China’s AI Exports Hit New Highs

September 2025: China’s AI exports jumped 8.3% YoY—far above forecasts. Integrated circuits up 32.7%; electromechanical exports up 13.1%. US exports to China fell 27%. Africa got 56% more, Europe 14% more. The global supply chain has already shifted.

Chinese open-source AI models now beat US rivals in key benchmarks. Beijing tripled chip production, invested billions in new foundries, and used surplus energy for large-scale model training. While Washington restricts chips, China builds full-stack silicon to super intelligence and speeds up every link.

Today, the hottest AI infrastructure is in Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Seoul. Capital is migrating East. Competitive edge now means rapid AI adoption: it’s “East-speed AI vs. West-slow AI.” Winners move fast.

Wake-Up Call: Surf or Sink?

Western leaders scramble to adapt, reviewing policies, infrastructure, and talent. Success will come from supply chains and digital execution—not just lab research. China is advancing; the West must catch up.

The AI export tsunami is here. The East is accelerating. Subscribe for exclusive intelligence and get ready to surf the AI wave.

WorkOptional Event in Bangkok

Our latest AI Productivity Meetup was a packed house. Bangkok’s top professionals gathered for an evening of hands-on learning, expert demos, and vibrant networking. Charlie Phairojmahakij, the star of this event and the CTO of CloudNurse, brought a unique “builder’s mindset” to solving complex business problems with AI in the real world and discussed delivering enterprise level AI agents.

3 Key Insights from Charlie’s Session:

4 Human Architects equals a normal 10-Man Output

Charlie’s team embraced “specter development”: four skilled architects plan and review while cloud AI writes the code.

Impact: 10x output! Paired with AI automation small teams can now outperform larger traditional teams.

AI Solves Culture? Unlocking Team Expression

By adopting a “voice first” approach, Charlie unlocked a more open team culture. Employees, once hesitant to speak up due to local norms, became eager to share ideas. 

Impact: These human x AI interactions and training transformed communication and innovation in meetings.

The 87.5% Time Cut: Automated Bugs and Banned Slides

Internal presentations (Charlie’s self-confessed least favorite task) are now AI-generated from spoken outlines.  Meanwhile, the team uses an automated, AI-driven bug-fixing loop for faster issue resolution.

Impact: Presentation creation time slashed by over 80%, and a seamless Sentry → Linear → Cursor agent pipeline reduced bug resolution from hours to just 15 minutes.

TOP 5 GLOBAL AI STORIES: 

1. 470,000 Employees Get AI Agents
   Deloitte rolls out Anthropic’s Claude agent to 470,000 staff in 150 countries, marking the largest enterprise “agentification” project in the world. These agents now handle everything from internal comms to project updates.​

2. Salesforce Unveils Agentforce 360, Leading the Enterprise Race for AI Agents
   Agentforce 360 features Agent Script, a powerful new tool for programming flexible, “reasoning” agents powered by Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google Gemini giving companies unprecedented control and agility in customer service, IT, and HR.

3. VC Firm Fires All Analysts—Deploys AI Agents to Run $75 Million Fund

   San Francisco’s Davidovs Venture Collective (DVC) ditched all human analysts, using AI agents—built by 170 LPs from top tech firms—to run sourcing, vetting, and monitoring for its new $75M fund. These agents manage deal memos and portfolios, enabling founder matchmaking, freeing talent, and cutting labor costs.

4. Fiverr, Klarna, Duolingo Make ‘AI-First’ Leap
   Freelance giant Fiverr, edtech Duolingo, and payments platform Klarna announce they are now “AI-first”—restructuring staff and platforms to make AI agents the heartbeat of operations. The shift means better efficiency, but also a new management model and bold challenges for team culture.​

5. DeepSeek Unveils New Model, Sends Shockwaves Through VC and Academia

   DeepSeek released another new model that prompted an immediate wave of funding and research interest. Domestic and global VCs jumped on fresh deals, and analysts confirm China’s playbook is now shaping future AI investment priorities.​

Must-Attend AI EVENTS: October 2025

1. AgentCon 2025
   October 15 – Cologne, Germany | October 17 – Lagos, Nigeria

2. AI Agent Security Summit
   October 22 - 23, San Francisco, USA

3. CDAO Fall

   October 22–23, Boston, USA

Closing Thoughts

This wave of AI-driven change shows what’s possible when people, teams, and technology converge with the right mindset. As global competition accelerates, those who learn, adapt, and put AI to work will define the next era. Ready to move faster? Don’t just watch—get involved and surf the AI wave with us.

WorkOptional Guiding you from the AI Silk Road to Silicon Gold - one insight at a time.