Ackman pointed to China’s rapid expansion of AI data centers, arguing that Beijing is investing aggressively while the United States faces regulatory, energy, and permitting challenges that could slow AI development. According to Ackman, the massive computing power provided by these data centers will play a critical role in determining which country leads the next generation of artificial intelligence.
“China is not putting moratoriums on data centers,” Ackman wrote. “The race for super intelligence needs to be won by the USA or our country and democracy will be at risk.” He believes AI leadership will become one of the most important geopolitical battles of this century.
The warning comes as Chinese technology giants, including Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, and ByteDance, continue investing tens of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. Ackman says the decisions both countries make today could determine the future balance of global power for decades to come.