Investors are increasingly eyeing Chinese AI firms as affordable alternatives to high-priced US tech leaders. That may become easier to justify as US developers face tighter security restrictions, while companies like Alibaba GroupBABA

and BaiduBIDU

lean into low-cost, open-source models. Chinese AI stocks also trade at steep discounts to US peers such as AmazonAMZN

, though geopolitical and regulatory risks remain. Global investors are still relatively underexposed to the sector, creating a notable divergence in the AI investment ecosystem. [Read]