to a nation's control over AI technology, data, and infrastructure [3]