US Sanctions Propel China AI Prodigy to $23 Billion Fortune

In 2019, Chen Tianshi was a long way from becoming one of the wealthiest people on the planet.

The largest customer for his three-year-old artificial intelligence chip startup, Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., had abruptly cut off almost all business in favor of developing its own semiconductors. Until then, Huawei had been the source of over 95% of the company’s revenue.