What's Next for ChinaTalk
Growing to meet the moment
We’re eight years in. Originally a grad school project launched from a PKU dorm, ChinaTalk today has 50,000 subscribers and publishes some the best China tech and US-China coverage on the internet.
The 21st century may hinge on how China develops technology. Responding well to China’s advances requires more than machine-translated headlines. Our mission is to deliver nuanced analysis of China’s technological evolution, helping the world grapple with industry breakthroughs, evolving policies and their global implications.
How can a small organization like ChinaTalk have an impact? Today, there are maybe three people writing full time in English on China’s AI industry. Imagine how little you’d know if that was the straw through which you got all your information on OpenAI, Google, Nvidia, and every DC tech policy move. The work that we published this past year earned us praise from senior White House officials, senators, and Cabinet secretaries, consistently driving conversations months ahead of mainstream media outlets.
And there’s still so much more to do. We’re entering a critical time where AI capabilities are accelerating and the gap between western and Chinese models has nearly disappeared. Policymakers need a deep understanding of Chinese firms’ tech capabilities, Beijing’s intentions and the second order impacts of their toolkit.
In 2025, we’re growing a “ChinaTalk Institute” into a full-fledged think tank. Just like the Institute for Progress, we are analytically grounded, non-partisan, and internet-native, publishing research you actually want to read.
Thanks to generous support from our advertisers and philanthropic supporters — including Emergent Ventures, Schmidt Futures, the AI Safety Tactical Opportunities Fund, Evan Hubinger, and others — we’ve been able to hire our first two full-time employees and aim to grow to at least five by mid-year.
Check out a five-minute video I made on our ambitious for China AI research this year. If you’re interested in partnering to help support our work (we can accept tax-deductible donations), do reach out to jordan@chinatalk.media.
Beyond funding, we’re also looking for new part-time contributors and hoping to fill full-time positions. Please apply to the positions below if you want to do analysis like what you see below.
think tank entrepreneurship is so in for 2025
Kicking ass and taking names--excited to see what 2025 looks like for the team!