The Return of the Former Billionaire: From "King of Games" to "Consciousness Hacker"

In March 2026, Chen Tianqiao, the founder of Shanda Group, made his first international media interview after nine years of retirement. This legendary figure, who had conquered China's gaming industry at the age of 31 and become the richest man in China, is now redefining himself in his home in California. His current goal is no longer the virtual "Legend of the Heroes," but a more elusive ultimate question: cracking the source code of human consciousness.

Chen Tianqiao stated that he is working on creating an AI "smarter than humans" and is committed to achieving artificial general intelligence (AGI). He humorously predicted that the dividing line in future history would no longer be before or after Christ, but rather "Before ChatGPT" and "After ChatGPT."

Core Strategy: What Is "Discovery AI"?

Chen Tianqiao used his early accumulated wealth to commit to investing over 2 billion dollars in the field of AI. He proposed a concept different from mainstream large language models (LLMs) — "Discovery AI":

  • Going Beyond Imitation: Unlike existing models that mainly generate content by imitating humans, Discovery AI aims to accomplish tasks that humans cannot do.

  • Logical Loop: By integrating long-term memory, causal reasoning, and predictive modeling, this technology aims to discover new knowledge and predict complex real-world events, such as natural disasters or geopolitical fluctuations.

  • Application Prospects: This AGI-level technology can be used to discover new drugs and even help Chen Tianqiao make smarter investment decisions on prediction websites like Polymarket.

Energy Innovation: 700,000 Acres of Forest Land Transformed into a "Geothermal Computing Center"

To support the massive data processing needs of AI research, Chen Tianqiao revealed a long-kept plan. The approximately 700,000 acres of forest land (located in Oregon and Ontario) he acquired in 2018 will play a key role:

  • Continuous Clean Energy: The plan is to use geothermal energy on these lands to establish computing centers, providing stable green energy support for data centers.

  • Global Openness: He plans to invest between 300 million and 500 million dollars to build pilot facilities and open them to AI scientists around the world.

  • Financial Confidence: Faced with profit pressure, Chen Tianqiao calmly stated, "I have enough funds; profitability is not an urgent matter."

Industry Insight: AI Has No Bubble, Humans Should Be on the Same Team

In the interview, Chen Tianqiao clearly refuted the "AI bubble" theory. He believes that humans are creating an intelligence beyond their own capabilities, which is fundamentally different from any previous technological bubble.

Regarding the current AI competition between the U.S. and China, Chen Tianqiao refused to take sides. He compared the competition to a football match: "I will pass the ball to the person closest to the goal, and scoring is victory. In the field of AI, China and the United States should be on the same team."

Cross-Disciplinary Integration: Brain-Computer Interfaces and the Ultimate Exploration of Cognition

In addition to software-level AI, Chen Tianqiao remains a major investor in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, having previously invested 1 billion dollars in brain research. He believes that breakthroughs in AI should not merely be about stacking computing power, but rather a leap in cognitive architecture. As we enter the third year after ChatGPT, Chen Tianqiao is trying to find the shortest path to AGI by integrating neuroscience and computer science.