The FlipSide Podcast

Chris Sun and Ryan Kearney
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The FlipSide Podcast breaks down US-China business, technology, AI, investing, politics, and growth strategy. Hosted by Chris Sun, a Chinese founder and Stanford GSB alum based in Silicon Valley, and Ryan Kearney, an American entrepreneur and Sichuan University MBA based in Chengdu, China. Each week, they decode Chinese companies going global, U.S. startups and venture capital, AI competition, tariffs, cross-border trade, consumer brands, and social commerce.

Episodes

  1. Sep 24

    Is The US Copying China Now?

    For years, China proudly wore the "copycat" label. In this episode, we watch it start to flip.A phone company that began making cars two years ago just built something Ford never thought of in a hundred years. Chris explains why: Xiaomi lives next to the factory floor. An AI prodigy who had an Apple offer, with permission to stay in Beijing, chose to build at home instead, and made Kimi. Apple is only now getting to a folding phone with their iPhone Duo; Huawei, Xiaomi, and Samsung already make one. And the advice that startups should steal IP first and hire lawyers later? That didn't come from China. Those are words straight out of ex-Google CEO's mouth.We also look at the other side of the coin: which of Y Combinator's most-wanted startup ideas belong in China and which only work in the US; why Anker wants off Amazon, and why brands in China are always renting their traffic; and where does that traffic go once AI starts answering the questions for us.So who's copying whom now? Forty-five minutes, two sides, you decide.

  2. Sep 18

    Cheap Tokens, Expensive Judement

    FlipSide EP12 is now live.This episode centers on a striking contrast in how AI is viewed in China and the U.S.In China, investors and entrepreneurs are largely optimistic about AI. In the U.S., some of the strongest warnings about AI are coming from people working inside frontier AI companies themselves.That contrast runs through the entire episode.Chris just got back from a trip through the Bay Area, New York, and Los Angeles. Ryan brings the view from Chengdu.They talk about how attitudes toward AI differ across China, the U.S., and generations. They also look at how businesses are changing the way they think about tokens and real-world AI usage.The conversation also touches on some of the latest business stories, from SHEIN's plans for a Hong Kong listing to Tesla's Cybercab.Tune in to FlipSide EP12, and let us know what you think in the comments.

  3. Aug 14

    Who Is Winning the AI Race?

    This episode is about the deeper variables behind the AI race.Why did Anthropic release one of the most powerful models and then pull it back? Why does open source AI still come with massive infrastructure costs? How are the US and China competing for top global talent? Why do Chinese internet companies fight so hard over portals, payments, and traffic? And will GEO make future brands more niche than ever?From models, chips, data, and power to visas, capital, platform wars, and the new class divide created by AI, this episode goes beyond AI headlines and looks at the structure behind US-China tech competition.#airace #USChinaTech #chinatech #GEO #FlipSidePodcast

  4. Aug 7

    In the AI Era, Who Tells the Better Story?

    Why can SpaceX tell a $1.7 trillion story, while Chinese AI companies focus on subsidies, scale, and mass adoption?In this episode, we unpack SpaceX’s valuation narrative, China’s AI subsidy playbook, WeChat Pay’s red-envelope attack on Alipay, the US-China divide in AI regulation, and why GEO may become the next major budget shift after SEO.This is a deeper look at how capital, policy, culture, and growth strategies differ between the US and China.

  5. Jul 31

    America Acts While China Plans

    In this episode of The FlipSide Podcast we unpack US and China’s long game across oil, AI infrastructure, and global competition.From the Strait of Hormuz and strategic oil reserves to AI agents that can shop and pay for you. AI healthcare and new language models to HUAWEI chips, humanoid robots, RedNote, stablecoins and AI coding agents. The bigger question is how China turns pressure into optionality. The US attacks problems and threats directly. China often changes the weight of the problem itself. Watch the full episode now.

  6. Jul 24

    From AI Nationalization to GEO Marketing

    On this episode of FlipSide, we cover a range of topics. We look at how differences in the talent composition of decision-makers in both nations shape their respective approaches to AI regulation; China’s standout efficiency in infrastructure development; the global supply chain landscape surrounding critical materials including rare earths and solar panels; the distinct paths TikTok and RedNote are taking within social commerce; and GEO, an emerging new industry vertical. We draw no firm conclusions and take no sides we simply observe ongoing developments. To wrap up, we explore an ideal scenario: what could be achieved if China’s execution efficiency combined with America’s capacity for innovative ideas. Tune in, and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments. #geomarketing #airegulations #globalsupplychain #socialcommerce #techgeopolitics #FlipSidePodcast

  7. Jul 17

    NEW TRAFFIC NEW BETS NEW FOUNDERS

    GEO, AI Discovery, social commerce, and creator content are merging into a new growth system. In the past, users searched Google first; now they may ask AI first. This means brands need not only to "be seen" but also to be understood, cited, and recommended by models. In this episode, we discussed AI traffic, data barriers, the differences between starting a business in China and the U.S., and the real costs hidden behind entrepreneurial myths. #AIDiscovery #GEO #SocialCommerce #Entrepreneurship#MarketingStrategy#FlipSidePodcast

  8. Jul 1

    Huawei Just Told the Chip Industry They Don't Need Them Anymore

    Huawei's new Tau Scaling Law is a bet that China can build frontier chips without the tools, machines, and suppliers America is trying to cut it off from. If it works, the entire sanctions playbook stops working. This is the new tech battlefield, and chips are the front line. With Chris Sun, CEO of BrandPal, and Ryan Kearney, an American entrepreneur based in Chengdu. Inside this one: Why Andrej Karpathy left OpenAI for Anthropic and what it means for the AI race. How Klarna fired 700 customer service agents and quietly hired them back. The Pizza Hut AI disaster that led to a $100 million lawsuit. Why your million TikTok followers do not actually belong to you. How one dress factory made $3.2 million in five months with five people on TikTok Shop. How Chinese factories iterate product designs in three days. And what a company chop is, plus why gangsters once broke in at midnight to steal one.

  9. Jun 17

    Almost Every Gadget You Own Is Built on One Street in China

    Elon Musk is renting 220,000 GPUs to Anthropic, the company he called "evil" three months ago. Around 90% of the world's consumer electronics come together on one street in Shenzhen, plus Labubu, the no-SaaS economy, and whether Anthropic's growth is even possible. The AI power play everyone is arguing about: Elon is fighting OpenAI, Anthropic is OpenAI's rival, so the compute flows to the rival. Can Anthropic sustain 10x-a-year growth and pass the Magnificent Seven, or is that physically impossible? The made-in-China reality: around 90% of the world's consumer electronics come together on one Shenzhen street, the Huaqiangbei district, no matter whose brand is on the box. Even US robotics startups funded by Silicon Valley VCs fly to China to build a prototype. Plus Pop Mart's Labubu as legal gambling (about 38% of revenue reportedly from one toy line), why China has almost no SaaS industry (labor economics, not a tech gap), a one-year-old LA pillow brand reportedly doing around 20 million dollars a month, and why no Chinese government official is allowed to drive a Tesla. With Chris Sun (CEO of BrandPal) and Ryan Kearney, an American entrepreneur based in Chengdu.

  • 9 Episodes

About

The FlipSide Podcast breaks down US-China business, technology, AI, investing, politics, and growth strategy. Hosted by Chris Sun, a Chinese founder and Stanford GSB alum based in Silicon Valley, and Ryan Kearney, an American entrepreneur and Sichuan University MBA based in Chengdu, China. Each week, they decode Chinese companies going global, U.S. startups and venture capital, AI competition, tariffs, cross-border trade, consumer brands, and social commerce.

Information

  • Creator
    Chris Sun and Ryan Kearney
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    9
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Chris Sun and Ryan Kearney
  • Show Website
    The FlipSide Podcast