Has the U.S. lost the AI race to China?

There’s an awful lot of hype surrounding AI, and even more capital behind it. AI data centers are propping up the U.S economy right now, accounting for over 1% of GDP. So when someone suggests the race may not be being won, or worse, that the AI race may be over, it makes people sit up in their seats.

That’s what Adam Livingston, author of The Bitcoin Age, claims: it’s already game over: China has pulled far ahead, not by out-coding the U.S., but by quietly cornering the one resource frontier AI needs most—energy, specifically nuclear power.

But how much truth is there to this narrative, and are things really so black and white?

Nuclear scoreboard: fact vs. fiction

Livingston highlights a striking disparity. China is currently building 16 nuclear power plants, while the United States has zero. He’s not far off with his numbers. As of late 2025, China has about 30 reactors under construction, with repeated yearly approval for more, making up nearly half the world’s new builds.

Some analysts say China aims to reach 65 gigawatts of nuclear capacity by the end of this year and 200 gigawatts by 2040 (roughly a tenfold growth).

By contrast, the U.S. completed its Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors after lengthy delays and cost overruns. Currently, there are no brand-new large-scale nuclear projects at the ground-breaking stage.

Yet, this isn’t the whole picture. For the first time in years, there are new plans for U.S. nuclear. Following recent executive orders and policy reforms, Westinghouse announced intentions to construct 10 big reactors by 2030. Work is expected to begin in the next few years.

However, regulatory hurdles, public skepticism, and the sheer complexity of nuclear buildouts mean execution is far from guaranteed, and actual new construction is not yet underway.