In recent months, there has been a noticeable surge in interest from foreign investment institutions in China's A-share listed companies. Prominent players such as Baoyin Capital, Point72, Allianz Investment, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority have been actively conducting research and investigations into various sectors of the Chinese stock market. According to data from Wind, over sixty A-share companies have already been surveyed by these foreign entities since February.

Among the sectors that have captured the most attention are electronics, integrated circuits, and application software. Each of these industries has seen a multitude of investigations, with five companies from each field being closely scrutinized. Notably, firms like Lanke Technology, Orbbec, and Softwin Technology have attracted considerable foreign interest, with these companies having hosted more than ten of these foreign institutional inquiries.

This heightened scrutiny of these industries isn't serendipitous but is instead reflective of a broader trend focusing on the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) sector in China, particularly in relation to large AI models, robotics, and applications across various industries. The development of the AI landscape serves as a critical touchpoint for discerning potential investment opportunities among foreign firms.

The launch of DeepSeek earlier this year has ignited conversations surrounding technological investment in China, sparked particularly by the amusing sight of AI-driven robots performing traditional Chinese dance during the Spring Festival gala. This cultural event highlighted not only the innovative edge of Chinese technology but also underscored its growing international potential.

In February, nearly one hundred foreign investment firms—including Baoyin Capital and Allianz Investment—have actively engaged in research endeavors focused on A-share companies. The pivotal question that looms over these investigations is the transformative impact that DeepSeek may have on various industries. Foreign firms, including Fidelity International, have been particularly keen on this topic.

Experts, such as those from Beijing Beifang, are forecasting three major changes stemming from DeepSeek's integration into business operations: the trend towards open-source applications, the potential for private deployment in offline scenarios, and notably, improvements in application effectiveness. Companies are now encouraged to experiment with integrating their private deployments alongside software applications, paving the way for exploring hardware-software integration approaches moving forward.

Wanma Technology has hinted at significant changes to come as they complete the integration of DeepSeek. They plan to rigorously test DeepSeek's multi-modal large models, with preliminary validations already occurring on their H20 platform. Wanma is collaborating with NVIDIA to refine the performance of these large models to enhance their responsiveness services for large enterprises, facilitating advancements in the intelligent development sector.

Kong Rong, the co-director of Tianfeng Securities Global Forward-looking Industry Research Institute, posits that as foundational AI models reach world-class capabilities, a wave of opportunities for AI applications will emerge. Whether in enterprise solutions or consumer-end sectors like e-commerce, finance, or healthcare, a plethora of new projects and investment opportunities are anticipated. This increasing focus on China's AI industry could further elevate its attractiveness to global investors, ultimately enhancing the asset valuation along the entire AI industrial chain.

Furthermore, robotics technologies, particularly those showcased by Yushu Technology, have sparked interest among foreign investment firms regarding the comparative technological capabilities of robots manufactured domestically versus those from international competitors. Companies such as Orbbec, Aoptical, Hanwei Technology, and Zhao Ming Technology have eagerly engaged in these discussions.

For institutions like Allianz Investment and J.P. Morgan looking to understand the competitive landscape of domestic machine vision companies, Aoptical responded by emphasizing the local enterprises' better understanding of domestic market demands and customer needs, which enables them to provide customized services swiftly. Such agility not only allows them to cater to client requirements effectively but also to maintain a competitive edge in cost management, paving the way for an annual increase in market share.

Additionally, companies have shared future plans for their robotic ventures with foreign investors. Zhao Ming Technology aims to transition their formerly static “screen-shaped robotic” design into mobile and intelligent humanoid robots, aligning with market trends calling for interactive AI companionship technologies. With ongoing technical developments and preparedness for compatible AI holographic products, the company positions itself for steady growth in this domain.

Institutions such as Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, and Morgan Funds have closely monitored the industry trend for humanoid robotics. Orbbec expressed its conviction that the influx of major industry players into the humanoid robotics sector signals a marked trend towards industrial upgrades. With advancements in technology and an expanding market demand, coupled with supportive policy frameworks, the humanoid robotics market is anticipated to experience rapid growth over the coming years. Orbbec's 3D vision perception products play a significant role in the humanoid robots' critical processes of sensing, decision-making, and execution, indicating their potential for consistent benefits from the sector's expansion.

Foreign investment interests, however, go beyond merely chasing trends; they are also keenly focusing on the development of the AI application industry chain within China, particularly on chips and related software and hardware technologies. Observers note that the progress in product development and strategic deployment in the AI domain is paramount to attracting foreign capital.

Since February, Lanke Technology has welcomed inquiries from over 40 foreign institutions, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Allianz. The firm's advancements in several chip developments have become focal points of interest. They reported that, as of January, their second generation of MRCD and MDB chips has successfully reached global memory vendors, promising seamless memory performance supporting up to 12,800 MT/s transmission speed vital for next-gen computing platforms capable of meeting high-performance calculations and AI application needs.

Lanke Technology asserts that the growing demand for novel technology in the memory sector—including new chips like MRCD/MDB and CKD—will fuel the gradual maturation of product ecosystems, expanding the company's reachable market size significantly. Additionally, Chipone Integrated Circuit's engagement with foreign institutions like Allianz and Helvete Capital highlighted their capabilities in AI application-based hardware and software customization solutions.

In the realm of sensors, foreign firms such as Morgan Funds, Point72, Millennium Capital, and HSBC Global Asset Management have paid close attention. Softwin elaborated on their deep dive into consumer needs across sectors like smart security and automotive electronics, crafting a diversified array of products suitable for various market segments.

Finally, the implications of domestic policies on tech firms are garnering heightened scrutiny from foreign investors. For instance, Weijie Chuangxin recently hosted visits from over ten foreign investment firms, including 3W Foundation and JPMorgan Chase. Discussing the anticipated impacts of national subsidy policies set for 2025, the company noted a notable increase in mobile phone sales during the recent Spring Festival holiday, signifying potential market recovery and bolstered optimism for upcoming orders observed from certain clients.