CNBC's China Connection newsletter: New AI players think global from day one

Nvidia's latest warning is that Chinese rivals are going to disrupt the world. It's not just in chips.

More often than not, the chatter among startups building AI tools in China is less about the domestic market and more about the global opportunity.

In fact, Tripo AI, an image-to-3D model generation company, said that around 90% of its users are outside China.

The startup is already in talks with major European and American companies in gaming, animation, and manufacturing about strategic investments, founder and CEO Simon Song told me last week.

Since Tripo released its 3D model generation platform in June 2025, monthly revenue quickly climbed to more than $1 million, Song said. He said that compared to corporate users in China, who are more focused on immediate returns, businesses in Europe and the U.S. are more willing to try out new AI tools even if there isn't yet a clear revenue gain.

The startup is just an example of how quickly products are coming to market, despite global competition.

Tripo released its latest H3.1 model for 3D model generation last week, as the startup works to build a platform that lets individuals use AI to eventually design their own physical products for sale. Song said Tripo plans to release a new tool that cuts generation time at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, which runs from March 9 to 13.

The following week, several Chinese AI companies are set to speak virtually at Nvidia's GTC conference in San Jose, California. Two notable in-person sessions listed feature the founder of Moonshot and engineers from ByteDance Seed.

Those are just some examples of how Chinese startups and tech giants are rapidly expanding worldwide, one year after DeepSeek's AI reasoning model shocked global investors. And businesses aren't waiting around for DeepSeek's next model to drop.

Another Chinese startup, iSales, said it's generated more than $1 million in revenue since June by helping more than 300 small Chinese manufacturers find buyers outside China.

They see an underserved market, despite trade tensions.

The quality of, say, a Chinese-made water pipe connector, is already 90% that of a comparable Japanese or German-made product — but available at one-third the price, Pan Yiming, founder and CEO of iSales, said at an event in Beijing. He charges 40,000 yuan ($5,800) per client and expects well over 1,000 businesses in China to sign up this year.

Later this spring, the company plans to launch its AI social media marketing tools to businesses outside China. Pan, a Tsinghua University graduate, also hinted at lofty ambitions: taking on American software giant Salesforce.

For now, iSales is a 50-person team mostly based in Shanghai's Pudong district, where Pan said the startup gets free office space courtesy of the local government, along with subsidies to use Chinese AI models.

The capital strategy underscores how these companies are building with global markets in mind from day one. Both iSales and the far larger Tripo AI said they're prioritizing fundraising from U.S. dollar-based investors, with an eye towards listing in Hong Kong down the road. In fact, iSales announced Tuesday it received a million-dollar angel investment from Singapore-based Impa Ventures.

Tripo's Song already has experience with starting a business that can go public. He co-founded the AI model company MiniMax, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January. The stock climbed more than 9% Tuesday after its first, upbeat earnings release.

When it comes to bigger questions about what AI means for the world, Song also has his own vision.

In a previous role as head of animation at the Chinese AI company SenseTime, he noticed a pattern among his team of more than 30 people: even the most artistic graduates would hit creative blocks after completing repetitive animation tasks for five years to support one director's ideas.

"Is that human? Is that great?" he said. With AI — and Tripo's vision for a platform to change e-commerce — "we allow everyone to show off."

Iran impact. The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.-Israel strikes has increased uncertainty over whether Trump will visit China as planned in late March.

Upbeat consumer. Lunar New Year holiday data point to a spending uptick, just enough to keep Beijing from likely embarking on large-scale stimulus.

China tech in Spain. Smartphone company Honor showed off its Robot Phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, while Xiaomi released its latest flagship smartphone lineup at prices similar to last year's, despite a surge in memory chip costs.

March 5: China's National People's Congress begins; release of GDP and other economic targets

March 9: China CPI, PPI for February

March 10: China trade data for the first two months of the year