Stack battles: the US-China artificial-intelligence rivalry is moving beyond chips alone
you are currently viewing::Stack battles: the US-China artificial-intelligence rivalry is moving beyond chips aloneJune 22, 2026--China is challenging US leadership in both AI hardware and software, with Europe unlikely to catch up Yet the early evidence suggests that the software gap, like the hardware gap, is no longer fixed or unbridgeable. The signs of Chinese catch-up are real: an open-sourced toolkit with a state-backed contributor pipeline, falling switching costs through PyTorch compatibility, flagship open-weight models running on Ascend and a protected domestic market large enough to sustain the ecosystem through its immature phase. None of these existed in meaningful form two years ago. Source: bruegel.org |
June 23, 2026--The top 10 emerging technologies of 2026 are:
1. Everything-to-grid energy
Everything-to-grid energy transforms buildings, vehicles and devices from passive electricity consumers into active grid resources, storing and returning power in real-time. New battery chemistries, smarter coordination software and updated compensation models are making this possible at scale.
June 23, 2026-Low-tech, low-cost strategies could prevent 400 million falls at home, 8.5 million new type 2 diabetes cases and 2.4 million dementia cases by 2040, while unlocking $5.8 trillion in healthcare savings and $645 billion in productivity gains. Yet much of that opportunity remains unrealized because governments and businesses manage health, finances and labour participation separately, a new World Economic Forum report finds.