China is currently experiencing its Sputnik moment. Just as the Soviet Union surprised the USA with the first satellite in space in the late 1950s, China’s Sputnik is currently appearing for Europe in the form of artificial intelligence and futuristic, battery-powered vehicles. The Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek is showing the American tech champions Google, Apple and Meta that AI „Made in China“ is world-class. The young company has developed an open standard relatively cheaply – R1 is said to have cost less than six million euros. At the same time, it is clear that the US sanctions on chip exports have stimulated Chinese innovation rather than hindering the country in the further development of future-proof technology. A wake-up call – also for Europe.