AI startups go global from day one

This report is from this week’s CNBC The China Connection newsletter, which provides insights and analysis on what’s driving the world’s second-largest economy. You can subscribe here.

Nvidia’s latest warning is that Chinese rivals are going to disrupt the world. It’s not just about fries.

More often than not, the chatter among startups building AI tools in China has less to do with the domestic market and more to do with the global opportunity.

In fact, Tripo AI, a 3D imaging modeling company, stated that around 90% of its users are outside China.

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

Since Tripo launched its 3D model generation platform in June 2025, monthly revenue has quickly grown to more than $1 million, Song said. He said that compared to corporate users in China, who are more focused on immediate returns, companies in Europe and the United States are more willing to try new AI tools even if there is no clear revenue gain yet.

The startup is just one example of how quickly products reach the market, despite global competition.

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

Next week, several Chinese AI companies will speak virtually at Nvidia’s GTC conference in San Jose, California. Two notable in-person sessions listed feature Moonshot’s founder and ByteDance Seed engineers.

These are just a few examples of how Chinese startups and tech giants are expanding rapidly around the world, a year after DeepSeek’s AI reasoning model surprised global investors. And companies aren’t waiting for the next DeepSeek model to come out.

Another Chinese startup, iSales, said it has 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 water pipe connector made in China is already 90% that of a comparable product made in Japan or Germany, but it is available at a third of the price, Pan Yiming, founder and CEO of iSales, said at an event in Beijing. It charges 40,000 yuan ($5,800) per client and expects more than 1,000 companies in China to sign up this year.

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

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

The capital strategy underscores how these companies are building with global markets in mind from day one. Both iSales and the much larger Tripo AI said they are prioritizing fundraising from US dollar-based investors, with a view to listing in Hong Kong in the future. In fact, iSales announced on Tuesday that it received a $1 million angel investment from Singapore-based Impa Ventures.

Tripo’s Song already has experience starting a business that can go public. He co-founded AI modeling company MiniMax, which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January. The stock rose more than 9% on 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 Chinese AI company SenseTime, he noticed a pattern among his team of more than 30 people: Even the most artistic graduates were suffering from creative blocks after completing repetitive animation tasks for five years to support a director’s ideas.

“Is that human? Is that cool?” said. With AI (and Tripo’s vision of a platform to change e-commerce) “we’re letting everyone show off.”

Impact of Iran. The death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in joint US-Israeli attacks has increased uncertainty over whether Trump will visit China as planned in late March.

Optimistic consumer. Data from the Lunar New Year holidays points to a rebound in spending, enough to prevent Beijing from embarking on large-scale stimulus.

Chinese technology in Spain. Smartphone company Honor showed off its robot phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​while Xiaomi launched its latest line of flagship smartphones at prices similar to last year, despite rising memory chip costs.

March 5: China’s National People’s Congress begins; publication of GDP and other economic objectives

March 9: China CPI, February PPI

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