I chose to study in China over a US college. Here's how I stayed plugged into Silicon Valley. (www.businessinsider.com)

William Chen, cofounder of Singapore-based Sapient Intelligence, chose to study at Tsinghua University in Beijing over prestigious US colleges, driven by his entrepreneurial aspirations and the strong research support he found at the institution. Despite concerns about China's hyper-competitive academic environment, Chen discovered a collaborative atmosphere that fostered innovation, ultimately leading him and cofounder Guan Wang to establish their AI lab aiming to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI). Sapient Intelligence focuses on creating latent-space AI models that outperform existing solutions in terms of speed and cost efficiency. Their flagship product, Praxist, is an autonomous research tool designed to expedite corporate research processes significantly. As the team grows to 50 members across three global hubs—Singapore, Beijing, and Palo Alto—they are poised to contribute to advancing AI technologies in a competitive landscape. Chen's journey illustrates the value of maintaining connections with the US tech ecosystem while harnessing the strengths of Chinese academic resources, emphasizing a global approach to innovation in AI and machine learning.