China's AI focus shifts from models to agents, state report says

China's AI industry is shifting from competing on large models to deploying AI agents, according to a China Telecom Research Institute report, which predicts inference will account for 80% of the country's compute market by 2029. The report, carried by state broadcaster CCTV, expects agents to drive nearly tenfold annual growth in computing demand over the next two to three years. Chinese tech companies are projected to spend close to 600 billion yuan ($89 billion) on AI this year. Europe is pursuing a different timeline, with bidding for seven gigafactories closing in November and machines due online by mid-2028 under a €30 billion program, though only about €1 billion is secured.