Archive

Sep 29, 2026

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7 min read

The empty chairs were the AI story

America seated its builders. China seated only officials. For investors, accident risk fell. Capital risk did not.

San Eng

Sep 23, 2026

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8 min read

Agents Just Ate Our VAs

OpenRouter is the receipt. Permission is the moat. What East vs West agents mean for builders and allocators.

San Eng

China AI

DeepSeek Is Going Public. Bet the Monopoly, Not the Multiple.

Sep 16, 2026

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10 min read

DeepSeek Is Going Public. Bet the Monopoly, Not the Multiple.

China's national AI champion.

San Eng

Sep 9, 2026

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7 min read

If Apple Can Use Qwen, What's Your Excuse?

Apple vetted eight labs for three years and chose Qwen for the iPhone in China. What that signal means for every Western company still refusing to look.

San Eng

Washington approved the chips. Beijing said no.

Sep 1, 2026

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10 min read

Washington approved the chips. Beijing said no.

The $23 billion that became $70 billion under discussion, the profit collapse that is mostly accounting, and the enterprise toll booth nobody is pricing.

San Eng

Aug 25, 2026

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7 min read

Why did Chinese AI give away $431 million in boba tea?

The West is building smarter models and cleaner protocols. China is building habituated users. Only one of those compounds.

San Eng

China Builds the Body. America Builds the Brain.

Aug 20, 2026

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7 min read

China Builds the Body. America Builds the Brain.

China shipped 97% of the world's humanoid robots. The trade is the supply chain, not the robot.

San Eng

Ten Years, One Sword: The Inside Story of Kimi K3 and the Founder America Left Behind

Aug 12, 2026

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8 min read

Ten Years, One Sword: The Inside Story of Kimi K3 and the Founder America Left Behind

What the IPO could reprice

San Eng

Nobody Trusts China's AI. Everyone Is Using It Anyway.

Aug 5, 2026

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7 min read

Nobody Trusts China's AI. Everyone Is Using It Anyway.

The US, Taiwan, Italy, Australia, and South Korea have all restricted it. Congress is investigating three Silicon Valley companies for using it anyway. The token count says the ban already lost.

San Eng

East/West AIpha | Edition 002