Moore Threads' Wang Dong Highlights High Costs for Embodied AI Firms

Wang Dong, co-founder and executive president of Chinese GPU maker Moore Threads, said on the 5th that many embodied AI companies are facing significant hardships. During training, they are forced to choose a leading overseas chip company, he noted. A machine that costs several million RMB abroad now requires 20 million RMB domestically, making costs prohibitively high, Wang said.

The remarks underscore the challenges facing China's AI industry as it seeks to develop embodied intelligence—AI systems that interact with the physical world—amid tight export controls and high hardware costs. Wang did not specify which overseas chip company he was referring to. Moore Threads, a domestic GPU developer, is positioning itself as an alternative, though the gap remains substantial. The cost disparity highlights the uphill battle for Chinese startups in the competitive AI hardware landscape.