Kai-Fu Lee

The chairman and chief executive officer of Sinovation Ventures says America’s technology industry can’t afford to underestimate the artificial intelligence companies he’s funding in China. Lee, a Taiwan native, has spent most of his professional life in China, but he lived for a quarter-century in the U.S. before becoming a venture capitalist, and he’s worked for Apple, Microsoft, and Google on one side of the Pacific or the other. Lee spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek shortly before the official release of his book AI Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order. His comments have been condensed and edited.

- Peter Elstrom

Why should Google and America’s other AI leaders be worried about competition from China?

A lot of people in Silicon Valley assume if you’re a copycat, you’re doomed for life. You’re never going to become a great innovator. China has proven that wrong. Think about a very smart, hardworking bunch of people with strong leadership and business skills who just haven’t been in an environment as lucky as Silicon Valley. Being a copycat first actually turned out to be the best training ever.

Think of it as a pyramid. For all these copycats entering the base of the pyramid, most will not make it because they never learn to build a good product. But if you copy at the first stage, then learn from the experience and make your next startup better or your current product better, that’s a very formidable solution that Silicon Valley never thought possible.

Is there a company that stands out?