China‘s pivot from cracking down on quantitative traders to embracing AI-driven retail trading marks a radical shift in its financial markets landscape. This transformation is upending traditional investment approaches as Chinese retail investors flock to tools like DeepSeek, investing substantial sums in AI trading education and creating a new battlefield where algorithms, rather than human intuition, increasingly determine market winners and losers.
The big picture: Chinese retail traders are rapidly adopting AI tools like DeepSeek for stock trading, just one year after the government’s crackdown on computer-driven quantitative traders.
The dramatic shift: Individual investors are paying premium prices for AI trading education, reflecting a complete reversal in market sentiment.
- Investors recently paid 15,800 yuan (approximately $2,200) for weekend lectures on AI stock trading, compared to the public outcry against quant funds just a year earlier.
- Chinese social media platforms are now saturated with online courses teaching traders how to leverage DeepSeek for company evaluation, stock selection, and coding trading strategies.
Why it matters: DeepSeek, backed by a quantitative fund, has fundamentally altered China’s market trajectory and perception of its hedge fund industry.
- The AI tool’s growing popularity is compelling brokerages and wealth managers to adapt their offerings and strategies.
- Just a year ago, quantitative funds were widely derided as “bloodsuckers” by retail investors, highlighting the remarkable transformation in market sentiment.
What they’re saying: Market educators are framing AI as an essential component of future trading success.
- “The future is the digital age, and AI will be vital,” Hong Yangjun told a packed room of individual investors eager to learn AI-powered trading techniques.
- Lecturers are comparing stock markets to technological battlegrounds, suggesting that future trading, like warfare, will be dominated by automated systems rather than human decision-makers.
Between the lines: Experts caution that investors may be placing excessive faith in AI trading tools despite their apparent advantages.
- “People trust AI models more than they trust financial advisers, which is probably misplaced trust at least at this stage,” warned Larry Cao, highlighting concerns about over-reliance on these emerging technologies.
- DeepSeek’s popularity stems primarily from its cost-efficiency and reasoning capabilities, but this doesn’t necessarily guarantee consistent investment success.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...