In this seminar, Curtis J. Milhaupt, Professor of Law at Stanford Law School, presents his recent research Networked State Capital in China’s AI Ecosystem. The paper examines China’s distinctive approach to state capitalism in the AI sector. Although many leading Chinese technology companies and AI unicorns remain privately controlled, state-affiliated capital is embedded at different levels of their ownership, investment and deployment networks. Milhaupt explores how these connections allow technological development and deployment to be coordinated with government policy priorities, challenging the conventional distinction between state-owned and private companies in China.