UniSuper CIO Warns China’s AI Advancements Threaten U.S. Tech Dominance

John Pearce, Chief Investment Officer at UniSuper, has issued a stark warning about China's rapid progress in artificial intelligence. The A$158 billion Australian pension fund executive cautions that Chinese AI tools—developed at lower costs with comparable capabilities—could trigger a sell-off among U.S. tech giants.

Speaking at the Bloomberg Forum for Investment Management in Sydney, Pearce highlighted the risk of "DeepSeek moments" destabilizing trillion-dollar firms like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Apple. China's push for technological independence from U.S. systems is yielding increasingly sophisticated AI alternatives, raising fundamental questions about the sustainability of current market valuations.

The comments come amid growing scrutiny of AI-related equities, many trading at premium valuations despite being in early proof-of-concept stages. This development signals potential volatility for tech markets long accustomed to American leadership in innovation.